Talking Scared

The 300th author interview is here. And I’m delighted it’s with a debut author, about a truly wonderful book.



Dorian Ravenscroft’s The White North Has Thy Bones is a supreme slice of Polar Gothic and Queer Horror alike. It’s the story of a disastrous 1860 expedition to the Arctic, and the competing stories of brutality and survival told by the few who make it home. Despite all the bloodshed and … strange meat… it’s also, somehow, a moving love story.



We talk about all of those elements, as well as the weirder parts of Arctic naval history and just why the great frozen north is such a good backdrop for Queer stories. And I give my advice for how to survive being starvation
on the ice.



Enjoy – and thanks for listening.



The Terror (2007), by Dan Simmons

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder (2025), by David Grann

Where the Dead Wait (2023), by Ally Wilkes

Coffin Moon (2025), by Keith Rosson

An Immaculate Deception (2026) by Isabela Livino



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Happy Whalefall Weekend!



Brian Duffield’s incredible adaptation of Daniel Kraus’ novel is now in cinemas. I was lucky enough to see an early screening and even luckier to get time with Brian and Daniel to talk about how the hell they made something so audacious.



We talk daddy issues aplenty, whale stomach sets, practical FX and the toll they took on the star, Austin Abrams. And I get lost in my own rapture over a certain scene that almost made me feel a real, authentic human
emotion. Unbelievable.



Enjoy!



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Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com
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In Solace House, Will Maclean takes us back to the 90s for a drug-fuelled trip through some mindbending architecture. It’s a chance to get nostalgic for a more innocent time, when the clothes were baggy, the music was better, and you could spend a summer spent renovating an old asylum without needing to put in on TikTok.



It’s all fun and games until the existential terror kicks in and the fabric of reality comes unwoven.



Enjoy. This one was a good laugh.

The Apparition Phase (2020), by Will Maclean

And He Shall Appear (2025), by Kate van der Borgh

The Modern Antiquarian (1998), by Julian Cope

The Prisonhouse of Language (1972), by Fredric Jameson

The Human Evasion (1969), by Celia Green

Starmaker (1937), by Olaf Stapledon

A Short Stay in Hell (2009), by Steven L. Peck

“The Jaunt,” in Night Shift (1978), by Stephen King

The Divine Farce (2009), by Michael Graziano



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Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com
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This episode needs no attempt at a witty introduction. Stephen King is back to talk about Other Worlds Than These – the concluding volume of The Talisman saga, begun with Peter Straub 45 years ago.



We keep it spoiler-free, but we talk about Jack Sawyer’s journey and how it entwines with The Dark Tower. We reflect on The Talisman and Black House, on Wolf and my heartbreak. We discuss Peter’s inspiration for the story and how King summoned him to bring it to a close. And we even get some hints of what’s cooking in Steve’s brain for future projects. It seems he’s never slowing down, no matter what he say.



I hope you enjoy this.



Other books mentioned:

Julia (1975), by Peter Straub

Ghost Story (1979), by Peter Straub

Redheaded Peckerwood (2010), by Christian Patterson

King Sorrow (2025), by Joe Hill

Sleeping Beauties (2017), by Stephen and Owen King

Trad Wife (2026), by Sarah Langan



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Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch



Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com
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Leaning into absolute high geekery this week – with Kyle Winkler’s novel of how family game night can go badly wrong!



The Ship of Death is about a cursed (and I mean CURSED!) tabletop role-playing game and the unlucky couple who choose to play it. Or, as Kyle describes it “Dark Jumanji.”



It prompts a conversation about games in life and fiction. Epistolary structure and found-fiction. We discuss his relationship with the bizarre, his love for mysteries without answers, we consider who is really responsible for the world-building in a story, and we pay a lot of respect to cosmic horror influences beyond Lovecraft.



It’s was a delight to record. Hope you enjoy listening.



Other books mentioned:

Grasshands (2024), by Kyle Winkler

Boris Says the Words (2022), by Kyle Winkler

The Nothing That Is (2020), by Kyle Winkler

Borne (2017), by Jeff VanderMeer

Zothique (1970), by Clarke Ashton Smith

The Dying Earth (1950), by Jack Vance

Enduring Love (1997), by Ian McEwan

Negative Space (2020), by B.R. Yeager

True Crime (2020), by Samantha Kolesnik

The House Next Door (1978), by Anne River Siddons

My Dark Places (1996), by James Ellroy

Penpal (2012), by Dathan Auerbach

Mockingbird (1980), by Paul Tevis

The Blacktongue Thief (2021), by Christopher Buehlman



Support Talking Scared on Patreon



Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch



Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices