It's Halloween season again at Breakfast in the Ruins, and we're kicking things off with a journey into the darker, more monstrous corners of Robert E. Howard's imagination!

This time, I'm joined by author and friend of the show Andy Darby to discuss Howard's gloriously gruesome sword and sorcery tale The Valley of the Worm, along with another of his rip-roaring adventures, The Gods of Bal-Sagoth.

Expect prehistoric horrors, ancient evils, mighty-thewed warriors, a bit of literary archaeology and plenty of enthusiasm for the weird fiction of one of Weird Tales' most celebrated contributors.

We also chat about Andy's latest book, Sword Songs: An Anthology of Dark Fantasy – Volume 1, a collection of four bloody tales of dark fantasy, murderous gods, haunted places and grim destinies.

You can pick up a copy through AbeBooks UK or ThriftBooks.

So sharpen your blades, gird your loins and keep an eye out for anything enormous and wriggling in the undergrowth. Halloween has arrived at Derry and Toms!

It's our 150th episode, and we've now been at this for seven Earth years!

So how do we celebrate this milestone? By sitting on the sofa and gassing about one of our earliest reads, a book we read in the 1970s that turned out, on reflection, to be a massive gateway drug in terms of where our interests would head just a couple of years later.

We're looking at Enid Blyton's The Magic Faraway Tree... a tale of the Multiverse?

Jim Jupp drops by Derry & Toms to talk about his love of genre fiction, his path into making music as Belbury Poly, and the beginnings of Ghost Box Records, the label he founded with Julian House back in 2004. Books, electronic noises and the business of building strange worlds… all things that we love.

The occasion is the release of Sorcery, the ninth Belbury Poly album, out now on Belbury Music, streaming in all the usual places and available on Bandcamp. Drawing on Jim’s early eighties enthusiasms, it brings together electronic music and the science fiction and fantasy that occupied his younger self. It also sports a cover by Arik Roper, with Jim’s design tipping its hat to those old Mayflower Moorcock paperbacks.

And the opening track is called Dreamthief. We were hardly going to let that pass.

So join us for a chat about the things we read and watch, the sounds that stick with us, and how those enthusiasms can take on a life of their own.

So what happens when one of science fiction’s sharpest minds takes a holiday in television’s most oppressive seaside resort? Straighten your blazer, slap on your most unconvincing smile and join us to find out.

Be seeing you.

First serialised in The Illustrated Weekly of India in 1969 and later published by Unicorn SF and NEL in the 70s, it's a rollicking space adventure tale, so, obviously, we talk about The Black Hole, Psycho, the villainous filmic appearances of sub-par The Master actor Anthony Ainley, the perils of The Warp, if Udo Kier had starred in Possession, and more.

Interesting factoid... according to John Davey's excellent Moorcography.org , the first US edition was in 2010 and states that it is 'an Eternal Champion Novel.'

We're not convinced by that, but eh... whatever sells it, I suppose. I didn't get round to checking later publications in collections, for example, the Millennium Sailing To Utopia omnibus (which was also badged as an Eternal Champion volume, to be fair) in 1993. Did Mike change anything to make that more explicit, I wonder? I don't think he did, but I could be wrong.

Answers on a postcard.

You can find more Miles on the Casual Trek Podcast.

The David Britton 1979 interview of James Cawthorn is here, and you can grab James Cawthorn: The Man And His Art and Stormbringer Sessions: Sketches For A Graphic Novel from John Davey’s Jayde Design. We really should do a full episode on these at some point in the future.

*Jerry In Name Only

Existential horror!

Moral conundrums!!

Alan's hairy chest!!!

LOVEJOY!!!!

If you fancy testing your wrist power, you can still grab a copy of the Space 1999 Year One omnibus here.

And a great game, to boot.

Check out the Gamefound page for EVERDOOM and find Tremor's other games on his itch.io page.

We might have to pick up the pace.

Allister's latest release as The Gateless Gate is the album Once Beautiful. Grab it now.

We're talking about Kami Garcia's The X-Files Origins: Agent of Chaos.

But why is Moorcock so integral to an X-Files prequel novel about 17-year-old Fox Mulder and his small gang of crime-busting friends?

LISTEN TO FIND OUT.

We also touch on David Barnett's Scratch Moss, the wonders of Oranjeboom and more.

A lot of our fellow rollers made a weekend of it and stuck around on the Sunday mornings, allowing, for the first time, a more community-based podcast experience. So join me and Phil at The Ginger Goose as we tackle a lazily assembled quiz, trapped mugs, breakfast stout and a couple of balmy, hungover Sunday mornings with the help of the Last Rollers standing...

And it is done.

Stick a fork in it.

But Phil and I had lots of thoughts about it that we wanted to record and share. Thoughts that would have been locked in a vault, probably, had this all gone down like a shit balloon... Fortunately, though, it went down a treat!

So, join us as we mull it all over and talk about RPGs and other stuff for a while.

We'll be back in a few days with Part Two - Breakfast(s) with the Rollers

JOIN US!!!!

(and listen to the Casual Trek Podcast)

So what better excuse to have Dr Malcom Craig back in Derry & Toms to talk about NUCLEAR WAR, and particularly General Sir John Hackett’s The Third World War: August 1985 (1978) and its sequel The Third World War: The Untold Story (1982).

As we're both gamers, and Malcolm has an academic interest in it too, we also get into it with GDW's Twilight 2000 RPG, arguably the ultimate expression of the speculative World War Three RPG genre. A game that transformed our Cold War fears into the participatory storytelling of the RPG format, and allowed players to wander the ruins of post-nuclear Europe while tracking ammunition, diesel fuel, rads, rations, and the collapse of NATO command structures in all the meticulous detail a teenage nerd could delight in.

You can pre-order Cold City and Hot War 2e in print, or get the PDFs instantly, here, and read Malcolm's paper on Twilight 2000 by clicking below:

When You Say, “Thermonuclear War,” I Think You Mean “the Call to Adventure”! The Twilight: 2000 Tabletop Role-Playing Game and the Postapocalyptic World’s Imaginary Spaces

We're less than four weeks out from our first Moorcockian gaming weekend, Rolling in the Ruins 2026, and suddenly Elric RPGs are like buses!

What great fortune then, that I had this RPG-related chat lined up with Marcus Bone, the guy behind https://stormbringerrpg.com/ and many other things, like:

https://www.darkconspiracytherpg.com/

https://demonground.org/archives/299-2/

and

https://unboundbook.org/

So much to talk about. Join us!

Some great stuff in here, but some rough stuff too, with references to sexual assault, so please beware that we will discuss it in both the original context, as we see it, and that of a modern reader.

Two stories round out our journey with this Kane book, Cold Light and Mirage.

Check out Dave's latest trip with SÖNUS, the single Sisyphus Stomp - the video is on YouTube - and you can pre-order new album The Planes of Torment (release date May 22nd).

We briefly talk about Russian SF too, so here I am talking to Ralph Lovegrove on his excellent Fictoplasm Podcast about Roadside Picnic.

Head to Aeon Books to pre-order Occult Pop (get 20% off with the code POP20), and you can pick up back issues of Satanic Mojo here.

In a typically roving conversation, we get into his influences and intentions in writing about a climate apocalypse and aftermath, as well as other stuff, like bad War of the Worlds adaptations (again).

This episode plays out with Why Did We Do It (The Last Ones) from Allister's tie-in EP and you can grab that along with his entire discography from Bandcamp.

Get the Colossive Press Croydon Spaceport Fun Pack HERE and check out the details of our Rolling in the Ruins Moorcockian RPG two-dayer in Bradford in June.

JOIN US!!!

You can find the Spirits Burning back catalogue on vinyl and CD all over the place (it's a big back catalogue), and the DatEoT albums at these links:

An Alien Heat

The Hollow Lands

The End of All Songs - Part 1

The End of All Songs - Part 2

And if you need more of your Deep Fix:

Live at the Terminal Cafe

Alien Injection

Mostly, though, we're talking about Malcom's reading recommendation - THE ROBOT BRAINS by incredibly prolific but largely unheralded British author Sydney J Bounds.

JOIN US!

We've been talking about doing some KEW for a while now, so what better time than a grim, miserable Yorkshire winter to tackle a chilly werewolf whodunnit. The story, Reflections for the Winter of My Soul, is the first of three in the collection Death Angel's Shadow, and we'll be back at some point in the future to look at the other two.

As KEW also wrote an Elric/Kane crossover story called The Gothic Touch, we took a look at that too.

Dave's band SÖNUS will release the first single from their new album on 14th February - Pagan Woman - and in the meantime you can join the countdown to the video and pre-save the single.

New album Planes of Torment will follow in May and we'll keep you up to date on that too.

Along the way we'll get into Tanya's history with Moorcock and genre fiction, gaming in Thatcher's Scotland, first steps into game design and the pending launch of their new Kickstarter for The Thunder Perfect Mind, launching 1st February 2026. If you're interested in reading more, and even getting a hold of early drafts, check out Tanya's itch.io page.

We'll also look into what Tanya would do around the gamification of Michael Moorcock's Multiverse, the 12-part comic series. I like it. I like it a lot.

In addition, friend of the show and long-standing patron Randall Gatlin calls in to talk about all of this Moorcock malarkey and reveals what may possibly be the coolest interaction with Mike and Linda I've yet come across.

Join us!

Joe's latest book - ROCK and ROLE: The Visionary Songs of Peter Hammill and Van der Graaf Generator - is available now, as is his prior book - Hawkwind: Days of the Underground: Radical Escapism in the Age of Paranoia.

So plenty to look at, including unpronounceable names and this story's key place in Elric lore.

Check out Derek's music in their guise as Imrryr over on Ampwall and Bandcamp and pre-order their upcoming release Carver 4 Mission Report.

Robert MacMillan is my co-pilot for this journey as we have to look up what things are and marvel over Moorcock's invention of a genre that these days seems largely about gluing cogs to pith helmets, tea duels and "chap-hop".

OR IS IT?

I don't know tbh.

But Bastable's journey from dependable Man of Empire to temporal adventurer starts here.

JOIN US!

It's Mike's birthday... it's Phil's birthday... it's the podcast's official state birthday... so what better than a silly, hastily assembled drunken quiz?

No ? required... that was a rhe

A chance for Loz to close the gap on Phil's epic quiz streak as well as to introduce a wild card in the shape of a third contestant!

OK, fine. This wasn't the actual intent, but best laid plans and all that. Also, Simon Perrins drops in to elaborate on his frankly incontestable assertion regarding a British cultural icon and their place in the Multiverse.

Simon is also responsible for the magnificent art for this episode, which is a pretty big clue if you're British and over a certain age.

MOOOOR COCK-COCK-COCK refrain is from The Dewey Decibel System by BlöödHag 

Check out Andy’s substack to read The Crow Feeder and sign up to his website for updates and to receive a free e-copy of his latest novella.

And we talk about Doctor Who and Star Trek a bit too.

Content warning: there is some discussion of SA that occurs in this book. 

JOIN US!

(and listen to the Casual Trek Podcast)

Shaun Hutson's breakthrough best seller has been on the poll list for three or four years, but 2025 was its year. So, join Graham, Phil and me as we evaluate Shaun Hutson's entry into that classic and most pulpy of British horror traditions, the Killer Critter novel. Also, we mull over whether four clefts are just too many, and get disappointed by our initially impressive socialist hero's basic levels of competence.

Image by Simon Perrins!

Last time we talked about Sheckley with Derek, I had the distinct sense that we would be going back for more… and this turned out to be an apt choice, with this podcast being released during October, because it's a Halloween episode by stealth!

Tone’s website is tonemilazzo.com and you can find out more there about his novels, Picking Up the Ghost and The Faith Machine, and his RPG The King in Giallo.

Also, James Robertson calls in to talk about his two decades and more working on Bryan's website, being green in an increasingly grey world and all sorts of other stuff along the way.

My co-host for this ep was Tom Murphy, and thank goodness for Tom as all of my technology had half a foot in Earth 749.

This is another pivotal book in Moorcock's oeuvre, and for this podcast, because it means that the second sequence of eternal champeen books we've managed to complete in the last six years. Yes... This pod has been going for six years.

Crikey!

Miles is one half of the team behind the Casual Trek Podcast.

Simon, as well as being behind lots of the visual stylings of Breakfast in the Ruins, is also the co-host of Can I Pod With Madness... and they have a Patreon Page!

I was very lucky to receive a copy of the incredible (and impressively girthed) Space 1999 Year One Omnibus c/o Mateo. A handful are still available, and you can grab a copy here.

JOIN US!!!

Well. Two. They just happen to combine to glorious effect in the classic slice of Daily Mail wet dreamery that is Who Dares Wins. Therefore, we get to watch it again for the 8,000th time and discuss it alongside its novelisation, The Tiptoe Boys, by James Follett.

Some other bits that pop up along the way include:

• Nissan Almera ads from the 90s

• The Bullshitters

• Chas n' Dave as protest rockers

Be sure to check out Trystan Mitchell's work at The Bigfoot Studio

It's an epic tale of anguish and self-pity on an earth where the sun has dimmed, the moon has crashed down to simply be called Moon and the menace known as the Silver Warriors have extreme problems figuring out the point of polearms. How will Count Ulrik Skarsol endure...?

Loz is back alongside Phil for this one and we have a D8 Wandering Beer Table to boot.

Bob Haberfield: The Man and His Art is published by Jayde Design and available from there and the Bob Haberfield Web Shop.

So we did... and we're going to talk about it.

And watch Grizzly.

JOIN US!

GUYLINER

UPSETTING FATES

PORNOGRAPHIC THRILLERS

And more....

Check out SÖNUS on bandcamp and buy their gear.

And take a look at Gates of Londra

Instead, we talk about caffeine, giro spending habits of the 1990s and racist space dogs for close to two hours.

JOIN US!

Listen to the Casual Trek Podcast

Not only were Slade a hard rocking act whose reputation as a live act belies their popular image as a slightly goofy glam rock fixture from early 70s Top of the Pops that invade our ears every bloody Xmas... But in 1975 they took a big swing (and commercially a miss), resulting in an incredible film about the seedy underbelly of the music business that turned 50 this year.

It spawned a fantastic novelisation too, courtesy of the late John Pidgeon and published by Panther, that ranks up there with the sweatiest, grittiest NEL pulps of the mid-70s. So we talk about that too.

JOIN US!

Check out Adrian's podcast with Emma Newman, Starship Alexandria - latest episode is on KJ Bishop's The Etched City.

For more Lionel Fanthorpe, see here (and thanks to Ben Haggar for the link).

Hawk the Slayer...

featuring:

• MORE Big Ron...

• ACTUAL Warren Clarke...

• SMOKY woods and DISCO....

• and EVERYONE that's ever been on British telly EVER!

Listen to The Casual Trek Podcast

Support Dave and the crew with their production of The Hammer and Helena at the Edinburgh Festival

Check out Andy's substack to read The Crow Feeder and pick up The Blade in the Angel's Shadow.

The Woodlice is available from UK  and US amazon stores.

Fortean TV was released a couple of years ago by Network DVD - for a dose of nostalgia watch Episode 1 with an introduction from Reverend Lionel Fanthorpe.

And this time... it has Servalan, plus:

• Roy from Eastenders...
• Glynnis Barber...
• Woke blasters...
• Big Ron Tarr...
• TRAVIS!!!

IT'S GOT THE LOT!

Follow Chris and the team's progress on Instagram and check out Tim Hintsala's armoury at Iron Ape Forge, Shai Winzer's make-up at Tesh Techniques, and the haunting music of Altoscliff.

Huon's tongue is flicking, Meliadus is plotting and Hawkmoon is SULKING ABOUT BOATS!

They came. They went. The hat mystery was solved and the multiverse saved, and we still don't really get what went down.

But HATS!

It also goes on for about three days.

JOIN US!

For this one, we have a very special guest. It's Michael Moorcock!

Also, me and Phil go to Morecambe blah blah blah... JOIN US!!!

JOIN US!

This was a real treat for me as I've been a fan of Steve's since happening across Lint in a King's Cross bookshop nearly 20 years ago. Since then he's continued to amuse and alarm with a whole range of writings and claims.

In his own words:

"My writing has been described as dreampunk, slipstream, bizarro, cyberpunk, new weird.  I call it satire.  I'm an aspie, a synaesthete and, despite all I've done, miraculously invisible.  I love books. I'm very interested in permaculture, perennial veg and ecobuilds. I'm tall and resemble some sort of hen." 

We also discuss Dave's latest play, inspired by the events that led an under-sexed weirdo to produce the infamous Malleus Maleficarum, The Hammer and Helena.

This is the latest of Dave's plays to be staged by Arts Groupie, a Liverpool-based Community Interest Company. Check out their website for more details, including Dave's take on the Dickens classic ghost story, The Signalman.

It's fair to say that this one was challenging, and not just because our hero is a massive wanker. There's more... much more...

Content warning for sexual violence and exasperated hosts.

It's SLIMER... our second experience of Harry Adam Knight action on Breakfast in the Ruins and it certainly was a book. Interesting developments on the 'base under siege by weird monster' are brought low by some of the unfortunate tropes of the genre at the time. Still, fortunately, the D6 Wandering Beer Table made a welcome return and generally we rolled rather well!

Content warning for sexual violence (in the book, not between me and Loz) and really shitty characters.

Our last look at Harry Adam Knight was our 2023 Uncosy Catastrophe read of The Fungus

William Hope Hodgson's classic of weird fiction and cosmic dread... The House on the Borderland.

Author, editor and musician Allister Thompson is back for this one - check out his musical retrospective and his debut novel The Music of the Spheres. We also touch on Lovecraft and some musical interpretations, including one by Nostalgia and Borderlands by Tactile, an extract of which can be heard at the end of the show.

JOIN US!

As well as Moorcock, we talk about 1980s coach holidays to Palamos, VHS tracking, Bond, Who conventions, Pontins Prestatyn, the literary merits of Lawrence Durrell and all sorts of other things.

Fantastic creation myths combine with brutal deaths, drinking bitter in a pub in Lowestoft, and a sadly underfeatured octopus called Bluey.

JOIN US!!!

Memories of Krangg, The Iron Bear

Clarky is back in Derry and Toms to talk Conan knock-offs, and pool our thoughts on an all-Barbarian game and how to resolve the inevitable "Pah! My hand-tailored sandals are more northern than you, you weakling southlander habadasher!" type conflicts.

We get into Thongor and Brak mainly, but also a touch of Kothar and a mild dusting of some other characters whose names I've forgotten.

One of them had a halberd though.

JOIN US

"Dishonesty hollows a man, like the bog bug hollows out a tree. Don’t be that tree. It’s dry, useless and dusty, although it does burn ok."

Krangg, 134th of Ogbok's Moon, 13423

Liam also teaches me about the Parisian dandy criminals, the Apaches! (Who I must now write into my next game...)

Very cool!

At some point we'll take a look at volume II - England Invaded

Dave also gives us an update on the latest SÖNUS news and we delve into some of the murkier aspects of the pulp of the time. But mostly we enjoy the head smashing and the surprisingly textured and erudite version of the Cimmerian in those first two stories.

Although this is our first Conan focused episode, Phil and I did look at The Tower of the Elephant way back in the early days in our first Happy Birthday Michael Moorcock episode back in December 2019.

How time flies...

The wandering beer table returns and, as a reward to the gang, we debut an all-new lazily assembled table of rubbish demon-bound quest goodies.

So join Steve, Chloe, Sara, Roddy, Jay, Richie and Ceirun as we board the Merciful Servant and reflect on what it takes to save the Young Kingdoms from the overbearing and stagnant forces of Law!

Content warning: The Void campaign is Moorcockian and therefore spicy. And Steve tries a smoked beer. Horrific!

You can find the full write-ups of The Void campaign and more on Steve’s blog – Cruising For a Musin

Join us!

And be sure to check out the Casual Trek Podcast too.

Expect discussions about mysterious island tropes, personal propensities to cannibalism, dodgy theories of race and C Thomas Howell!

Allister's latest release (at time of posting this at least) is Apocalypse Man by Khan Tengri and it includes a nice Moorcockian track too.

After all this dancing around the subject of Michael Moorcock writing for the iconic Doctor Who IP and talking Alien and Quatermass and Blake's 7, Miles joins me in the Cloister Room as we just about get to The Coming of the Terraphiles...

Just about...

But with our tendency to go off on tangents AND 61 years of Doctor Who to consider perhaps it was inevitable that this would be a multi-part deal. Anyway, join us as we talk about Timelords, edgy 90s Who novels, 12p swiss rolls and much more besides... even a bit of Moorcock here and there.

LISTEN TO THE CASUAL TREK PODCAST

En route, we'll have plenty of time (between beatings and summary executions) to discuss Trevor Hoyle's novelisation of the first four episodes of Terry Nation's Blake's 7 and the series itself. And some other stuff.

Sadly, we chose a book that features NO SERVALAN WHATSOEVER. But we still talk about her...

Enochian madness, brutal sieges, swordplay and the machinations of the Elizabethan court all combine to give our heroine a hard time, some gnarly powers and a profound ethical dilemma.

It's available from all good stockists now...

HUFFITY-PUFFITY PUFF!!!

Check out Quatermass III on Bandcamp

What happens when Trumpton and British politics intrude upon the Alien universe?

We investigated so you don't have to, so join Miles Reid-Lobatto (writer and co-host of the Casual Trek Podcast) and SF Starship artist and designer Ian Stead AKA Biomassart as we look at what makes the Alien IP tick and how some recent books have tackled it. Mainly Alien: Colony War. But also Alien: The Cold Forge. Which we probably should have talked about more, because it's great.

You can read my 2012 feature on Alien 3 here (just don't start any more flame wars you Colonial Marines fans you).

JOIN US.

Be sure to check out the Backerkit link for New Edge Sword and Sorcery issues 3 and 4 and Oliver's podcast So I'm Writing a Novel... 

The conversation about The Dreaming City and The Folk of the Forest is on Youtube 

Also check out Dan Charnley's podcast, Dan Rambles and the Preston Speculative Fiction Group's interview with MM 

WHO KNEW???

Well, some of you did obviously... but I didn't until my mate Yarks sent me a copy for my birthday a few years ago. It turns out that I was dimly aware of author Michael Butterworth at the time as I'd had some of his Space 1999 novelisations on my shelf for f'n years without realising that he was one of the dudes behind Savoy Books and appears to be a really cool cat.

So who better to drop by Derry and Toms to talk about it than Joe Banks, author of Hawkwind: Days of the Underground: Radical Escapism in the Age of Paranoia?

Nobody. Nobody better.

JOIN US! 

We consider wizard contracting standards, when barbarians aren't barbarians and just what the hell is under Greylock's fur...? We don't read the sequel but we do wonder why those people look like they're out of a 1970s public information film for children.

Check out Clarky's blog for updates on his various gaming and reading activities, as well as an end-of-year review and his plans for 2024. Visit the Duncan McGeary webpage for details of his more recent novels and short stories and his author's blog.

Between wading gods, crackles from beyond the veil and other interventions from the old gods of chaos, we managed to get through books two and three of this adventure intact. So join us for small talk about Moorcock, fighting fantasy books, Loz's Lovecraft formula and our favourite close-harmony choir of chaos oddballs...

The artist whose name we couldn't remember, responsible for the Berkley edition covers as above, is David McCall Johnston.

Simon is, of course, the geezer behind the visual identity of BITR too. Find him on Instagram and check out his store.

Also, have a look at Karmanal of Zert by Blaze Atoms - Here's some info from their bandcamp page (sadly I can't find any evidence of their  "Swords & Space Wizards" demo - if you know of it... LET ME KNOW):

"This is an instrumental, almost completely mixed preview of the version of "Karmanal of Zert" that will appear on the upcoming "Swords & Space Wizards" demo in early May 2016. This recording is completely unadvertised and uploaded solely so Michael Moorcock himself can hear it. So if you found it, good job. :)

lyrics

all music conceived, composed and arranged by Aaron DiDonato all guitar, bass, and drums performed and recorded by Aaron DiDonato lyrics (when vocals are added) adapted from the chapter "The Frozen Army" in the book "The Queen of the Swords" by Michael Moorcock (1971) Looming in the distance Over the valley now, come the hopping things Bouncing, several-legged creatures Multiversal nomads, indestructible beings Knowing not of mortality Pledging no allegiance to Law or Chaos Knowing not true existence Having no souls The Karmanal of Zert are coming The Karmanal of Zert, yeah, are coming for you The Karmanal of Zert are coming Here they come - look up and see They lope down the slopes of the hills Seeking the Champion Eternal they’ve been sent to kill – to kill Altering the fates of untold civilizations On untold planes of existence – parallel dimensions of the Earth Massive fangs clash, huge eyes roll Many tentacles lash, fighting for Cosmic control Doing the bidding of the Chaos Lords While in another time and plane they are fighting for Law Fighting for no purpose, no sought-after end Fighting indifferent to consequence The Karmanal of Zert always sing before they feast – always The Karmanal of Zert always sing before they feast – hear them sing Maim Slay Feast The Queen of the Chaos Swords’ laughter fills the sky Maim Slay Feast The Queen of the Chaos Swords’ laughter fills the sky As the Eternal Champion prepares to die Prepare to die Hear the Karmanal of Zert sing Hear them, hear them (repeat) Hear them, hear the Karmanal of Zert sing"

Memoriam's latest release is Rise to Power and it and their back catalogue are available at all good stockists.

I also wistfully recall my first exposure to Bolt Thrower with the epic and massive game changer for British metal... Realm of Chaos

... and listen to the Casual Trek Podcast

Tara will be at Tamworth Castle's Tales From the Darkside Week on Saturday 28th October and you can find details about 'An Ode to Guy Newman Smith's, 1970's Pulp Fiction Horror' and how to book at www.tamworthcastle.co.uk/darkside  

You can find all of Tara's GNS content on Instagram,  Youtube and soon the official website will be back up at http://www.guynsmith.com.

To get on the mailing list for the newsletter, email Tara at blackhillbooks@gmail.com 

You can find Bamboo Guerillas on Spotify and Bandcamp and follow them on Instagram and TikTok

Misery, perversion and very metal methods of conveyance abound in this tale of an Earth in its final ebbs of existence.

JOIN US!

You can find The Grognard Files on all good podcatchers and be sure to read the full Richard Glyn Jones blog post on New Worlds.

*#FUCKINGDANNUS

Strap in for a political thriller laced with astute observations on the natures of media and personality politics, the odd sprinkling of futurism and some oddly prescient sort-of predictions.

Check out Andy's brace of psychedelic, acid-laced adventures about a poorly-behaved Monkey taking on the illuminati, worm-holes and Lovecraftian horrors. 

Exploding landlords, extremely poor mission personnel choices, sweaty liaisons and deeply unfortunate children await in this tale of an England overwhelmed by scientifically boosted mycelium.

Hawkmoon gets some swish togs but seems to have a real blind spot when it comes to fighting pirates. Meanwhile, D'Averc is... sort of there?

Don your wafters and JOIN US!

(and check out  SÖNUS on bandcamp)

Publishers disdain it, booksellers sneer at it and the literary establishment would rather just not talk about it. But the GOR series still has a habit of popping up in the second-hand bookshops we frequent, because there are still millions of 'em kicking about probably. And there's even a Gorean subculture in Darlington!!!

But which side are we on?

The establishment (and at least one butcher in Darlington)?

Or

The other people that think it's saucy and cooooool?

LISTEN AND FIND OUT!

Spoiler: In the end... we're just with Oliver Reed.

CW: This podcast contains discussions about themes of sexual exploitation and slavery that are shot through the Gor novels.

We rove around the joint and, for possibly the first time, Excalibur gets a mention on Breakfast in the Ruins... how it took so long I honestly can't say. We also do a prize draw for some lucky Patron Demons!

Check out Goran's Patreon and his InPrnt store.

Beer mistakes and dodgy audio can't dampen our enthusiasm for some fantastic world-building and the first true appearance of everyone's (well ours anyway) favourite companion/hat/cat combination.

JOIN US!

Expect revisionism (both textual and personal), rose-tinted reflections on the dole, a beer challenge best described as cyclopean and some RPG-focused grumbling as we complete our re-evaluation of a novel we haven't read in over 30 years and fail to pronounce simple English words.

JOIN US!

As is traditional we roam around, but mostly we evaluate The Final Programme as both an adaptation and as a work that stands (or falls) on its own merits, and Joe has a startling take on that ending that I'd never considered. And we talk about some other stuff. 

JOIN US!

Rum content ahead as we talk about the publisher, the key players behind some of their more exploitative output, and two similar yet very different biker novels from the early 70s:

• Angels From Hell by Mick Norman

and

• The Devil's Rider by Alex R Stuart

We also refer to Andrew's groovy book of essays Girl Gangs, Biker Boys, And Real Cool Cats: Pulp Fiction and Youth Culture, 1950 to 1980. Check it out and head on down the rabbit hole...

We look at our entry points into WOTW fandom, the original 1897 classic by HG Wells, a number of adaptations and spin-offs, and the one adaptation that looms large over all the others (the Jeff Wayne album, obviously).

Meliadus gets miffed, Hawkmoon's stoicism is tested, D'Averc gets naked and Count Brass is bored shitless.

Join us as we discuss this and much more!

We talk about The Dark and touch upon some other examples we've been picking up.

As trailed in the show you can find The Casual Trek Podcast on all good podcatchers and you can still find the episode of the Closer to Midnight Podcast covering John Christopher's The Death of Grass and the Cornel Wilde film adaptation No Blade of Grass on DeathofGrass.com 

Check out Graham's music on his bandcamp pages for Decadnids, Decanids vs NΛＮD (The Black Corridor) and The Duck Pond Sailors.

We talk about the magazine as well as numerous things including the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation & Fantasy at Toronto Public Library, Oliver's related podcast Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection, his path to writing and editing and his main podcast So I'm Writing a Novel.

You can find more info about Oliver and all of his projects and activities at https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com

This show is played out with Demesne of the Rocks, the opening track from the new N Λ Ṇ D release Journal Vol II. 

In other news I was delighted to be a guest of Jeff and Hoi on the Appendix N Book Club. Be sure to check out their interview with Mr Moorcock himself too.

Also, check out the exquisite black metal dungeon synth of Fortress of the Pearl on Bandcamp.

We also discuss the artists involved in the conception of the Man Elf character and story, and dedicate this show to the memory of Steve Whitaker.

Tanks, demons, onion soup, calvados and freezing weather all combine to create a truly seasonal challenge for a horny cartographer.

This is a little bit late for reasons explained in the show (birthday boozing) but Happy Birthday to Phil, MM and Sebastian Weetabix - and Happy Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza and whatever you may celebrate at this time of year even if it's just putting your feet up and having a break. If you're working through it, take care and stay safe.

We'll be back with Part II of our musings on The Devils of D-Day in the next few days. In the meantime.. HAVE A COOL YULE!

Simon is the man behind our banner art, logo, Gerard Arthur Connelly portraits and pretty much our entire visual identity.  Follow him on Twitter and check out his store.

Listen to BITR Breakfast in the Ruins Radio on Radio Garden.

For a visual guide to the imagery we discuss along the way check out the Patreon Post or the BITR Blog.

• C J Cherryh: Gate of Ivrel, Well of Shiuan, Fires of Azeroth, Exile's Gate
• Madeline Miller: Circe, The Song of Achilles,
• Pat Barker: The Silence of the Girls, Natalie Haynes: A Thousand Ships,
• Conn Iggulden: Conqueror series (these are just fucking epic!)
• Tim Willocks: The Religion (awesome!), The Twelve Children of Paris (awesome 2!)
• Ben Aaronovitch: Rivers of London series
• Jonathan L Howard: Johannes Cabal series
• Catherynne M. Valente: Deathless
• Kim Newman: Anno Dracula
• Karl Edward Wagner: Kane series
• Chris Carlsen: Berserker series
• Stewart Gordon Suaine and the Crow God
• Iain Banks: The Wasp Factory, The Bridge Walking on Glass,
• Clive Barker: Weave World

You can keep up with Ben's work at bobhaberfield.com and follow him on Instagram.

As always, digressions await the unwary traveller as well as ostentatious coughing and just excellent pants.

JOIN US!

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

Support the podcast by becoming a Patron.

Our banner art and logo is by Simon Perrins. Follow him on Twitter and check out his store.

Chapter 12 of The Journal of Gerard Arthur Connelly was scored by N Λ N D

Listen to BITR Breakfast in the Ruins Radio on Radio Garden

Finally, we're back at Derry & Toms to take a look at the 1980 Moorcock collection My Experiences in the Third World War. Along the way Phil and I compare notes regarding our mindsets in the 1980s, laugh at the preposterous Controller and let fate decide on the Wandering Traumatic Nuclear War Film Table.

Also, on this occasion we might not offend a small town in the UK but potentially ALL of Canada. But seriously what DOES 'pie-dish of privilege and broken promises' really mean?

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Support the podcast by becoming a Patron. 

Our banner art and logo is by Simon Perrins. Follow him on Twitter and check out his store. 

CONTENT WARNING - there are discussions in this show regarding sexual violence and exploitation

As it aligns nicely we also take a dive into the 1962 Moorcock story To Rescue Tanelorn and make some connections. Along the way we talk about some other guff.

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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. 

Support the podcast by becoming a Patron. 

Our banner art and logo is by Simon Perrins. Follow him on Twitter and check out his new store. 

Our avatar is by Wyrmwalk. Follow him on Instagram.

Loz joins me in Derry & Toms to reflect on two and a bit years of podcasting against the strangest of backdrops. Plus the wandering beer table returns, for both good and ill.

JOIN US! 

Clarky's multipart Tenerife campaign as discussed on the show is detailed on his excellent site. My in-character (as Roy Saveloy) chapter write-ups are here and here.

We also touch on PS Publishing's Midnight Movie Monographs.

We talk parties... get older... and add Rhyll to the list of towns we've offended... but damn it we got through it!

The best news is that Hussein WILL return again.

This show is played out once again by Ｎ Λ Ｎ Ｄ with the new track Gallery of the Lost.

DIG IT!

Joe's website is daysoftheunderground.com. 

John Coulthart's website is www.johncoulthart.com

We also run our first competition (sort of) and The Singularity repeatedly attempts to shut down our groove.

Check out the new N Λ Ṇ D album Journal and the DECADNIDS vs N Λ Ṇ D collaboration The Black Corridor

As usual we go off beam a bit.

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Check out our Patreon for exclusive updates and content.

Our banner art and logo is by Simon Perrins. Follow him on Twitter.

Our avatar is by Wyrmwalk. Follow him on Instagram.

Graham, Neil and Norman also drop by to talk Stormbringer 3e, ploons, shit sailors & what would make our own ideal Moorcockian RPG.  It's a really Deep Fix.  No prizes for guessing who provides the soundtrack!

Is it Mike Sirota's fourth Dannus opus, The Dark Straits of Reglathium?

TUNE IN AND FIND OUT.

We talk Sword & Planet fiction, how to ruin expensive spirits and reminisce about No Frills Value Cola Flavour Drink.

Rum features.

We talk Moorcock (obviously), gaming, podcasting and other bits n bobs, as well as Ralph's own take on the Moorcockian role-playing game... STORMHACK!

Find Ralph's gear at these links:

STORMHACK!

Appendix N and Cousins

Runequest's Appendix N

We also probably add wargamers, military geeks and the people of Withernsea and Patrington to the list of people we've offended.

As usual our conversation veers around a bit, covering beers, rhubarb, hernias and just how much agency Corum has.  We also have a good think about what to cover next, roll some dice to decide, and get bowled over by the sheer quality of  @nand_soundtrax's journal soundscape! 

Gerard Arthur Connelly returns and gets his poor boots wet, with all new atmos and score by @nand_soundtrax

Elric and Corum's Bandcamp pages are:

https://elricstormbringer.bandcamp.com/ 

and

https://metalcorum.bandcamp.com/

In addition we consider the broad appeal of Moorcock and how it crosses some boundaries that in this strange day and age are often extraordinarily difficult to bridge, and we get to showcase some great music.

Happy birthday Mike and Phil!

Also, Loz calls in to Derry & Toms to drink some traditionally stupid beers and reminisce about the days of yore, sleeping dogs and the Giantkind track Breakfast in the Ruins.

Multiple varieties of pants are considered along with a couple of actually palatable beers. Progress I say!

It's got the lot. A creepy hero... out of order tramps... vicious critters... and an abundance of thigh references!

STAY SAFE!!!

Turns out Erekosë is just a horny jock. Who knew?

We also find that if you're being peer pressured into genocide you just need a bath, dinner and an intervention... it's just so relatable! 

REJOICE as we finally get around to covering Corum...

SIGH as we continue to fail to avoid weird beer...

DESPAIR as our energy levels dip in the second half...

GASP at chapter two of The Journal of Gerard Arthur Connelly...

Phil taunts us with her syrupy beer avoidance skills, two-man canoes get far too many mentions and Loz gatekeeps Moorcock RPG play (the rotter).

Also, The Journal of Gerard Arthur Connelly debuts with chapter one.  There are 5 more to come (and if I don’t get pelted with rottent tomatoes I may write more).

REEL at the variable sound quality as my Tascam once again has to do some heavy lifting.

MARVEL at the disagreements over the last few chapters.

HOWL at Tash's toilet allocation of an all new (to me) classification of a certain type of fantasy novel.

SHOEGAZE to the mellow sounds of Breakfast in the Ruins by the mighty Giantkind.

The Eternal Champion continues on his crusade to defeat the enemies of humanity and further proves himself an absolute duffer with the ladies.

Phil reveals a penchant for watching extreme violence against Ewan McGregor and Channing Tatum.

I wring my hands at the horror of it all.

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It's got everything. Bad pronunciation, silly names and nudity.

Phil returns to the co-host chair, we drink an old old-Fashioned or two and draw comparisons between Noonos and Grimsby, adding that ancient port-town to our list of mildly insulted settlements.

Join us as we are horrified by a challenging beer and Loz offends Scunthorpe (as well as narrowly avoiding a date with Dannus). As usual we struggle with pronunciation and saying The Ship That Sails Over Land and Water.

Excellent beverages are consumed along the way.

December 18th is also my brilliant and long-suffering partner Phil's birthday, so I made her read something because CONTENT!

So happy birthdays all around!!!

We have a few drinks and muse upon Elric's early pre-wanderer, Stormbringerless years on the Ruby Throne of Imrryr.

We also ponder the news of a possible Elric TV show and attempt to get comfortable on Lord Shark's Ostentatious Couch (spoiler, we don't).

Moorcock discussion?   Check!

Moorcroft?   Sure, why not!

Bagging small English towns?   Check!

Dogs wagging tails?   Check and check!

NOW IN THC SOUND!

Note: The bulk of this was recorded before Episode One, so we're already entering into the true spirit of Moorcock by confusing our own internal chronology.

In this, the first full-blooded episode of Breakfast in the Ruins we take a look at the first published story featuring (arguably) Michael Moorcock’s most enduring creation, the moody albino warrior-sorcerer-emperor-wanderer Elric.

All music in this episode is courtesy of Giantkind.

All music is in this episode is courtesy of Giantkind.