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The following is a list of real-world authors whose works have been referred to in an episode of Friends at the Table or who have been specifically highlighted by a cast member as a touchstone/point of inspiration for the podcast.
Jorge Luis Borges
In Twilight Mirage, the Divine Memorious is named after the short story "Funes the Memorious", whose titular character is cursed with perfect memory after an accident.[1]
Sangfielle is described as "cosmic horror by way of Borges instead of Lovecraft" at the beginning of the season.[2] Later in the season, the painting Duvall hopes to acquire is titled "Remembering the Zahir" as an homage to Borges's story "The Zahir", about an object which creates an obsession that will come to crowd out the afflicted person's experience of reality.[3]
Dave Eggers
In the COUNTER/Weight world generation episode, the players discuss the idea of a fully networked society with "voting being as casual and popular as Buzzfeed quizzes", which reminds Dre of Dave Eggers' The Circle.[4]
William Gibson
In the COUNTER/Weight world generation episode, Austin refers to the fact that cyberpunk author William Gibson dislikes Shadowrun for featuring magic. Later on, when transferring characters to The Sprawl, the character Molly Millions from Gibson's Sprawl trilogy is referred to as an archetypal character emblematic of the Killer, the playbook for a character who "uses bleeding edge technology to commit violence".[5]
Robert Jordan
Early in Sangfielle, Austin mentions learning the word "balefire" for a type of signal fire but not wanting to use it in anything because it had already been used in the popular Wheel of Time series.[2]
Stephen King
During Sangfielle's game of The Ground Itself, King is referenced when the players discuss the idea of a group of young people getting together to recognize and fight a curse that the older generation cannot discuss.[6] Keith later references (though not by name) King's book Duma Key when discussing examples of mystical or cursed paintings.[3]
Ursula K. Le Guin
“
We live in capitalism, its power seems inescapable — but then, so did the divine right of kings.”
Le Guin was an inspiration for some of the questions of utopianism in Twilight Mirage, with Austin tweeting one interview quote about decentering conflict in storytelling from her beforehand (while TM was still being referred to as 'Season 6')[8] and quoting her National Book Awards speech during its premiere episode.[1]
Ann Leckie
During the Road to PARTIZAN's game of For the Queen, Austin mentions that he has been reading Leckie's Imperial Radch series and says it is good at having tense scenes before fights. Austin also recommends PARTIZAN for fans of the series during the Sports are Just Numerology bonus episode.[9]
H.P. Lovecraft
Sangfielle is described as "cosmic horror by way of Borges instead of Lovecraft" at the beginning of the season.[2] Keith also describes the Junk Mage class in Heart as coming "out of nowhere" with Lovecraft-style cosmic horror aspects in a number of its major abilities, which he often had to reflavor to fit with Lyke and Sangfielle.[10]
Arkady Martine
Austin recommends PARTIZAN for fans of Martine's A Memory Called Empire in the Sports are Just Numerology bonus episode.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Twilight Mirage 00: The Final Eight Divines
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sangfielle 01: The Curse of Eastern Folly Pt. 1
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sangfielle 13: Market Day in Blackwick
- ↑ COUNTER/Weight -01: Secret World Gen Episode
- ↑ COUNTER/Weight 10: Drawing Clocks
- ↑ Sangfielle 02: The Curse of Eastern Folly Pt. 2
- ↑ https://www.ursulakleguin.com/nbf-medal
- ↑ https://twitter.com/austin_walker/status/846179453436903425
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Bonus Episode: Sports Are Just Numerology
- ↑ Sangfielle 18: What Happened at Bell Metal Station Pt. 2