86 – Alan Baxter and a Stranger in a Strange Town

Alan Baxter is the Lord of Weird Australia. I said it before, he liked it, so I’ll say it again. Alan Baxter is the Lord of Weird Australia.

Perhaps nothing he has written is as weird, or as Australian as the stories set in and around the town of Gulpepper. He took us there in The Gulp and now he’s taking us back in The Fall, the second collection of linked novellas outlining the town and its weird inhabitants.

Bear in mind, when I say nothing he’s written is as weird or as Australian – this is a man who wrote a book about a homicidal kangaroo!

So yeah, The Gulp and The Fall are weird. Weird as hell. Weirdness on toast (with or without vegemite). We talk about that weirdness, about how to make it work and when to reign it in or let it ride. We talk the beauty and threat of Australian wilderness and the monstrous potential of the ocean. We talk winging it when it comes to mythology and how even Alan isn’t sure where Gulpepper goes next.

We talk about all sorts of things. It’s a blast. 

Enjoy! 

The Fall: Tales from the Gulp 2 is published on April 12th.

Other books mentioned in this episode include:

• The Gulp (2021), by Alan Baxter
• The Roo (2020), by Alan Baxter
• The Fisherman (2016), by John Langan
• The Great and Secret Show (1989), by Clive Barker
• The Grief Hole (2016), by Kaaron Warren

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