Episode 139: How To Write About Violence (with Fonda Lee and Lauren Beukes)

Cover detail from The Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee, featuring a woman standing in a basket in front of a giant freaking roc.

Battles and smackdowns are a key part of many science fiction and fantasy stories — but how do you do them right? Do you have an obligation to show the cost of violence? And what does a good fight scene look like? To find out, we talked to authors Fonda Lee and Lauren Beukes. (Note: This episode was recorded Sept. 23 at Rose City Comic Con in Portland, OR.)

Notes, citations, etc.

Fonda Lee’s website, plus X-Twitter and Instagram

Fonda Lee is the author of the Green Bone saga, as well as the novella Untethered Sky

Lauren Beukes’ website, plus Instagram

Lauren Beukes is the author of several books, most recently Bridge.

Her book The Shining Girls was recently turned into a TV show on AppleTV+