Episode 61 - Spirit of the North

September 17, 2026 by Karlissa Koop in Fantastic Xenofiction

A fox on a quest across a Nordic landscape, defeating a haunting parasitic growth using the magical energy present in blue flowers: this is Spirit of the North, a video game from an indie publisher that has wilderness vibes and creative storytelling. Jason and Karlissa discuss this unique game and what they found inspiring about it, while also reflecting on the themes of paganism.

SPOILER WARNING! We refuse to spoil the end of the game, but we do spoil other parts.

Spirit of the North blog post:

https://www.book-bat.com/blog/2026/8/31/video-game-review-spirit-of-the-north

(0:00) Introduction

(0:43) Our video games growing up

(6:13) Let’s talk about a fox

(8:50) Summary of Spirit of the North

(11:59) Nonverbal storytelling and xenofiction

(16:05) Nature, the fantastical, and the spiritual

(18:33) Communicating emotion through setting

(21:46) Spiritual themes in the game

(28:25) Tolkien and Norse mythology

(32:14) What is the aim of Spirit of the North?

(34:05) A question for the fantasy author

(38:44) To Narnia and Beyond update

(40:51) Coming soon on the podcast

Have you played Spirit of the North? What did you think of the storytelling in this game? Let us know! You can leave a comment on our website at Book-Bat.com or email us at connect@book-bat.com.

Episode 58 - Our Top Nine A.I. Characters

June 18, 2026 by Karlissa Koop in Thoughts on Fantasy, Fantastic Xenofiction, Graphic Novels & Manga

Since before the times when artificial intelligence took over our online experiences and philosophical discussions, writers have been using the concept of A.I. to craft characters that speak to who we are as humans, and to explore how we interact with beings that are not quite like us.

Today, we are going to talk about some of our favourite A.I. characters: from robots to intelligences imbued into swords. Who are they, how do they interact with their world, and what draws us to them?

These characters come to us from comic books, a video game, tv shows, a movie, and a novel – and no, absolutely none of these are from live-action movies, dystopian worlds, or more cynical what-if fare. These are from fun, positive, hero-filled fantasies and soft sci-fi tales that treat their A.I. characters less like real-life A.I. and more like an opportunity to explore aspects of human nature and even animal nature.

So, without further ado: nine A.I. characters whom we enjoy!

(1:49) Becoming Embodied: Nicole from the Sonic comics Archie run

(5:46) Children of a Difficult Dad: Belle, Sage, and Metal Sonic from the IDW Sonic comics

(12:21) The Spirit Inside a Sword: Fi from the video game Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

(20:56) The A.I. Who Hated Feeling Emotions: Aya from Green Lanterns: The Animated Series

(24:47) The Robot Who Studied Nature: Roz, from The Wild Robot novel by Peter Brown, and the Dreamworks movie adaptation

(29:10) She’s Combat-Ready: Penny from RWBY

(32:07) The Robot with Cat-Ititude: Chopper from the animated show Star Wars Rebels

(33:00) A.I. as characterization shortcut

Thank you for listening to us talk about some of our favourite A.I. characters. Who are some of your favourite A.I. characters? Comment on our website at book-bat.com or email us at connect@book-bat.com to let us know!

Episode 53 - What Is Xenofiction?

February 19, 2026 by Karlissa Koop in Fantastic Xenofiction

Xenofiction - stories told from a nonhuman perspective - is all around us! In this episode, Karlissa and Jason explore the appeal of xenofiction from a writer’s perspective and dive into a few examples of xenofiction. They discuss… Does it matter that Superman is an alien? Are hobbits truly distinct from humans? And what’s up with the animosity between the human Dr. Eggman and animal-people like Sonic the hedgehog? And of course, Karlissa sneaks in a quote from C.S. Lewis!