The Legendarium: Recent Episodes
The Legendarium Podcast
The Legendarium exists primarily as a book club for fantasy and sci-fi, both the classics and the new classics.Tolkien, Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, and more.
Martha Wells stops by for another installment of The Author's Shelf. Together, she and Craig discuss The Tiger's Daughter, the 2017 novel by K. Arsenault Rivera.
Check out Martha Wells' new projects: https://www.marthawells.com/
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Author Katie Hallahan drops by for a conversation with Craig about her experience going from game designer to author. What does she value in fiction and storytelling, and how did that impact both areas of her professional life?
Visit Katie and check out her books here: https://www.katiehal.com/
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Ryan, Todd, and Craig reunite for a discussion about Todd's experience with the Wheel of Time. And because they came with a real purpose in mind, of course you know that they won't stick to that at all. Buckle up for Rings of Power, adaptations, Star Wars, and pretty much anything else that crosses their distractible little minds.
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This episode was originally published on June 8, 2020
Craig, Ryan, and Megan reunite for the final part of the Lord of the Rings. Well, except for the appendices, and there will be an episode on that as well, it turns out. Anyway, for this one, they unlock the real meaning behind the Field of Cormallen scene, discuss why Frodo couldn't be the one who destroyed the Ring, and get one more verse recap from Craig.
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MUSIC: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
This episode was originally released on May 3, 2020
Ryan, Megan, and Professor Craig (whose elbow patches are back from the shop and in better shape than ever) tackle book 5 of The Lord of the Rings. There are battles and ghosts and pirates and dramatic suicides, among many other exciting things, so Craig kicks off the discussion with ... 5 minutes about word order in the hobbits' speech. Riveting stuff, rest assured.
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MUSIC: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
This episode was originally published on April 14, 2020
Craig, Ryan, and Megan reunite remotely for the next installment of their Lord of the Rings series of podcasts. Up today, Book 4, or the latter half of The Two Towers. In these ten chapters, we follow Frodo, Sam, and Gollum through the Emyn Muil, the Dead Marshes, Ithilien, and Shelob's Lair. The panelists will discuss the split nature of the narrative, Sam's place in the reader's experience, and why Gollum's final betrayal is possibly Tolkien's best writing in all of The Lord of the Rings.
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MUSIC: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
In this episode, author James Kennedy stops by to chat with Craig about predestination in speculative fiction. He's got four basic categories of determinism, and they walk through each, with a fine-toothed, good-humored comb.
Originally released on August 22, 2022
Check out James Kennedy's website
And his new book, Dare to Know
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Originally published January 11, 2015.
Craig and Ryan tackle their first game of Dungeons and Dragons and they are natural....ly poor at figuring it out at the start. Join the Legendarium crew at HaJoMaJe games for the abbreviated adventure into never winter and the quest for the best 401k option available to adventurers.
Originally released October 31, 2019
Do video game movies always suck? Maybe not. But they're never actually good, either. Why is that? Craig and Kyle are joined by Adam Sherlock from Deep Dive Film School to spend, oh...maybe 5 minutes teasing out the answer to the question at hand, and 45 minutes just laughing about terrible video game movies.
Check out Sherlock's show, Deep Dive Film School, in audio or video form.
Support the show on Patreon
Join the conversation on Reddit
Music: "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
Originally released August 18, 2020
Ryan joins Craig and spins the Wheel of Tangents for the first time ever! They answer over a dozen questions submitted by patrons, including tough-to-visualize elements of books, their favorite love stories, and what they'd be reading if they weren't making a podcast.
Support the show on Patreon
Music: "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
This episode was originally released on March 16, 2020
Craig, Ryan, and Megan (no Kyle today) talk about book 3 of The Lord of the Rings, being the first half of The Two Towers.They take on the entrelacement writing technique Tolkien employs, Aragorn's character arc (yep, he has one!), and the nature of the palantiri. Craig is of course back with his recap poem, but Megan decides to one up him by singing on this episode. Trigger warning.
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MUSIC: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
Originally released May 25, 2020.
Veronica Roth, bestselling author of the Divergent series and the brand-new, adult-oriented fantasy Chosen Ones, joins Craig and Ryan to discuss her pick for the Author's Shelf podcast series. Veronica had the guys read Dark Lord of Derkholm, a 1998 fantasy parody by Diana Wynne Jones. The trio has a good time picking apart a few of the key characters and themes of the book, and Veronica enlightens the group on the personal connection between Jones and Tolkien.
Visit Veronica's website and check out Chosen Ones
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Music: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
Originally released April 26, 2020
Craig is joined by author Maram Taibah to discuss the assertion, "Great art has an age floor but no age ceiling." They get into contextual issues, content issues, and what place YA fiction has to play in this discussion. They also talk about Maram's book, Weathernose, and Craig gets an education on "children's steampunk."
Check out Maram's website and Instagram
Buy Weathernose
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Music: "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
This episode was originally released on January 27, 2019
Craig and Ryan welcome a new panelist, Brandon Sanderson (maybe you've heard of him?). The three of them discuss The Truth, the 25th book in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Spoiler alert, technically, because we range all over the story, as usual. But as we mention during the show, this isn't the type of book with which you should be overly concerned about spoilers; it's delightful and hilarious regardless of what you know about it. Enjoy the episode!
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MUSIC: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
What in the h-e-double-hockey-sticks is this book, anyway? Craig brings Drew back for one final discussion on Matthew Stover's Acts of Caine series. They wrap up with book 4, Caine's Law, which is a book about ... something. The guys will try to figure that out.
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This episode was originally released on March 1, 2020
Craig, Ryan, Megan, and Kyle discuss the second book in The Lord of the Rings--or to put it another way, the second half of The Fellowship of the Ring. They get into lots of listener questions, like whether the Rivendell chapters are too long, whether balrogs should have wings, whether the fellowship sufficiently mourns Gandalf, and much, much more. Enjoy!
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MUSIC: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
This episode was originally released October 27, 2019.
The Ladies of the Legendarium are back! And this time, Stephanie, Megan, and Kate are joined by Sara Hanks to discuss Michael Ende's classic book, The Neverending Story. There's laughing and crying, and a whole lot of love -- old and new -- for this particular book.
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MUSIC: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
This episode was originally released October 17, 2019.
Weeks Week begins on Monday with the release of The Burning White, but we thought we'd get a jump on it by airing a few minutes of Brent Weeks spinning The Wheel of Tangents. Brent answers eight questions scientifically designed in a lab to help us get to know one of our favorite authors a little bit better. (Narrator: "There was, in fact, no lab.") Enjoy!
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MUSIC: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
This episode was originally released February 9, 2020. The other episodes in this series are #268, #270, #274, #277, and #281.
The time has come! Six years ago Craig and Ryan kicked off the Legendarium podcast with a read-through of the Lord of the Rings. Now they're back, and they've got Kyle and Megan in tow as well. In this episode they discuss a bit about the hobbits, the pacing, the poetry and the reasons for Gandalf's 17-year absence. If you're hoping to get your fix of Professor Craig, stick around, because that mostly happens toward the end. A note: If you're looking for an in-depth discussion of the minutiae of this book, look elsewhere! But you can enjoy a discussion amongst friends loosely based around the first book of The Lord of the Rings.
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MUSIC: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
This episode was originally released October 10, 2015.
We're joined again by Dr. Matt Woolley, who helps Craig, Ryan, and Kenn work through the benefits, pitfalls, and psychology of scary stories and people who love (or hate) them. (And no, you're not hallucinating, we swapped out our normal theme music; it was way too peppy for this episode.)
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MUSIC: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
This episode was originally released May 13, 2018.
In 1944, Professor Tolkien published a short story about a strange little man who was obsessed with a single piece of art that consumed his entire life. Sound familiar? It should. And if it doesn't, then listen on, and we'll lift the extraordinarily thin veil from this little wishful allegory. Ryan's taking a sick day for this one, so Craig, Todd, and Megan hash this one out without him.
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MUSIC: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
Craig and Todd chat for a few minutes about the new installment of Denis Villeneuve's Dune adaptation. Before that, Craig makes an announcement about the show taking a short break.
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Returning guest Daniel Ford drops by to discuss a favorite of his, Parke Godwin's Firelord. This 1980 retelling of the King Arthur myth is one of the best you'll come across, and it made for some great discussion.
Check out Daniel's stuff here: https://www.danielmford.com/books
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Megan has brought the Blue Team back together to a discussion of a recent favorite: Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary. Will she have better success in bringing them a good book than Todd did when he made her read John Carter of Mars? (Hint: How could she not?)
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Old friend of the podcast Kaela Rivera stops by for an Author's Shelf episode about I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak. This magical-realism novel was an absolute delight, and you should give it a read if you haven't yet. And as a bonus, it made for a fun 45 minutes of conversation!
Check out Kaela's stuff here: https://www.kaelarivera.com/
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Moses Ose Utomi is Craig's guest today on the Author's Shelf series, and he's selected Fonda Lee's Jade City to discuss. As always, the first question is, "Why did you choose this book?" And with that, Moses and Craig are off to the races for a fun discussion.
Check out Moses's stuff here: https://www.mosesoseutomi.com/
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Craig and Kenn are joined by Eradandis (of Discord fame) to discuss A Game of Thrones, the first book in #georgerrmartin 's A Song of Ice and Fire series. Are they going to give it the lengthy treatment it deserves? Absolutely not. At least not today. But they are going to talk about its merits--and demerits--as they see them, for the next hour.
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After the ... experience that is Blade of Tyshalle, Craig and Drew are back for more, starting in on part 1 of Caine Black Knife, the third book in Matthew Stover's Acts of Caine series. Is this book really as "fun" as Craig was promised?
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Author and journalist Hank Phillippi Ryan joins Craig for a very spoiler-y discussion. Luckily, they don't spoil anything for you, but Hank is here to talk about why she sometimes reads the last page of a book first. What exactly counts as a spoiler? When and why should we be careful about them? And when might we seek them out?
Check out Hank's latest book, One Last Word
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What was once condescendingly sneered at only a few years ago has become more and more commonplace: self publishing. With the rise of new technologies and easier printing, now authors can bypass the middleman (the publisher) and get their work out on their own. But how does it actually work? Are publishers antiquated, and this is the wave of the future? And if he could, would Craig's guest, Philip Chase, do it again?
Grab The Way of Edan here: https://a.co/d/heM6yFa
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Craig and Megan are joined by longtime listener and friend of the show, "Codingfoo," to discuss A Wrinkle in Time, the classic young-reader sci-fi novel by Madeleine L'Engle. Enjoy an hour of vintage Legendarium conversation on a vintage book.
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Travis Baldree, Author of Legends and Lattes and the new Bookshops and Bonedust, stops by to chat with Craig about what it's like to go from narrating to writing books. What have been the challenges, the lessons, the surprises?
Check out Travis and his books here: https://www.travisbaldree.com/
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Blade of Tyshalle, part 2. Craig and Drew dive into the second half of the book. Which in this case means Drew dives into it, because Craig has no idea what's going on in this book anymore. Drew attempts to explain it to him.
Check out part 1 at Inking Out Loud (Spotify link)
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Craig welcomes again Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, the writers behind the Liaden universe. They stop this time to discuss Hellspark, the 1988 novel by Janet Kagan. It's a murder mystery ("in spaaaaaace!!"), but more than that, it's a meditation on language, communication, and what it means to be a sapient being.
Grab Sharon and Steve's latest, Salvage Right
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Is it projection? Wish fulfillment? Or just plain adorableness? Why do we readers (and viewers) enjoy stories with talking animals so much? Christopher Rowe stops by to chat with Craig about our favorite fabled furry friends.
Check out Christopher's latest, The Navigating Fox: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250804501/thenavigatingfox
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Austin Freeman makes his return to the Legendarium! After a great discussion on the theology of Tolkien (episode 400), he's back for an Author's Shelf episode, and together he and Craig talk Dante's Divine Comedy. (Which is a bit like saying that between Craig and Jeff Bezos, they're multi-billionaires.) Enjoy!
Check out Austin's book, Tolkien Dogmatics
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Kristen Simmons joins Craig to discuss the intersection of her work both as a mental health professional and as an author. How does the one inform the other?
Check out Kristen's work here: https://www.kristensimmonsbooks.com/books
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Craig and Kenn welcome Little Red Book from the Patrons' Discord channel as they discuss Mattimeo, the third book in Brian Jacques' Redwall series. Well, "discuss" may be the wrong word here. And maybe "Mattimeo" too, since they mostly spend their time sidetracked and flailing. But hey, that's fun too.
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It's a big day at the Legendarium when Craig finally gets to talk with Tom Shippey, one of the most frequently cited writers on the show. Tom comes by to talk about his new translation of Beowulf, and especially about the chapter dedicated to Tolkien's relationship with the poem and the poet. It really is a fantastic translation and guide to Beowulf, so please check it out.
Grab a copy of the new Beowulf translation: https://a.co/d/6fnzbxs
Check out Uppsala Books here: https://uppsalabooks.com/about-us
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Dropping in from his temporary home in Poland, author and diplomat David Schlaefer joins Craig to talk about his experiences serving in the U.S. State Department. After having been stationed in several countries (most notably for this conversation, Finland), how do David's international experiences color his career as a writer?
Check out David's stuff here: https://davidschlaefer.com/
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Craig and Drew embark on a new podcast series, covering Matthew Stover's four-book series, The Acts of Caine. To follow the entire series of discussions, you'll need to subscribe to both The Legendarium and Inking Out Loud, since episodes will appear both places. But you'll be well rewarded if you do, because this series is rich, interesting, funny, dark, distressing, heroic, tragic, and every other word you might care to use, except boring.
Inking Out Loud: https://iolpodcast.com/
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Philip Chase joins Craig for an Author's Shelf episode about Beowulf. Why has this story endured? Is it just a historical artifact, or is there something worthwhile here on its own terms? Frankly, it's a long-overdue discussion, and Philip brought his A-game, so enjoy.
Check out Philip's book here: https://www.philipchaseauthor.com/
And Philip's YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy
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Craig and Kenn are joined by longtime patron Levi, aka Texas Blade, to discuss Mossflower, Brian Jacques' prequel to Redwall. The guys talk about great heroes, great villains, and the establishment of many of the Redwall tropes that will hit us through this whole series.
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Drew McCaffrey from Inking Out Loud joins Craig again for some seemingly random potpourri. But it's all for a purpose! The guys announce an upcoming series and the return of a beloved podcast.
Check out Inking Out Loud here: https://iolpodcast.com/
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Author, producer, and all-around interesting guy Frank Beddor joins Craig for a discussion about why stories last. Craig, as you know, is a big Tolkien guy, and Frank is a big Lewis Carroll guy--and between the two of them, they try to tease out what makes stories last (when they do).
Check out Frank's latest stuff here: https://frankbeddor.com/
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Craig is joined again by Aparna Verma, and this time they also have R.R. Virdi to speak with as well. The trio (mostly the latter two) dive into the world of comparative mythology and the origins of many of our story beats and structures.
Check out R.R. Virdi's newest offerings here: http://rrvirdi.com/
And Aparna Verma is here: https://theaparnaverma.com/
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Craig welcomes Jon Evans, author and Impressive Man extraordinaire, to discuss tech, AI, and how they think it may intersect with writing and storytelling.
Check out Jon's new book, Exadelic, here: https://rezendi.com/wp/
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Craig is joined for this episode by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, the husband-wife team behind the Liaden Universe (and plenty else besides). They talk about the history of the term "space opera," their own experiences with the genre, and the authors' approach to it.
Check out their latest Liaden entry, Salvage Right: https://a.co/d/3uGZyTs
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Craig and Todd are WoT'ing it up! They'll do a mini Wheel of Time series of podcasts, one after each 1-3 books or so. This series, though, aside from this episode, will be Patreon-only!! Check out the link below to sign up for as little as a dollar per episode. Glad to have the patrons along for this ride!
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Craig and Kenn are joined by special guest -- and Discord super legend -- Befuddled Panda. Together they discuss an old childhood favorite, Redwall. What holds up in this book, besides pretty much everything?
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Aparna Verma joins Craig for a discussion on as a writer drawing from multiple mythological and historical traditions. It's a surface-level discussion, but with a promise for more when Aparna comes back at a later date.
Check out Aparna's work here: https://theaparnaverma.com/
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Craig is joined by Julia Vee and Ken Bebelle to have a very Level One conversation. Julia and Ken are the co-authors of the Seattle Slayers and Phoenix Hoard series, and they talk with Craig about how they approach their brand of fun-first writing.
Check out Ken here: https://kenbebelle.com/
And Julia here: https://juliavee.com/
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For today's Author's Shelf episode, Craig is joined by author Steven Brust to discuss Lord of Light, the classic 1967 sci-fi novel by Roger Zelazny. Why has the book meant so much to Steven over the years? And how was Craig's first time through?
Check out Steven's latest, Tsalmoth, here: https://a.co/d/0wohQN4
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Craig is joined by Rachel, Yvonne, and Andrew, three members of the Tor marketing team. They talk about how they make you aware of new books, and hopefully, get those books from the press to your shelf.
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!!CONTENT WARNING!! In a departure from the norm, we're doing an adults-only episode of the Legendarium, in which the one and only Chuck Tingle comes to visit and he and Craig spin the Wheel of Tangents. Truth be told, most of the episode is actually fine, content-wise, but there's a portion that is decidedly not for kids. That being said...enjoy!
Check out Chuck's new book here: https://www.chucktingle.com/
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Craig is joined by author Daniel M. Ford to discuss a perennial favorite topic of listeners: THE TROPE. What counts as a trope? Are they good or bad? Which are our favorites? And which would we burn to the ground forever?
Check out Dan's stuff here: http://www.danielmford.com/
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That's it, it's over! Stephanie has completed the Expanse and is ready to be done with it, but not before she has some fun with Todd and Kenn discussing the second half of James S.A. Corey's Leviathan Falls.
[Craig's audio note: Once again, I had to use the backup audio for this one, so it kind of sucks. Sorry about that, but I figured you'd rather have the episode than not!]
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Craig is joined by Nadia Uddine for another Author's Shelf episode, this one on the Ursula Le Guin classic, The Left Hand of Darkness. They talk about her style, her storytelling, and her politics. What works and what doesn't in this 54-year-old sci-fi novel?
Check out Naddia's work here: https://www.nadiauddin.com/
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Craig welcomes Austin Freeman to the show to discuss Tolkien and his religious views. Tolkien was a staunch Catholic, but that doesn't mean that his views weren't idiosyncratic in some interesting and unexpected ways.
Check out Austin's book, Tolkien Dogmatics: Theology through Mythology with the Maker of Middle-earth, here: https://a.co/d/6jegZIE
Watch Craig's video on "the most important scene" in LotR: https://youtu.be/2L9Ph1MkKuA
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She's almost across the finish line! Todd and Kenn drag Stephanie back for the penultimate Expanse podcast as they discuss the first half of James S.A. Corey's Leviathan Falls. [Craig's audio note: I had to use the backup audio for this one, so it kind of sucks. Sorry about that, but I figured you'd rather have the episode than not!]
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Craig welcomes Vaishnavi Patel, author of Kaikeyi, for this edition of the Author's Shelf. Vaishnavi has selected The Palace of Illusions, by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. It's Craig's first foray into the Mahabharata (in this case a modern retelling), and Vaishnavi is the perfect guide.
Check out Vaishanvi's work, including Kaikeyi, here: https://vaishnavipatel.com/
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Craig, Ryan, Megan, and Stephanie sit down to discuss their experience with Brandon Sanderson's first "secret project" of 2023, Tress of the Emerald Sea. They also take your comments and questions.
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Craig and Todd (who is legally required to be on any episode involving D&D) welcome Brandon from Dirt Cheap Dungeons to talk Dungeons & Dragons. They spend a few minutes talking about the new Chris Pine movie, but the rest of the episode is devoted to why D&D is so popular, beloved, and useful after all these years.
Check out Dirt Cheap Dungeons here: https://dirtcheapdungeons.com/
Here's the GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/507f0d15
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We made it! It's the final episode in our First Law series, and we've got some thoughts. Craig, Ryan, and Kenn sit down to hash out how they feel about the series now that they've completed it. Did Kenn love the punchin'? (Just kidding, stupid question.) Did Craig change his mind at all? Does Ryan hate all good and decent things now, loving only evil and despair? Only one way to find out!
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Returning guest Veronica Roth and newcomer Amy Lukavics join Craig to talk about a day in the life of an author--or, at least, how a typical day goes for these two authors. Plus, they give us the details on their latest projects, linked below.
Check out Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth: https://veronicarothbooks.com/books/arch-conspirator/
Check out Cold Water Veins by Amy Lukavics: https://www.audible.com/pd/Cold-Water-Veins-Audiobook/B09CFKMND4
Veronica's site: https://veronicarothbooks.com/
Amy's site: http://www.amylukavics.com/
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Author, artist, and filmmaker Leopoldo Gout comes by the podcast to talk with Craig about his experience as a writer, and how he weaves history, myth, and culture into his stories.
Check out Piñata: https://www.amazon.com/Pi%C3%B1ata-Novel-Leopoldo-Gout/dp/1250781175
And visit Leopoldo's website: http://www.leopoldogout.net/
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Author Randee Dawn's new book, Tune In Tomorrow, has received some favorable comparisons to the like of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. So who better to join Craig in an Author's Shelf episode, talking about Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? No one, that's who.
Check out Randee's stuff here: https://randeedawn.com/
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Craig, Ryan, and Kenn are together again for the final book of Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy. Ryan is already won over to the series, but what about Craig and Kenn? Has the journey been worth what destinations we've had so far?
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T. Kingfisher (aka Ursula Vernon) stops by the show to talk to Craig about a favorite childhood book of hers: Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams.
Check out Ursula's stuff here: https://www.redwombatstudio.com/
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Craig chats with guest Adam Ross of First Fantasy Books to talk about his quest to improve child literacy through fun, simple worldbuilding.
Check out First Fantasy Books here.
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Craig sits down for a fun, free-ranging discussion with one of the most interesting people ever to appear on the show. SL Huang is a Hugo-winning and Amazon-bestselling writer. The author of the Cas Russell series from Tor, starting with Zero Sum Game, and the fantasies Burning Roses and The Water Outlaws, Huang is also an MIT graduate, stunt person, and firearms expert.
Follow SL Huang online at https://www.slhuang.com/ or @sl_huang.
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James Kennedy returns! This time, he joins Craig and Drew McCaffrey to discuss G.K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday, a truly bizarre and classic detective story. For those who think Craig talks too much...you're in luck! Because he knows just how out of his depth he is here and lets the smart people do more of the talking.
Check out James's stuff here: https://jameskennedy.com/
And of course, listen to Inking Out Loud: https://iolpodcast.com/
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Todd, Kenn, and Stephanie sit down for yet another discussion of James SA Corey's The Expanse. This time they finish up Tiamat's Wrath, the eighth book in the series.
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Craig, Ryan, and Kenn sit down to discuss the second half of Before They Are Hanged, the second book in Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy.
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Kent Lester joins Craig to talk about his journey from writing non-fiction to writing sci-fi thrillers like The Seventh Sun. A quick warning: We struggled with some tech stuff during this recording, so if it sounds like the ending is a bit abrupt...well, that's only because it was.
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Craig, Ryan, and Kenn sit down to discuss the first half of Before They Are Hanged, the second book in Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy.
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Mary Rickert (aka M. Rickert) stops by to chat with Craig about the art of the short story. What are the strengths and weaknesses of short fiction? Why did Mary get drawn to this particular form? What can readers gain by digging into short stories? And where should they start?
Check out M. Rickert's newest (short) book, Lucky Girl
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Author Brian Evenson stops by to talk with Craig about The Fifth Head of Cerberus, the second novel by Gene Wolfe. And what a novel it is! Without spoiling any of the surprises, the two dig into what makes Gene Wolfe special, and why Brian wanted to write the introduction for a new edition of the book.
Grab a copy of Cerberus here
Check out Brian's other work here
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Freya Marske is here to pull Craig--and by extension, us all--into the world of SFF romance! They talk about the definition of romance, why it appeals generally, and why it appeals to her specifically as both a reader and a writer. Toward the end, Freya also gives a sizeable list of recommendations for those wanting to dip their own toes into more romantic waters. (Listen for the recs, or follow us on Twitter (below) to get the links.
Check out Freya Marske's work here: https://freyamarske.com/
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The gang is back together! The OG Mistborn crew (Craig, Ryan, Kenn, and Todd) discuss The Lost Metal, the final entry in Era 2 of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series. So how does the book do? Does the plot hold up? Was there TOO much cosmere stuff in there? Does the emotional ending resonate? Only one way to find out.
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Blue Team is back! Todd, Kenn, and somewhat reluctant Stephanie gather to discuss Persepolis Rising, the seventh book in James S.A. Corey's series, The Expanse.
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Blue Team is back! Todd, Kenn, and somewhat reluctant Stephanie gather to discuss Persepolis Rising, the seventh book in James S.A. Corey's series, The Expanse.
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Tolkien biographer (and journalist and freelance writer and editor) John Garth stops by the show to talk with Craig about his long-time subject, J.R.R. Tolkien. The pair talk about their respective histories in Middle-earth, John's previous books, like "Tolkien and the Great War," and his new book, "Tolkien at Exeter College."
Check out John Garth's work here
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Craig, Ryan, and Kenn talk about the second half of Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself. Is this really the first book in a series, or do we need a different way to think of this one? What's the most "grimdark" line in the book? And are any of these characters worth rooting for?
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Happy Halloween! For this years spooky episode, Craig welcomes Rita Woods to the Author's Shelf series. From her shelf, Rita selected The Good House, by Tananarive Due, a modern-day gothic horror novel. What is the scariest thing about a book like this? Listen on and find out!
Check out Rita's latest, The Last Skinwalker, here
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Surprise! It's a weekend episode featuring Craig being interviewed by Jack Butler for Jack's Young Americans podcast. The two of them break down their thoughts on the entirety of season 1 of The Rings of Power, especially how it all wrapped up in the end. Was the show ultimately worth making? Or watching?
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This is one of those books whose title tells you quite a bit. The book is Origins of The Wheel of Time: The Legends and Mythologies that Inspired Robert Jordan, and it's about...well, that! Craig sits down with the author, Michael Livingston, to scratch the surface of what's in the book, and eventually they take off their official interview hats to get down and nerdy about how much they love The Wheel of Time.
Pre-order (or order!) the book here
Find more of Michael's stuff
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How do they do it? We'll never know. Todd and Kenn have convinced Stephanie to come in and discuss another Expanse novel. This time, it's Persepolis Rising, the 7th book in James S.A. Corey's epic sci-fi series, The Expanse. This discussion covers roughly the first half of the book.
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Craig, Ryan, and Kenn talk about the first half of Joe Abercrombie's "The Blade Itself," book one in the First Law trilogy. Does it live up to expectations? Should we even have expectations? There's humor, there's prose, and there's character work to talk about, not to mention your own questions for us, so plenty to dive into.
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Craig and Ryan welcome Seanan McGuire to the Author's Shelf! From her shelf, Seanan chose The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle, a '60s classic fairy tale about a unicorn in search of her kin. They also talk a bit about her upcoming book, Into the Windwracked Wilds (as A. Deborah Baker).
Check out A. Deborah Baker's (Seanan's) Amazon page
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Craig and Ryan welcome Mary Robinette Kowal to the Author's Shelf. She asked the guys to read The Dispossessed, the award winning 1974 novel by Ursula K. Le Guin. There were some hiccups with the audio that had to be edited around, but the conversation was good enough that we were going to bring it to you regardless. Enjoy!
Get a sneak peek of The Spare Man
Check out Mary Robinette's work here
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Drew McCaffrey from the Inking Out Loud podcast drops by again to spin the Wheel of Tangents with Craig. The twist? This time, we asked for the stupidest questions our listeners could think of. And boy oh boy did they come through.
Check out Inking Out Loud here: https://www.iolpodcast.com/
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Craig and Todd are joined by Nadia Shammas and Marie Enger to discuss what it was like to collaborate on their new graphic novella, Where Black Stars Rise. They talk about how they found each other, how the creative process unfolded, and why the "dream" collaboration isn't with the biggest name you can find.
Check out Where Black Stars Rise here
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The Rings of Power is finally here! Now that the most expensive, promoted, anticipated show of the year has arrived, how do we think it's going after just a couple of episodes? Craig, Sara, Stephanie, and Ryan sit down for a LONG discussion, airing their own loves and grievances, and responding to many of your own questions as well.
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It's here! This is the final episode in our Silmarillion read-along. Ryan and Craig sit down to discuss "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age," the final section of The Silmarillion.
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Craig sits down with Kaitlyn Facista from Tea With Tolkien to talk about The Silmarillion, the Rings of Power, and other various Tolkien-connected topics. Kaitlyn is the purveyor of Tea With Tolkien, a book club and erstwhile (but still valuable) podcast that Craig has enjoyed from afar for quite a while now, so this is episode has been a long time coming.
Check out Tea With Tolkien here: https://www.teawithtolkien.com/
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Indian novelist Samit Basu stopped by the Legendarium to talk with Craig about what exactly dystopian fiction is, where that term falls down, and how it differs across continents. Samit is also a multi-discipline writer, and they talked about what it means to write across several different mediums.
Check out Samit Basu's website: https://samitbasu.com/
And his new book, The City Inside: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250827507
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In this episode, author James Kennedy stops by to chat with Craig about predestination in speculative fiction. He's got four basic categories of determinism, and they walk through each, with a fine-toothed, good-humored comb.
Check out James Kennedy's website
And his new book, Dare to Know
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After a VERY long break, Craig and Ryan are back with part 10 of their Silmarillion read-along, this time covering AKALLABÊTH. This is part 10 of 11 in the read-along, so things are drawing near the end!
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A couple of months ago we had our first ever official meetup in Portland, OR. It was fun, and we wish you could all have been there! But for those who were there, we did a live episode on Stardust, the already-classic novel by Neil Gaiman. Such fun to have the audience interaction, so we'll definitely do this again some time.
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Craig and Kenn welcome Ryan Van Loan to the Author's Shelf series. Today's book is Dreamcatcher, the much-maligned 2001 sci-fi horror novel by Stephen King. So does it deserve all that maligning? In some ways, yes! In other ways, it's still an example of a master novelist at work. We'll hit a few of the highs and lows (including the 2003 movie adaptation) in this episode, so strap in!
Check out Ryan's website and his new book, The Memory in the Blood.
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In this high-proof-snark-filled episode, Todd, Kenn, and Stephanie discuss the second half of Babylon's Ashes, the sixth installment in James S.A. Corey's Expanse series.
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Craig and Todd welcome author Ed McDonald onto the podcast to talk about something near and dear to Todd's heart: the E-11 Blaster Rifle. And lots of other issues related to weapons and combat in science fiction and fantasy.
Check out Ed's books (including the new one, Daughter of Redwinter) here
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The band is back together! Todd, Stephanie, and Kenn are in studio to talk about the first half (chs 1-27) of Babylon's Ashes, the sixth installment in James S.A. Corey's series, The Expanse.
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"Step out of your comfort zone," they said. "It'll be fun," they said. Turns out...they were right! Craig and Stephanie welcome Alyson Noël to the Author's Shelf series. Today's book is Rebecca, the classic 1938 gothic novel by Daphne du Maurier. This is not our normal fare, but who cares, when it's such a great book? Thanks to Alyson for selecting this one!
Check out Alyson's new book, Stealing Infinity.
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Craig and Ryan are joined by Brian McClellan for this entry to our Author's Shelf series. Today we discuss The Black Count, by Tom Reiss. The Black Count is a biography of Alexandre Dumas Sr., the father of the French Novelist, who inspired many of the stories and scenes in his sons book.
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Craig is joined once again by Drew McCaffrey from Inking Out Loud. Together they welcome Scott Lynch, author of the Gentleman Bastard series, to discuss HEROES DIE, by Matthew Woodring Stover.
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Welcome to the Legendarium's Silmarillion read-along! In this ninth installment, Craig, Ryan, and Kyle discuss the next chunk of The Silmarillion: "Of the Ruin of Doriath," "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin," and "Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath," chapters 22 through 24 of the Quenta Silmarillion.
Check out the rest of the reading schedule here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_NO4iO1fRX19UiwYtKHAjyvwAWsXS4yGD3b9Rt8vbSk/edit?usp=sharing
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Craig, Ryan, and Todd sit down and ... kind of talk about a variety of subjects, including Dr. Strange In the Multiverse of Madness, the upcoming Kenobi series, and sequels. In reality, they just end up using those topics to explore their own psyches for an hour. But that's pretty normal by now.
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Welcome to the Legendarium's Silmarillion read-along! In this eighth installment, Craig, Ryan, and Kyle discuss the next chunk of The Silmarillion: "Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad" and "Of Turin Turambar," chapters 20 and 21 of the Quenta Silmarillion.
Check out the rest of the reading schedule here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_NO4iO1fRX19UiwYtKHAjyvwAWsXS4yGD3b9Rt8vbSk/edit?usp=sharing
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Welcome to the Legendarium's Silmarillion read-along! In this sixth installment, Craig, Ryan, and Kyle discuss the next chunk of The Silmarillion: "Of Beren and Luthien," chapter 19 of the Quenta Silmarillion.
Check out the rest of the reading schedule here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_NO4iO1fRX19UiwYtKHAjyvwAWsXS4yGD3b9Rt8vbSk/edit?usp=sharing
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A lot is made -- rightly! -- about Tolkien's influence on the modern fantasy genre. But as today's guest argues, the influence of RPGs, and therefore video games, should not go underappreciated. Craig and Drew (from the Inking Out Loud podcast) have a conversation with A.P. Canavan, known on YouTube as A Critical Dragon.
Check out A Critical Dragon here: https://www.youtube.com/c/ACriticalDragon
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Craig, Ryan, and Todd welcome Vilja Johnson back to the show to discuss The Batman. Does the new Robert Pattinson-driven film succeed? Is this the best Batman ever, a total misfire, or somewhere in between? Plus, a short discussion about whether we've reached the apex of comic book movies as the most popular of popular entertainment and are seeing a long-term decline, or if we're simply in a cyclical lull.
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Welcome to the Legendarium's Silmarillion read-along! In this sixth installment, Craig, Ryan, and Kyle will discuss the next chunk of The Silmarillion, including chapters 16 through 18 of the Quenta Silmarillion. Check out the rest of the reading schedule here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_NO4iO1fRX19UiwYtKHAjyvwAWsXS4yGD3b9Rt8vbSk/edit?usp=sharing
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Craig, Megan, and Stephanie are joined by special guest BefuddledPanda from the Green Team of the Legendarium podcast. They spin the wheel, get weird about nifflers and vampires, wax lyrical about leather bound books, and reimagine Ariel the Little Mermaid in the role of Baron Harkonnen. It's ... quite a time on this episode.
Check out the Green Team podcast.
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Welcome to the Legendarium's Silmarillion read-along! In this fifth installment, Craig, Ryan, and Kyle will discuss the next chunk of The Silmarillion, including chapters 13 through 15 of the Quenta Silmarillion.
Check out the rest of the reading schedule here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_NO4iO1fRX19UiwYtKHAjyvwAWsXS4yGD3b9Rt8vbSk/edit?usp=sharing
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FOUR secret novels? Brandon Sanderson has just revealed that four new books, previously unannounced, will be released throughout 2023. This has now become the single most successful Kickstarter of all time. Craig, Ryan, Kenn, and Todd got together to talk about their reactions to the news, the community reaction, and how likely they are to shell out for this record-breaking kickstarter.
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Welcome to the Legendarium's Silmarillion read-along! In this fourth installment, Craig, Ryan, and Kyle will discuss the next chunk of The Silmarillion, including chapters 10, 11, and 12 of the Quenta Silmarillion.
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Craig, Todd, and Megan spin the Wheel of Tangents. What topics will they cover? No way to know until the Wheel weaves its will!
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Welcome to the Legendarium's Silmarillion read-along! In this third installment, Craig, Ryan, and Kyle will discuss the next chunk of The Silmarillion, including chapters 6, 7, 8, and 9 of the Quenta Silmarillion.
Check out the rest of the reading schedule here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_NO4iO1fRX19UiwYtKHAjyvwAWsXS4yGD3b9Rt8vbSk/edit?usp=sharing
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Welcome to the Legendarium's Silmarillion read-along! In this second installment, Craig, Ryan, and Kyle will discuss the next chunk of the book, including chapters 3, 4, and 5 of the Quenta Silmarillion.
Check out the rest of the reading schedule here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_NO4iO1fRX19UiwYtKHAjyvwAWsXS4yGD3b9Rt8vbSk/edit?usp=sharing
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Welcome to the Legendarium's Silmarillion read-along! In this first installment, Craig, Ryan, and Kyle will discuss the first chunk of the book, including Ainulindalë, Valaquenta, and the first two chapters of Quenta Silmarillion.
Check out the rest of the reading schedule here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_NO4iO1fRX19UiwYtKHAjyvwAWsXS4yGD3b9Rt8vbSk/edit?usp=sharing
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Craig, Ryan, and Kyle wrap up their coverage of Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles with a discussion of the fifth and final book, The High King.
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Todd, Stephanie, and Kenn convene to discuss Cytonic, the third book in Brandon Sanderson's YA space adventure series, Skyward.
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Craig, Ryan, and Kyle reconvene to discuss the fourth book in Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles. This is Craig's favorite book in the series, but how does it do for Ryan and Kyle? (Spoiler alert: very well.) This is the book in the series that's probably the most meaningful, and the most interesting to read from an adult perspective.
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Craig and Drew (from the Inking Out Loud podcast) did a live episode during the YouTube Megastream today! Viewers submitted topics for the Wheel, and Craig and Drew responded with their help.
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Craig and Drew sit down to give their takes on the two latest episodes of the Wheel of Time on Amazon. How are the performances and portrayals going? How are readers and non-readers reacting? And most importantly, why do we keep recording these late at night?
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Craig and Ryan are joined by Drew and Lauren McCaffrey from the Inking Out Loud podcast to discuss the first few episodes of the new Wheel of Time TV show. How faithful is the adaptation? Does the show work on its own, for non-readers? Should the crew have stayed up until 2:30 am to record all of this?
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Now that every other blog/podcast/youtube channel has had their say on the movie, Ryan and Craig sit down and talk Dennis Villeneuve's first entry in the new Dune franchise. Does it HAVE to be seen in a theater? Is the story adequately explained for a newb like Craig? Are Ryan and Craig doing enough to keep their bromance alive? How in the actual [expletive] has Ryan not seen Titanic?
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Craig, Ryan, and Kyle continue their reading of Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain with the third installment: The Castle of Llyr. What we thought was that we were getting Princess Eilonwy's book; what we got, though, wasn't really that. So was it still satisfying? Is there still any meat on the bones of this series?
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First of all, sorry that Kenn's audio was so low. We're still figuring out the online recordings. Anyway... It's Dune time, one last time! Jack Butler rejoins Kenn and Todd for a final discussion of Frank Herbert's Dune series, wrapping it up with Chapterhouse Dune.
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A secret episode recorded in a secret studio about a secret series from Stephanie and Megan of the Ladies of the Legendarium.
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You asked, we delivered! It's a no-prep, pure-fun, throwaway episode in which Craig, Ryan, and Todd sit down and talk about ... well, nothing really. They give a glimpse into the trivia they did at Salt Lake FanX this year, they talk about what they've been watching lately, and what they'll be reading in the near future. Enjoy...I guess?
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Craig, Ryan, and Kyle sit down to discuss The Black Cauldron, the second installment in Lloyd Alexander's classic young-readers fantasy series. This book was a Newbery award honoree, and it's easy to see why. The guys will delve into what makes this one so good, especially compared to the previous book in the series.
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Craig, Kyle, and Ryan discuss The Book of Three, by Lloyd Alexander. This is an absolute classic of kids' fantasy, and they're here to see if it holds up as adults. Answer? Definitely. There's fun to be had here for readers of just about any age, and we'll be having fun for four more books in this series. So stick around!
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Todd and Kenn are joined again by Jack Butler to discuss Heretics of Dune, the fifth book in Frank Herbert's series. As the film premiere draws near, the guys thought it was high time to finish out their Dune podcast series. Stay tuned for one more episode on Chapterhouse: Dune.
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Daniel Greene joins Craig and Ryan for this installment of the Author's Shelf series. Daniel selected Mort, the fourth installment in the Discworld series. Why did he select it? Actually, Daniel isn't quite sure, and he and the guys spend an hour trying to figure that out.
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...and buy his book
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We're now in phase 4 of the MCU, and it's mostly taking place on Disney+. So how's it going? Craig, Ryan, Megan, and Kenn sit down to discuss the three major shows to come out so far: Wandavision, Falcon & the Winter Soldier, and Loki (with just a dash of Black Widow thrown in for good measure).
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What makes for good prose? In this episode, to better try to answer that question, Craig dives into just what the definition of prose should be. Is it simply "not poetry"? Or does is go deeper than that? With a little help from the Oxford Book of English Prose, we're going to work our way toward a common definition of what prose actually is.
Check out part one on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/yGtVPRnFi_s
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SPOILER ALERT. We talk about the ending of Harry Potter, but that's over a decade old. So maybe this note is unnecessary. But you have it anyway.
Brent Weeks knows a thing or two about ending a story. So when Craig wanted to do an episode all about endings -- why must stories end? what makes a good ending? do authors owe readers an ending? -- it was a pretty easy call to ask Brent to join in.
Check out Brent's talk, "On Ending Well"
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Craig, Ryan, and Sara discuss The Stone Sky, the third and final book in N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth series. Was the ending everything they hoped? Was Schaffa really a changed man? Did the flashback sequences work? Stay tuned for one more Broken Earth wrap-up episode after this one.
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Music: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
Craig is flying solo again today (don't worry, we're recording a regular episode this weekend), and the topic at hand is literary homage vs outright theft. Where is the line? How should we go about thinking about books that some say are TOO directly tied to their inspirations?
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Let's try something different today. In this short episode, Craig is using his newly-found oodles of time to bring you a short, solo episode. Today's quick topic is whether we should read deeply or widely. Which is better? What does our preference say about us? It's a strange new format, let's see how we all feel about it!
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Music: "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
Ryan, Craig, Kenn, and Todd are together again, this time to spin the Wheel of Tangents. They take on completely random topics in and out of the SFF fold, including fantasy fashion, amusement park food, issues of distance in sci-fi, absurd dream house features, and much, much more.
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Music: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
Todd and Kenn welcome Kyle from the Red Team for this episode discussing Michael Crichton's classic, Jurassic Park. Is John Hammond evil? What is Crichton's view of scientific ethics? Does Kenn dream of dinosaurs punching each other? Only one way to find out...
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Music: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
Craig, Ryan, and Kyle welcome back Adam Sherlock from Deep Dive Film School to have a very serio-- sorry, a completely ridiculous discussion of the new Mortal Kombat reboot and video game movies generally. What's the balance between fan service and storytelling? Are bright colors such a bad thing? Is this the right time to introduce a new character? Only the hard-hitting questions here, folks.
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Music: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
Craig, Ryan, and Sara sit down for a discussion of The Obelisk Gate, book 2 in N.K. Jemesin's Broken Earth trilogy. Is Schaffa really a bad guy anymore? Is the moon relevant yet? How does a child deal with parental trauma? The group gets into this and more on this episode.
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Music: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
SPOILERS ABOUND. Craig, Todd, and Ryan hash out their reactions to Godzilla vs. Kong. Originally, they didn't think the movie would be worth a discussion, but Craig had a little too much "the bad guy is actually the good guy" stuff to get off his chest, so here we are.
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Music: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
The Blue Team -- Todd, Megan, and Kenn -- discuss John Carter of Mars, the first book in Edgar rice Burroughs' classic series of Mars novels. What makes John Carter a classic? What tropes do we have now in genre fiction thanks to Burroughs? And will Megan continue the series? (Answer: Nope. And she'll explain why.)
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Music: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
Craig, Ryan, and Todd discuss Zack Snyder's Justice League and the broader DCEU. What does the new Justice League do right? What does it not quite nail? Is there a real future for the DCEU from a fan perspective?
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Music: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
The original crew of the intrepid USS Legendarium, Craig, Ryan, Todd and Kenn gather in the studio again to talk Brandon Sanderson's Rhythm of War. Including an in depth breakdown of Todd's emotional triggers and Kenn saying one of his forbidden words.
COSMERE SPOILERS AHOY. Craig, Ryan, Megan, and Stephanie sit down and discuss part 5 of Rhythm of War, Brandon Sanderson's fourth entry in the Stormlight Archive. Who is the strongest female character? What kind of person is Wit? Plus, they discuss a few additional Discord questions.
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Craig welcomes back Drew McCaffrey from the Inking Out Loud podcast to discuss Terry Brooks' 1986 novel, Magic Kingdom For Sale--Sold! It's a book that Craig has recommended as a great entry point into fantasy literature, and that's one of the major questions they tackle in this episode.
Watch Craig's YouTube video on Magic Kingdom
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Music: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
The Ladies of the Legendarium (Stephanie, Megan, and newcomer Rachel) take on The Golden Compass, the first book in the His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman.
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Music: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/
Craig and Kyle were chatting and then decided: You know what? We should just turn on the mics. In this episode, they sit down and tackle the question of whether fantasy's current "everyman" author really is for everyone. Who should read him? Who won't enjoy his stuff so much? What is he amazing at? What are his shortcomings? We're ready to hear your responses to what we bring up here, so be sure to click the Discord link below and join the conversation!
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Craig and Ryan are joined in this episode by Todd and Megan to discuss the middle chunk of Rhythm of War, book 4 in Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series. There's even a virtual appearance by Kenn, who sent in his customary recap. So enjoy!
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In this originally-aborted first attempt to talk about Rhythm of War (Stromlight Archive #4), Craig, Ryan, Kenn, and Stephanie meander through a conversation about ... well, about a lot of stuff, just not necessarily the stuff you were most excited to hear about. That's why they recorded another episode and released it first, which you can listen to here. But here's this episode now, in all its shame and glory!
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Todd is joined once more time in 2020 by Kenn and Megan, and the three of them talk about the incredible journey the Blue Team has been on in 2020. They run through some of the highlights of where they've been, and also discuss future books for 2021.
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In this strange episode, we're taking a mulligan! Craig, Stephanie, Ryan, and Kenn realized their first attempt at this episode missed a lot of stuff, so you're hearing take number two. But fear not! We'll still air the original attempt as well shortly.
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Craig and Ryan welcome Drew and Lauren McCaffrey, who have come to discuss Shadows of the Empire, the Star Wars movie that never was. There's a lot to discuss, between the book and its accompanying video game and the rest of the marketing push to make Shadows a huge thing back in 1996. There's enough ground to cover, in fact, that we made this episode a two-parter, and you can hear the other part on Drew's podcast, Inking Out Loud. Head over there to hear the companion episode, and to get the other half of the hashtag you'll need to enter the giveaway drawing. (More details below.)
Listen to the Inking Out Loud episode here.
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Giveaway details:
We'll be giving away one piece of co-branded glassware, bearing both the Legendarium and Inking Out Loud logos. (Inking Out Loud will give away another identical item.)
To be eligible to be selected you must:
- Be a U.S. resident.
- Tweet the complete hashtag (which you can hear by listening to both companion episodes) to both @LegendariumPod and @IOLPodcast by 11:59 pm EST on December 22, 2020.
- Follow both @LegendariumPod and @IOLPodcast and have your direct messages open so that we can contact you.
- Reply to our direct message, if selected, within 48 hours with your name and mailing address, or we may select another winner.
Once we have all of the eligible entries, we will enter them into randomization software and select one winner.
The Blue Team is back for their last bit of Dresden discussion for a while. Todd, Megan, and Kenn cut the last Dresden episode off a bit abruptly because they wanted to give [redacted]'s death in this book more than a cursory five-minute treatment. So that's what this episode is all about. Enjoy!
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Craig and Ryan sit down to reminisce about 300 episodes and thank the panelists and audience for nearly 7(!) wonderful years. They also splice in some audio from the other panelists and a couple of key listeners.
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Craig and Ryan got their hands on an advance copy of Brandon Sanderson's latest Stormlight Archive entry: Rhythm of War. They sit down and discuss their general feelings on how the book went, how it fits with the rest of the series, and what the reactions of fans might be once the book is released on November 17th. There are no spoilers for Rhythm of War, but this discussion does assume that you've read the rest of the Stormlight Archive. Be ye warned.
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"I liked it...but I was not okay." The Blue Team discusses Battle Ground, the devastating 17th entry Jim Butcher's Dresden Files.
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Todd, Kenn, and Megan of the Blue Team sit down (remotely) to discuss Peace Talks, the sixteenth book in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series.
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Todd, Kenn, and tag-along Craig sit down for an hour with Jim Butcher, author of the Blue Team's beloved Dresden Files. He spills the details on his favorite games, the history of Bob, and much more, and even drops some hints about the direction of book 18, tentatively titled ... nah, you'll have to listen to hear that tidbit.
Jim has released two new Dresden books in recent months. Pick up Peace Talks and Battle Ground now.
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Stephanie and Megan weren't there for our Wheel of Time podcast series, but that didn't stop them from reading the entire run of books in 2020. And they've got some thoughts to share ... even if they can't remember half the characters' names.
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Todd, Kenn, and Megan reconvene to further discuss Skin Game, the fifteenth(!) book in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. And most burning question? How could Harry have known about the "parkour" joke from The Office? IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE. Nothing but the hard-hitting questions here, folks.
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Craig, Ryan, and Sara are back for more! There's more discussion to be had around The Fifth Season, book 1 in N.K. Jemesin's Broken Earth trilogy. And while they planned for a short episode, this one turned out to be a bit more than they bargained for.
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Megan, Kenn, and Todd discuss Skin Game, the fifteenth book in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. For those of you who are disappointed that we don't have a bingo card yet for all the things you just KNOW are going to be said (or cried) during these episodes, well ... yeah, we get it. Maybe later.
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The Blue Team -- Todd, Kenn, and Megan -- discuss Cold Days, book 14 in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series.
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Craig, Ryan, and Sara give their takes on the The Fifth Season, the first in the three-time Hugo award-winning Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin. There's a lot to dig into with this book, thanks to plenty of Discord comments from the listeners (thank you!), and there's even a little surprise at the very end, so stay tuned.
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Todd, Kenn, and Stephanie wrap up their discussion of Nemesis Games, book 5 in The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey.
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Blue Team -- that is Todd, Megan, and Kenn -- discuss Ghost Story, book 13 in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. Are they enjoying the series as much after the changes in Changes? Only one way to find out!
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Ryan joins Craig and spins the Wheel of Tangents for the first time ever! They answer over a dozen questions submitted by patrons, including tough-to-visualize elements of books, their favorite love stories, and what they'd be reading if they weren't making a podcast.
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Spoilers through chapter 26! Todd, Kenn, and Stephanie are back for another installment of James S.A. Corey's The Expanse. Up today, book five: Nemesis Games. They were told that getting through book 5 was a must, so here we are! Obviously this is an important book and an important discussion, so they spend the first two minutes talking about baseball. We're here for you, people.
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The Blue Team (Megan, Kenn, and Todd) needed an extra episode to sort through their feelings on Small Favor, Turn Coat, and Changes, books 10 through 12 of Jim Butcher's increasingly remarkable Dresden Files.
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Hot on the heels of their Lord of the Rings series, Ryan and Craig bring along Todd to talk about Ursula K. Le Guin's classic high fantasy story, A Wizard of Earthsea. While it's lighter in page count than most of what they read, the story packs a real punch, and there's plenty for the trio to unpack. Of course, that won't stop them from being their usual tangential selves, but hey, there's at least some unpacking...
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Todd, Stephanie, and Kenn spend an hour laughing, crying, and arguing about whether or not SpaceX is the harbinger of an Expanse-like future. Kenn recaps, Todd blasts off to Level Three, and Stephanie shares her ONE WEIRD TRICK to make everyone's life a little better.
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Writing nearly 400,000 words wasn't quite enough, so Tolkien included SIX appendices after The Lord of the Rings, covering so much extra stuff, from the story of Aragorn and Arwen and the histories of the Dwarves, the Rohirrim, and the Dunedain to the Shire calendar and an Elvish pronunciation guide. Much like the prologue, it's easy to skim this section (or skip it entirely). But giving the appendices a little attention will unlock layers and colors to the story that make it even more fun and rewarding. In this episode, Craig and Megan briefly cover some of the highlights from the Lord of the Rings appendices.
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Our Dresden crew (Megan, Kenn, and Todd) tackle the second part of Changes, the 12th book in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. WHAT HAPPENED WITH HARRY? That's ... pretty much the major question to address in this one. Enjoy.
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Shed a tear for poor Kenn who has to try to recap this one. Todd, Kenn, and Megan are back together in the studio, ready to discuss Changes, book 12 of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. It's the book that fans have been promising would blow their minds, and ... that may just have happened. Listen in and hear how it went!
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Kenn recaps, Stephanie endures, and Todd promises not to cry (ha ha) in this episode on Cibola Burn, the fourth book in The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey. The panel seems a little confused at the start about whether or how much they enjoy this book, but ultimately the consensus seems positive. Is it positive enough to continue with the series? We might have to wait until part 2 to find out!
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Ryan hosts today's episode, bringing in Kenn and Megan and newcomer Jim Christian to talk about Disney: the movies, the parks, the stories. What is it that gives Disney its peculiar magic? Why do other parks and other studios often fall short of what Disney is able to create? If you're not a mega Disney fan, then buckle up, because this is a group of unapologetic mousketeers.
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Craig, Ryan, and Megan reunite for the final part of the Lord of the Rings. Well, except for the appendices, and there will be an episode on that as well, it turns out. Anyway, for this one, they unlock the real meaning behind the Field of Cormallen scene, discuss why Frodo couldn't be the one who destroyed the Ring, and get one more verse recap from Craig.
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Veronica Roth, bestselling author of the Divergent series and the brand-new, adult-oriented fantasy Chosen Ones, joins Craig and Ryan to discuss her pick for the Author's Shelf podcast series. Veronica had the guys read Dark Lord of Derkholm, a 1998 fantasy parody by Diana Wynne Jones. The trio has a good time picking apart a few of the key characters and themes of the book, and Veronica enlightens the group on the personal connection between Jones and Tolkien.
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Two weeks in a row?? What have our fans done to deserve this? Regardless, Kenn, Megan, and Todd are back for another round of talk about Turn Coat, the eleventh installment in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series.
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Megan and Kenn join Todd to tackle the eleventh installment of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, Turn Coat. Supply your own witty filler here, I'm tired.
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Ryan, Megan, and Professor Craig (whose elbow patches are back from the shop and in better shape than ever) tackle book 5 of The Lord of the Rings. There are battles and ghosts and pirates and dramatic suicides, among many other exciting things, so Craig kicks off the discussion with ... 5 minutes about word order in the hobbits' speech. Riveting stuff, rest assured.
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Todd, Kenn, and Stephanie are back, once again recording remotely for their second conversation about Abaddon's Gate, book 3 in The Expanse, by James S.A. Corey. Great times are had by all, which is made apparent by the fact that a simple laptop microphone clearly cannot handle Todd's laugh.
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Craig is joined by author Maram Taibah to discuss the assertion, "Great art has an age floor but no age ceiling." They get into contextual issues, content issues, and what place YA fiction has to play in this discussion. They also talk about Maram's book, Weathernose, and Craig gets an education on "children's steampunk."
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Megan and Kenn are joined by Todd (AND TODD'S F** BIRDS) on this episode to further discuss Small Favor, the tenth book in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series, as well as the associated novelette The Warrior.
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Craig, Ryan, and Megan reunite remotely for the next installment of their Lord of the Rings series of podcasts. Up today, Book 4, or the latter half of The Two Towers. In these ten chapters, we follow Frodo, Sam, and Gollum through the Emyn Muil, the Dead Marshes, Ithilien, and Shelob's Lair. The panelists will discuss the split nature of the narrative, Sam's place in the reader's experience, and why Gollum's final betrayal is possibly Tolkien's best writing in all of The Lord of the Rings.
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The original Blue Team is back! Todd, Kenn, and Megan worked around their social distancing requirements and came together over the interwebs to discuss Small Favor, book 10 in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. If there's a pool out there on when Todd would cry (we're way past if), then get out your stopwatches.
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What quarantine? Oh, THAT quarantine. Todd, Stephanie, and Kenn wanted--no, needed to talk about the third installment in The Expanse, but had to rely on some remote software to do it. And it will take more than crappy sound quality and missing 10-minute chunk of audio to stop our intrepid trio. (In other words: forgive us, we tried.)
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The Ladies of the Legendarium are back! This time they take on a listener suggestion: Uprooted, by Naomi Novik. Stephanie, Megan, and Kate all read the book for the first time in preparation for this episode, so they've got some fresh takes for you. They also address some listener questions and comments to round things out.
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On this return to the "weekender" episodes, Craig is joined by Travis from The Fantasy Inn for a two-parter. In this episode, we talk reminisce about their own entry points into fantasy, both as young readers and again as adults. What is it about certain books that sucks us into a genre and won't let us go? And does that thing change as we age? Can lightning still strike as an adult, or does our entry point need to happen earlier? Let us know what you think by commenting on Reddit, Discord, Twitter, etc.
And stick around for part 2, which will be published on 3/24 on the Fantasy Inn podcast. In that episode we extend the discussion into what we think are the best books, and the best ways, to introduce someone to the fantasy genre. Go subscribe to hear more.
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Craig, Ryan, and Megan (no Kyle today) talk about book 3 of The Lord of the Rings, being the first half of The Two Towers.They take on the entrelacement writing technique Tolkien employs, Aragorn's character arc (yep, he has one!), and the nature of the palantiri. Craig is of course back with his recap poem, but Megan decides to one up him by singing on this episode. Trigger warning.
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Todd, Stephanie, and Kenn are back with another installment of their series of episodes discussing James S.A. Corey's The Expanse. As usual, Todd threatens to cry a lot and Kenn likes the punchin' stuff, but Stephanie digs deep and gives us a brand new topic: licorice. Yeah, it's one of those episodes. Enjoy!
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Craig, Ryan, Megan, and Kyle discuss the second book in The Lord of the Rings--or to put it another way, the second half of The Fellowship of the Ring. They get into lots of listener questions, like whether the Rivendell chapters are too long, whether balrogs should have wings, whether the fellowship sufficiently mourns Gandalf, and much, much more. Enjoy!
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Todd, Kenn, and Stephanie from the Blue Team discusses the first half of Caliban's War, book 2 of The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey. As per usual, Todd has some tears to shed, Stephanie gets in touch with the emotional state of the characters, and Kenn is (of course) attracted to the militant women in the story. Enjoy!
While Blue Team is reading the books, Craig will be hosting a weekly, patron-only, joint watch-through of the SyFy series. To get more details, check out this Reddit post. To join in on the weekly livestreams, join any Patreon tier.
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Giant ants and pterodons come to Earth via a rift in space-time, kill lots of people, and consume anything electric, leaving the remnants of humanity to rebuild in a post-apocalyptic steampunk hellscape. If that line doesn't sell you on pulp sci-fi, then there may be no hope for you at all. Kenn and Craig welcome best-selling author Larry Correia, who tells us why he pulled this new collaborative novel off his shelf for us to discuss.
Visit Larry at https://monsterhunternation.com/
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The time has come! Six years ago Craig and Ryan kicked off the Legendarium podcast with a read-through of the Lord of the Rings. Now they're back, and they've got Kyle and Megan in tow as well. In this episode they discuss a bit about the hobbits, the pacing, the poetry and the reasons for Gandalf's 17-year absence. If you're hoping to get your fix of Professor Craig, stick around, because that mostly happens toward the end. A note: If you're looking for an in-depth discussion of the minutiae of this book, look elsewhere! But you can enjoy a discussion amongst friends loosely based around the first book of The Lord of the Rings.
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It's all listener comments, all the time! For our final Lightbringer installment, Craig, Ryan, and Stephanie tackle all the listener comments and questions that they missed during the first Burning White episode. Curving cannonballs, deific resuscitations, and gas-powered murder teeth are all on the table as we close out our discussions of Brent Week's 5-volume fantasy epic. What a ride.
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Kyle recently returned from a Disneyland trip on which he got to experience the newest Star Wars attraction: Rise of the Resistance. He, Ryan, and newcomer Mandi combine forces (haha) to try to convince Craig that Disney has gotten at least one Star Wars thing indisputably right: the theme park stuff.
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Ask and ye shall receive! After years of requests, the Blue Team (this time comprised of Todd, Kenn, and Stephanie) is taking on James S.A. Corey's sci-fi epic series, The Expanse. The joint effort of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (writing under the joint pen name of Corey), Leviathan Wakes was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2012, and the series was nominated for Best Series in 2017. So, will the Blue Team join in the love-fest? Listen and find out!
While Blue Team is reading the books, Craig will be hosting a weekly, patron-only, joint watch-through of the SyFy series. To get more details, check out this Reddit post. To join in on the weekly livestreams, join any Patreon tier.
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Craig and Ryan welcome special guest--and Brent Weeks's editorial and administrative assistant--Melanie Bond to discuss The Burning White, the final book in the Lightbringer series. To have even a shot at greatness, a book had better take some risks, and this one certainly did that. So, what were the risks Brent took? How did they pan out? Can an author really [redacted for spoiler reasons] and get away with it??
Giveaway rules: To enter to win a signed copy of The Burning White, simply tweet at us (@LegendariumPod) with your one-sentence, five-star review of the book. To qualify, entrant must be a U.S. resident. Entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm EST on Friday, January 24th, 2020. The winner will be selected entirely at our discretion and notified on Twitter by direct message no later than January 31st, 2020. (You must be following us on Twitter to receive a direct message.)
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We were saddened to learn today of the passing today of Christopher Tolkien, someone who has done more for the fantasy genre than most people realize. Craig talks a bit about the younger Tolkien's legacy and his contribution to fantasy. The bulk of the episode is reserved for reviewing Netflix's The Witcher, starring Henry Cavill. There's a lot to love and a lot to ... love somewhat less, and we'll get to a few of those things on today's episode. Craig and Kyle are joined on this episode by Matt Hatch from The Dusty Wheel, a Wheel of Time-centric, live call-in show on YouTube. Go check it out.
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Craig, Ryan, and Stephanie knock out their entire Blood Mirror discussion in a single episode instead of two. Is Brent pulling too many rugs out from under our feet? Has he improved since Night Angel in his use of sex and violence? Speaking of which, let's talk about that Author's Note...
Here's one of the massive solar arrays Ryan mentioned.
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I really hope Craig puts info here.... (Narrator: But Craig did NOT put any info here. He decided to let Ryan sleep in the bed which he'd made. His decision was validated when he looked ahead and realized Ryan had called Sanderson's latest book "nonsense," which would surely become a delightful regret.) Todd, Kenn and Ryan blather on about Starsight or some such nonsense. They were clearly tired and made questionable decisions. Support us on Patreon.
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Blue Team is back for a quick dip back into Dresden before taking a more extended break from it for a while. But what an interesting time the Blue Team has had with it! From a "yeah I guess we'll read this because the listeners seem to want us to" series to a "oh my word this is really really good" series, it's been a pretty wild ride through Dresden so far. Thanks for hanging in there with us. And yes, we will finish the whole series!
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Craig, Ryan, and Stephanie finally get back on the horse and continue their discussions of Brent Weeks's Lightbringer series. This time they cap off book 3, The Broken Eye. Where do Andross's loyalties lie? What will Teia do with/for the Order of the Broken Eye? Will Kip and Teia ever get together? Does Stephanie hate hot girls in books? Only one way to find out!
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Craig, Stephanie, and Kyle are back for the final installment of our podcast series on The Hobbit. In this episode, we talk about chapters 15 through 19, including Bilbo's theft of the Arkenstone, the Battle of the Five Armies, and the return journey home.
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Craig, Ryan, Megan, Kenn, and Todd crowd around the mics to give you what you all need: another podcast of people chatting about the new Star Wars movie. It is our inevitable destiny that we'll do a minimum of one Star Wars episode every year until the end of time, so here we are again. We're finally (maybe?) putting the Skywalker saga to bed, and we give it quite the send-off, with nearly 90 minutes of argument, conjecture, and horrible, forced Star Wars puns. (ha.)
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Pretty much what the title says! During our latest YouTube livestream Craig, Kenn, and Megan sat down and spun the Wheel of Tangents. Megan updates the group on her progress in The Wheel of Time; Craig gives his first impressions of both N.K. Jemisin and Joe Abercrombie; and Kenn holds forth on The Mandalorian. They talked about a wide variety of subjects, obviously, but the real takeaway here, as you'll see, is that Kenn and Megan don't see nearly enough movies.
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Craig dons his elbow patches so that he and Kyle can continue their Hobbit adventure, this time talking about the Smaug chapters: that is, chapters 12 through 14. They talk about Smaug, of course, but also about the Arkenstone, the relationship of these scenes to others in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, and Tolkien's meditations on greed. Ever wondered why Smaug was so ticked off that the villagers of Lake Town had destroyed their bridges? Listen and find out!
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Of all the authors we've covered on the show, whose works would we remove from existence? What takes you out of a book the quickest? How important are maps to fantasy stories? Kyle and Craig tackle these and many other burning questions on today's Wheel of Tangents.
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Blue Team has finally given in to the true crime podcast craze: a serial killer is on the loose in the Dresdenverse, and Harry is on the case. Megan, Todd, and Kenn take on White Night, the ninth book in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. And between the White Court, debates of free will, and Lasciel's coin, there's plenty of discussion to be had.
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The Wheel of Time is back! Craig and Kyle (and eventually Ryan) are joined by Drew and Lauren McCaffrey, Wheel of Time experts both, to spin the Wheel of Tangents--all WoT related. Together they discuss the upcoming show, tugged braids and smoothed skirts, and in-world swearing. A relaxed, wildly self-indulgent 40 minutes, but one that we hope you enjoy.
Listen to Drew on the Inking Out Loud podcast
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It's been long enough, time to get back on that oar! Craig, Ryan, and Stephanie discuss chapters 1-55 of The Broken Eye, book 3 in Brent Weeks' Lightbringer series. Lots of questions this time around: Are we spending enough time with our villains? Is "fake it 'til you make it" a real thing? What is the most touching of human gestures? Is Ryan a monster for not laughing at Craig's best jokes? Listen and find out!
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Turns out that Utah, the home of the Legendarium, is the nerdiest place in America. To us, that just feels correct -- nerdery is the water in which we fish swim here. But the real question today is why? So Craig and Kenn brought in the big guns: Krissie Holifield, from the I Am Salt Lake podcast. Together they talk religion, drugs, geography, and grasp at any other straw they can to explain why Utah is the ultimate home for nerds.
Check out the I Am Salt Lake podcast
The Nerdiest State In America (TIME)
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It's a Dresdendum! Fear not, your pleas have not fallen on deaf ears. Todd and Kenn return to talk more Proven Guilty. After the previous episode, they (and the listeners shouting politely on Reddit) knew there was simply too much left unsaid. So they're here to un-unsay it.
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Blue Team is back with another Dresden Files episode! Seems like they're kicking them out faster than you can say "xenomorphic phobophage." This time around, it's book 8: Proven Guilty. In this installment, Harry's dealing with happenings at SplatterCon!!!,Todd's dealing with the weight of his own emotions (again), and the Blue Team's dealing with the question of whether the Dresden Files has taken up too much real estate in their hearts.
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Do video game movies always suck? Maybe not. But they're never actually good, either. Why is that? Craig and Kyle are joined by Adam Sherlock from Deep Dive Film School to spend, oh...maybe 5 minutes teasing out the answer to the question at hand, and 45 minutes just laughing about terrible video game movies.
Check out Sherlock's show, Deep Dive Film School, in audio or video form.
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The Ladies of the Legendarium are back! And this time, Stephanie, Megan, and Kate are joined by Sara Hanks to discuss Michael Ende's classic book, The Neverending Story. There's laughing and crying, and a whole lot of love -- old and new -- for this particular book.
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Brent Weeks, bestselling author of the Lightbringer and Night Angel series, joins Craig and Ryan for another installment of the Author's Shelf series. Brent chose The Odyssey, and actually apologizes for making the podcast look pretentious, as though Craig didn't relish a bit of pretension. If you're looking to learn something new about The Odyssey, you're in luck! Because there are lots of other podcasts where you can do that. But if you're looking for a fun, lighthearted discussion about it, then you're in the right place.
Check out Brent's website and purchase Brent's latest book, The Burning White (and the other Lightbringer books too, if you haven't)
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Two things to note about this episode: First, talking about a book like this without any spoilers has challenges, but those can be overcome. And second, turns out we're not necessarily capable of overcoming said challenges. Oh well, it's still fun to celebrate Weeks Week and the release of The Burning White. It's the culmination of the Lightbringer series, which we're in the middle of reviewing with full spoilers, but we thought we'd break in during release week of this one to give you a few thoughts and help you GET HYYYPE. Craig and Ryan discuss the book's length, how much the author can come to the forefront before it gets distracting, and whether this was where the series should have ended.
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Weeks Week begins on Monday with the release of The Burning White, but we thought we'd get a jump on it by airing a few minutes of Brent Weeks spinning The Wheel of Tangents. Brent answers eight questions scientifically designed in a lab to help us get to know one of our favorite authors a little bit better. (Narrator: "There was, in fact, no lab.") Enjoy!
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The book so nice, they discussed it twice! The Blue Team is back for a second conversation about Dead Beat, the seventh book in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. Megan, Todd, and Kenn talk about what it means for Harry to have true friends; how characters have reminded each other of their value; and Craig pops in to tell the panel why he's so thoroughly enjoying their Dresden episodes.
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Time travel, multiverse, cryosleep, wormholes, insect aliens, utopian and dystopian futures, and many more: Craig, Kenn, and Kyle shoot the breeze for a half hour about their favorite sci-fi tropes. Honestly, not much more to it than that, but it's laying the foundation for the Blue Team to move back toward sci-fi very soon, with a series quasi-announcement that should have many listeners feeling excited.
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Blue Team is back with another discussion on The Dresden Files, this time on the seventh installment: Dead Beat. Kenn's back with his recap, Megan somehow didn't see the zombie dinosaur coming, and Todd wears horrifically tight pants. There's a lot to get through in this one, so buckle up for ... well, pretty much the same kind of Blue Team episode you've come to expect. You'll just get another one later!
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How much can we -- or should we -- separate art from the artist? Which stories would end the fastest if the protagonist weren't an idiot? What kind of music is best for reading? Craig, Kyle, and Todd take on these questions and more as they spin the Wheel of Tangents this week.
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Where do we draw the line between cynicism and credulity? Is the brand of psychopathy on display by Zymun recognizable in our lives? Are we letting our internal "Kip #2" win out over our internal "Kip#1"? Ryan, Craig, and Stephanie sit down to hash out the second half of The Blinding Knife, book 2 in the Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks.
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Craig and Kyle spin the wheel! Today's topics include the best way to consume books (audio vs e-reader vs dead trees); why Death of the Author is generally a stupid theory; and what they like to read outside of the sci-fi/fantasy genres.
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It's a divisive entry in the Dresden Files: Blood Rites, Jim Butcher's sixth installment in the series, apparently isn't for everyone. So did our Blue Team enjoy it? Todd, Kenn, and Megan will get down and dirty in their discussion of the book whose plot revolves around problems on a porn set. Oh yeah, speaking of which: the plot of this book revolves around a porn set, thus the discussion during this episode revolves around a plot that revolves around a porn set. Driving in the car with your kids? Heads up. But if you're ready to listen, it'll be a fun discussion.
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Craig and Megan spin the Fantasy Wheel! We took several listener suggestions for topics and chose a few of them to speak about for a few minutes. Topics include: whether we can judge books objectively; fantasy speed dating; overused tropes; and our favorite antagonists.
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Which is the higher good, freedom or power? Is there any nuance to be had in a discussion of the evil of slavery? Are rich people just the worst? Today we're talking through the first half of The Blinding Knife, the second book in Brent Weeks's Lightbringer series. This episode is chock full of heavy stuff -- and fun stuff! -- to talk about, and we’ll get to … well, at least some of it.
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This episode will be best heard if you can see those works of Miranda's that we reference, over at MirandaMeeks.com. Miranda is an artist whose work frequently graces the covers -- and sometimes pages -- of Brandon Sanderson's books, as well as other novels. (Several prints adorn the walls of our studio, in fact.) Her style is at once dark, accessible, and unique, and on top of that she is a wonderful conversational partner. Listen in, I think you'll enjoy this interview.
Get updates about Miranda's forthcoming art book at http://nocturnebook.com
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Craig, Ryan, and Stephanie discuss the second half of Brent Weeks's The Black Prism, book 1 in the Lightbringer series. After a long setup in the first half, we get a lot of interesting questions and moments to chew on. Why is this book titled The Black Prism? Is it actually awful that the Chromeria expects a high price from their ranks of drafters? What exactly is a turtle-bear? And Craig makes at least one bold prediction for the rest of the series.
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This episode is truly a first: the first time we've ever read a historical action comedy horror parody of a 19th century classic. Oh, and it's also our first-ever ladies-only show! Stephanie and Megan welcome newcomer Kate to the Legendarium and together the three of them dissect (eww) this fun, hilarious, sometimes gory, sometimes touching book.
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Craig, Ryan, and Kyle continue through The Hobbit, discussing (we're using that term as broadly as possible here) chapters eight through eleven. Without Stephanie to keep the guys on track, things get ... well let's just say it's not as polished a conversation as she might have helped provide. Together they discuss Mirkwood, giant spiders, elves, barrels, Lake Town, and opening Erebor's back door.
TODAY'S SPONSOR: https://www.storyhack.com/ - Click through to get your first issue free
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TBR = "to be read." Most of us have a TBR pile, but some of us can get a bit overwhelmed by it. For this topic, Craig, Ryan, and Kyle are joined by a special guest: YouTube sensation Daniel Greene. (And now we expect him to put "'YouTube sensation' -The Legendarium" in all of his promotional materials.) Together they discuss not only their TBR piles and how they manage them, but also what it means to read deeply and whether that can be done if one is multitasking while working through that giant stack of books to be read.
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The Blue Team is taking a deep breath before a giant Dresden plunge! In preparation for another spate of Dresden Files episodes coming up, Megan, Kenn, and Todd take stock of where they're at in the series, how they're enjoying, what they're enjoying most, and what they're looking forward to in coming books. Look forward to at least another 4-5 Dresden episodes in the coming weeks!
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Craig and Kyle discuss the thing that has kept Kyle off the show for too long now: burnout. It can sneak up on anyone, even the biggest of fans, and they talk about how to combat it. They also address a listener question about how to introduce fantasy to the uninitiated. (Spoiler alert: the answer is "slowly and carefully."
Please let us know what you think of us doing more small episodes like this between out main book-centric episodes.
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(Skip to 5:20 to get to actual Lightbringer content.) Our inaugural Lightbringer discussion! If you haven't read this series, now's a good time to start, as it is highly recommended among fiction readers. With good reason, as it turns out.
It's just Craig and Ryan for this one! And maybe for a lot of Lightbringer episodes coming up. Hopefully they still like each other when it's done. Anyway, in this episode Craig gives his first impressions on the first half of the book (Ryan's read the series already); they talk about what makes Kip (and Liv) a good protagonist; and Craig makes some predictions about what's to come. Oh! And Ryan wants everyone to watch the aftermath of Fabio getting hit in the face by a goose whilst riding a roller coaster. Which you can do, here.
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Todd, Megan, Kenn, and Jack are all back for a wrap-up of their discussion of God Emperor of Dune, the fourth book in Frank Herbert's Dune series. And it's time for a brand new drinking game! If you are inclined to imbibe, then toss one back every time you hear the phrase "gross protuberance." Now what was already going to be a good episode just became a lot of fun, because you're living on the edge due to the very real danger of liver failure before the hour is up.
Hear more of Jack on the Young Americans podcast
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Finally, with the release of Hobbs & Shaw, the 2019 summer movie season can be officially declared over. Craig, Todd, and Ryan simulcast this recording on a YouTube livestream as well, and they talk about a ton of summer media, including Tolkien, John Wick 3, Brightburn, Disney live action remakes, Dark Phoenix, Spider-Man, Toy Story 4, and more. And more. And more. No need to strap in, this is a "chill out, just relax" kind of episode.
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On this Author's Shelf episode, David Farland joins Craig, Kenn, and Ryan to discuss Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. We discuss a lot of characters and themes, just like normal, but we also get a healthy dose of amazing stories from Dave. You don't want to miss this one.
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Craig, Ryan, and Stephanie tackle chapters 4-7 of The Hobbit, covering the company's capture by the goblins of the Misty Mountains, Bilbo's solo adventure in Gollum's cave, his rejoining of the company and their eventual escape from the goblins via giant eagle, and the final bit of relaxation before plunging into the most difficult parts of the adventure. This episode was simulcast on YouTube live (subscribe!), so Craig was a bit distracted making all the tech work. But enjoy it anyway!
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For our first discussion on God Emperor of Dune, Todd and Kenn welcome Jack Butler back to the Legendarium. Jack was previously on episode 220 (a Silmarillion episode) but now he returns to establish his sci-fi bona fides as well his fantasy ones. This is our first of two discussions on the fourth book in Frank Herbert's Dune series, and we hope you enjoy it.
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Back to Middle-earth! Craig, Ryan, and Stephanie step from the comforts of 19th-century England into the wild world of Faerie. In the first few chapters of The Hobbit, we go from the landed gentry of Bag End to the cockney dockworkers of the Ettenmoors, to the timeless elves of Rivendell. What was initially intended to be the first of three episodes has suddenly become the first of ... five? Six? We'll see! Thanks for joining us.
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For today's Author's Shelf episode, Andrew Klavan asked Craig and Kenn to read Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis. The three of them discuss the incredibly well drawn characters, the devastating emotional climax, and the relief of having a time travel story that -- wouldn't you know it -- actually works! Our thanks to Andrew Klavan for coming on the show, and we hope you'll check out his recent effort, Another Kingdom.
Check out Another Kingdom, in PODCAST or BOOK form.
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The Freaking Shroud of Turin (TM) has gone missing! The Blue Team is thrilled be back in the Dresden Files, following Harry et al through Death Masks, the fifth book in the series. Todd is finally feeling better after being a bit sick through the last few episodes, but Dresden is exactly what he needed as a good pick-me-up. Kenn hits some high notes in his recap, Megan is not looking for a paladin in her life, and the crew answers some Reddit questions.
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Craig, Ryan, and Stephanie are back for one more Night Angel episode, this being the second of two discussions on Brent Weeks's Beyond the Shadows. They talk about the price of Kylar's immortality; the grand finale; and whether Lantano Garuwashi, however great, is even necessary. They also finally answer some reddit questions.
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The Blue Team is back! Todd, Megan, and Kenn reunite for a second discussion of Children of Dune. As is becoming clearer and clearer, Kenn and Megan don't exactly share Todd's enthusiasm for the Dune series. But that doesn't mean there isn't plenty to discuss! They'll be back for more Dune in the coming months, but watch for more Dresden coming up between now and then.
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It's a Purple Team episode! Ryan joins Todd and Megan (and Kenn pops in for a subpar recap) to discuss Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. The Amazon-exclusive adaptation is set to hit Prime Video on May 31st, so we figured now was a good time to give this one a try.
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Craig, Ryan, Stephanie, and author Andy Peloquin discuss Beyond the Shadows, book 3 of Brent Weeks's Night Angel trilogy. They talk about whether fantasy violence is any worse than the real stuff, what Dorian's story teaches us about the corrupting influence of power, and the growth arc of Vi, the former assassin with a heart of gold.
Check out Andy Peloquin's books
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Blue Team assemble! Todd, Kenn, and Megan are back with their take on Children of Dune, book 3 in Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi epic. They'll discuss the latest hijinks of that ol' rascal, Emperor Paul Muad'Dib, and Todd will even almost not get emotional. Kenn takes a break from recapping, and Megan isn't even sure she wants in for this episode. SO GOOD.
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Five mics, seven panelists, and more bad jokes and worse opinions than you can shake a gauntlet at: we brought every regular panelist in for our mega discussion of Avengers: Endgame. We wade through everyone's takes, some surprising, some not, then at the end of the episode they all find out how well (or poorly!) Craig knows them.
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Craig and Kenn, along with a few new friends of the show, recap and review their time at JordanCon 2019. The short of it is: it's a great time, you should go! (To be fair, though, we do offer a few minor pieces of critical feedback along the way.) The long of it is ... well, the episode. So listen in and enjoy, especially if you enjoy a bit of vicarious living.
GUESTS:
Check out Daniel Green's YouTube channel
Check out Drew McCaffrey on the Inking Out Loud YouTube channel
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Todd, Kenn, and Megan discuss Summer Knight, book 4 of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series, complete with a classic Kenn recap. It might be somewhat polarizing among fans, but all three panelists had quite a lot of fun with this book, which easily spills over into their discussion.
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Todd, Megan, and Kenn are joined by newcomer Alex to finish their discussion of Dune Messiah, book 2 of Frank Herbert's Dune series. They discuss Paul's legacy, a disappointing lack of worm races, and respond to Reddit questions and comments, like whether saving humanity is even a worthy goal.
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Craig, Ryan, and Stephanie are back for the second installment of their discussion of Shadow's Edge, the second book in Brent Weeks's Night Angel trilogy. As promised, much of the talk revolves around the sexuality in the book. Also on the docket: Craig hates "the moral of the story," Ryan likes the hero here more than the one in the Farseer trilogy, and Stephanie understands all the hair issues.
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Ryan and Craig welcome two guests to discuss "Of Turin Turambar," the most relentlessly gloomy story in Tolkien's entire oeuvre. And they even have some fun while they're at it! Kip Rasmussen, the Tolkien illustrator who joined us on our first Silmarillion episode, returns after a four-year absence. Jack Butler, a first-time guest, is a podcaster and writer in Washington, D.C.
Purchase Kip's amazing prints at KipRasmussen.com
Listen to Jack Butler on Young Americans or The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg
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Craig, Ryan, and Stephanie take an entire hour to synopsize Shadow's Edge, book two of Brent Weeks's Night Angel Trilogy. Over the course of their synopsis, they discuss whether it's a good idea for an author to peek through the fourth wall; how enjoyable they found the love story; and what Logan's time in the hole teaches us about the Enlightenment.
Megan, Todd, and Kenn are back for their first discussion of Dune Messiah, the second of Frank Herbert's original Dune books. Kenn comes armed with his traditional Kennified recap, and Todd lays the smackdown on Megan's opinion. You'll find out why, over and over again, but this episode might as well be sponsored by Spartan races.
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Craig, Ryan, and Stephanie welcome author Griffin Stark to continue their discussion of The Way of Shadows, book 1 of the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks. After mostly talking about the characters in the last episode, this time we get into the meat of the story itself. They also have a whole segment on a word that doesn't get thrown around much on this podcast.
Check out Griffin Stark's book here
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Wrapping up our discussion of Frank Herbert's Dune, James Jakins returns and joins Todd, Megan, and Kenn to talk about Part 3. (Book 3? Tome 3?) In this episode, we get to more Reddit questions, and chat about the adaptations, both previous and forthcoming.
Donate to Andrew Lobley's leukemia charity here: http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/andrewlobley1
Check out James Jakins at http://jamesjakins.com/
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Craig, Ryan, and Stephanie discuss The Way of Shadows, the first of the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks. This is the first of two episodes on the book, and this one is mostly spent discussing the primary and secondary characters. Is Momma K a role model? Are we meant to like Durzo Blint? Is Elene a satisfying match for Kylar? We'll get to even more in part 2 of our discussion, set for release in a couple weeks. Thanks for listening.
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The time is finally here! Dune is among the titles most requested by our listeners, so it's our pleasure to finally read and discuss it. Todd, Megan, and guest-editor Kenn are joined by author James Jakins to talk about Frank Herbert's classic, including whether the world's best-selling sci-fi novel is ... actually a fantasy novel. As per usual, some of the panelists are brand-new to Dune, while others are old acquaintances with it. Luckily, all of them have opinions.
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Don't say you weren't warned we'd be back: after all, there are no endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. Nor, it seems, are there any endings to our Wheel of Time podcast series. Kyle, Kenn, Ryan, and Craig are back with a discussion of New Spring, the prequel novel that Robert Jordan published in 2004. We talk about the characters and events, of course, but much of the conversation is about the place of New Spring in the WoT series, reading order, and thoughts about what might have been with other prequels and supplemental novels.
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Craig and Ryan welcome a new panelist, Brandon Sanderson (maybe you've heard of him?). The three of them discuss The Truth, the 25th book in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Spoiler alert, technically, because we range all over the story, as usual. But as we mention during the show, this isn't the type of book with which you should be overly concerned about spoilers; it's delightful and hilarious regardless of what you know about it. Enjoy the episode, and don't forget to enter the giveaway!
[We are now in the future: the giveaway is closed]
NOTES
Check out our Brandon Sanderson podcast series
If you don't already, be sure to keep up with Brandon at https://brandonsanderson.com/
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We disliked book 1, and we liked book 2 pretty well. So question will finally be decided: How did we feel about the Farseer trilogy as a whole? Ryan, Craig, and Kyle record the second-longest episode we've ever done, teasing out what they think of this Assassin's Quest, the trilogy as a whole, and some of the wider reactions to it. Why has this series proven to be the most polarizing in Legendarium history? Let's dive in and find out.
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Our apologies for the audio issues. If it's unlistenable...well, that's not much different from any of our other shows, I guess. In this episode, Megan, Kenn, and Todd tackle Grave Peril, the third installment of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. And if you know anything about the Three Levels theory, then you know that Todd can pretend just about anything belongs in level 3. In this case, that thing is all the leering and innuendos scattered throughout the book. Go figure.
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Craig, Ryan, Kenn, and Todd talk about Tolkien's mock fairy tale, Farmer Giles of Ham. It's a delightful little short story, without too much meat on its bones, so it makes for a perfect read on a slow afternoon. Don't worry about spoilers, since there's not much to spoil with this one, but if you enjoy the episode, go find a copy (PDFs abound online) to read in less than an hour.
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Happy Hogswatch, everyone! For our surprise holiday episode, the Blue Team jumps into Discworld in our first Terry Pratchett novel, Hogfather. It's everything you've come to expect from the Blue Team ... but with more Death. Enjoy!
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Spoilers start at about 12:30. Craig, Kyle, and returning guest Vilja dive into Aquaman. If you're looking for a measured, coherent discussion, well ... this isn't really it. We recorded this about 10 minutes after leaving the theater, so enjoy our completely raw, rambling, unorganized reaction.
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We're back! This episode covers Royal Assassin, book two in the Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb. After being savaged for our discontented take on book 1, will we have a better reception this time around? There's only one way to find out.
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We return to the works of what some have called our patron saint, Brandon Sanderson. We take to the stars-is with our review of Skyward. Todd, Megan, and "visiting panelist" Ryan, tackle the this YA novel about a girl and her fungus loving starship.
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It's our first episode discussing Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy, starting with Assassin's Apprentice. This is one of the few times when the panel was somewhat baffled by the accolades a book received. We all had a somewhat rough time, but we tease out what our complaints are, what we think the book's strong points are, and whether our perception of the story will change with books two and three.
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Todd, Megan, and Kenn discuss Fool Moon, book 2 of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. Todd gets creepy about Megan's skin. Megan sings the Captain Planet theme song. Kenn is back with his patented recap. And through it all, Craig plays video games in the background while the others do all the hard work.
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Wait...are they really doing Goosebumps? Those books we all used to read in the 6th grade? Yes, thanks for asking! Tood, Kenn, and Megan discuss two early Goosebumps books, giving them the full Legendarium treatment. On deck for this episode are Welcome to Dead House and Don't Go In the Basement.
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It's a surprise Halloween episode, with the 200th anniversary of the book that arguably launched the modern science fiction genre. Craig, Ryan, and Kyle take on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, discussing its author, its historical and contemporary significance, and the ever-applicable themes found therein. Pro tip: If you're in high school, this book is a no-brainer as a source to answer almost any AP English Lit essay question.
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It's us at our most self-indulgent, as we spend an hour playing trivia games and telling awful jokes. So...it's pretty much like every other episode, we just didn't have to read a book for it. So it's a win for us. Anyway, enjoy the intense competition, the joy of victory, the agony of Kenn winning, etc. Thanks, everyone, for 200 episodes of the Legendarium.
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Craig and Ryan swap out Kyle for Kenn (you can decide if that's an upgrade or a downgrade) for this final installment in our Gentleman Bastards podcast series. The general internet consensus is that the GB books declined from the first to this one, but does the panel agree? We discuss the arrival (finally) of Sabetha onto the scene, the A/B structure, some strengths of Lynch as a writer, and of course ... our favorite swears from the book.
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It's our long-awaited dive into Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series, starting with book 1, Storm Front. Todd, Kenn, Megan get into the story, the characters, and the adaptation. Includes a classic Kenn synopsis. Also includes Todd trying--and failing--to do Craig-style insults.
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Buckle up for the sweariest episode to date. We bleeped most of it, but still...maybe best not to play this one with your kids in the car. Craig, Ryan, and Kyle take on book two of Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastards sequence: Red Seas Under Red Skies. The pirate-themed Locke Lamora adventure did some things better and some things worse than it predecessor, but if nothing else, it provided an hour of amusing conversation. Enjoy.
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Wrapping up our Red Rising podcast series, Todd, Megan, and Kenn discuss Morning Star, the final book in the trilogy. They tackle the ending, Todd's new preferred sci-fi weapon, and several questions and comments from Reddit as well. Thanks for joining the Blue team for this series, now get set for the Dresden Files!
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The band gets back together to talk about the summer movie season that's finally, mercifully, wrapping up. It wasn't much of a movie season, so Craig, Ryan, Todd, and Kenn end up talking a lot about '80s action stars, a 10-year-old TV show, and Burt Reynolds' chest hair. Back to regular book episodes next week!
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Craig and Ryan write a story! Well, not quite. But in this episode, they choose a random writing prompt, set the timer for thirty minutes, and construct a (probably really bad) story from scratch. The idea is for this to serve as inspiration. We've all--panelists and listeners alike--been reading a lot of fantasy and sci-fi, and now it's time, if you have the itch, to start writing. November is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, and we encourage anyone who would like to, to participate, and to use the Legendarium community as a sounding board and an inspiration.
We also announced a giveaway, to get everyone in the writing mood. Listen to the episode for rules, or visit the post that will soon appear on Reddit.
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(AN OATHBRINGER PLOT IS SPOILED IN THIS EPISODE.) Todd, Kenn, and Megan discuss Golden Son, the second book in the Red Rising trilogy. They talk about some characters, some events, and presumably some ideas as well. But since the person writing this episode blurb didn't participate and hasn't yet listened (I'll listen along with the rest of you), you won't get any more specifics than that. Please send all complaints to todd@thelegendariumpodcast.com.
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In our inaugural Gentleman Bastards podcast, Craig, Ryan, and Kyle discuss The Lies of Locke Lamora. They get into the heavy strengths, the light weaknesses, and the ... colorful language employed by Scott Lynch in this masterful debut novel. Speaking of colorful language, we finally deployed the 'explicit' tag on iTunes for this episode, because, well, because we just couldn't help ourselves. We had to join in the fun. Enjoy.
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Todd, Megan, and Kenn discuss book one of Pierce Brown's Red Rising trilogy, conveniently titled...Red Rising. Topics include: its similarities to other works (cough cough Hunger Games), its prose quality, it kickass setting, and its Level-one Punchfest qualities. Megan has her first real tender moment as a panelist. Also: Yes, we know that the audio quality is ... lacking. But we didn't have time to re-record, so we'll all have to deal with it together.
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Wrapping up our Kingkiller Chronicle podcast series, we wrap up any last Book 3 theories that we wanted to float, and then we get into the community reaction to the wait for book 3. It's entirely possible that we go too easy on Rothfuss, but in looking into and thinking about the issue, we found some real reasons to cut the guy a little slack. That being said ... we'd love to read Doors of Stone, please. Now, if you want to skip around, here are some time stamps, for your convenience:
0:00 - Witless banter 4:00 - KKC fan theories 18:25 - KKC panel theories 25:00 - Rothfuss and waiting for book 3
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For our discussion of Joe Haldeman's The Forever War, we're bringing you an all-new panel configuration. Todd leads Kenn, Megan, and Ryan in talking about the classic sci-fi novel, including its historical relevance, both within and without the genre itself. Enjoy the continuation of our Heroes of Sci-Fi series!
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The guys discuss the last third or so of The Wise Man's Fear, including Kvothe's trip to Ademre, the rescue of two kidnapped girls, Kvothe's expulsion from Vintas, and his return to the University. They also talk more about the ramifications of the Cthaeh, before the rest of the panel gangs up on Craig for being (angels and ministers of grace defend us) opinionated. It's not our final Kingkiller Chronicle episode, but it rounds out the latest book, so enjoy this final-feeling installment.
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Leaving the University. Wooing someone else's crush. A month-long jaunt in the woods. Sweet, sweet, fairy sex. Finally, some plot happens in this section, and the guys are eager to discuss it. Or is it really plot, per se? We'll dig into some of the fun stuff from this section, including Felurian and the Cthaeh.
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"This is a classic film." So says Matt Zoller Seitz in his review of Ex Machina. In this episode, Craig, Kyle, and Kenn dig into both Ex Machina and Annihilation, Alex Garland's two directorial efforts. Both films deal with the nature of humanity, but from two very different angles, and unpacking them will take a herculean effort. Are our intrepid panelists up to the task? Nope!
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"A younger Kvothe pursues his education at the University. There, he carries on a feud with fellow student Ambrose." And...that's pretty much it! The band is finally back together for this first episode of our Wise Man's Fear podcast series. Craig, Ryan, Kenn, and Kyle discuss the plot (such as it is), the characters, and the lessons to be gleaned from the first third of Patrick Rothfuss's book.
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Due to scheduling restraints, Craig and Ryan went panel-less today, which meant putting off the stuff you actually WANT to listen to, and replacing it with stuff you do NOT WANT to listen to. This episode was a live Q&A simulcast on both Facebook and YouTube. The guys fielded both pre-submitted questions and some on-the-spot ones as well. Thanks to all who participated (in the middle of a Sunday afternoon, so all 3 of you), and for the rest: enjoy it now.
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Craig, Ryan, Todd, and Megan discuss the two latest blockbusters, and one of those people even bothered to see both of them. Craig and Ryan have a "review-off" over Solo, and not to sound too click-baity, but the results may surprise you.
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Welcome to the final installment of our Name of the Wind podcast series! Kyle is once again absent for this episode, so Craig, Ryan, and Kenn deal with the incredibly annoying technical issues themselves while they talk about Kvothe's adventures with Denna and the Draccus, the ending (or lack thereof) of the story, and the correct but archaic definition of corruption. Next up: The Wise Man's Fear!
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In 1944, Professor Tolkien published a short story about a strange little man who was obsessed with a single piece of art that consumed his entire life. Sound familiar? It should. And if it doesn't, then listen on, and we'll lift the extraordinarily thin veil from this little wishful allegory. Ryan's taking a sick day for this one, so Craig, Todd, and Megan hash this one out without him.
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Is Kvothe a Mary Sue? Or maybe a Harry Potter? Why does Denna seem so hot? If Ambrose were a dessert, would it have marshmallows? It's chs. 36-66 of The Name of the Wind, so strap in for ... not much, since very little actually happens in this section. We're Kyle-less today, so Craig, Ryan, and Kenn sit down for an hour of NotW talk.
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Spoilers ahoy! Craig, Kenn, Megan, and Todd discuss the biggest, baddest, latest offering of Marvel cinematic fare. We go for our normal hour, then we kept the mics running and did an extra 15 minutes for Patreon subscribers.
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Spoilers ahoy! Craig, Kenn, Megan, and Todd discuss the biggest, baddest, latest offering of Marvel cinematic fare. We go for our normal hour, then we kept the mics running and did an extra 15 minutes for Patreon subscribers.
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Welcome to the first(ish) of three episodes on The Name of the Wind, the first book in the Kingkiller Chronicle, by Patrick Rothfuss. Craig, Ryan, Kyle, and Kenn get right into the heart of why people love Rothfuss: the prose. Even in just the first third of the book, there are plenty of writing samples to choose from as they discuss whether "proetry" is the good, right, or best approach in genre fiction.
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Honestly, we debated even releasing this one. But it's probably just interesting enough to be worth listening to. The audio is terrible, and for a panel that enjoys digging into deeper themes and philosophy, we tended in this one to stay pretty surface-level. Craig (2nd readthrough), Ryan (2nd), Kyle, (2nd), and Kenn (1st time!) make their way through the first 35 chapters of The Name of the Wind, the first book in the Kingkiller Chronicle. Enjoy, if you dare. We're going to try this again next week!
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Two things right up front: We're sorry this isn't a Name of the Wind episode; we got our dates mixed up. Also, this is a pretty random episode. Please use the following time stamps to skip to where you want.
3:40 - Week in Review, Craig's drunken adventures, Disneyland 16:06 - Ready Player One discussion 47:35 - A Quiet Place 52:23 - Jessica Jones season 2
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Spoilers, ahoy! The four of us, plus some guy named Kenn, dive into the weeds on Oathbringer, saying some of the things that were left unsaid after the last 3 episodes. There are far fewer tears, but to make up for it, there's ... well, no, apart from that, we've got nothing. But maybe you'll enjoy this episode anyway!
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We toyed with using the "explicit" tag on this one, just because of all the ass jokes around Puzzle the donkey. But we didn't. Craig, Ryan, Todd, and Kenn wrap up the Narnia series with The Last Battle, in which Lewis sends Narnia out with a bang. Hope you've enjoyed our, uh ... special treatment of Narnia, in a style only the Legendarium could ever hope to descend to.
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Todd's out sick for this one, so Craig, Ryan, and Kenn tackle The Silver Chair, the sixth book in the Chronicles of Narnia. Actually, Todd is rather missed in this one, because the rest of us didn't really have that much to say. So if you're one of those fans who loves all the tangents and barely-relevant jokes, then this episode is for you.
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It's our third of thr--- wait, this just in: It looks like we're going to need a fourth episode to get through everything we want to cover in Oathbringer. Strap in for a doozy on this one, because while Oathbringer has been a fun ride up to now, part 5 is really where we start getting kicked repeatedly right in the feels, and Ryan and Todd both struggle to contain their emotions in this one.
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Craig, Todd, and Kyle sit down for a roundup of everything they've been watching for the last few months. Topics include Black Panther, Star Trek: Discovery, Annihilation, Altered Carbon, Shannara season 2, and many more.
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Let's try something new, shall we? In the book with the least storyish story we've ever read, we base our conversation around the progression of said story. The results were ... well, they weren't much different from what we're all used to: tangents, bad jokes, and juvenile asides, with a tad bit of actual conversation thrown in. Enjoy.
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Craig, Todd, and Kenn discuss the fourth, or maybe second, book in the Chronicles of Narnia. Actually, they end up discussing a lot more than that, since these Narnia episodes have become even more tangential than normal Legendarium fare. Anyway, if that's your thing, then enjoy.
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Craig, Ryan, Megan, and Todd dive into parts 3 & 4 of Brandon Sanderson's Oathbringer. We get into the lessons learned, the characters enjoyed, and the parts that made Ryan and Todd cry. We also announce a giveaway of one of the Legendarium's Advance Review Copies of Oathbringer.
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The guys take on The Horse and His Boy, the third book in our Narnia podcast series. Was Lewis super racist, or should we cut him some slack? What did he think about justice, mercy, and compassion? Was he trying to make a point about seeing beyond the boundaries of your narrow viewpoint, or are we just really stretching to fill an hour of audio on a very short children's book?
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Watch out for lightning strikes, becuase Craig, Todd, Ryan, and Kenn are going to try to talk Christian allegory in this second episode of the Narnia series. We talk a little about differences between book and movie, the wisdom of giving liquor to young children, and why everyone needs to settle down about how distasteful they find Turkish Delight. Todd, Kenn, and Ryan compete in the end to see who can fit the most Sunday School lesson points into a single episode.
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MUSIC: "Adventure Time" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/, and "Turkish Delight" by Susanne Sundfør
Recorded in the unfinished studio space, so the sound may be a bit off! Craig, Ryan, Megan, and Todd get rolling on what may be the most anticipated episode of the Legendarium ever. This episode covers parts 1 & 2, so spoilers only up to that point. What worked? What didn't? What did we want more of? Anything we wanted less of? Enjoy the long-but-not-nearly-long-enough discussion!
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New series, new theme song ... same idiots. Craig, Ryan, Kenn, and Todd discuss The Magician's Nephew, book one of the Chronicles of Narnia. Yes, book one. For today anyway. Don't worry, we'll get into the whole reading order controversy, and do absolutely nothing to solve it. We'll also talk about the nature of children's stories, and what this one has to offer kids and adults alike.
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It's our 31st Wheel of Time episode, which brings us to ... well, not the end of our Wheel of Time journey, but to an end. To anyone who has joined us during this readthrough, we're thrilled you've enjoyed it enough to stick with us through it all. Now go listen to the episode, you light-blinded idiots.
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IT IS FINISHED. With the exception of a wrap-up episode to come, this marks the end of our time with Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. What a ride it's been, too. It's not hard to tell from listening that we're exhausted, as anyone should be after this many words, this many pages, this many characters, places, events, and emotions. Thanks for listening along with us!
Oh boy... For a podcast that already has a reputation for tangential discussions, we've really outdone ourselves this time. But how can you talk about The Last Jedi without discussing its implications for the entire Star Wars franchise, the Disney corporation, and all of Western civilization? It can't be done. Certainly not by us. But enjoy as Craig, Ryan, Todd, and Kenn do their best to talk about the movie that everyone is talking about.
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There may be no beginnings or endings, but this is a beginning of an ending, so that will have to do. This is part 1 of 2 in our discussion of A Memory of Light, the final book in the Wheel of Time. Craig, Kyle, Ryan, and Kenn discuss the ins and outs of the Last Battle, but reserve for part 2 any discussion of the Rand/Dark One finale.
The Wheel of Time may have no beginnings or endings, but we're coming awfully close to an ending. This is part two of our discussion on the second-to-last Wheel of Time book, and things are starting to get intense. Craig, Ryan, Kyle, and Kenn discuss Rand's part in this book, and get to many more Reddit questions as well.
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Craig, Ryan, Todd, and special guest Vilja Johnson pick apart the new Justice League movie. (Of course, "new" is a relative term. It's been out for about two weeks, so we're way behind in the pop culture game. Oh well.) What worked, what didn't? Craig is the unlikely, lone voice in defending Zack Snyder ... at least a little bit. He's also the only one to have seen The Punisher on Netflix, which is discussed for a few minutes at the end.
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The crew sits down for a discussion of the penultimate book in the Wheel of Time series, Towers of Midnight. Although there's a lot of what feels like time-wasting with the trial, Perrin still manages to finally come into his own in this book, and even Craig reacts with approval. More connections to Scandinavian myths, and to Kenn that's apparently a bad thing. Craig's long-time love of Nynaeve fully pays off.
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In today's Oathbringer podcast we attempt the improbable: We review the latest Sanderson book without getting into spoilers. Craig and Ryan get back to their mano-a-mano roots and do this episode with no one but themselves. They discuss the good and bad of Oathbringer, and also give some tips on how best to read it, including the best music to accompany your readthrough.
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Craig, Ryan, and Kyle are joined by Adam Palcher of A Damn Movie Podcast to discuss Thor: Ragnarok and Stranger Things 2. Where does Cate Blanchett rank vis-a-vis Thanos? (According to Craig, she ranks above anyone.) Who has the lamest cameo of all time? Who's the better secondary character, Steve or Bob? With names as exciting as those, how could you not pick both?
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This is a different kind of episode, so be prepared! Craig, Todd, Kyle, and Kenn basically just hang out for an hour and rank stuff. What kind of stuff? Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, non-combat Zelda items, fast food restaurants ... pretty much anything. Enjoy!
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Call it the Egwene episode. Craig, Kyle, Ryan, and Kenn discuss The Gathering Storm again, getting to what we didn't get to in the last episode. Egwene is the CEO of Randland. Verin has quite the secret. And was Hinderstap a necessary stop in the story? It was a good trip into the first of the Sandersion WoT trio.
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The Wonder Boys get together and discuss The Gathering Storm, Brandon Sanderson's first of three Wheel of Time books. This discussion mostly revolves around Rand and those around him. We cover why Cadsuane is worthless, why Tam Al'Thor is a great father figure, and why "love conquers all" isn't necessarily a worn-out theme in fiction.
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Craig, Kyle, and Todd welcome guest panelist Daniel Swenson to discuss the Legendarium's "three levels" theory. This is a topic that has come up a lot on the podcast, and we haven't always done a great job of explaining what each level entails, or how they interact. Our hope is that (among other things) this will help you make some sense of our bizarre, tangential discussions, both past and future.
Check out Daniel's podcast, Dungeon Crawlers Radio
... and his book, The Shadow above the Flames
... and his facebook and twitter handle, @DanielSwenson77
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After 11 Wheel of Time novels, and 23 podcasts about them, we've come to the end of our Robert Jordan road. (Sort of. There's still plenty of WoT to get through.) We take a pause from talking about the books individually to talk about them as a whole, and especially about the guy who brought them to us. Craig, Ryan, Kenn, and Kyle go through their laundry list of favorite and least favorite aspects of Jordan as an author, rank him among fantasy writers, and indulge in a bit of RJ trivia time.
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It's the wrap-up of the Robert Jordan portion of our Wheel of Time series with part two of our Knife of Dreams discussion. Okay, it's not really the end. (We're planning an RJ retrospective episode before diving into the Sanderson-aided books.) Come along for one more RJ-book episode, and get really uncomfortable as we kick it off with a hypothetical discussion of taking the red rod ter'angreal with us into a Seattle hotel room. Yikes.
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This episode was different, and a lot of fun. This was a simulcast livestream and podcast. The episode originally aired on the YouTube channel TheBlueShifting, home of Letters from the Cosmere. This was a charity event, benefiting Open Books, a nonprofit that puts books into the hands of underprivileged kids. It's worth a donation, which you can give here. Craig, Ryan, Kenn, and Megan all discuss Sanderson's least-loved work, Sixth of the Dusk. Enjoy!
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The guys tackle the final Robert Jordan-penned book in the Wheel of Time series. The book is a fine return to form for RJ, and that of course means that the podcast is ... as pointless as ever. The winner of the Crossroads of Twilight contest is announced.
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Because you don't have enough Game of Thrones commentary in your life, and because we haven't finished the next Wheel of Time book yet ... here you go! Craig, Ryan, Kyle, and new panelist Dan discuss the seventh season of the HBO phenomenon. What do they talk about? Meh, nothing terribly important. But they have fun doing it, and you might just have fun listening, too.
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It was always a gamble, and many of you wondered whether it was one we would take: making a full two episodes out of Crossroads of Twilight. Frankly, it was a lot easier than we thought, and we didn't want for things to say. Craig, Ryan, Kenn, and Kyle are able to fill more than an hour with the good and bad of book 10.
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We're finally here, at the crest of the hill. It's no secret that Crossroads of Twilight is considered the worst book in the Wheel of Time series, but we found that it wasn't quite as bad as the hype led us to believe. Craig, Ryan, Kyle, and Kenn are still able to have a good discussion about the book, and to kick off the latest giveaway.
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Craig, Ryan, and Todd sit down and discuss The Dark Tower (the movie, not the book) with Skyped-in guest Jon Negroni, host of the Cinemaholics podcast. It helped to bring in the big guns, because there was a lot to go over. Long story short: The Dark Tower wasn't a disaster, but it was nowhere near where it should have been. We spend an hour trying to figure out why.
BUY JON'S NOVEL, KILLERJOY, ON AMAZON
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It's a packed house as all five regular panelists pack in to pay homage to Harry Potter on his birthday weekend. Spoilers may abound, but honestly, it's Harry Potter: if you don't know this story inside and out, then you probably aren't listening to the Legendarium anyway.
The guys continue their discussion of Winter's Heart, book 9 of the Wheel of Time series. This episode leans heavily on listener questions from Reddit, some of which even make sense.
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The crew discusses Winter's Heart, book 9 of the Wheel of Time. Topics include polyamory, yonic imagery, and whether Rand is a "good guy" or just a protagonist. Ryan gifts Craig with his new favorite analogy for what it's like to read the Wheel of Time.
Sorry about the ramshackle state of our audio quality! The guys didn't have their regular setup, but they still had to get together and discuss the new Spiderman movie, which they all saw the night before taping this episode. If you can stand the poor sound quality...then enjoy!
Alright all you Todd fanatics out there ... Todd's back! He and Craig discuss Treason, by Orson Scott Card. It was OSC's second novel, originally published in 1979 and later updated to its current form. Although it's wildly different from most of the stuff we read, and although we had a lot of fun tearing it to pieces, we both enjoyed it quite a bit and recommend it as a quick, interesting read.
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Ryan is back, and we're ready to finish our discussion of The Path of Daggers, book 8 of the Wheel of Time. We do some of our usual complaining about a few things, but mostly we defend "the slump" and give Robert Jordan some props for how much level-three stuff he fit into one conversation between two side characters.
We're without Ryan on this one, and unfortunately it's noticeably less intelligent. Just don't tell him I typed that. But Craig, Kyle, and Kenn take on the first discussion of The Path of Daggers, book 8 in the Wheel of Time.
Craig and Ryan welcome new panelist Kayla to help them discuss the newest entry in the Legend of Zelda series: Breath of the Wild. The panel has a wide range of experience with both the game and the series as a whole, so we hope that makes for a good discussion of each. Enjoy!
In part two of our Crown of Swords podcast discussions, the guys answer another voicemail, discuss the intricacies of balefire, and consider the mark that Cadsuane left on Brandon Sanderson.
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First of all, our apologies. The audio quality on this episode is terrible. But when you can't get the mics to work right, what do you do? You record anyway! Enjoy our rambunctious, bizarre, tangential conversation about Redshirts.
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Forgive us, listeners, for we have sinned. It has been far too long since our last episode. Hopefully things pick up well, though, as we hit the halfway point in our epic journey through Randland. Although some say that this is where WoT starts to slow down, but we were all well-entertained. Except for the Morgase chapters, of course. Enjoy!
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Part two of our epic two-hour discussion of Lord of Chaos, book 6 in the Wheel of Time series. Rand and Elayne might be kissin' cousins. More about Rand and Alanna's bond. Dumai's Wells, no need to say more.
We begin our Lord of Chaos discussion by featuring a couple of voicemails we received through the website. (You should send us one, too!) We also get to a few written questions from Redditors, as well as our own thoughts on the book.
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We take an hour to play catch-up on some of our points and your questions that we never got around to in the first 10 Wheel of Time episodes. So, do we actually catch up? Ha ha ha! No, of course not! But we get to a few more things and clarify a few others. Enjoy this bonus WoT discussion.
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This week we take a little breather from all the reading and relax with a discussion of all the other media we've been consuming for the last few months. Topics include Kong: Skull Island, Iron Fist, Logan, Power Rangers, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the new Stormlight cover reveal, and more. Craig lost a Reddit bet and actually compliments the other guys. The world remains nevertheless intact.
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We wrap our discussion of The Fires of Heaven, book 5 of The Wheel of Time. This episode takes on the rampage of the Shaido Aiel, the possible real-world origin of Rand's aversion to harming women, and Kyle's tendency to just let the rest of the guys say idiotic things about the series.
Haven't read this one yet? Don't worry about it! Dauntless isn't the type of book that relies on a surprise ending, so feel free to listen along and let us whet your appetite for this modern scifi classic. Craig and Todd welcome new panelist Scott for this one.
First, we announce the winner of the WoT-themed giveaway. Then we get into The Fires of Heaven, book 5 of The Wheel of Time. We talk about a lot of stuff, but the most important may be the question, "What's up with the menagerie, RJ?"
We mop up our discussion of The Shadow Rising, book 4 of the Wheel of Time. Craig, Ryan, Kyle, and Kenn dive into the Perrin chapters, where he and Faile have moved from "utterly rage inducing" to just "pretty annoying most of the time." The final Word of the Day is revealed.
Spoilers for all of The Shadow Rising. It's a frantic rush to cover as much as we can as we work our way through a discussion of this mammoth, 386K-word novel. This discussion turns out to be almost exlusively about the adventures of the crew in the Aiel Waste. Special attention is paid, per Reddit request, to the vision in Rhuidean. Word of the Day number 2 of 3 is revealed.
MEGA SPOILER ALERT for the Cosmere. Seriously, we spoil most of it, so make sure you're caught up. The good news is that this story really doesn't work unless you're pretty well caught up anyway.
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More discussion of The Dragon Reborn, including an excellent "farmer with a quarterstaff" reference. (Thanks to Reddit listener jffdougan!) Also includes WORD OF THE DAY #1 of 3! Stay tuned through the next two WoT podcasts to hear the others and qualify for entry in the giveaway.
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GENERAL COSMERE SPOILER ALERT. The crew discusses Brandon Sanderson's short story, Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell, in this podcast. Is it fantasy? Horror? Something in between? It's a quick read, so if you haven't got to this one yet, take an hour to read before listening in.
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The guys discuss book 3 of the Wheel of Time. Craig forgets Kyle's name. Mat finally gets some pagecount. Everybody hates Faile. Rand is the new King of the Britons. Oh, and SPOILER ALERT, between approximately 42:00 and 45:00, Kyle apparently gave away a plot point that occurs in a later book, but none of us even realized it. I doubt it's that big a deal.
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Craig and Todd discuss the 1938 novelette, Who Goes There? by J.W. Campbell. This is the story that John Carpenter's movie The Thing was based on. It's a fun one, and a good way to talk about old sci-fi in general.
PDF of the story itself
PDF scan of the original magazine it was published in
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We finish up our discussion of The Great Hunt. A lot of talk of foreshadowing, with Lan teaching Rand about "sheathing the sword." Or was it "heron in the rushes?" Or "pigs in a blanket?" We close out with a clip from the song The Wisdom of Emond's Field, by the Swedish metal band Katana.
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GENERAL SPOILER ALERT FOR THE COSMERE. The crew discusses Brandon Sanderson's novella, The Emperor's Soul. Most of the discussion is about the philosophical importance of the story, but we do stray into some discussion of the Cosmere and how it works, with a few references to other stories that you may not want spoiled.
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Craig, Todd, and Kenn resurrect our Heroes of Sci-fi series by diving into Ray Bradbury's classic dystopia, Fahrenheit 451. So get back in the high-school-english-class mindset. Or, if you're still in high school, just use this to pretend like you read the book.
The guys discuss Robert Jordan's The Great Hunt, in the first of two episodes on the book.
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We tackle the November movies that most of you saw. First, we discuss Doctor Strange and rank the MCU movies so far. Then, at 39:45, we talk Fantastic Beasts. Unshockingly, Craig has some opinions that prove none-too-popular. At least not with Ryan.
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Part 2 of our discussion of The Eye of the World. Craig, Ryan, Kenn, and Kyle finally discuss more than just the prologue. This time we get around to talking about the setting, characters, and plot, plus a few frustrations. Like Part 1, this episode is missing a recap. Our apologies, we'll bring that back for the next Wheel of Time episode.
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NO SPOILERS, so listen away. Craig, Ryan, and Todd review White Sand, the only thing they've ever read with as many credited authors as Legendarium reviewers. White Sand is the first piece of Cosmere lore that isn't written by Sanderson himself, but rather a graphic novel adaptation of an unpublished manuscript. This is only part 1 of 3 of the story, so there's nothing to spoil yet.
Spoiler alert for The Eye of the World. Read first, then listen. Craig, Ryan, Kenn, and newcomer Kyle are ready to take on Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, and they start ... well, at the beginning. This was meant to be a discussion about the entire first book, but they didn't even make it past the first chapter. So there will be more EotW discussion later this month.
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Two things you need to know before you listen: (1) there is a general spoiler alert that comes into effect after about the 30-minute mark; and (2) Ryan, Craig, and Todd are about to try to distill a dozen concepts from the Cosmere into 60 minutes of discussion. They fail. But it's fun to hear them try!
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Who reviewed it best? Craig, Todd, and Kenn each review the new cowboy fantasy movie, The Magnificent Seven. You can vote for your favorite on our website or on twitter (@LegendariumPod). No spoilers. Well, spoilers, but this isn't really a spoiler kind of movie, so don't worry about it.
Craig - 4:15 Todd - 8:20 Kenn - 12:30
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It’s our final Stormlight Archive podcast! It’s been an amazing ride, and we’re all super excited for the third book. Listen for the third WORD OF THE DAY to enter the drawing for the poster, t-shirt, or signed book. Donate at Patreon.com/legendarium to be entered for the limited edition Lightweaver pin.
Spoiler Alerts A blanket heads-up for Warbreaker and Mistborn: Secret History. Also, we mention a chapter from book 3 that Brandon has posted online.
Because of technical issues that we just can’t work around anymore, this is our last Facebook Live broadcast episode. We’re working on an alternative, and we’ll let you know when we have one. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@LegendariumPod) to stay up to date.
The crew is all back for episode 2 of 3 in our Words of Radiance podcast series. There's a ton to discuss, and unfortunately we only get to a small part of it. Luckily there's one more episode to go after this.
There is a MINOR SPOILER to Warbreaker in there somewhere. Listen at your own risk if you haven't read that one yet. But you should read it before this book anyway.
HINT: The word of the day comes between the 50:00 and 60:00 marks.
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We take on just the first two parts of Words of Radiance in the first of three episodes on the book.
SPOILERS for Mistborn: Secret History... Starts 25:05, ends 31:00; starts 1:19:14, ends 1:19:23
Important: We're kicking off a new giveaway on this episode. One thing we forgot to mention is that this giveaway is restricted to US listeners only. We know it sucks, and we're sorry. We'll make it up to all of our overseas listeners in the future.
(HINT: The word of the day comes between 30:00 and 40:00.)
You asked, we answered: It's our longest episode to date. Craig, Ryan, Todd, Kenn, and newcomer Megan talk about The Way of Kings, part 5, and the book in its entirety. A few questions get answered, but mostly, we get a lot more questions to take us into Words of Radiance.
Craig reveals the final word of the day. Tweet the completed phrase at us, @LegendariumPod.
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The 2nd portion of our Way of Kings podcast discussion is made up of parts 3 & 4 of the book. Craig, Ryan, Kenn, and Todd, discuss their favorite scenes, characters, and quotes; what they'll take from the book so far; how many times they think they'll need to re-read; and give a huge thank-you to the listeners and supporters on Facebook, Reddit, and Patreon.
This episode contains the second word of the day needed to enter the giveaway for the Sanderson-signed copy of The Way of Kings.
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Number 1 in a 3-part series. Discussing parts 1 & 2 of Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings. We're giving away a Sanderson-signed hardcover copy of the book. Rules are at the 3-minute mark. The recording of this episode was broadcast live on facebook. Like our page and subscribe to live videos to get alerts the next time we're live.
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Well, we'd better hop on this bandwagon before everyone's done with it. Craig, Ryan, Todd, and Kenn discuss Netflix's mega-hit show, Stranger Things.
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Holy crap, we made it to a hundred episodes? Time to party! Which is pretty much what we did on this episode. There was no topic for the day, other than to chat about our history and how we've changed in our attitudes toward fantasy literature. Oh, and we recorded this episode while simultaneously streaming a video feed live on facebook! So forgive the unpolished delivery. The good news, though, is that we got to interact with a few of you while we recorded. We also played audio from a couple of fans from wildly different parts of the world. Thank you to EVERYONE for listening, and here's to another 100!
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The whole crew (Craig, Ryan, Kenn, and Todd) is back together for this discussion of Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker. We discuss the magic, the characters, the pacing, the humor, and the story's place in the greater Cosmere. Do Vasher and Vivenna show up in Mistborn: Secret History? What other book does Nightblood make an appearance in?
Also, we finally announce our post-Sanderson podcast series, toward the end of the episode.
In which is discussed the Silmarillion, chapters 5-9. This is the section all about Fëanor, Melkor, the Silmarils, and the flight of the Noldor. We go back to our roots for this episode. This time it's just Ryan and Craig in the studio, talking about Tolkien, playing trivia games, and trying to get something out of fantasy literature that's above their heads.
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The rules are simple: Four of us separately recorded reviews for Warcraft. The review had to be 2-4 minutes. Your job is to decide who reviewed it best.
Vote on our website for your favorite:
Craig - 1:05 Ryan - 3:40 Kenn - 7:20 Jake - 9:40
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Show Notes
Panel: Craig, Ryan, Geoff
Spoilers for Elantris, but no spoilers for the rest of the Cosmere
Donate to the podcast here: Imzy.com/legendarium Check out the archive here: thelegendariumpodcast.com
5:25 - Elantris recap
14:00 - The magic system, the setting
18:55 - The politics
22:30 - Elantrian pain = real life. Find a purpose. What are Sanderson’s personal politics?
38:30 - Exploring faith through Hrathen
43:00 - Elantris as a film
44:30 - Do Raoden and Sarene have an actual character arc?
49:45 - Some constructive criticisms
59:00 - The 10th Anniversary edition
Craig, Ryan, and Nic discuss Akallabêth, the story of the downfall of Númenor. Bit by bit, Craig is forcing Ryan to read the entire book. They dispense with the regular opening insults, and instead opt for bringing back the long-lost "Craig's LotR [Silmarillion] Trivia."
0:00 - Intro, Brandon Sanderson Reading Challenge, Support us on Imzy 4:30 - Craig's LotR Trivia 15:10 - So... What did everyone think of Akallabêth? 21:16 - Arthurian influence on Tolkien 31:44 - Being loyal to fundamental principles 40:45 - Art and holistic progress in Númenor 45:35 - Making the Silmarillion movie 51:33 - Getting to know Sauron the Deceiver
Today's panel: Craig, Ryan, Geoff, Tommy, Kenn. SPOILER-heavy episode, as always. We discuss Calamity, book 3 of the Reckoners series. We have a few things to say about the setting and the characters, but we save most of our conversation for the ending of the trilogy.
0:00 - Intro, insults, and housekeeping 6:45 - Craig's quick review 8:50 - Reaction and discussion 47:00 - Final thoughts
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Today's panel: Craig, Kenn, Jake J, and Jake H. This Zelda podcast started as a review of Twilight Princess HD, but quickly turned into a general discussion of the Zelda franchise, past and future.
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SHOW NOTES: Twilight Princess review - 8:05 NX speculation - 21:03 What makes a game a Zelda game? - 23:50 Favorite items - 27:40 The music of Zelda - 30:13 Favorite game in the franchise? - 35:13 Which is the darker game, MM or TP? - 39:35 Digging into the franchise timeline - 46:55
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This week we each give a separately recorded review of Captain America: Civil War. The reviewers in order:
Ryan: 1:00 Craig: 4:00 Kenn: 6:40 Todd: 9:20
We need you to vote on which review is the best! Pride is at stake! Vote at any of the following places:
thelegendariumpodcast.com facebook.com/thelegendarium twitter.com/legendariumpod imzy.com/legendarium
Craig, Nic, and Geoff discuss the second book in the Reckoners series in this Firefight podcast. Everyone loved the book and thought it had a much stronger antagonist than Steelheart. Nic tries to spoil Mistborn (Craig won't let him), and Geoff teases just a bit of Calamity, making us all pretty excited to get to it.
Bonus! Since Brandon Sanderson was kind enough to write a tiny little short story before releasing Firefight a couple years ago, we decided to do a smaller episode of our own. In our Mitosis podcast, we deal with some of the good and bad, and some of the popular reactions to the story.
Links we mention during the cast: Writing Excuses - Brandon's podcast Imzy.com/legendarium - Home base for interacting with the Legendarium's hosts and listeners
Ryan, Craig, Geoff, and Tommy discuss Steelheart, the first book in Brandon Sanderson's unconventional superhero trilogy. The novel is written for teenagers, so it's no surprise that the four guys who are getting too old for that sort of thing like it a lot.
Congrats to the winner of the signed copy of The Bands of Mourning: Ryan A., from New Brighton, MN!
Bonus episode for a bonus book! Brandon dropped Secret History on the world without any warning, so we didn't include it officially in our 2016 reading challenge. But it had to go in, of course. So Craig, Ryan, and Nic chat for a few minutes about seeing some of the old Mistborn cast again, plus implications for the Cosmere at large.
Don't forget to go to Imzy.com/legendarium and sign up for the beta test. Do it before midnight on April 10th and you'll be entered for a signed and personalized copy of The Bands of Mourning!
Craig, Ryan, Todd, and Kenn wrap up the Mistborn series (so far) with a discussion of The Bands of Mourning, book 3 in the Wax and Wayne era. This will be the last Mistborn episode for a while ... Or will it?
Sign up for the new Legendarium community at Imzy.com/legendarium before midnight on April 10th to be entered to win a signed and personalized copy of The Bands of Mourning.
The "let's sit around and chat about geeky stuff!" version of The Legendarium Podcast. Topics include:
0:00 - Intro and insults
1:39 - Pitching the Brandon Sanderson reading challenge and Imzy.com/legendarium
5:24 - Zelda: Twilight Princess HD review so far; plus, the state of Nintendo
12:09 - Brandon Sanderson’s upcoming White Sands graphic novel
16:00 - Deadpool
22:14 - Shannara Chronicles
26:27 - Divergent: Allegiant
27:54 - Gods of Egypt
31:54 - Craig gets political about Hollywood
34:15 - Upcoming movies: Captain America, Batman v Superman
47:05 - Daredevil
It's a packed house, as Craig, Ryan, Kenn, Nic, and newcomer Geoff discuss Shadows of Self. The streak continues, as we have yet to read a Sanderson book we didn't enjoy. Mistborn fans who haven't read Sanderson's other work will be excited after this to dive deep into his Cosmere. Listener notes from two listeners, and Kenn says "duality of perspective," blowing Craig's mind with his excellent new vocabulary.Join the 2016 Brandon Sanderson Reading Challenge.
We continue our Mistborn podcast series with a discussion of The Alloy of Law. Listener notes at the top of the show.
Craig, Ryan, Rilee, and Andrew tackle The Wishsong of Shannara, in this wrap-up of their own trilogy of Shannara podcasts. Everyone seems to like Brin more than Amberle. Thank goodness Allanon died. Is Wishsong filmable?
Craig, Ryan, and newcomer Meg (from tvjelly.com) discuss Marvel's Netflix series, Jessica Jones. The consensus: it's an amazing, complicated, important show, that overcomes some problems with its main character, largely thanks to the other characters around her. Also, we make fun of The Bachelor and hot tubs a lot. So there's that, too.
The guys let their hair down for this one. Well, Craig does, since he's the only one with hair long enough to let down. They quiz each other on some of the big geek news items from 2015, and look forward to a couple events in 2016. Be sure to check out the 2016 reading challenge they've set up at WorldsWithoutEnd.com. Signing up is free and easy, and it makes for an easy way to interact with the guys during their Year of Sanderson.
The group talks about the Elfstones of Shannara, both the book (mostly) and the upcoming MTV series (at 48:00). Topics include the possibly-ill-fitting title; Wil's crisis of confidence; strong women don't have to be warriors; and how Brooks fixes Tolkien's shortcomings when he sends in the eagles.
SPOILERS. Seen the new Star Wars yet? If not, do so before listening in. Things may have never been this heated on the podcast before. Yes, they all loved the movie and have plenty to say on that, but Craig and Ryan get into it over the definition and effect of bad CGI.
Craig and Ryan welcome Rilee and Andrew to the podcast to discuss The Sword of Shannara. We're prepping for the MTV series early next year, and getting a jump on this classic trilogy from one of fantasy's most celebrated authors.
Craig and Todd interview Celeste Chaney about her debut novel, In Absence of Fear. Wrist-embedded microchips, mass-surveillance, predictive policing ... It may be where we're headed, and this book helps us explore just how good are the good ideas we're coming up with to rid us of inconvenience and fear. Pick it up on Amazon, you won't be sorry.
Jar Jar is a dark side force user... The Empire is good... Han and Leia had a litter of tribbles... We thought we’d take some time to hash out a few of the more popular fan theories, and some of the crazy ones too.
We're joined again by Dr Matt Woolley, who helps Craig, Ryan, and Kenn work through the benefits, pitfalls, and psychology of scary stories and people who love (or hate) them. (And no, you're not hallucinating, we swapped out our normal theme music; it was way too peppy for this episode.)
0:00 - Intro; 1:57 - Star Wars trailer; 13:00 - Zelda Symphony and discussion of the music; 30:10 - Excerpted interview clips; 31:45 - the virtues of Zelda; 40:15 - the games; 43:30 - Zelda movie adaptation?; 47:10 - the future of Zelda games; 50:30 - wrap-up & brief movie reviews.
The guys have one last chat in their Belgariad podcast series, wrapping up with book five, Enchanter's End Game. Joining them through the miracle of Skype recording is Andrew Bayles, a Linguistics grad student from the University of Utah, who comes to teach them all what a true nerd sounds like.
The guys all watched Mythica: A Quest for Heroes, a film by local fantasy studio Arrowstorm Entertainment. Craig really liked it, so he made the others help him review it. The consensus: it's got its shortcomings (which the guys dwell on too much!) but overall very fun, and any one of them would be proud to have their name in the credits. Go to ArrowstormEntertainment.com to purchase and download the movie, and support the third film on kickstarter.
7:10 – The story and some problems
16:00 – We whine because we care
17:00 – Melanie Stone’s eyebrows
18:00 – The acting
31:00 – Crowdsourcing for Mythica
33:10 – Did we like it?
39:10 – Final thoughts
The guys discuss Garion's coming of age--and coming into his inheritance--in the fourth installment of the Belgariad podcast series. We find out who the voice in his head is. Ce'Nedra's innate ability to manipulate comes in real handy. Do any of these characters have free will in this story?
The four guys deliver four movie reviews for Avengers 2 (4:45), Fantastic Four (14:15), Ant Man (29:40), and Inside Out (40:25).
Ryan, Craig, and Kenn discuss the journey to Rak Cthol and the epic showdown between Ctuchik and Belgarath. New members of the company. Garion's magic grows. Ce'Nedra is beyond the fathoming of her creator. Encasing someone in rock is a good way to kill them.
We continue our Silmarillion Podcast series. I drag Ryan back in Middle-earth for a discussion about the tale of Beren and Luthien. Todd joins us in studio, and I also cut from time to time to a chat I had with friend podcast Nick Jeter.
Ryan, Craig, and Todd discuss book 2 of the Belgariad, with a quick appearance from Kenn. The story is starting to heat up, and so is the action. This one is much more violent than the first, and thus much more up Kenn's alley.
Ryan assigns the Legendarium panel to read David Eddings' Belgariad series. This is one of the early(ish) fantasy series that helped set the tone for many of the so-called tropes that have been seen since. But this beautifully written tale does them so well, you'll hardly notice as you start with Garion on his adventure with Belgarath and Polgara.
After some pointless nostalgia about the podcast in general, Ryan and Craig (at about the 9:45 mark) get down to reviewing Jurassic World. The final consensus: THREE-AND-A-HALF OF FOUR SWORDS. And we do all this without many, if any, spoilers. So enjoy, enjoyers.
The Silmarillion is not a novel. It's barely even a story, at least as you're used to. This may be one reason that many struggle with Tolkien's lifelong passion project. Craig, with the help of guest Kip Rasmussen, tries once again to throw Ryan headlong into Middle-earth. Mellon, goheno nin!
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Finishing our sci-fi series by bringing it into the 21st Century, the guys discuss Ernest Cline's Ready Player One.
We've solved the Case of the Missing Episode! We read and discussed Starship Troopers in February, and we got in way over our heads in that discussion. But we give it a good shot anyway.
Todd, Ryan and Kenn give their impressions of the new Avengers movie right after seeing it!
The Legendarium Brain Trust squees in delight at some of the Star Wars Celebration announcements, we review the trailer for The Force Awakens, and preview Avengers: Age of Ultron.
A midweek featuring the full crew (we'll count Ryan even though he just up and leaves halfway through) talking mostly about Daredevil. Todd also reviews the Star Wars Battle Pod arcade game.
Craig and Ryan, along with Todd and Kenn, discuss the '80 classic novel Sphere, by Michael Crichton. They try to figure out just what genre it belongs in, and try to convince Ryan that it was a good book. He seems ... underwhelmed.
The guys are back on the Star Wars trail, talking Episode 7 rumors, spin-off casting, and the Rebels season 1 finale.
After an extended absence, Craig returns with several new panelists for a discussion on the horror genre. The panelists do their best (which, it turns out, is pretty darn good) to convince us that horror has more to offer than just guts and ghosts.
In this episode we talk about what we expect out of good films, make some Oscar predictions, (which Craig couldn't possibly care less about) and we briefly make book suggestions.
Craig reviews "Kingsman" in 3 minutes. The verdict: it was good...until it was bad. Very very bad.
In this episode the Legendarium Brain Trust discusses the nine short stories that comprise Isaac Asimov's book I, Robot. Included are discussions on the three laws of robotics and an in-episode wager that leaves one of the crew a shade more grey than before.
Surprise one and all it's a special new episode of the Legendarium Podcast. This episode we cover our weekly dose of geek news and speculation and talk about some interesting casting options after we review Salt Lake Comic Con's FanX.
We continue our Heroes of Sci-Fi series by tackling 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. We talk undersea politics and the value of a name.
A brief biography and incredibly "accurate" discussion of the life of H.G. Wells.
Music: "Hyperfun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
There are too many of you Brandon Sanderson fans out there for us to just let this one go. Craig sits down with Rilee, a reader new to Sanderson, who actually prefers his debut, Elantris, to the revered Mistborn titles. She and Craig run through some themes, characters, and (of course) the magic system in trying to explain why.
The Legendarium crew talks a bit of nerd news and then begins the "Heroes of Science Fiction" series by reviewing H.G. Wells classic Novel (or novella by Craig's definition) The Time Machine.
Craig and Ryan tackle their first game of Dungeons and Dragons and they are natural....ly poor at figuring it out at the start. Join the Legendarium crew at HaJoMaJe games for the abbreviated adventure into never winter and the quest for the best 401k option available to adventurers.
Returning from holiday hiatus. The Legendarium crew talks about what made 2014 a great year for us fantasy fans and what we have to look forward to in the coming year.
The Legendarium brain trust is divided on the new hobbit film and they campaign to bring you to their side of the fight. Whose army do you join?
Before we were the Legendarium we had another name, another story, and now it's time to let the world know the origin story of our podcast. This special edition episode is the release of our first podcast recording, which was a review of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Just in time to prepare yourselves for the release of The Hobbit:The Battle of The Five Armies.
Join Craig, Ryan and Todd as they talk the Hobbit and prepare for the final chapter cinematic release.
Topics include a future series of podcasts (3:45), new trailers (7:10), and nerdy gift ideas (32:40). We also thank and alienate our surprising Swedish listener base in one foul breath.
We reach the end of the Hero of Ages and come to see the completion of prophecy. Happy endings abound......or do they? (Cue dramatic music) Plenty of punchin' for those who love it and plenty of everything else brings us to the end of our mistborn trilogy series.
Craig reviews Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" in 3 minutes. Ryan coughs up a hairball.
Our special guests, Sara and Christa, walk us back through middle earth to talk about the women of the Lord of the Rings.
Craig and Ryan, along with Todd and Kenn, discuss the recently premiered Star Wars Rebels cartoon. Todd thinks WAY too much about blaster rifles. Kenn made significant sacrifices just to be involved in this cast. Ryan challenges the panel to some Star Wars trivia.
A discussion of the conclusion of Well of Ascension. The 4 members of the Legendarium Brain Trust start by answering for Kenn's attack on squishy literature, followed by a discussion of fantastic battle sequences, relationships gone amok, and give the future movie version it's rating.
Ryan, Craig, Kenn, and Todd discuss The Well of Ascension, sections 1-3. Kenn is super squishy, and loves all the romance stuff, despite his super masculine mutton chops. Todd about puts Ryan to sleep with a discussion of the politics in Luthadel.
Craig, Ryan, and Todd welcome back Dr Matt Woolley to talk about how comic books can affect literacy in children. Craig is revealed as a no-comic-reading snob; Ryan, who is half-asleep, is revealed to have partied much harder than we thought him capable of.
We got the band back together! Craig, Ryan, Todd, and Kenn are joined by a live audience at Salt Lake Comic Con, recorded in September 2014. Chosen topics were quickly discarded in favor of nerdy games and audience participation. Fun was had.
Craig, Ryan, Todd, and Kenn are all together again to discuss Mistborn: The Final Empire in its entirety. Todd and Kenn are thoroughly satisfied by a great book, while Craig and Ryan are just about wetting their pants trying not to give away the other two in the trilogy. Topics include magic systems, sleeveless thugs, mysterious mists, and casting the inevitable movie (Alfred Molina as Breeze, duh!).
Ryan, Craig, and Todd discuss the world, the magic, and the characters of Mistborn: The Final Empire. The general consensus is ... it's pretty darn cool so far.
Craig and Ryan talk about their experience at Salt Lake Comic Con. The short of it: it was pretty wild. And super crowded. The lines were long, the costumes were great, and the booths were many. At the end, there's a FantasyCon vs ComicCon discussion, and they even philosophize for a few minutes on fan conventions in general. What a treat.
Craig, Ryan, and Todd discuss, among other things: Craig's high levels of suaveness; a preview of Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson; Ryan's quick review of the latest Dr Who iteration; and some brief Star Wars news. Two sore throats and too much sugar later ... really nothing is accomplished.
We are joined by clinical psychologist and Professor Matt Woolley to discuss original fairy tales and their darker pieces. We cover the importance of these stories for children and adults and we walk through Hansel and Gretel's story. All while Ryan gets a chance at a small therapy session.
Hobbit News. Guardians of the Galaxy review. A bit of Star Wars news. And we make announcements about some future episodes. Unfortunately, we talk about Craig's sweaty back at the same time.
Book 6, Chapters 4-9. This is it! Our final episode in the LotR series is a doozy, with Larry D Curtis from theonering.net joining us as we discuss the good, the great, and the tear-jerking in the last few chapters. Ryan loves the Scouring of the Shire, Craig thinks that rock he just passed might be an old elf-lord, and Larry thinks the Ring looks decidedly cross-shaped toward the end of the story.
Craig and Ryan wax nostalgic (a whole 2 weeks later) about the inaugural FantasyCon in Salt Lake City. If you were there, come relive it. If you weren't, consider this the first step to getting psyched about next year! A huge thanks to FantasyCon for an awesome weekend.
Book 6, Chapters 1-3Ryan and Craig explore the...excellent?...disappointing?...something...death of the Ring of Power. This episode features Ryan at his most referential and bizarre. And maybe his most awesome.
Book 5, Chapters 6-10: Special guest: Nick Jeter. Ryan and Nick have to endure Craig's lessons on the history and family trees of the Numenoreans, their ancestors, and their descendents. Denethor's despair is deemed decidedly damaging. How does Witch-king die? Well, we're not quite sure, but then Ryan gets it with the help of the All-Powerful Internets.
Book 5, Ch 1-5: Lots of lots of lots of details provided by Tolkien. Any writing is better when you say "ye" instead of "you". The Witch King doesn't know any multi-syllabic words.
Ryan and Craig discuss a few recent Star Wars developments--and nerd out excessively--with returning guest Todd Wente, and newcomer Kenn Johnson.
FantasyCon is on! 4th of July weekend, SLC will play host to what we think sounds like the coolest convention ever. Our guests are Larry D. Curtis and Ashley Turner, both organizers for FantasyCon. They'll tell us all about the panels, celebrities, sword fighting, and world's-largest-dragons that we can expect.
The discussion continues into the realm of the films and we get a few moments of pro prequel arguments.
Enjoy this special edition episode as it was meant to be heard! In celebration of Star Wars Day (May 4th) Craig, Ryan, and guest Todd Wente discuss the Star Wars Universe and why it continues to enthrall generation after generation.
Book 4, Chapters 1-3
Special guest: Jeff Hewitt, a fantasy author from Georgia. Craig and Ryan celebrate their birthdays hobbit-style. Ryan finally identifies with a Middle-earth activity: rock climbing. Craig thinks Sam is getting a bit orcish in his behavior. Ryan identifies Tolkien's greatest life lesson so far: get out and serve someone else, you selfish jackass.
Book 3, Chapters 8-11 With special guest Rebecca (aka Geeklady)
Maps! Craig encourages their liberal use as we make our way through the Two Towers. Ryan wonders if the LotR would be popular if it had been published today. The special guest rolls up "Craig's LotR Trivia" and smokes it.
Two Towers, Chapters 5-7
Ryan apparently has some serious problems with the names Tolkien is choosing. Craig can't really blame him. Peter Jackson may have taken some liberties at Helm's Deep, but that's not so bad, considering how amazeballs it turned out. Craig basically reads a Middle- and Old-English dictionary on the air. Good times are had by all.
The Two Towers, Book 3, Chapters 1-4
An insanely difficult edition of Craig's LotR Trivia, much to the chagrin of Ryan and special(ish) guest Brian. Discussion includes the origin of the Ents (they were created because of some cosmic marital strife) and the unfailing cheerfulness of Hobbits. Ryan can't figure out why people like Treebeard and don't like Tom Bombadil.
Craig and Ryan discuss what they liked about the Fellowship of the Ring, and what they expect from The Two Towers. Ryan turns the tables on Craig for this round of Craig's Lord of the Rings Trivia. Craig speaks Elvish. Not kidding.
Book 2, Chapter 6-10
Wrapping up the Fellowship, we delve into a timid discussion on religion, and Craig makes a controversial claim: Tolkien saw the future and imagined Cate.
Book 2, Chapters 3-5
Finally, we get resolution on the biggest cliffhanger from The Hobbit: What in the world happened to Balin, son of Fundin? We’ll also say a tearful farewell to our trusty guide, Gandalf the Grey.
Book 2, Chapters 1-2
Welcome to Rivendell! We don’t go anywhere, but we hear a lot about many far away places, from many new and old characters. Elves count by twelves, and anyone who has been to Salt Lake City in the winter has seen Isengard in the flesh.
Book 1 Chapters 9-12
Picking up the pace, we go from Bree to the Ford of Bruinen, meet Strider, and run away from Black Riders–a lot.
Book 1 Chapters 6-8
O Tom, Jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo! Discussion includes the singing weirdo, barrow wights, and “mastery” vs. “domination”. We’ve left the Shire, and we’re now in the wide world, just like leaving real life and entering wild world of Fairy Tales. This is not Ryan’s best week as a contestant in CRAIG’S LORD OF THE RINGS TRIVIA.
Book 1, Chapters 3-5
Hitting the road, getting our first glimpse of Black Riders, and lots of first glimpses of what’s to come: poetry, themes, and elves. A salute to the worst accidental innuendo in all of fantasy literature. We also try to answer the question: Why on Eru’s green Middle-earth do we care about the origins of Brandy Hall?
Book 1, Chapters 1-2
We discuss the ways of hobbits, Bilbo Baggins as one of the 1% (doggone rich people!), and the setting of the massive story to follow.
A welcome into The Legendarium. We give you a brief overview of what the Legendarium is and does along with a bit about your hosts as they prepare to embark into the realm of fantasy.