The Ninja is a 1980 novel by prolific genre author Eric Van Lustbader, which would kick off not only an eight-book epic series but play a vital role in the ninja boom of the 1980s. Jack and Kate wander into this world of martial arts mysticism, murder mystery, and erotic romance.

Is it ever acceptable to slide a finger into your partner's butt on a first date? What the hell is up with the murderous sex ninja trope? Just how easy is it to get a teaching gig at Columbia University? Are we too far past the ninja boom to have someone steal great ideas like "Nashville Ninja" and "Ninja Cruising?" All these questions and more will be explored in this episode of Bad Books for Bad People.

Find us at BadBooksBadPeople.com, on Twitter @badbooksbadppl, Instagram @badbooksbadpeople, on Bluesky @badbooksbadppl.bsky.social, and on Facebook. Got questions, comments or feedback? Email us at [email protected]

Jack and Kate look at what they've read and watched in the year that was 2025 and make some recommendations in the world of books and beyond. The rules of engagement are simple: the hosts each choose one movie, album, TV show, and book that was the best experience of its kind, regardless of when it was actually produced. A little bit new, a little bit old, and a whole lot of weirdness is in store!

Your hosts travel through vintage TV ghosts of the non-BBC flavor, the joys of being pandered to, and multiple Suicide Squads (without actually talking about the Suicide Squad).

BBfBP theme song by True Creature.

Find us at BadBooksBadPeople.com, on Twitter @badbooksbadppl, Instagram @badbooksbadpeople, on Bluesky @badbooksbadppl.bsky.social, and on Facebook. Got questions, comments or feedback? Email us at [email protected]

Karl Edward Wagner's 1975 sword and sorcery epic Bloodstone is the first full-length outing for Kane, mighty-thewed protagonist of a series of short stories and novels. Jack and Kate navigate a treacherous world of shifting political alliances, alien technology, and bat-monster-goddess girlfriends to figure out where Kane fits in the world of fantasy fiction.

Has there ever been a trustworthy alien intelligence in a fantasy novel? Can a simple outfit swap transform a butch into a femme? Is there a secret (or not so secret) gothic lineage to this fantasy series? All these questions and more will be explored in this episode of the podcast.

Find us at BadBooksBadPeople.com, on Twitter @badbooksbadppl, Instagram @badbooksbadpeople, on Bluesky @badbooksbadppl.bsky.social, and on Facebook. Got questions, comments or feedback? Email us at [email protected]

Hotel Transylvania (1978) is the first of 25 novels and two short story collections in Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's epic vampire series centering around the adventures of the Comte de Saint-Germain. Steeped in the court intrigues of 1740s Paris, Kate and Jack will encounter headstrong virgins, wicked yet incompetent Satanists, and a rather surprising amount of swashbuckling action.

Why didn't Saint-Germain achieve the same heights of popularity as Anne Rice's Lestat? How do you handle a bunch of couch-surfing alchemists? What the hell is romantasy, anyway? All these questions and more will be explored in this episode of the podcast.

Find us at BadBooksBadPeople.com, on Twitter @badbooksbadppl, Instagram @badbooksbadpeople, on Bluesky @badbooksbadppl.bsky.social, and on Facebook. Got questions, comments or feedback? Email us at [email protected]

Poul Anderson's 1961 novel Three Hearts and Three Lions is one of the cornerstone influences on Dungeons and Dragons: a medieval-inflected romp through creature encounters and chivalric romance, featuring the world's most terrifying version of troll. Jack and Kate, our paladins of pulp, armor up and prepare to do battle with a veritable monster manual of menace in this month's book.

What makes old D&D art so damn compelling? How does Nazi-punching figure into this fantasy adventure? Why is this sword named after the virtual assistant inside my Microsoft device? All these questions–plus a lengthy digression on enormous tomes–and more will be explored on this episode of Bad Books for Bad People.

Find us at BadBooksBadPeople.com, on Twitter @badbooksbadppl, Instagram @badbooksbadpeople, on Bluesky @badbooksbadppl.bsky.social, and on Facebook. Got questions, comments or feedback? Email us at [email protected]

Agustina Bazterrica's 2023 novel The Unworthy explores the relationship of its unnamed narrator with the repressive post-apocalyptic cult in which she finds herself. Jack and Kate embark on a harrowing journey through broken relationships and authoritarian control and dare to ask the most important question of all: can it be considered nunsploitation?

What does it mean to crave feel-bad stories? Where did nunsploitation come from? And why does everything have to be "elevated," anyway? All these topics and more will be explored in this episode of the podcast.

Find us at BadBooksBadPeople.com, on Twitter @badbooksbadppl, Instagram @badbooksbadpeople, on Bluesky @badbooksbadppl.bsky.social, and on Facebook. Got questions, comments or feedback? Email us at [email protected]

Keith Rosson's 2019 novel Smoke City is a supernatural character study that somehow makes the road trip adventure shared by a loose-cannon pop artist, a reluctant immortal, and a would-be ghost hunter into something much more poignant that one might expect. Jack and Kate hitch a ride with this motley crew and learn whether or not the real treasure is, in fact, the friends we make along the way.

Why does absolutely everyone in LA have a doorman? What is it that makes a dive bar truly magical? Is it ever wise to start a fight with a headbutt? All these questions and more will be explored in this episode of Bad Books for Bad People.

Find us at BadBooksBadPeople.com, on Twitter @badbooksbadppl, Instagram @badbooksbadpeople, on Bluesky @badbooksbadppl.bsky.social, and on Facebook. Got questions, comments or feedback? Email us at [email protected]

It's time for Jack and Kate to explore their vintage paperback piles and trade tales from the yellowed pages of the past. Jack wades through the sweltering psychosexual Southern Gothickry of Donald Harington's 1965 sex comedy (?) The Cherry Pit while Kate learns what happens when Hitler faces off with Dracula in Jon Ruddy's 1990 shock-horror masterpiece (?) The Bargain.

Will we encounter the worst Van Helsings of all time? Why don't the cool madams in exploitation novels get their own books? What are "big dinners" and how often will "big dinners" be referenced? All these questions and more will be explored in this episode of Bad Books for Bad People.

Find us at BadBooksBadPeople.com, on Twitter @badbooksbadppl, Instagram @badbooksbadpeople, on Bluesky @badbooksbadppl.bsky.social, and on Facebook. Got questions, comments or feedback? Email us at [email protected]

Algis Budrys's 1960 novel Rogue Moon is a masterpiece of Sweaty Sci-Fi, a freshly-patented subgenre that will be revealed during the course of this episode. Jack and Kate take a trip to the dark side of the moon to ponder the meaning of life, love, the universe, and manly perspiration.

What happens when you get some Jim Thompson in your moon mystery? Are women more dangerous than a murderous labyrinth on the moon? And what, exactly, characterizes a work of Sweaty Sci-Fi? All these questions and more will be explored in this episode of Bad Books for Bad People.

Find us at BadBooksBadPeople.com, on Twitter @badbooksbadppl, Instagram @badbooksbadpeople, on Bluesky @badbooksbadppl.bsky.social, and on Facebook. Got questions, comments or feedback? Email us at [email protected]

It's March, which can only mean one thing! We're really late with this episode.

Jack and Kate look at what they've read and watched in the year that was 2024 and make some recommendations in the world of books and beyond. The rules of engagement are simple: the hosts each choose one movie, album, TV show, and book that was the best experience of its kind, regardless of when it was actually produced. A little bit new, a little bit old, and a whole lot of weirdness is in store!

Join your hosts for a discussion that ranges from wicked governesses to the relative merits of Italian heavy metal to gothic roadside attractions. Oh, and murder. So much murder.

BBfBP theme song by True Creature.

Find us at BadBooksBadPeople.com, on Twitter @badbooksbadppl, Instagram @badbooksbadpeople, on Bluesky @badbooksbadppl.bsky.social, and on Facebook. Got questions, comments or feedback? Email us at [email protected]