Bros Before Prose

This week we discuss chapters 18-end of A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark, as well as the short story “A Dead Djinn in Cairo.”

Time Codes

• 00:48 Recap
• 06:28 Jeremy’s opinion
• 08:11 Fatma as a character
• 13:28 The “plot twist”
• 16:25 Half-Djinn reveal
• 22:15 Zagros, the model Djinn
• 26:13 Angels ain’t s***
• 32:12 The Nine Lords
• 37:50 Would we read a sequel?
• 40:05 A Dead Djinn in Cairo
• 45:19 Clock of Worlds
• 46:39 Short story vs novel
• 52:12 Fatma’s drip
• 56:08 Writing takeaways
• 59:15 Favorite characters
• 1:02:05 Conclusion

Next Read: The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty

Our next read will be The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty, chapters 1-18. See you then!

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This week we discuss chapters 1-17 of A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark.

Time Codes

• 01:22 Context
• 04:47 Summary
• 07:49 Initial thoughts
• 20:19 Fatma
• 31:36 The world
• 36:56 Some good things
• 39:18 Some thoughts on religion
• 41:58 Predictions
• 47:13 Wrapup
• 49:20 Farewell

Next Read: A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark, chapters 18-end, “A Dead Djinn in Cairo”

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This week we discuss Parts 3 and 4 of Red Rising by Pierce Brown. We get into some pretty heavy stuff this episode, so content warning for rape, sexual assault, and general violence.

Despite these subjects, we really enjoyed this book and its blunt look at political and social power.

Time Codes

• 00:41 Content warnings
• 01:17 Part 3 Summary
• 07:16 Standout moments
• 10:14 Sevro praise
• 13:56 Titus’ execution
• 18:58 (Trigger warning)
• 30:33 Cassius (end trigger warning)
• 34:44 Part 4 summary
• 46:47 Favorite moments
• 53:44 Predictions
• 57:10 Final thoughts
• 58:24 Wrapping up

Next Read: A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark, chapters 1-17

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This week we discuss Parts 1 and 2 of Red Rising by Pierce Brown. The twists come early and often, and we are left reeling from the shifts in genre. This is a good one to go in fresh, so read it if you can! As always, spoilers abound. You have been warned.

Time Codes

• 02:40 1st person present
• 09:41 The twist
• 10:16 Part 1 summary
• 15:42 Thwarted expectations
• 18:35 Eo
• 24:47 Worldbuilding
• 28:19 The twist, for real
• 41:55 The Institute
• 48:58 Predictions
• 51:42 Conclusion

Next Read: Red Rising by Pierce Brown, Parts 3 and 4

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This week we discuss the stories “An Inhabitant of Carcosa" and "Haïta the Shepherd" by Ambrose Bierce and The Whisperer in Darkness by H.P. Lovecraft.

The more I read, the less I know. I feel just like a Lovecraft protagonist seeking forbidden knowledge!

Time Codes

• 02:14 "Haïta the Shepherd"
• 05:35 “An Inhabitant of Carcosa"
• 07:23 Thoughts on Bierce
• 15:15 Introduction to Lovecraft
• 17:42 “The Whisperer in Darkness”
• 24:28 Where is the King in Yellow?
• 28:24 Jonah loses his mind
• 33:22 Back to Lovecraft
• 39: 03 Wrapping up

Next Read: Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Next week we will be reading Parts 1 and 2 of Red Rising, the sci-fi novel by Pierce Brown. See you then!

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This week we discuss the first five stories in The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers: “The Repairer of Reputations,” “The Mask,” “In the Court of the Dragon,” “The Yellow Sign,” and “The Demoiselle d’Ys.”

Time Codes

• 01:06 Introduction
• 04:20 Readings for next time
• 06:22 Chambers according to Robin D. Laws
• 10:13 The King in Yellow Act 1, Scene 2
• 11:57 “The Repairer of Reputations”
• 31:07 “The Mask”
• 47: 31 “In the Court of the Dragon”
• 1:02:30 “The Demoiselle d’Ys”
• 1:10:06 Final thoughs
• 1:16:45 Wrapup

Next Read: The Whisperer in Darkness by H.P. Lovecraft; "An Inhabitant of Carcosa" and "Haïta the Shepherd" by Ambrose Bierce

Continuing down the King in Yellow rabbit hole, we will be reading three stories that feed into the mythos: "An Inhabitant of Carcosa" and "Haïta the Shepherd" by Ambrose Bierce as found in his short story collection Can Such Things Be?, followed by The Whisperer in Darkness by H.P. Lovecraft.

See you then!

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This week we wrap up our discussion of Neuromancer by William Gibson, covering chapters 13-24. Our feelings have changed, but our confusion has not.

Time Codes

• 01:04 How are we feeling?
• 08:48 Summary
• 14:38 What the hell was that last scene?
• 16:36 What was the deal with TA?
• 20:16 Favorite parts
• 23:58 Themes
• 34:37 What happened to Hideo?
• 38:20 Seriously, what was the deal with TA?
• 40:44 What's the message?
• 45:53 Wrapup

Next Read: The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers

Next time we will be reading the first five short stories from The King Yellow by Robert W. Chambers: “The Repairer of Reputations,” “The Mask,” “In the Court of the Dragon,” “The Yellow Sign,” and “The Demoiselle d’Ys.”

See you then!

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This week we discuss the first three parts(chs 1-12) of Neuromancer by William Gibson. We try to figure out what is happening, fail spectacularly, and wonder if maybe the real plot starts in Part 3.

Time Codes

• 01:31 History of Cyberpunk
• 04:15 Summary
• 09:02 Pain points
• 17:55 What is the plan?
• 18:51 What was the Flatline?
• 22:23 What’s Riviera’s deal?
• 23:37 What’s the goal?
• 25:34 Wintermute
• 30:38 It gets better in Part 3
• 33:01 Do the characters suck?
• 40:01 It should have started in Part 3
• 42:26 Hacking was the best part
• 45:56 Coincidences
• 49:53 Future Reading
• 52:02 The Cliffhanger
• 52:58 The World Tour
• 54:45 Wrap-up

Next Read: Neuromancer Chs 13-24

Next time we will be finishing Neuromancer, reading chapters 13-24.

See you then!

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This week we wrap up our discussion on The Way of Kings, covering the second half of Part 4, Part 5, the Epilogue, and the Ars Arcana! We are left with more questions than answers as we attempt to process the Sanderlanche, and mull over the journey we’ve been on.

Next Read: Neuromancer Chs 1-12

Our next read will be the granddaddy of cyberpunk fiction: Neuromancer by William Gibson. We will be reading the first half of the book, chapter 1 through 12 for next time.

See you then!

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This week we discuss the first half of Part 4 of The Way of Kings, chapters 52-61. We finally get some answers to some burning questions, but are left with even more that probably won’t even get answered in the next four books!

Next Episode April 11

Next time we will be discussing the rest of the book, including the rest of Part 4, Part 5, the Epilogue, and the Ars Arcanum on April 11th!

See you then!

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