Dragon Babies

Hermux Tantamoq is here to heal us all! This is a very special episode about one of our all-time favorite middle grade books. Meet the rodents of Pinchester and the town’s spiffily dressed, indomitable watchmaker. Mysterious aviatrix Linka Perflinger drops off a battered watch for repair and disappears without a word. Hermux and his pet ladybug Terfle use their wits, horological leanings and a whole lot of cheese to take on the case. We discuss the important of mid-adventure journaling, the appeal of a normal guy protagonist, and even LOOK UP “FANTASY” IN THE DICTIONARY. It’s a watermark ep!

*I do call Linka “Tucka” several times during my summary, and for that I am deeply sorry.

MUSIC - Pippin the Hunchback and Thatched Villagers by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) - Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Grab your fan and eavesdrop behind a tapestry! Crown Duel established an uneasy political piece; Court Duel investigates the fallout through a noble’s lens. Mel’s post-rebellion efforts pull her into court, with all of its secrets, deception and hair gems. Every man is beautiful and every woman a mystery, and Mel defies understanding with her war hero reputation and country bumpkin manners. We discuss the series’ (now a single book’s) unusual structure, watching your crush write you an anonymous letter without realizing they’re your secret admirer, and being disappointed by Bran. Join us!

MUSIC - Pippin the Hunchback and Thatched Villagers by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) - Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Return of the Thief closes out the Queen’s Thief series with thrills, spills (meaningful falls off of horses) and the kind of chills that only Megan Whalen Turner can pull off - and we lapped up every single sentence. Pheris, maybe the best protagonist of the series, witnesses the culmination of the Mede / Little Peninsula conflict and finds himself along the way. We discuss this entry’s Big Twists, MWT’s remarkable consistency of character development, and how Gen has finally met his match in Pheris. We’re swinging from chandeliers and dancing on palace rooftops - join us!

Our other Queen’s Thief episodes:

The Thief

The Queen of Attolia

The King of Attolia

A Conspiracy of Kings

Thick as Thieves

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MUSIC - Pippin the Hunchback and Thatched Villagers by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) - Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

It’s a Harnois Sibling Spectacular - we’re covering The Capture by Kathryn Lasky with none other than our brother, Patrick! Book 1 of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series is a brutal look at fascist owl overlords and the revolutionaries quietly defying them. Young Soren and Gylfie experience perils, found family and the terrors of moon blinking after being ripped away from their parents. We delight in The Owliness of It All and the ways this book permits young readers to question the authorities in their lives while celebrating their coming of age. In the words of Twilight: "I am big -- right you are! But I am delicate and beautiful. I can float! I can skim.” If that’s not enough to convince you to listen, I don’t know what will!

Please visit https://www.dragonbabiespodcast.com/ for a character gallery aka a whole lotta owl pics.

MUSIC - Pippin the Hunchback and Thatched Villagers by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) - Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Triumphant griffin scream!! We’re back with Derk’s brood 8 years after the events of Dark Lord of Derkholm, and it’s his daughter Elda’s time to shine. She’s enrolled at the Wizards’ University alongside fellow oddball first years Felim, Olga, Lukin, Ruskin and Claudia, and they’re realizing there’s not much learning to be had there. When the inept chairman Corkoran, obsessed with flying to the moon and uninterested in all else, betrays their secret enrollment, the university is beset by assassins and concerned relatives. We discuss the lure of a magical pit, terrible admins, Giant Woman / Tiny Man romance, and why DWJ absolutely owns a Fantasy Romp. Join us!

Thanks to our many listeners who keep the DWJ request fires stoked.

MUSIC - Pippin the Hunchback and Thatched Villagers by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) - Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

In lieu of a standard episode description, I will simply say: I spent the whole book expecting the “Owl Service” to be some kind of organized operation, perhaps to threaten outsiders or deliver pellets into enemies’ quarters. Only now, upon reflection, do I realize that it is a description of the set of plates. I am a fool and the owls are beyond me. They should be flowers, anyway.

This book defies description and we laughed, cried and wondered in reading it for the first time. Thank you, as always, for introducing us to magnificent books that we missed in our childhoods! This one’s for our listeners.

SIGNIFICANT pronunciation disclaimer. It would be painful to come off as disrespectful of the Welsh language and its folkore when we are actually pronunciation-challenged and (unfortunately) too American. Please know that we love learning more about the Mabinogion and can only improve from here!

EPISODE MEDIA

This was a very visual episode! Visit https://www.dragonbabiespodcast.com/ to see everything we reference.

MUSIC - Pippin the Hunchback and Thatched Villagers by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) - Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Grab your blood cakes and head to Mother Malkin’s pit! We’re reading Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney. As the seventh son of a seventh son, Tom is destined to become the Spook’s apprentice (at least according to his mom). He learns to trap boggarts under steel (just don’t get your fingers stuck!!) and imprison witches in barred pits - and makes friends like Alice, a girl with suspiciously pointy shoes, along the way. Grim, gross and fascinating, this is an apprenticeship like no other and we have so much to discuss. We are all witches, but are we good witches or bad witches? The Spook recommends putting us into pits just as a precaution. Join us!

MUSIC - Pippin the Hunchback and Thatched Villagers by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) - Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

We take our first step outside the Abhorsen trilogy to learn more about Terciel and Elinor, aka Papa and Mama Sabriel! Beautifully streamlined storytelling adds series background - the basics of Charter magic at Wyverly, historical Ancelstierre/Old Kingdom relations, an exceptional gender-swapped playwright named Charlotte Breakspear - while bringing Tercial and Elinor together and giving their lives true purpose. A perfect prequel!

Our other Old Kingdom episodes:

Sabriel / Sabriel Redux

Lirael

Abhorsen

Music - Pippin the Hunchback and Thatched Villagers by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) - Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

We loved this introduction to the Bartimaeus Trilogy! It’s taken us far too long to discover Jonathan Stroud’s work, and we’re now absolute Bartimaeus heads. We break down the appeal of Nathaniel and Bartimaeus’ alternating angry/gleeful perspectives, the burgeoning anticapitalist themes, and why history continues to repeat itself (spoiler humans are the worst). Grab your sassiest djinni footnotes and join us!

We continue Tomi Adeyemi’s Legacy of Orïsha series! Children of Virtue and Vengeance sees protagonists Zélie and Amari at odds as they attempt to overthrow the monarchy led by Amari’s mother and brother Inan (who is, surprise, still alive). Except the nobility has magic now - and they’re really violent about it! Leading a group of rebel maji, Zélie works to bring balance back to Orïsha as Amari flounders (and massacres???).

Coming off the high of the first book, we were disappointed by the pacing, character choices and general magical confusion of the sequel. Join us as we break it all down!

Other episodes mentioned -

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

MUSIC - Pippin the Hunchback and Thatched Villagers by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) - Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/