Abbe from Sweden, Daniel from the Netherlands, and Softie from the UK join Alyssa for our discussion of Andrzej Sapkowski’s Baptism of Fire, Chapter 7. Very important bits include: the epic conclusion to the book at the Battle of the Bridge, Witch-dudes and Witch-lads, CD Projekt Red’s ‘Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales’, druidic time scales, framing narratives as foreshadowing, Vampiric tropes, identity and redemption, fantasy as satire, the meandering nature of the book (and what it provides to readers), turning Milva’s pregnancy into a group project, and the ironic origin of ‘Geralt of Rivia’.

• [0:00] Cold Open
• [0:55] Introduction
• [2:35] Guest Introductions
• [13:14] Chapter Recap
• [15:56] Overall Thoughts
• [26:18] Striborg’s Framing Scene
• [35:39] Breaking Vampiric Tropes
• [42:39] Milva’s Pregnancy
• [1:02:59] Identity and Redemption
• [1:07:39] Baptisms of Fire
• [1:15:01] Closing Thoughts
• [1:22:01] Outro
• [1:22:37] End Credits