Hot Take Books

Breaking news: Red Rising is officially headed to the big screen. Paramount picked it up, Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games) is directing, and Pierce Brown is an executive producer. Rich is furious. Ryan is thrilled. Both of these things are true.

In this bonus episode, Rich asks the question every Howler is asking: where is Red God? It’s his first time waiting on an author to finish a series, and Ryan, a George R.R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss survivor, tries to talk him down. Then we get into the movie itself. Can a film do it justice, or does this need to be a TV show? Is picking the Hunger Games director a coincidence? PG-13 or R? Plus some early fan-casting: Tommy Flanagan as Fitchner, Sean Bean as Nero, and a case for Henry Cavill as a Gold. And Rich explains why Golds are like cigarettes.

Spoilers for the full Red Rising series ahead.

Enjoyed this one? Leave a comment on this episode. It really helps the show. Find us @HotTakeBooks on TikTok, Instagram, and Spotify.

Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman | Dungeon Crawler Carl, Book 2 | LitRPG

Is a sitcom ever the best show of all time? Rich doesn't think so. He still says this is the Office of books. Book two picks up the second book one ends, and the politics inside and outside the dungeon start creeping in. Rich likes how much commentary Dinniman sneaks in without ever getting pretentious about it. Ryan loved reading it but isn't sure he liked it as much as book one. His theory is that somebody took one long book and cut it in two. He also has a warning for anyone who has never touched a video game. Rich backs him up after trying to explain constitution at home. The first 15 minutes are spoiler-free, so you can try it before the spoilers hit.

Worldbuilding/Lore: 7Characters: Rich 7 / Ryan 8Storyline: 7Overall: 7.2 out of 10 (Rich 7.0 / Ryan 7.3)Verdict: Buy

Book: Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman
Series: Dungeon Crawler Carl, Book 2
Score: Worldbuilding/Lore 7 / Characters Rich 7, Ryan 8 / Storyline 7 — Overall 7.2 out of 10 (Rich 7.0 / Ryan 7.3)
Verdict: Buy

• [00:00] — Cold open: Big Dow or Big Cat, and a behind-the-curtain double header
• [00:55] — Intro + socials plug (Instagram, TikTok, Gmail), indie author partnerships, and a maybe-Discord
• [02:04] — Episode framing: first 10–15 minutes spoiler-free
• [02:23] — The boys were good not being Dungeon Crawler Carl people. Now they're obsessed
• [03:55] — "Sometimes I start a sentence and I don't know where it's going"
• [04:26] — Red Rising vs DCC: our cult is better than your cult
• [05:23] — Rich's thesis: this is the Office of books
• [06:14] — Ryan's spoiler-free vibe check: did book one and two used to be one book?
• [08:18] — You should read this book if… comedy with commentary that isn't pretentious
• [10:16] — You shouldn't read this book if… Ryan's warning for non-gamers, plus explaining constitution and DPS at home
• [12:52] — Carl the tank, and a party shake-up
• [~14:06] — 🚨 Spoiler warning — spoilers start ("Bee wee weo")
• [14:29] — Worldbuilding & Lore (7): shows inside the show, Carl beating the system like Baldur's Gate 3, the over city as an open-world MMO
• [18:40] — Breadcrumbs: the courts, the veto, the celestial box, and who the Syndicate really is
• [20:49] — Ryan's official prediction: the Primals return and the system remakes Carl. Eight-foot octopi with twelve arms (unofficially)
• [24:05] — Characters (Rich 7 / Ryan 8): compensated anarchist, Donut the childhood actress
• [27:00] — Carl's backstory nuggets, Grimaldi's circus, and his soft spot for NPCs
• [28:18] — Donut knows Bea isn't coming back
• [29:52] — Katia: doppelganger, potential tank, and score-dragger
• [32:13] — Mordecai steals the show, and does he really want to leave the dungeon?
• [36:03] — Story (7): picks up on the stairs, the circus story vs the town story, side quests, and Odette as the epilogue
• [38:11] — Brute-forcing the Mrs. Quill quest, and Fallout vs Baldur's Gate 3
• [41:23] — Why Red Rising still wins: knowing what matters right now
• [43:52] — One-star reviews: the 45-year-old man who hates his wife, girth-and-length equality, and "not a gamer, extremely boring"
• [50:15] — "If you don't like fun, you probably won't like this book"
• [51:02] — Wrap-up: Ryan thoroughly loved it

TikTok: @hottakebks

Instagram: @hottakebooks

Indie author Anderson W. Frost joins Rich and Ryan to talk Thorns, Feathers & Bones, his latest gothic romance novella Montclair, and what's coming next in his world of giants, elves, gods, and men.

In the spoiler-free first half, Anderson talks about growing up on Star Trek and Star Wars, the book that gave him the writing bug, why he chose to self-publish, and how a story that came to him in a dream became an 8-book plan: four main novels and four novellas. We also get into his take on magic systems, his hatred of exposition, and how Rich and Ryan have secured their own personal easter egg in an upcoming book. After a big spoiler warning we go fully into the books and discuss toxic relationships, vampires, and try to get some clues as to what will be included in the next Novella.

Plus: we're giving away a signed copy of Thorns, Feathers & Bones on TikTok. Like the post, follow @HotTakeBooks and @AndersonWFrost, and tag a friend to enter.

Want to support indie authors? Leave a review and spread the word. Keep an eye on Anderson's website for a special edition of Montclair.

Demon in White by Christopher Ruocchio | Sun Eater, Book 3 | Sci-Fi

Everyone says get through book three and you're in. The boys got through book three. Ryan is still annoyed he had to commit to three long-ass books to find out, and Rich isn't, he fell in love with the whole series right here. The first 15 minutes are spoiler-free with the read-or-skip call, so you can sample before the spoilers hit. The boys agree on the one thing that isn't working: the fake-biography narration, where Hadrian narrates Hadrian winking at Hadrian. 🌞
Overall: 7.2 out of 10 (Rich 7.3 / Ryan 7.0)
Verdict: Buy

Shownotes!

• [00:00] — Cold open: football's back, and Rich had to beg for a Sunday recording
• [01:07] — Intro + episode framing (spoiler-free): book three of Sun Eater, and is it Ruocchio or Rocchio?
• [01:29] — The show's history with the series: Empire of Silence was an early episode, Howling Dark came this year, and the boys' relationship with book one is "controversial"
• [02:23] — Ryan's gripe: three long-ass books before a series gets good, and the salty TikTok comments about calling it slow
• [02:53] — Who this episode is for: the should-I-keep-going listener
• [03:33] — Objective versus subjective — Rich showed up sunburnt and fell in love with the series in this book
• [03:52] — Ryan spoiler-free: loves the worldbuilding, can't bring himself to care about the characters
• [05:09] — Two kinds of sci-fi, and the cosmic horror turn this book takes
• [07:06] — Hadrian has grown up, and what that does to the book-one and book-two complaints
• [10:40] — Socials plug + 🚨 spoiler warning — spoilers start
• [11:27] — Worldbuilding & Lore (8 each): what the Quiet actually are
• [12:07] — Ryan's knock: a mile wide and an inch deep
• [12:39] — Time as a flat plane, and why Hadrian dodges bullets by moving sideways through probability
• [14:28] — The Watchers, and what the Cielcin are really looking for
• [15:34] — Big Dick Bill, Earth's savior, and why the Quiet helped him
• [16:03] — Full Lovecraft: beings too vast to notice us
• [17:08] — The Emperor and the politics — Rich talks himself into a 12 and asks if they can cut it
• [17:25] — Ryan's complaint: the Exalted–Cielcin alliance happened off page
• [19:12] — Characters (Rich 7 / Ryan 6): the time jumps and development that lands between books
• [24:37] — Prince Alexander, and a tangent on why a seven is a good score
• [27:42] — Hadrian correcting Alexander's bigotry, and whether the boys were ever sold on that turn
• [30:41] — The kneel, the strike, and Alexander hurting his own hand
• [31:33] — Valka: the marriage argument, her society's view of it, and Rich going Team Celine
• [33:14] — Tor Gibson is back, and Ryan is 99% sure he wasn't supposed to be
• [34:21] — Lorian Aristides fills the Switch-shaped hole, and Rich flags him as a future turncoat
• [35:46] — Bassander Lin flips: the soldier becomes an acolyte of the Half-Mortal
• [37:04] — Story (7): the fake-biography format still isn't working
• [38:32] — Ryan: this is five mini books in one, and yes, we know he blew up the sun
• [39:54] — Hadrian narrating Hadrian winking at Hadrian — "I'm lost"
• [41:38] — What did work: better pacing, the assassination attempt, the Coliseum, and catching a highmatter blade on the arm from old Thousand Eyes
• [44:27] — Getting lost in the action, and why Pierce Brown and Sanderson do it better
• [46:24] — Gritty military moments and Polino telling his commander absolutely not
• [47:26] — A strong finish, Valka's chimera, and something close to a Sanderlanche
• [48:07] — Predictions: Ryan wants Hadrian embedded with the Cielcin, Rich wants more Jaddian warriors
• [49:29] — Rich's note for book four: stop being five genres at once. Less is more. He came up with that himself
• [50:34] — One-star reviews: cardboard characters, a failed Pierce Brown impression, and the reader whose two-and-a-half-year reading streak this series broke
• [57:08] — Who should read this book, and who absolutely should not
• [58:16] — Wrap-up

TikTok: @hottakebks

Instagram: @hottakebooks

Montclair by Anderson W. Frost | Thorns, Feathers, and Bones Saga

Anderson W. Frost doesn't hold your hand, he puts you in the cart and sends you flying down the mountain. Montclair, his 300-page side-quest novella, is the whole ride: new town, new cast, and a mystery you piece together click by click. The boys keep the first 15 minutes spoiler-free with scores and verdict up front, so you can sample before committing. Then the wall drops and the theories fly: who Sabine's business partner really is, what Winifred is becoming, and a gods hierarchy the boys spend a solid ten minutes trying to map. Ryan wasn't sold on the trust at the story's core; Rich bought it completely — and admits the guy who dunks on 1,200-page books might not be a novella guy either. Rich's standing note for Frost: maybe the best new action writer in the game, and he won't write enough action. The one-star review segment died this week — they couldn't find a single one. Get on the bandwagon now. 📖

Overall: 7.5 out of 10 (Rich 7.3 / Ryan 7.7)Verdict: Buy

Book: Montclair by Anderson W. Frost
Series: Thorns, Feathers, and Bones Saga (novella)

• [00:00] — Cold open: back from the late-summer break, crushing the books
• [01:11] — Intro + episode framing (spoiler-free): book mail from Anderson W. Frost, what Montclair is
• [02:43] — Who should read this book: the romantasy on-ramp, Frost's gothic-romance experiment, and the no-spice reassurance
• [07:35] — Overall impressions: Frost doesn't hold your hand, and Rich's confession — he might not be a novella guy
• [10:34] — Scores + Verdict (spoiler-free, up front): Rich 7.3 / Ryan 7.7 — overall 7.5, Buy
• [11:19] — Socials plug + 🚨 spoiler warning — spoilers start
• [12:05] — Rich's hot take: you don't need book one first — and romance readers could even start here
• [15:52] — Worldbuilding & Lore: essence gods vs mythology gods, what Winifred is turning into, and the daylight debate ("maybe he's a sparker")
• [30:22] — Characters: the Damien–Sabine trust debate (Ryan not sold, Rich bought it), the read-it-after-book-two theory, and Rich's date-with-a-new-book problem
• [37:50] — Story: the Rift Massacre drop, the ceremony logic, Mortis, and the squad heading north to Hildeheim
• [44:48] — Rich's #1 feedback for Frost: the best new action writer who won't write enough action
• [46:06] — One-star reviews: none to be found
• [49:11] — Wrap-up

TikTok: @hottakebks

Instagram: @hottakebooks

NEW ACHIEVEMENT: Ryan and Rich (finally) entered the Dungeon, and it did not disappoint! Earth gets invaded, the survivors get shoved into an 18-floor alien reality show/dungeon crawl, and a disgruntled ex-Coast Guard guy named Carl and a foul-mouthed show cat named Princess Donut have to fight, charm, and rage-bait their way through it.

The first part of the episode is SPOILER FREE, so if you haven't yet checked out Dungeon Crawler Carl yet than this section is for you! After that, we discuss why this book nails the "video game as literature" formula better than almost anything else in the genre, the Carl/Donut glass-cannon-and-tank dynamic, and debate whether this book is actually satire or just really sharp commentary.Score: 8.7 — BINGE (tied for our highest-rated book ever)

Spoiler-free intro up top. Big fat spoiler warning before the deep dive into Worldbuilding/Lore, Characters, and Story.
Stick around for some of the most unhinged one-star reviews we've ever read on this show.

If you've been on the fence about this one — this is your sign.

New episodes every 2 weeks. Find us on TikTok/IG @HotTakeBooks. Questions, hate mail, or theories we got wrong? [email protected]

Howling Dark: Much More SufferableDescription

Howling Dark by Christopher Ruocchio | Sun Eater, Book 2 | Sci-Fi

Rich showed up sunburnt, drinking the Kool-Aid, and claiming he got bullied out of a 9....... Ryan stands on business. A year after the boys shrugged off Empire of Silence, the internet finally wore them down, and Howling Dark delivered. The first 15-ish minutes stay spoiler-free with scores and verdict up front, so you can sample before committing.

Then it's Cielcen psychology: a species with no concept of peace, only domination and submission, a real problem when your entire 50-year mission is diplomacy.

The boys take the controversy head-on too is Ruocchio selling a bigoted POV, or writing the galaxy's most obvious hypocrite? Fan casting hands Switch to Cameron Monaghan unopposed. And Ryan plants his flag: this should have been book one. 🌑

Worldbuilding/Lore: 8

Characters: Rich 8 / Ryan 7

Storyline: Rich 8 / Ryan 7

Overall: 7.7 out of 10
Verdict: Buy

Book: Howling Dark by Christopher Ruocchio
Series: Sun Eater, Book 2
Score: Worldbuilding/Lore 8 / Characters Rich 8, Ryan 7 / Storyline Rich 8, Ryan 7 — Overall 7.5 out of 10 (Rich 7.7 / Ryan 7.3)
Verdict: Buy

• [01:33] — Intro + episode framing (spoiler-free): why the boys came back to Sun Eater a year after Empire of Silence
• [06:49] — Content note: the online controversy around the book's language, and how the boys are approaching it
• [09:42] — Scores + verdict up front (Rich 7.7 / Ryan 7.3) + vibe check: objective vs subjective, Rich starved for good sci-fi
• [13:37] — Ryan's hot take: Howling Dark should be book one — Star Wars started at Episode IV
• [18:15] — 🚨 Spoiler warning — spoilers start
• [18:44] — Worldbuilding & Lore (8): the man-machine spectrum from Valka's chip to the Exalted, Cielcen psychology and the doomed negotiations, the Hadrian-the-hypocrite conversation, and the William/"Big Dick Bill" naming debate
• [38:46] — Characters (Rich 8 / Ryan 7): Hadrian "much more sufferable," the Switch betrayal and Rich's Godfather 2 rewrite, Kharn Sagara, Prince Aranata, Bassander Lin
• [55:08] — Story (Rich 8 / Ryan 7): the prose ("okay, it's white"), Ryan's mid-book slump, and death-and-rebirth theories — why did the arms swap?
• [1:04:05] — Fan casting: Chalamet vs Corenswet for Hadrian, Valka callbacks pending, and congrats Cameron Monaghan
• [1:09:47] — One-star reviews ("200 pages too long," Stockholm Syndrome)
• [1:17:27] — Wrap-up: both boys are in for book three

TikTok: @hottakebks

Instagram: @hottakebooks

Wax and Wayne's story comes to an end — and Rich and Ryan are finally, officially, all the way through Mistborn. On this episode, the guys dig into Brandon Sanderson's The Lost Metal, the fourth and final book in the Wax and Wayne era.

Inside: a new Shard, autonomy, throwing its weight around Scadrial. Wayne finally gets his moment in the spotlight (turns out he's been secretly loaded this whole time). Marasi steps fully into her own. And Rich has some thoughts about whether this book earns its Cosmere ambitions or gets buried under its own bomb plot.

Score: 7.3/10 — Buy

First 10-15 minutes: spoiler-free. Big fat spoiler warning after that, then a full deep dive into Worldbuilding/Lore, Characters, and Story.
Stick around for the one-star review reactions and a Cosmere Corner theory session that gets... contentious.

Whether this is your first Mistborn book or your victory lap finishing the whole series — welcome. Grab your metals and settle in.

New episodes every 2 weeks. Subscribe, drop a comment, and find us on TikTok/IG @HotTakeBooks. Questions, hate mail, or theories we got wrong? [email protected]

The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson | Mistborn Era 2, Book 3 | Epic Fantasy

First 15 minutes stay spoiler-free for anyone still deciding — after that, the whole book's on the table (which includes the rest of these notes).

Give Steris prep time and she'll out-plan a Shard. The boys crown her the Adolin of Scadrial: she carries Wax through a wedding he hates, vomits on cue to buy a distraction, and clocks that all he really needs is someone to sit with him. Rich calls the arranged-marriage-into-love arc some of the best writing in the series, love as actual work, not fairy-tale luck.

Then it gets loud. Ryan fights to drag Rich's Worldbuilding 8 down to a 7. They pick at the hand-wavy stuff: how do the airships even fly, what are the Bands actually doing, is the whole southern continent a retcon.......? Regardless, The Bands of Mourning is the Cosmere coming home.

Worldbuilding/Lore: Rich 8 / Ryan 6

Characters: 8

Story: 8

Overall: 7.7 out of 10

Verdict: Buy

Episode Type: SpoilerTake
Book: The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson
Series: Mistborn Era 2 (Wax and Wayne), Book 3 — part of the Cosmere
Score: Worldbuilding/Lore Rich 8 / Ryan 6 — Characters 8 — Story 8 — Overall 7.7 out of 10
Verdict: Buy

• [00:24] — Cold open: the two "fights" this week, the 50/50 partnership, and Rich getting talked into a Cosmere-out marathon for Ryan the addict
• [~04:16] — Intro + framing: Bands of Mourning, Mistborn Era 2, Book 3 — short, fun, western/detective energy
• [04:52] — Spoiler-free vibe check (first 15 min): should you read it? The Cosmere is back
• [09:08] — 🚨 Spoiler warning — deep dive begins
• [09:34] — Scoring format recap (Worldbuilding, Characters, Story)
• [10:01] — Worldbuilding & Lore (Rich 8 / Ryan 6): the Malwish "retcon," hand-wavy Bands, airships, and allomantic grenades; the live score-change standoff
• [~28:33] — Characters (8): Steris the Adolin of Scadrial, Marasi's growth, Wax & Steris, Wayne + MeLaan, Wayne's goodbye
• [41:00] — Story (8): the Cosmere course-correct, the new city + political tension, the Telson switcheroo, the sister as the real mastermind
• [~51:50] — One-star reviews (the "racist against a race that doesn't exist" take + the reader "vindicated" that Kelsier faked his death)
• [58:36] — 🚨 Cosmere Corner warning (spoilers for Stormlight + Mistborn Era 1 + Warbreaker)
• [59:06] — Cosmere Corner: where Secret History slots in, Kelsier = Thaidakar / Ghost Bloods, Hoid's coin, "Brandon, write less," and Rich going Stormlight-thirsty
• [~1:12:57] — Wrap-up

TikTok: @hottakebks

Instagram: @hottakebooks

Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson | Mistborn Era 2, Book 2 | Epic Fantasy

The boys keep the first 15 spoiler-free for the undecided — after that, all bets are off.

Rich swears he coined "Brandy Sandy" with zero evidence and full confidence. Ryan files it as fact anyway. Shadows of Self is the lowest-rated Cosmere book the boys have ever covered. Rich's line of the night — a lot of worlds, not a lot of building. Wax discovers hemalurgy like he skipped Era 1, Harmony won't stop chatting like a guy at the bus stop, and the twist lands too late to hurt.

Wayne still walks off with the book. Rich plants his flag on Team Staris. Plus: the angriest one-star reviews on the internet, a "check the history books" moment, and a Cosmere Corner that spirals into Trell, a timeline bombshell, and Rich's Avengers comparison.

Verdict: Borrow

Episode Type: SpoilerTake
Book: Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson
Series: Mistborn Era 2 (Wax and Wayne), Book 2 — part of the Cosmere
Score: Worldbuilding/Lore (the low point, lowest of the three) / Characters 7 (Rich 7 / Ryan 7) / Storyline Rich 5 / Ryan 6
Verdict: Borrow

• [00:24] — Cold open: the "Brandy Sandy" origin debate + Rich teases a surprise new segment (Ryan is nervous)
• [~01:55] — Intro + framing: Shadows of Self, Mistborn Era 2, Book 2
• [03:35] — Spoiler-free vibe check (first 15 min): should you read it? Go straight from Alloy of Law
• [~13:00] — 🚨 Spoiler warning — deep dive begins
• [13:30] — Worldbuilding & Lore: a lot of worlds, not a lot of building; the labor unrest; Harmony too involved
• [~29:24] — Characters (Rich 7 / Ryan 7): Wayne's well scene, Marasi, Milan, Captain Aradell, Team Staris
• [~45:35] — Story (Rich 5 / Ryan 6): the late twist, the recycled "who's the Kandra?" whodunit, Bleeder's spike
• [~52:38] — One-star reviews (including the "check the history books" political read)
• [1:00:32] — "Answers on the Mic": Rich's surprise segment / the trial of Ryan
• [~1:03:46] — 🚨 Cosmere Corner warning (spoilers for Stormlight + Mistborn Era 1 + Warbreaker)
• [1:04:16] — Cosmere Corner: is Trell a Shard? the timeline bombshell, the Cosmere Avengers, hemalurgy/compounding theories
• [1:24:20] — Wrap-up

• TikTok: @hottakebks
• Instagram: @hottakebooks

Show NotesTimestampsLinks