In this episode, I am joined again by writer and Gene Wolfe expert, Marc Aramini. Marc and I have an in-depth discussion of the first book of Wolfe’s Latro series, The Soldier of the Mist.

The events of the book take place in 479 B. C. shortly after the battle of the 300 Spartans (and thousands of their slaves) fighting against the Persian army at Thermopylae. Latro is a mercenary in the Persian army who suffers from a head wound that gives him amnesia.

We discuss the events of the first book, the frame narrative, and the characters.

The Chapter Guide to Gene Wolfe’s Latro Novels by Michael Andre-Driussi can be found here.

The physical editions of Marc’s first two books are now available on Amazon:

* Between Light and Shadow: An Exploration of the Fiction of Gene Wolfe, 1951-1986

* Beyond Time and Memory: An Exploration of the fiction of Gene Wolfe, 1987-1990

Marc’s YouTube channel can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/@marcaramini9794

Marc can be found on Twitter.com at @marc_aramini

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Follow me on Twitter @AaronIrber

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The Man Who Was Thursday was written by Gilbert Keith Chesterton in 1908 and is described as a metaphysical thriller. It is also one of the greatest Catholic novels of the 20th Century.

Gabriel Syme, a poet detective, infiltrates a secret society of anarchists to try to foil their plans of world destruction.

Gregorio Montejo returns as a guest to discuss this miraculous novel. We discuss Chesterton’s use of paradox, why the novel is called a nightmare, the color red, and so much more!

Follow Gregorio on Twitter.com @KtistecP

Do yourself a favor and subscribe to Gregorio’s substack Past Masters and read his essay on Chesterton here:

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Follow me on Twitter @AaronIrber

Subscribe to my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@imightbelieveinfaeries7563

Subscribe to my Substack -

for updates on the show, essays, and more!

Donate to my Patreon - I Might Believe in Faeries https://www.patreon.com/imightbelieveinfaeries

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Battle Of The Creek by Alexander Nakarada | https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com

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What is astrology? Is it different from astronomy? How was astrology viewed in the ancient world and Christian Middle Ages? What about astrology is forbidden to Christians and is there anything about it that is good, true, and beautiful?

Deacon Seraphim (Richard) Rohlin returns to the show to discuss all of this and more.

Find Deacon Rohlin on Twitter.com @richardrohlin

The Symbolic World: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/

Resources:

Catholic Answers: Steer Clear of Modern Astrology: https://www.catholic.com/qa/steer-clear-of-modern-astrology

Jimmy Akin: Thomas Aquinas and the Occult: https://jimmyakin.com/2020/06/thomas-aquinas-on-the-occult.html

Origen and the Life of the Stars: A History of an Idea (Oxford Early Christian Studies): https://www.amazon.com/dp/0198263619?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

The Heavenly Writing: Divination, Horoscopy, and Astronomy in Mesopotamian Culture: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0521716616?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

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Follow me on Twitter @AaronIrber

Subscribe to my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@imightbelieveinfaeries7563

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for updates on the show, essays, and more!

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Battle Of The Creek by Alexander Nakarada | https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com

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Independent Tolkien scholar, Ian Gunn, joins the show to discuss an article he wrote titled, “Tolkien’s Invasion of Dragons”, which was published in Mythlore in 2025.

Have the dragons disappeared from the world or are they still lurking about? What do we even do with one if we stumble across one in our garden?

Ian and I discuss Tolkien’s belief that tales of heroic myths and legends can revivify society and restore the “memory of the high and the perilous.”

We don’t want to be invaded by dragons, but sometimes that is exactly what we need.

“Tolkien’s Invasion of Dragons” (Mythlore 2025): https://dc.swosu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3375&context=mythlore

Joie de Vivre Journal: https://www.jdvjournal.com/

Ian Gunn can be found on Substact: Thoughts on Tolkien

Ian Gunn can be found on Twitter.com @tolkienthoughts

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Follow me on Twitter @AaronIrber

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for updates on the show, essays, and more!

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What are the mysterious beings known as fairies? Can they be defined? How have fairy encounters in Europe changed over the centuries?

Dr. Francis Young returns to the show to discuss his new book, Fairies: A History, by Polity Books (2026). Dr. Young traces fairies and fairy encounters from pagan Europe all the way to the 21st Century. He argues that it is not useful to think of fairies as beings that can be proved and documented scientifically, but experienced through a type of perception. Have we moderns lost this type of perception?

What does Tolkien’s conception of Faerie have to do with all of this?

How did the Reformation and the Enlightenment impact fairy belief?

We discuss all of this and more in this episode of IMBIF.

Fairies: A History: https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=fairies-a-history--9781509566778

Dr. Young can be found on Twitter.com @DrFrancisYoung

His substack is Francis Young

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Follow me on Twitter @AaronIrber

Subscribe to my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@imightbelieveinfaeries7563

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for updates on the show, essays, and more!

Donate to my Patreon - I Might Believe in Faeries https://www.patreon.com/imightbelieveinfaeries

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Battle Of The Creek by Alexander Nakarada | https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com

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A bold, new story for the 21st Century.

Charles Shoultz has had the dream to write a modern story that would rival the great tales of old. He has finally begun to release his story in pieces, like an old magazine serial. Let me tell you, he does not disappoint.

Writer and poet, C. A. Shoultz joins me on the show to discuss his first book, Technocracy. We talked about his background in poetry as well as the background to his story.

This has the potential to be something big, so check it out!

Follow Shoultz on substack: C.A. Shoultz

The website to find the story is here: https://www.cashoultz.com/

Find C. A. Shoultz on Twitter.com @HarrierMagnus

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Follow me on Twitter @AaronIrber

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Battle Of The Creek by Alexander Nakarada | https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com

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In this episode, I am joined by the award winning fantasy author, Tim Powers, and my friend, iSamwise, to discuss Tim’s newest book, The Mills of the Gods (Baen 2025).

We talked about pagan gods, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Alexander Scriabin, and all of the weird things going on in post-WWI Paris.

Enjoy!

The Mills of the Gods can be found here: https://www.baen.com/Chapters/9781668073018/9781668073018.htm

iSamwise has a YouTube channel that can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/@iSamwise

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Follow me on Twitter @AaronIrber

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Battle Of The Creek by Alexander Nakarada | https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com

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In this special episode, I am a guest on Thomas Mirus’ Catholic Culture podcast. We discussed Tolkien’s darkest story, The Children of Hurin.

Thomas gave me permission to publish the episode on my own show as well. The original episode was published here: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/tolkiens-darkest-tale-w-aaron-irber/

Thomas Mirus can be found on Twitter.com @CatholicPods and on Substack Thomas Mirus

Here are the original notes from the Catholic Culture podcast:

The darkest, and perhaps most underrated, story J.R.R. Tolkien ever wrote was the tale of Túrin Turambar, a great man of the First Age of Middle-Earth, whose life was ruined by the curse of Morgoth (Tolkien’s Satan-figure) and by his own pride. The tale, which resembles a Greek tragedy, was given its longest and most satisfying version in the posthumously published book The Children of Hurin.

Aaron Irber, host of a podcast “about stories, myths, and Catholicism”, joins Thomas to discuss this underappreciated work by Tolkien.

-Aaron’s podcast, I Might Believe in Faeries

Theme music: “Franciscan Eyes”, written and performed by Thomas Mirus. Download the Catholic Culture Podcast soundtrack.

Today, I am joined by my friend Gregorio Montejo to discuss a subject that has caused a minor controversy in the world of re-enchantment and Traditionalist Catholicism. I am talking about a book titled Mysticism, Magic & Monasteries: Recovering the Sacred Mystery at the Root of Reality (Os Justi Press, 2024) by Dr. Sebastian Morello. In this book, Dr. Morello argues for the integration (possibly re-integration) of neoplatonic and hermetic thought into the Church. What does this mean? What does this look like? We discuss all this, critiques of the book, and much more.

Gregorio Montejo can be found on Twitter.com @KtistecP

Gregorio’s substack, Past Master, can be found here.

Books by Sebastian Morello:

Mysticism, Magic & Monasteries can be found here.

The World as God’s Icon can be found here.

Morello’s Critics and Responses:

Hermetic Tradition or Catholic Tradition? A Critique of Sebastian Morello by Matthew Minerd, Thomas Mirus, Matthew Scarince

Dialogos on Magic with Drs Morello and Minerd from The Meaning of Catholic

In this episode, Susannah Black Roberts returns to the show to discuss the best books we read in 2025. We talked a lot about C. S. Lewis, Philip Pullman, Patrick O’Brian, Tim Powers, and others. We discussed how some authors are able to depict “holiness” in their books and what that can do to the reader.

Check it out!

Susannah is the editor of both Plough and Mere Orthodoxy and she can be found on Twitter.com @suzania

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Follow me on Twitter @AaronIrber

Subscribe to my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@imightbelieveinfaeries7563

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for updates on the show, essays, and more!

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Battle Of The Creek by Alexander Nakarada | https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com

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This podcast and its content may not be used for training and developing A.I. systems without permission.

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