Is This Just Fantasy?

In a parallel world this ought to have been episode 3 of this podcast. In anticipation of reading Empire of the Damned, Geordie and Duncan,,, well, just Geordie actually, return to the dark world of Empire of the Vampire. Geordie catches Duncan back up on all the dramatic fights, the vampiric lore, the cool tattoos, and the slight overabundance of references to either Elric or the Last of Us.

Over two years and (slightly over) 50 books under their belt, Duncan and Geordie revisit every fantasy novel fantasy novels they've read over the past two years, ranking them from the very lowest lows to the absolute bests of the genre. It gets contentious at times, tune in to hear Geordie call Duncan a heretic and find out what you should be reading this year.

Thank you to everyone who's listened to the podcast, to the arguments and the laughs and the erroneous facts spat with a little too much confidence. Years to two more years and 50 more books!

To commemorate their 50th fantasy novel, the fellas read and discuss a classic in the fantasy genre, the beginning to Robin Hobb's seminal Realm of the Elderlings series: Assassin's Apprentice. The fellas cover the book's influence, the strength of its characters, as well as some of slightly,,, slower moments. They also spend a lot of time discussing Game of Thrones and Green Rider.

Just how many times can Geordie say "roaring rampage of revenge" in just one episode? That's one of many questions the fellas ask as they delve into Joe Abercrombie's Best Served Cold. Duncan pulls a Murtagh, pulling Geordie into the fourth book in a series, Can they keep their bearings? Can Geordie figure out who the Bloody Nine is? And will Duncan ever discover what domming is? Only time will tell.

Things get philosophical as the fellas are compelled to cover the trolley problem, vegetarianism, and ethical consumption under capitalism, all because Geordie picked the Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. LeGuin. He also spends an unforgivable amount of time talking about his latest weird interest at the start, but he has since been suitably punished. The hotest debate in the whole episode though is right in the title: is this (just) fantasy.

On the heels of the first season's finale, the fellas wrap up their review of a book which had a Vader-like (Vaderesque? Vaderonean?) chokehold on Geordie's childhood. Does it hold up? Of course it does. This episode is a major hit with them both. Episode highlights are Geordie teaching Duncan the correct pronunciation of Uranus, and Duncan making a... very interesting request of Geordie.

Editing note: there were some unfortunate recording issues with this episode which may carry over to the following episode, however it should be resolved in the one after that.

For one it's a return to an old favourite. For another, it's beginning a dense fantasy series at book 5 with very little context. The fellas leap into Murtagh the follow up to Eragon and the Inheritance Cycle, which Duncan has never read. Episode highlights are Duncan demanding to know what an Urgal is, an enthusiastic discussion of the book's magic system, and Geordie fulfilling his dream of becoming a game show host.

In a cracking start to the new year and their 3rd season the fellas have delivered what they agree is probably their best episode yet. And of course that had to happen when discussing a lesser known creation by an author writing in 1929. Kull of Atlantis, the original Conan. Duncan rocks Geordie's world by introducing Geordie to the world of queer readings of Kull and Conan, whilst Geordie shares the story of his most hysterical mistake in his history of playing RPGs.

Look how far we've come this year. Geordie and Duncan look back at all the novels they've covered through 2023 and spare a moment of highlight some of the best surprises, their least favourites, and the very best they came across.

For this year's holiday special the fellas review the only other Christmas fantasy book they could think of: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. They discuss the charming book's humble and adorable origins, the world's most impactful trip to the zoo, Geordie teaches Duncan Bible stories, whilst Duncan recounts the most hare-brained story of the creation of the iconic lampost. Most importantly both hosts discuss how their schools made them dress up as evacuated children and realise that their childhoods might be a little weirder than they'd first realised.