The Shrieking Shack

The Truce at Bakura, chapters 15-21

We conclude our detour into the Star Wars expanded universe this week! We discuss the finale of Luke's adventures on Bakura, which involve cutting a bunch of dinosaurs' heads off, using his mind to kill a bunch of bugs eating his guts, and a lot of hanging around at an airport bar. We also chat about meeting celebrities, local Harry Potter conventions, and goof off in a little third segment game!

(We talk about Acolyte spoilers up through ep. 7--not the finale!--so if you've wanting to watch that, skip ahead 5 minutes when we bring it up)

The Truce at Bakura, chapters 8-14

After a few weeks of unprecedented circumstances, we're back to continue examining The Truce at Bakura. This novel is asking some fascinating questions, like: how did they put bugs in Luke Skywalker? Will Luke Skywalker get some with this Imperial senator? Will the bugs inside of him make that awkward?

The Truce at Bakura chapters 1-7

We're back! Work has been kicking both of our asses lately, but we've finally convened to discuss the first third of the fascinating Star Wars Legends novel 'The Truth at Bakura'--as a little break between Hunger Games novels.

Have you ever wondered what happened after Return of the Jedi? Like, maybe fifteen minutes after the movie ends? Well, it turns out some dinosaurs are putting guys' brains in droids and only Luke Skywalker and his friends can save them. How will he do that? Well, so far it seems like mostly by taking meetings. We discuss the bizarre plot, the interesting author, and the broader spectrum of mass media franchises being strung along forever by mass market paperbacks.

This week we convene to enjoy a big, warm bowl of classic Shriekcast third segment style content as we check in with Quora questions about Catching Fire! Epic length essays about whether or not an INTJ could win a Hunger Game, extremely dodgy political opinions, and excellence in the field of run-on-sentence construction abound. And that's not all; we've also got exciting strings updates, opinions on What's Going On With Planes, kitchen gadget nightmare scenarios, and more!

Catching Fire chapters 24-27

It's been a busy couple of weeks for both of us (working; moving) but that didn't stop us from finishing the last four chapters of Catching Fire! And boy, if we thought we were in a rush, nothing compares to this book's bizarre finale. People often offer the criticism that certain stories "just stop," but the last few moments of this novel are on their own level. We discuss the breakneck final action sequence and practically bullet-pointed list of reveals as well as checking in with strings drama, Ikea, and those three famous detectives we all know and love!

Catching Fire chapters 22 & 23

TWO giant reveals that we avoided having spoiled! Can you believe it!? This one is particularly funny, given our hobby trajectories of late. This awesome new arena mechanic is revealed alongside an exciting action sequence, some ridiculous (complimentary) side characters joining Katniss's party, some ridiculous (derogatory) Peeta moments, and some small worldbuilding revelations that send us reeling. Plus! More Strings Drama--and a step back into the mysterious world of three detectives with curious names...

Catching Fire chapters 20-21

Remember how we had somehow remained completely unaware of the werewolves in the first Hunger Games book? Somehow, by some beautiful miracle, we remained equally, blissfully unaware of another animal threat in this series. Not much happens in these action-packed chapters outside, but boy does a lot happen. There are chapters that feel like novels, as they say...

Anyway, aside from the fight scene involving a bunch of mutant monkeys, we discuss the fun character dynamics between Katniss, Finnick, and Peeta (I guess he's still alive), this book's inventive twists on the survival story trappings from the first novel, and okay I'm exaggerating we mostly talk about the monkey fight. And that's not all--we also discuss the new James Patterson novel!

Catching Fire chapters 18-19

We are so back! We kick off 2024 with a rowdy return to podcasting about work sucking, holidays sucking, and Peeta sucking. We have some exciting news on that front this week however, although neither of us is convinced it really happened. Still, even if things are feeling a bit predictable, we certainly can't accuse these chapters of being boring! Waterworld antics, bonkers lies, trident headshots--there's a lot of wild stuff packed in here as we finally get to the Hunger Games part of this Hunger Games novel.

Catching Fire chapters 16-17

We're still not at the Hunger Game. It sure seems like we're running out of book, but instead of duking it out in the arena our heroes are still meeting their foes and/or potential allies. Are Katniss and Peeta building a heist team, or are they just going to fight all these guys? We've got lots to discuss about this and more, but first we also have some Neopets updates, strings drama, and dental work to discuss!

(If you're not a fan of dentist anxieties/horror stories, you can start the episode at 9:20!)

Catching Fire chapters 14-15

Life threw Liz some work-related lemons this past week, but we're here and discussing how best to turn them into bonus lemonade! We chat about future plans for discussing future plans, give an update on what's going on in strings world, and get attacked by Earl--and that's all before we get into our crazy chapters! We learn all about sugar, Hunger Games hacks, and Dr. Seuss ass map design. There's also some juicy critical stuff to discuss re: character work and the overall metaphor of the Games. Sugar cube?