We discuss how much we love the 2nd book in Sung-il Kim’s The Bleeding Empire series. New locations, new characters, surprising returns, and an ambitious but nerve-wracking ending are delved into here. Your hosts are Steph Kingston (@StephOKingston), Christina Ladd (@christinaladd), and Joshua MacDougall (@FourofFiveWits). You can find us all on Bluesky. Our art is …

Happy Halloween Season. This year’s scary Bookling was picked by Steph, The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim. On this episode, we’re rooting and feeling for the serial killer, for the most part. Be warned if you don’t like eyeball stuff, this may not be the one for you. Your hosts are Steph …

Josh goes off on John and his old Lyctors in these middle chapters. Steph digs through the clues. Christina praises the use of asymmetrical information serving multiple twists. Ortus is the real MVP and sees the Cool S. Your hosts are Steph Kingston (@StephOKingston), Christina Ladd (@christinaladd), and Joshua MacDougall (@FourofFiveWits). You can find us …

We discuss what is up with Ianthe, Ianthe’s weird room, the unserious Emperor’s decor, Harrow and John’s conversation about her birth, and hints about what BoE is. We are also wistful for Harrow’s door diary. Your hosts are Steph Kingston (@StephOKingston), Christina Ladd (@christinaladd), and Joshua MacDougall (@FourofFiveWits). You can find us all on Bluesky. …

The paperback edition of Blood of the Old Kings by Sung-il Kim and translated by Anton Hur is out today, so we are re-releasing our interview with both of them from last year. The cast loved this book when it was originally released and found this interview to be a delight, and hope you do …

Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz is about a group of robots in an unidentified dystopian future of California who discover not only that they have been offline for months, but also that the owners of their restaurant have fled the country. They decide, instead of serving the mix of all the hodgepodge of food their …

We discuss knowing you when your bones were smaller, Ianthe haunted by Babs’ FunkoPop collection, God playing games on his phone, forgetting that he’s muted during meetings, and will someone PLEASE check on Harrow? These chapters do a lot to set up the plot and introduce the new characters like the Lyctors, Jod, and the …

We start by discussing the Locked Tomb story, “The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex,” and then move on to Harrow the Ninth, where we explore the confusion of reading this for the first time compared to now, pointing out the small details that went over our heads amidst the chaos. Your hosts are Steph Kingston …

On this bookling, we’re talking the science fiction novella Volatile Memory by Seth Haddon. This was a fun one to talk about the cool technology used, dystopian futures run by corporations, setting boundaries, and the intimacy of the two main characters, so be sure to check it out. An advance reader copy of this book …

We talk about the final chapters of Gideon the Ninth, where things escalate quickly. We talk about the infamous pool scene and what details in the finale stood out to us this time around. Your hosts are Steph Kingston (@StephOKingston), Christina Ladd (@christinaladd), and Joshua MacDougall (@FourofFiveWits). You can find us all on Bluesky. Our …