When you’ve read a lot of novels, or this could likely apply to a lot of other media too, your brain starts to recognize the patterns of storytelling that will lead to certain outcomes, like seeing where you have to swap the tiles in a puzzle-solving game. Authors can take advantage of these expectations and …

When an Anthony Ryan book comes out, I read it. So imagine my excitement when a sequel to The Covenant of Steel series, a trilogy beloved by me, was announced. When I began the book, I had some apprehension. Previously, I felt Ryan’s singular character point-of-view books always felt stronger than his multiple point-of-view books, …

Brigands & Breadknives, the third book in the Legends and Lattes series by Travis Baldree continues where Bookshops & Bonedust left off with Viv inviting her friend and bookshop owner Fern the ratkin to open a bookshop next door to Viv’s coffeshop. It’s a success, but the problem is Fern absolutely hates it. A fear …

Josh and Steph discuss the lovable and tragic monsters of Joe Abercrombie’s The Devils. Your hosts are Steph Kingston (@StephOKingston), Christina Ladd (@christinaladd), and Joshua MacDougall (@FourofFiveWits). You can find us all on Bluesky. Our art is by Mangoyu Art (@MangoyuArt), and our music is by Bad Sparrow (@BadSparrowMusic). You can find us on  BlueSky, …

Big Corpo “We’re your family now” Energy from Jod in these chapters as we discuss the infamous soup scene, Harrow being bone horny, and boy howdy, do we pick a lot of books with immortals who suck. Your hosts are Steph Kingston (@StephOKingston), Christina Ladd (@christinaladd), and Joshua MacDougall (@FourofFiveWits). You can find us all …

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 …