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 …

We talk about holding grudges, how much we hate the mayonnaise uncle, ghost talk, trauma responses, the youth of the Ninth House, Gideon and Harrow’s backstory, the mythology of the locked tomb, Camilla’s weapon of choice, and what Dulcinea is up to. Your hosts are Steph Kingston (@StephOKingston), Christina Ladd (@christinaladd), and Joshua MacDougall (@FourofFiveWits). …

We discuss our favorite / best books we’ve read halfway through the year (2025) and what we’re looking forward to reading. 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 …

We discuss the realization that Gideon and Harrow are, in fact, youths, and Gideon has a teenager’s brain. Plus, a lot of mysteries occur in the book about what exactly Canaan House is and what has occurred before. Your hosts are Steph Kingston (@StephOKingston), Christina Ladd (@christinaladd), and Joshua MacDougall (@FourofFiveWits). You can find us …

We’re talking about Emily Tesh’s new book, The Incandescent, which is out today. Set in a British magical school, it gives us the overworked administrative point-of-view of running a magical school, to what felt like, to us, a very millennial-coded story that was fun. Your hosts are Steph Kingston (@StephOKingston), Christina Ladd (@christinaladd), and Joshua …

The Devils by Joe Abercrombie feels fresh while still retaining the style of writing the author has become famous for. It’s set in a new world, our world in an alternate timeline Europe, where the church wages war with elves that eat the flesh of man and are waiting for their chance to wage war …