We read Towers of Midnight, Book 13 of The Wheel of Time.

Next month we'll be reading all of Alcatraz vs The Shattered Lens, Episode Airs: Feb 18th.

Content warnings for this episode: ableism, addiction, age gap, amputation, betrayal, bleeding, body horror, body modification, broken bones , classism, colonization, death, domestic violence, fetishization, gaslighting, gender roles, hallucinations, insanity, J.K. Rowling, kink, knives, maiming, misogyny, murder, mutilation, rape, real world violence, religious extremism, self harm, sexual content, sexual violence, slavery, stabbing, strangulation, suicide/suicidal ideation, terminal illness, transphobia, trauma, undeath, Vietnam War, wounds and infection

Jordan Quote About Language: https://www.reddit.com/r/WoT/comments/1mv9wv/language_in_the_world_of_wot/

Interviews Jack Cited

https://aidanmoher.com/blog/2010/11/interviews/interview-brandon-sanderson-author-of-towers-of-midnight-and-the-way-of-kings/

https://www.theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=547

Jack's Rankings

The Way of Kings
Warbreaker
Mistborn
Alcatraz vs. the Scrivener's Bones
The Hero of Ages
Elantris
Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
Alcatraz vs. the Knights of Crystallia (Book 3)
The Well of Ascension

This show is created by Graham Gillman, Taylor Lane, and Jack McLaughlan.

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Our theme music is "goodnight kiss" by 2mello off the album midnight broadcasts. (https://2mello.net/)

On this part two we finish The Way of Kings, making this comfortably our longest episode yet. Apologies for getting this out a day later than I said I would, the flu took me out.

New Discord!

Content warnings for this episode: ableism, addiction, age gap, betrayal, bleeding, body horror, body modification, broken bones, caste systems, child abuse, child death, christian imagery, classism, colonization, death, decapitation, discussion of sexuality, disembowelment, domestic violence, exsanguination, gaslighting, genocide, human sacrifice, insanity, knives, maiming, mind control, misogyny, mormonism, murder, mutation, mutilation, racism, rape culture, religious conversion, religious extremism, self harm, settler colonialism, sexual content, sex work, slavery, slave races, stabbing, strangulation, suicide/suicidal ideation, surgery, terminal illness, undeath, wounds and infection

Works Mentioned

A Wizard of Earthsea

The Grace of Kings

Don Quixote

Exhalation

Stories of Your Life

Arrival

Le Mort de Arthur

David Graeber The Dawn of Everything

This show is created by Graham Gillman, Taylor Lane, and Jack McLaughlan.

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Our theme music is "goodnight kiss" by 2mello off the album midnight broadcasts. (https://2mello.net/)

On this episode we read The Way of Kings, a book so massive we really only talk about the plot of the book in the last third of the episode.

We split this episode in half because of how big this book is. It's slow, methodical, and we talked about it for 8 and a half hours.

Happy New Year folks, I wish you a wonderful and safe start to 2025.

Next Month: We read the entirety of Towers of Midnight, Episode Airs: January 28th.

Content warnings for this episode: ableism, addiction, age gap, betrayal, bleeding, body horror, body modification, broken bones, caste systems, child abuse, child death, christian imagery, classism, colonization, death, decapitation, discussion of sexuality, disembowelment, domestic violence, exsanguination, gaslighting, genocide, human sacrifice, insanity, knives, maiming, marital rape, mind control, misogyny, mormonism, murder, mutation, mutilation, racism, rape, rape culture, religious conversion, religious extremism, self harm, settler colonialism, sexual content, sex work, slavery, slave races, stabbing, strangulation, suicide/suicidal ideation, surgery, terminal illness, undeath, wounds and infection

Correction: Graham does not have the most liked 1 star review of Tress of the Emerald Sea anymore, there are several other reviews that have dethroned them.

Correction: about 34 minutes in, Graham says 4,000 years but means 1,000.

Correction 1:36:50 It is the Stormfather speaking to Kaladin who says this, not a Dalinar vision.

The Mormon Church’s tax exempt status in 1978 came under threat because of their views on race and excluding black men from the priesthood. The president of the church received a divine revelation.

MASSIVE SPOILER WARNING FOR BOOKS 1-4 OF THE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE: The Most Mormon Magic System: How Brandon Sanderson Turned Agency into Fantasy by Liz Busby

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - Normally we'd link this on our bookshop, but it second hand or get it from the library.

This show is created by Graham Gillman, Taylor Lane, and Jack McLaughlan.

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Our theme music is "goodnight kiss" by 2mello off the album midnight broadcasts. (https://2mello.net/)

We read the The Gathering Storm, Book 12 of The Wheel of Time. This was a lot, and we apologize for the delay. Happy Thanksgiving folks.

Next month we'll be reading all of The Way of Kings, Episode Airs: December 24th, Christmas Eve.

Content warnings for this episode: ableism, addiction, age gap, amputation, betrayal, bleeding, body horror, body modification, broken bone, classism, colonization, death, domestic violence, fetishization, gaslighting, gender roles, hallucinations, insanity, J.K. Rowling, kink, knives, maiming, misogyny, murder, mutilation, rape, real world violence, religious extremism, self harm, sexual content, sexual violence, slavery, stabbing, strangulation, suicide/suicidal ideation, terminal illness, transphobia, trauma, undeath, Vietnam War, wounds and infection

Correction: Robert Jordan’s Assistants were Alan Romanczuk and Maria Simons

Correction: Jordan’s Claim that he wouldn’t let anyone else finish the series, I say weeks in the episode but it is much more likely that Jordan changed his mind during the last year of his life, so months before his death not weeks.

However, Sanderson makes this weeks claim here and is obviously much more qualified than I am.

Michael Livingston Origins of the Wheel of Time

The Gunslinger by Stephen King

Real-world references Wheel of Time

Ask Ann Landers

Women Want Me Fish Fear Me Moraine:

The Aiel as Cheyenne

Dune Frank Herbert & David Lynch’s Dune

The Boundless Light of Islam Tweet

The Fifth Season NK Jemisin

51 Books You Could Read Instead of The Wheel of Time

The Once and Future King by T.H. White

Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Mallory (the translation by Simon Armitage is very good)

Mercedes Lackey

Ursula LeGuin

Daggerspell by Katherine Kerr

Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa

Dragonball by Akira Toriyama

The Power by Naomi Alderman

Generic Entertainment Wheel of Time

The Green Bone Saga

Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent

The Expanse by James SA Corey

Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn

Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn

Naomi Novik

This show is created by Graham Gillman, Taylor Lane, and Jack McLaughlan.

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Our theme music is "goodnight kiss" by 2mello off the album midnight broadcasts. (https://2mello.net/)

We read the interesting yet undersauced Alcatraz vs The Knights of Crystallia!

Next month we'll be reading The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson. Episode airs, November 12th.

James Acaster's Repertoire is available from Netflix.

References

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel by Susanna Clarke

Content warnings for this episode: abandonment, ableism, addiction, betrayal, bleeding, bullying, censorship, child abuse, child endangerment, classism, colonialism, conspiracies, cults, death, existentialism, fame, fatphobia, foster homes, Harry Potter, human sacrifice, imprisonment, insanity, J.K. Rowling, lying, mental illness, mind control, murder, neglect, oligarchy, prisons, racism, royalty, self harm, self hatred, settler colonialism, stabbing, suicide/suicidal ideation, transphobia, trials, undeath, wounds

Sorry for the late upload y'all, I ended up doing the last third of this episode behind the bar at work.

This show is created by Graham Gillman, Taylor Lane, and Jack McLaughlan.

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Our theme music is "goodnight kiss" by 2mello off the album midnight broadcasts. (https://2mello.net/)

We discuss the broader Cosmere, as well as some of the finer points of the ending of Warbreaker.

Come back next week for Alcatraz vs The Knights of Crystalia.

This conversation is less professional, we can only hope it's entertaining.

Content warnings for this episode: colonization, death, discussion of sexuality, settler colonialism

This show is created by Graham Gillman, Taylor Lane, and Jack McLaughlan.

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Our theme music is "goodnight kiss" by 2mello off the album midnight broadcasts. (https://2mello.net/)

We read the bright, colorful, and most importantly - good Warbreaker in its entirety.

Next month we'll be reading all of Alcatraz vs The Knights of Crystallia, Episode Airs: October 15th

https://x.com/headfallsoff/status/1051484419251425280

Message I sent to Jack during the pod, potential spoilers for Word of Brandon and Stormlight. https://imgur.com/HeaTJ6v.jpg

I highly recommend this Library of Congress National Book Fair Talk with James SA Corey https://youtu.be/OWSo3qSKAuM?si=aKm4yKIRcgabOsO4

All those lectures and talks were quite good, if one sticks out to you give it a listen.

There was an audio issue in the original version of this episode that has since been remedied, shout out to our listeners who got back to us so quickly.

Content warnings for this episode: ableism, addiction, age gap, betrayal, bleeding, body horror, body modification, broken bones, child abuse, child death, child sacrifice (non lethal), classism, colonization, death, decapitation, discussion of rape, discussion of sexuality, disembowelment, domestic violence, enemies to lovers, fatphobia, fridging, gaslighting, genocide, human sacrifice, insanity, J.K. Rowling, knives, maiming, marital rape, mind control, misogyny, murder, mutation, mutilation, non-traditional use of the word "rape", puppets, racism, rape, rape culture, religious conversion, religious extremism, self harm, settler colonialism, sexual content, sexual assault, sexual violence, skeletons, slavery, stabbing, strangulation, suicide/suicidal ideation, terminal illness, undeath, wounds and infection

This show is created by Graham Gillman, Taylor Lane, and Jack McLaughlan.

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Our theme music is "goodnight kiss" by 2mello off the album midnight broadcasts. (https://2mello.net/)

Join us for our shortest episode yet! We delve into Sanderson's first works of science fiction, two interesting short stories about space and failure.

Next month we'll be reading all of Warbreaker.

Content warnings for this episode: abandonment, ableism, betrayal, bleeding, blindness, broken bones, bullying, child abuse, classism, conspiracies, cults, death, empire, existentialism, failure, fascism, gifted kid syndrome, gulags, homophobia, human sacrifice, human supremacy, imprisonment, insanity, imperialism, JK Rowling, maiming, mental illness, mind control, murder, Nazi Germany, Orson Scott Card, prisons, self harm, self hatred, stabbing, suicide/suicidal ideation, torture, transphobia, wounds and infection

Defending Elysium: https://www.brandonsanderson.com/defending-elysium/

Firstborn: https://reactormag.com/firstborn/

Opening Scene to Cowboy Bebop: https://youtu.be/Z-4ImAf6qYk
I totally blanked and missed the opportunity to talk about Jet as a disabled character in the episode, but alas, we record these in the morning and sometimes the brain misses the connection.

Darko Suvin's Estrangement and Cognition: http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/articles/estrangement-and-cognition/ - I did an embarassingly bad job talking about one of the foundational texts of science fiction studies. If it's relevant again I'll do a better job talking about it, but for now I highly recommend reading it only to better understand some of the reasons a text feels like "science fiction".

If you're intersted in Star Wars or Grand Admiral Thrawn, I highly recommend A More Civilized Age, where Waypoint Radio Veterans Ali, Austin, Natalie, and Rob are going through Star Wars Rebels where he makes an appearance.

This show is created by Graham Gillman, Taylor Lane, and Jack McLaughlan.

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Our theme music is "goodnight kiss" by 2mello off the album midnight broadcasts. (https://2mello.net/)