Escapists Anonymous

Sam and Dan review Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading this book before listening. In this episode, Sam and Dan delve into Ava Reid's reimagining of Lady Macbeth, exploring the cultural impact and reinterpretation of Shakespeare's iconic character. They discuss the themes of power, femininity, and survival, as well as the...

am and Dan review The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading this book before listening. We dive into the world of 'The Night and the Moth' by Rachel Gillig, exploring its themes, characters, and the genre of romantasy. We discuss the book's pacing, the portrayal of romance, and the unique setting of the Sto...

Sam and Dan review Katabasis by R.F. Kuang. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading this book before listening. Dan and Sam discuss the new fantasy release 'Katabasis' by R.F. Kuang. They delve into the book's themes, characters, and the unique setting of an academic journey through hell. The conversation explores the challenges of PhD life, the...

Dan challenged Sam to read one of his favourite books, Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, and now we get to find out what he thought. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading this book before listening. We dive into the intricate world of Brandon Sanderson's "Mistborn." In this episode, they explore the unique magic systems, character arcs, and the ri...

Sam and Dan review Bury Our Bones In The Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading this book before listening. Join Sam and Dan as they dive into the intricate world of V.E. Schwab's latest novel, "Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil." This episode unravels the layers of vampire mythology, exploring themes of power, id...

Sam and Dan review Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading this book before listening. In this episode, Dan and Sam delve into the world of sci-fi with a discussion on Adrian Tchaikovsky's 2025 novel, Shroud. They explore the novel's themes of human experience through a sci-fi lens, focusing on the biology of alien life a...

Sam and Dan review The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading this book before listening. We explore Christopher Buehlman's Dungeons and Dragons inspired world through this first-person retrospective epic adventure containing, thieves, assassins, giants and goblins. We deep dive into our narrator's character...

Sam and Dan review Faithbreaker by Hannah Kaner, the final instalment in The Fallen Gods Trilogy. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading this book before listening. Having felt a bit let down by book 2 in this trilogy, Sunbringer, we are tempted back to Faithbreaker by Hannah Kaner's amazing world-building and her enjoyable characters. We work our way thr...

Sam and Dan review The Book That Held Her Heart by Mark Lawrence, the final instalment in The Library Trilogy. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading this book before listening. Having enjoyed the first two books in the series, we have high hopes for the finale. We discuss our feelings on some of the decisions Mark Lawrence made when landing the plane. We talk...

Sam and Dan review The Familiar, by Leigh Bardugo. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading this book before listening. Leigh Bardugo is hugely successful in the Young Adult Fantast world, but how will her work in the adult fiction sphere hold up. We discuss the price of being a woman with ambition, and magical powers, in 16th century Spain during the inquisitio...

Sam and Dan review The Book of Doors, by Gareth Brown. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading this book before listening. We've heard lots of good things about this 2024 release and so we're excited to review yet another fantasy book about books. We discuss some things we like, and several elements that we struggled with.  Join in the conversation by...

Sam and Dan review The Devils, by Joe Abercrombie. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading this book before listening. We deep-dive into one of the year's hottest releases. The Devils, by Lord Grim-Dark himself, Joe Abercrombie. We compare this to Abercrombie's First Law world, before exploring this diverse cast of characters and perspectives. We eval...

Sam and Dan review Pagans, by James Alistair Henry. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading this book before listening. We delve into this crime-thriller set in an alternative version of modern-day England, where 1066 never happened and Pagan religion and culture dominate. We struggle to figure out whether this is a fantasy book or an alternative history, befor...

Sam and Dan review The Book That Broke the World, by Mark Lawrence: book 2 in the Library Trilogy. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading this book before listening. Having given the prestigious Escapists Anonymous 'Book of the Year 2024' award to The Book That Wouldn't Burn, there were high expectations for the sequel to deliver on this great p...

Sam challenges Dan to read his first two Discworld novel, and in this episode, we discuss both Pyramids and Guards Guards and compare views. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading both books before listening. Pyramids and Guards Guards are books 7 and 8 in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. We discuss why Sam felt these were a good starting point for Dan...

Sam and Dan review The Children of Gods and Fighting Men, by Shauna Lawless. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading this book before listening. The Children of Gods and Fighting Men is the first novel in Shauna Lawless's Gael Song trilogy. We delve into our first historical fantasy. We explore the key themes, the historically accurate plot and how the his...

Sam and Dan review The Great When, by legendary writer, Alan Moore. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading this book before listening. The Great When is the first novel in Alan Moore's planned series titled 'The London Quintet'. We get into the various plot strands that are introduced and tied off throughout. We discuss our main protagonist, Den...

Sam and Dan are joined on the podcast by self-published author, Dan Hanly, to discuss his debut novel, The Great Leap (book 1 in the Children of Innauron series). SPOILER ALERT: While we try to avoid spoilers, the interview inevitably refers to events that occur throughout the book. We ask Dan all about his thinking behind the world, characters and plot in The Great Leap, along with trying to teas...

Sam and Dan wrap up the discussion of S.A. Chakraborty's City of Brass, book one of the Daevabad Trilogy. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading the chapters we're covering before listening. Now that we have finished the book, we discuss our feelings on its conclusion, including whether it was in fact a conclusion at all. We get into what we thought...

Sam and Dan discuss chapter 10 - 19 of S.A. Chakraborty's City of Brass, book one of the Daevabad Trilogy. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading the chapters we're covering before listening. We still can't really figure out where this story is heading. We're not sure who our main antagonist is supposed to be. And in some cases, we don&apos...

Sam and Dan discuss chapter 1 - 9 of S.A. Chakraborty's City of Brass, book one of the Daevabad Trilogy. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading the chapters we're covering before listening. We discuss our first impressions of our two protagonists, Nahri and Ali, as well as what we think of the magical Djinn world that exists behind a veil within the...

Sam and Dan wrap up the discussion of Hannah Kaner's Sunbringer, book two of the Fallen Gods Trilogy. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading the chapters we're covering before listening. We ask whether the chapter structure that this book enables the story and characters to be developed most effectively. We reflect on what we loved about the story, t...

Sam and Dan discuss chapter 17 - 37 of Hannah Kaner's Sunbringer, book two of the Fallen Gods Trilogy. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading the chapters we're covering before listening. As our main characters go about their largely separate storylines, we ponder how Hannah Kaner might bring them all back together, or not, for the climax of Sunbring...

Grab a glass of champagne and join us for an evening of festivities as we crown 2024 winners in the following categories: - Best Protagonist - Worst Protagonist - Best Antagonist - Best World - Best Plot Twist - Book of the Year Join in the conversation by following us on social media: Instagram TikTok

Sam and Dan discuss chapter 1 - 16 of Hannah Kaner's Sunbringer, book two of the Fallen Gods Trilogy. SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains spoilers. We strongly recommend reading the chapters we're covering before listening. In our first return to a world we have visited before on the podcast, we catch up with Kissen, Elo, Inara and Skedi. We explore the difference and challenges that th...