Bad Books for Bad People

We're celebrating the release of cohost Jack Guignol's debut novel Ornamental Women with a conversation that touches on inspiration, process, and motivation. Settle in for a wide-ranging chat about the novel, a dark gothic fantasy about the intersecting lives of three strange–and sometimes magical–women who want to solve the mystery of a disappearing corpse. How do you square conflicting feedback...

This month, Jack and Kate go into their stash of vintage paperbacks and engage in a little show-and-tell session. Kate brings The Phantom Detective: The Vampire Murders by Robert Wallace, a 1965 reprint of a pulp hero mystery from 1940, and Jack's choice is Tomoe Gozen by Jessica Amanda Salmonson, a psychedelic 1981 trip through a fantasy version of Japan. Who is the vampire of Vampire Mountain? A...

Harry Crews' Feas t of Snakes (1976) is a rough and raunchy southern gothic that opens with a lurid bang and never lets up. Jack and Kate are confronted with the seamy underbelly of Americana, from football bullies to dog fights to so, so, so very many snakes (reptilian and human). Why are debate club members the worst ever? Is the ultimate power move maintaining eye contact during scatalogical se...

The Ninja is a 1980 novel by prolific genre author Eric Van Lustbader, which would kick off not only an eight-book epic series but play a vital role in the ninja boom of the 1980s. Jack and Kate wander into this world of martial arts mysticism, murder mystery, and erotic romance. Is it ever acceptable to slide a finger into your partner's butt on a first date? What the hell is up with the murderou...

Jack and Kate look at what they've read and watched in the year that was 2025 and make some recommendations in the world of books and beyond. The rules of engagement are simple: the hosts each choose one movie, album, TV show, and book that was the best experience of its kind, regardless of when it was actually produced. A little bit new, a little bit old, and a whole lot of weirdness is in store!...

Karl Edward Wagner's 1975 sword and sorcery epic Bloodstone is the first full-length outing for Kane, mighty-thewed protagonist of a series of short stories and novels. Jack and Kate navigate a treacherous world of shifting political alliances, alien technology, and bat-monster-goddess girlfriends to figure out where Kane fits in the world of fantasy fiction. Has there ever been a trustworthy alie...

Hotel Transylvania (1978) is the first of 25 novels and two short story collections in Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's epic vampire series centering around the adventures of the Comte de Saint-Germain. Steeped in the court intrigues of 1740s Paris, Kate and Jack will encounter headstrong virgins, wicked yet incompetent Satanists, and a rather surprising amount of swashbuckling action. Why didn't Saint-Germ...

Poul Anderson's 1961 novel Three Hearts and Three Lions is one of the cornerstone influences on Dungeons and Dragons: a medieval-inflected romp through creature encounters and chivalric romance, featuring the world's most terrifying version of troll. Jack and Kate, our paladins of pulp, armor up and prepare to do battle with a veritable monster manual of menace in this month's book. What makes old...

Agustina Bazterrica's 2023 novel The Unworthy explores the relationship of its unnamed narrator with the repressive post-apocalyptic cult in which she finds herself. Jack and Kate embark on a harrowing journey through broken relationships and authoritarian control and dare to ask the most important question of all: can it be considered nunsploitation? What does it mean to crave feel-bad stories? W...

Keith Rosson's 2019 novel Smoke City is a supernatural character study that somehow makes the road trip adventure shared by a loose-cannon pop artist, a reluctant immortal, and a would-be ghost hunter into something much more poignant that one might expect. Jack and Kate hitch a ride with this motley crew and learn whether or not the real treasure is, in fact, the friends we make along the way. Wh...

It's time for Jack and Kate to explore their vintage paperback piles and trade tales from the yellowed pages of the past. Jack wades through the sweltering psychosexual Southern Gothickry of Donald Harington's 1965 sex comedy (?) The Cherry Pit while Kate learns what happens when Hitler faces off with Dracula in Jon Ruddy's 1990 shock-horror masterpiece (?) The Bargain . Will we encounter the wors...

Algis Budrys's 1960 novel Rogue Moon is a masterpiece of Sweaty Sci-Fi, a freshly-patented subgenre that will be revealed during the course of this episode. Jack and Kate take a trip to the dark side of the moon to ponder the meaning of life, love, the universe, and manly perspiration. What happens when you get some Jim Thompson in your moon mystery? Are women more dangerous than a murderous labyr...

It's March, which can only mean one thing! We're really late with this episode. Jack and Kate look at what they've read and watched in the year that was 2024 and make some recommendations in the world of books and beyond. The rules of engagement are simple: the hosts each choose one movie, album, TV show, and book that was the best experience of its kind, regardless of when it was actually produce...

Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done? is a 2021 graphic novel that pairs historical true crime author Harold Schechter and Eric Powell, writer and illustrator of the monster punch-up comic The Goon. Jack and Kate revisit the horrifying true tale of the Butcher of Plainfield–this time, in comic book style. What impact did this case have on pop culture, and why does it continue to fascinate us? How wer...

Christa Faust's 2004 novel Hoodtown takes the reader to an alternate universe Los Angeles, where crime drama is brewing in an underground culture populated by masked wrestlers. Skulls will be cracked and butts will be fingered when Jack and Kate get in the ring with this pile-driving mix of murder mystery, romance, and action. Why is it important to be nice to your local exotico? Does everyone fro...

Outside of your hosts' beloved Warhammer 40k novels, can tie-in game fiction be good? Jack and Kate aim to find out by discussing The Shadow on the Glas s , a 2024 novel that pairs podcast-favorite author Jonathan L. Howard with the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game. Where are all of London's fanciest spiritualists and psychics disappearing to? Can an A-team still be an A-team if the "a" stands for...

Sex. Sacrilege. Murder. Tennis. This podcast is all about three out of those four things. Sudden Death , a 1978 novel by Peter Brennan (creator of TV shows Judge Judy and A Current Affair), marks the first time Jack and Kate are venturing into the world of sports thriller fiction. Buckle up, because underneath those tennis whites there's a seething underbelly of drama and corruption.  What could g...

Russell Kirk is best known for his influential work of post-war political philosophy, The Conservative Mind. But his best-selling work–by far–was a 1961 gothic thriller The Old House of Fear . Jack and Kate wander through the mysterious isolated islands of Scotland on a hunt for Commie rabble-rousers, damsels in distress, and shaky real estate investments. Does getting shot during the Spanish civi...

Stephen King's 2013 novel Joyland is the author's second effort for publisher Hard Case Crime. Jack and Kate are ready to track the clues in this story of murder, romance, and amusement park professionals. What happens when the King of Horror gets a chance to be the Crime Writer Guy? Can the main character of his book ever achieve full carny acceptance? Why doesn't the magical child at the center...

Ray Garton's 1986 horror novel Live Girls may have the perfect bad book pitch: vampire hookers in seedy vintage Times Square. Jack and Kate travel back to a golden age of sleaze and encounter smokeshow bloodsucking strippers, donut-inspired dirty talk, and dancefloor remixes of "The Old Rugged Cross." What perverted compulsion makes a vampire turn the worst dudes in the world immortal? Why are nig...

Once again, Jack and Kate trade reviews of books from their archives. This time around, Jack explores the terrifying mystery and romance of Rae Foley's Nightmare House (1968) and Kate plunges straight into disaster with Airport 77 (1977). Why is dealing marijuana a worse crime than murder? Does a nightmare dude make a nightmare house into a nightmare home? Whose dick will be compared to a tiny air...

Jack and Kate look at what they've read and watched in the year that was 2023 and make some recommendations in the world of books and beyond. The rules of engagement are simple: the hosts each choose one movie, album, TV show, and book that was the best experience of its kind, regardless of when it was actually produced. A little bit new, a little bit old, and a whole lot of weirdness is in store!...

Todd McFarlane's Spawn is one of the great comics success stories of the 1990s, and yet… our hosts remain in semi-complete ignorance of this undead superhero. Jack and Kate decide to educate themselves by reading the first 18 issues of the series where they encounter a world of bedazzlement, from shape-shifting demons and mafia cyborgs to a controversial Neil Gaiman collab. Other than fighting, ki...

In a special, super-extended, spooky season episode, your hosts read a double feature of horror hostess biographies! Glamour Ghoul: The Passions and Pain of the Real Vampira, Maila Nurm i by Sandra Niemi and Yours Cruelly, Elvir a by Cassandra Peterson recount the drama-filled careers of two of the most iconic, goth-adjacent TV figures of all time. Jack and Kate take a candid look at the trials an...

In this episode, your hosts dig deep into their collection of vintage paperbacks and share their thoughts on dusty, lurid tales from decades past. Kate reads The Priests of the Abomination, a cult-flavored 1970 crime conspiracy thriller from Ivor Drummond, and Jack selects three gruesome stories from the zombie horror anthology Still Dead: Book of the Dead 2.  Do rich people have a secret sixth se...