Hardcover Hooligans

While there are several climaxes in this book, the one that matters unfortunately made no sense. Note: due to the nature of fairy smut books, this episode contains discussions of sexual themes and situations. Use caution when playing out loud on the bus. A Court of Mist and Fury By Sarah J. Maas Published in 2016, by Bloombury Publishing. Spoilers All of A Court Of Thorns and Roses All of A Court...

Everyone's favorite fairy smut series is back! And this time with…less sex? And more PTSD?! Note: due to the nature of fairy smut books, this episode contains discussions of sexual themes and situations. Use caution when playing out loud on the bus. * Double note: * right at the top, Danylo mistaken describes the mode of fantasy communication that's used the Stormlight Archive, NOT the mode of com...

Cauldron boil and fry me! It's part two of our discussion of the fairy smut phenomenon! And yes, Feyre's bowels are still watery! A Court of Thorns and Roses By Sarah J. Maas Published in 2015, by Bloombury Publishing. Spoilers All of A Court Of Thorns and Roses Some series spoilers Links: Summary of the book: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses/summary/ Thanks for Listening...

In anticipation of the podcast's return to the world of Sarah J. Maas, here's our first episode on the romantasy phenomenon. A Court of Thorns and Roses By Sarah J. Maas Published in 2015, by Bloombury Publishing. Spoilers A Court Of Thorns and Roses (the first half) Links: Summary of the book: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses/summary/ Thanks for Listening! If you liked t...

After 400 years, humanity has finally recovered all their technology…including nuclear bombs! Uh oh! A Canticle for Leibowitz By Walter M. Miller, Jr. Published in 1959 by J. B. Lippincott & Co. Links: A Canticle for Leibowitz: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Canticle_for_Leibowitz Walter M. Miller, Jr.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_M._Miller_Jr . Thanks for listening! If you liked the...

We finally arrive at the first piece of true advanced technology in this novel: a lightbulb. A Canticle for Leibowitz By Walter M. Miller, Jr. Published in 1959 by J. B. Lippincott & Co. Links: A Canticle for Leibowitz: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Canticle_for_Leibowitz Walter M. Miller, Jr.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_M._Miller_Jr . The Story of Job: https://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

No lasers, no spaceships, just a sci-fi novel about a monk who finds a grocery list. Featuring our first ever guest on the podcast! Sorry we mentioned the new pope so many times–it was really relevant back when we recorded this. A Canticle for Leibowitz By Walter M. Miller, Jr. Published in 1959 by J. B. Lippincott & Co. Links: A Canticle for Leibowitz: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Canticle...

After an unintentional summer hiatus, we’re back with the third and final installment of our short series on Borges short stories. And oh no! It turns out a billionaire creating a fantasy planet with his friends can destroy the world. Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius By Jorge Luis Borges Published in 1940 by Sur. Links: Borges: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Luis_Borges Tlön, Uqbar, Orbius Tertius...

If we claimed we wrote a Borges story and read it in its entirety at the end of our podcast, that would make the story infinitely richer. Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote By Jorge Luis Borges Published in 1939 by Editorial Sur. Spoilers Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote, by Jorge Luis Borges Links: Borges: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Luis_Borges Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote...

An infinite library implies the existence of infinite Mr. Beast video transcripts. The Library of Babel By Jorge Luis Borges Published in 1941 by Editorial Sur. Part of the story collection “The Garden of Forking Paths” Spoilers The Library of Babel, by Jorge Luis Borges Links: The Library of Babel exists! https://libraryofbabel.info/’ Borges: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Luis_Borges The Li...

The moral of this story is to not bully the girl with latent psychic abilities. CW: discussions of violence, blood, domestic abuse, various sexual stuff, misogyny, religious abuse, and I’m sure other unpleasant things. Carrie By Stephen King Published in 1974 by Doubleday. Spoilers Carrie Links: Summary and info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_(novel) Thanks for listening! If you liked the s...

I guess books are just video games now. This week we cover “Dungeon Crawler Carl”, the first book in the best-selling LitRPG series of the same name. Dungeon Crawler Carl By Matt Dinniman Self-published in 2020. Spoilers Dungeon Crawler Carl Links: Summary and info: https://dungeon-crawler-carl.fandom.com/wiki/Dungeon_Crawler_Carl_(Book) LitRPG: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LitRPG Thanks for list...

That’s right, we read comic books now! Just kidding, it’s called a graphic novel . And this one’s about a bunch of superheroes who aren’t really that super and one blue guy who is TOO super. Get ready for morally grey characters, questionable motives, and a weird spooky pirate story. Watchmen By Alan Moore & David Ribbons Published in 1987 by DC Comics. Spoilers Watchmen Links: Summary and inf...

We finish The Way of Kings and are left with boredomspren floating around our computers. Plus, we read some one-star Goodreads reviews of The Way of Kings and do a quick overview of the other Stormlight Archive books. The Way of Kings By Brandon Sanderson Published in 2010 by Tor Books. Spoilers The Way of Kings Misc. spoilers for Words of Radiance, Oathbringer, and Rhythm of War (marked off at th...

We embark on The Way of Kings, the first book in Brandon Sanderson’s magnum opus series, The Stormlight Archive. This book dares to explore such important questions as “what if someone who was good at fighting also had depression?” and “what if big swords but no blood?” Content warnings: discussion of depression, mentions of suicide The Way of Kings By Brandon Sanderson Published in 2010 by Tor Bo...

Fitz’s story finds a poetic, complex, and bittersweet ending, but all we can talk about are Prince Verity’s cool silver arms. Which begs the question: did Robin Hobb want Prince Verity to eventually become this world’s Silver Surfer? As usual, we also read a bunch of one-star Goodreads reviews about the book. Plus, we announce what we’ll be tackling next on the Hardcover Hooligans podcast. Assassi...

Are chronic pain, sadness, social isolation, and the unbearable burden of duty worth it if it means you get abs? The Hardcover Hiatus is over, and the boys are back to talk about the final sections of Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy. Assassin’s Quest By Robin Hobb Published in 1997 by Voyageur Books. Spoilers Assassin’s Apprentice Royal Assassin Assassin’s Quest Links: Summary and info: https://en.wi...

"Huh?! They're not dead?! And now they're trying to bait me into listening to this announcement by being intentionally omnious and vague?! What the hell?!" – All of you, right now A quick announcement by Danylo about the future of the podcast.

Our favorite teenage wolf assassin is back, but does this mean he stops getting shafted by everyone and everything in his life? No. But has he learned anything from what he's gone through? Also, no. Will he continue to make questionable decisions about his life? Yes. And we get to read about it. Content Warnings Mention of sexual assault Assassin’s Quest By Robin Hobb Book 3 of the Farseer Trilogy...

We continue to read about the fraught life of a moody teen who is slowly turning into a crazy wolf man. Believe it or not, this causes problems in his personal life. Royal Assassin By Robin Hobb Book 2 of the Farseer Trilogy Published in 1996 by Spectra. Spoilers Assassin’s Apprentice Royal Assassin Links: Summary: https://robinhobbelderlings.fandom.com/wiki/Royal_Assassin Image of final scene: ht...

In the previous book, Fitz bonds with a dog. In this book, he bonds with a wolf. What's the next step, the final evolution? What's the Blastoise of wolves? These questions not answered in the episode, but it's still a fun discussion of a great book. We're continuing with the second book in the Farseer Trilogy, Royal Assassin. And goddamit, it's even better than the first one. And we're sorry about...

This book is unbelievably good. I love Fitz and Prince Verity and they are my real life best friends. What an incredibly breath of fresh air! The fellas finish Assassin's Apprentice and are left feeling... good? Excited for the future? Almost as if maybe they should just be reading stuff they like and not stuff that makes them want to give up their ability to read? Find out within... Assassin’s Ap...

The blurb on the back cover of this book makes it sound like it’s fantasy for babies, but it’s actually really really good. Assassin’s Apprentice By Robin Hobb Book 1 of the Farseer Trilogy Published in 1995 by Spectra. Spoilers Assassin’s Apprentice Links Summary and info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassin%27s_Apprentice Chapter-by-chapter summary: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/robinhobbme...

We dive into the mind of Robert Neville, a lonely, sexually repressed, alcoholic 1950s white man who staves off his horniness by blasting classical music and checking out books from the library. And yeah, he’s the last man in the world. And yeah, he’s killing LOTS of vampires. (Also did we mention he’s really horny?) I Am Legend By Richard Matheson Published in 1954 by Gold Medal Books. Spoilers I...

Well, we did it. We solved the Three Body Problem. Maybe the real Trisolaran Empire was the friends we made along the way. Big sigh. The Three Body Problem By Cixin Liu Translated by Ken Liu First published in China as a serial in 2006, then as a standalone book in 2008. Published in 2014 in English by Tor Books. Spoilers The Three Body Problem (the whole book) Thanks for listening! If you liked t...