Hardcover Hooligans

Danylo and Mc read and discuss the finale of Lord of the Rings. There's like twelve different endings, including Sharkey and the infamous Scouring of the Shire. The Return of the King By J.R.R. Tolkien Published in 1955 by George Allen & Unwin. * Spoilers: * Most of all of The Lord of Rings (we talk about what happens in all the movies constantly) The Hobbit Links: Summary of the whole book: h...

Mc and Danylo read Book 5 (a.k.a. the first half) of The Return of the King. Battles with orcs, battles with pirates, and battles with despair! Plus, Mc shares an internet book culture pet peeve. The Return of the King By J.R.R. Tolkien Published in 1955 by George Allen & Unwin. * Spoilers: * Most of all of The Lord of Rings (we talk about what happens in all the movies constantly) The Hobbit...

Our heroes get ever closer to Mordor, where it’s dangerous to look at the evil stuff for too long. Danylo definitely thought this part was going to be boring (it was not), and Mc gets confused about the layout of a cave. But in all sincerity, the main take is that these books definitely don’t get enough credit for their subtlety and nuance. It’s just good. The Two Towers By J.R.R. Tolkien Publishe...

Danylo and Mc chug some ent-draughts and discuss the first half of The Two Towers. Dwarves love running actually, Wormtongue is the alt-right pipeline, and waving around a sword cures depression. We also meet the second and final woman in these books! Wow! The Two Towers By J.R.R. Tolkien Published in 1954 by George Allen & Unwin. * Spoilers: * Most of all of The Lord of Rings (we talk about w...

Danylo and Mc read the second half of The Fellowship of the Ring, during which they try to answer the question “what if Frodo was wearing armor made of Bitcoin?” The Fellowship of the Ring By J.R.R. Tolkien Published in 1954 by George Allen & Unwin. * Spoilers: * Most of all of The Lord of Rings (we talk about what happens in all the movies constantly) The Hobbit Links: Summary of the whole bo...

Danylo and Mc throw a long-expected party by reading the first book in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (we know it’s not technically a trilogy, it’s one whole story, but who cares). Danylo constantly compares the book to the movies (sorry), and Mc revisits one of his favorite books. They both have a crush on Aragorn. The Fellowship of the Ring By J.R.R. Tolkien Published in 1954 by George Allen &amp...

**ATTENTION! **Mc misspoke about Tolkien rewriting a bit of the Hobbit regarding the dwarves. He was conflating the Riddles in the Dark rewrite with the letter Tolkien sent the publisher. Sorry!!!!! Neither of us will EVER misspeak again. Mc and Danylo read a classic in the fantasy genre, which is also a classic in the “cheating at riddle games to get over-powered jewelry” genre. The Hobbit By J.R...

After the baffling conclusion of Dune, Danylo and Mc read the sequel, Dune Messiah. We get the satisfying conclusion of the epic story of Paul Muad’Dib Atreides, as well as a bunch of weird 1960s sci-fi pervert stuff. Dune Messiah By Frank Herbert Published in 1969 by Putnam Publishing. * Spoilers: * All of Dune All of Dune Messiah Links: Summary of the whole book (the wikipedia page is pretty tho...

The sweeping, epic adventure story of Paul “Muad’Dib” Atreides just suddenly kinda…ends. And he wins. And beats everyone. And becomes emperor. Okay. Danylo and Mc talk about Dune’s legacy, lasting impact, and how Frank Herbert doesn’t know what women talk about when there are no men around. Dune By Frank Herbert Published in 1965 by Chilton Books. * Spoilers: * All of Dune Links: Summary of the wh...

Kwisatz Haderach. Bene Gesserit. Fremen. Melange. Muad’Dib. The C.H.O.A.M. Company. What do these goofy words even mean? Find out on this week’s episode. Hint: they’re all things in the novel Dune , by Frank Herbert. Dune By Frank Herbert Published in 1965 by Chilton Books. * Spoilers: * The first half of Dune (up to Book II, Third Section) Links: Summary of the whole book Bene Gesserit Litany Aga...

We return to the twin moons of Urras and Anarres to see if capitalism and ownership have poisoned our interpersonal and societal relationships (spoiler alert: yes). But there’s still kind of a happy ending??? Based. 10/10. Content Warning: Discussion of sexual assault The Dispossessed By Ursula K. Le Guin Published in 1974 by Harper and Row. Winner of the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the Nati...

If you want to have constant thoughts about the horrors of our capitalist and governmental systems, then this book is for you. And if you already do that, well…here’s more of that. Danylo and Mc read Ursula K. Le Guin’s classic sci-fi book, The Dispossessed , and have to resist the urge to tell everyone they know that money, laws, and owning things is fake actually. The Dispossessed By Ursula K. L...

Danylo and Mc finally finish the Mistborn Trilogy and crawl out from under the debris of the Sanderlanche™. They give their thoughts on the book and the trilogy as a whole and, oh boy, do they have a lot of thoughts. They also “read” the novella Mistborn: A Secret History as a special “treat”. The Hero of Ages: Book Three of Mistborn By Brandon Sanderson Published in 2008 by Tor Books. * Spoilers:...

Danylo and Mc are almost at the end of a fantasy trilogy and still nothing important is happening. Your Favorite Mistborn Characters™ do nothing but walk from place to place, gather information, and sit around. Isn’t the world supposed to be ending? The Hero of Ages: Book Three of Mistborn By Brandon Sanderson Published in 2008 by Tor Books. * Spoilers: * Parts 1-3 of The Hero of Ages All of The W...

Danylo and Mc lose their minds a little bit in this episode. They vent about how insane Brandon Sanderson’s writing choices are, and how his Mormonism seems to seep into every aspect of his writing. We’re sorry it’s so long. We hope it makes sense. The Well of Ascension: Book Two of Mistborn By Brandon Sanderson Published in 2007 by Tor Books. * Spoilers: * All of The Well of Ascension All of Mist...

Mc and Danylo start the second book in the Mistborn Trilogy. They finally feel like they’re reading a real book, except for the part when our hero inexplicably punches a dog in the head. And then it starts unraveling from there… The Well of Ascension: Book Two of Mistborn By Brandon Sanderson Published in 2007 by Tor Books. * Spoilers: * Parts 1-3 of The Well of Ascension All of Mistborn: The Fina...

Danylo and Mc finish their read-through of Mistborn. They discuss its flaws, its weirdness, and what, if anything, this book is actually about. Hint: it’s not just cool metal magic. Mistborn: The Final Empire By Brandon Sanderson Published in 2006 by Tor Books. * Spoilers: * All of Mistborn: The Final Empire Links: Chapter-By-Chapter Summary of the whole book: https://coppermind.net/wiki/Summary:M...

Danylo and Mc continue their read-through of Mistborn. Mc finds most of the characters grating. Danylo starts to regret the decision to re-read a book he initially liked. They both ponder why people love this book so much. Mistborn: The Final Empire By Brandon Sanderson Published in 2006 by Tor Books. * Spoilers: * Beginning through Part 3 of Mistborn: The Final Empire Links: Chapter-By-Chapter Su...

In our debut episode, we read a book that’s consistently recommended on the internet for anyone starting in the fantasy genre. Does Mistborn live up to the hype? Is it actually a good intro to fantasy? Mistborn: The Final Empire By Brandon Sanderson Published in 2006 by Tor Books. Spoilers: Beginning through Part 2 of Mistborn: The Final Empire Links: Chapter-By-Chapter Summary of the whole book:...