Is This Just Fantasy?

Pop the champagne, its time for the long awaited Top 100 Is This Just Fantasy Top 100 ranking spectacular, where Geordie and Duncan revisit and review all 100 novels they've read over the past four years, and finally determine the definitive greatest fantasy novel of all time. Some times the conversation is fraught. There are expected divisions - one day Geordie hopes he can forgive Duncan for his...

To celebrate their 100th(ish) book covered on the podcast, Geordie has selected one of the all time greats. A story which defines fantasy in many ways: Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie. Listen as Duncan and Geordie make a bet, Duncan explains his radical Moorcockian theories of the Hook-Pan loop, Geordie explains how a book-on-tape changed his relationship with music, and they both try to figure out whet...

This time the fellas embark on a contraversial journey as they reckon with one of the most acclaimed modern Sci-Fi and Fantasy novelists, N.K. Jemison, but not about how seminal work: The Broken Earth trilogy. Instead they take a look at her debut and examine where she first showed promise, and in fact first dabbled in themes she would go on to examine again in the Fifth Season. Does she start her...

As their 100-book special looms ever closer, Geordie takes them back to a book which he meant to bring on the podcast about five years ago, a book which some weirdly personal connections. Its like if the Shadowhunter books were really good! And about King Arthur! And set at Geordie's Alma Mater! Precision engineered to appeal to him. And it turns out that Duncan really doesn't like it... Join in o...

After enduring some completely preventable recording issues, Duncan and Geordie are back, counting down the last couple of books before their 100th! This time they are joined by Bookstagrammer Kellie Greene (@theportsmouth_pageturner) to return to the world of sexy fae with Sarah J. Maas' debut, Throne of Glass. As Duncan discovers just how badass and beautiful and well-read and good at piano our...

This episode Duncan and Geordie take a look a darling of the type of nerds who, if you say your favourite books are Harry Potter, Fourth Wing, and Ice Breaker, will tell you to read The Balde Itself - The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. Duncan takes Geordie through the Gentlemen Bastards series' surprising publication history, and Geordie slightly overestimates how many The Usual Suspects sty...

Have you ever wondered what the world would be like if Edward Cullen wasn't Mormon, or Xaden Riarson didn't have #believewomen in his Tinder profile? Then this is the episode for you, as Duncan and Geordie cover From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout. They discuss a parade of bizarre and lazy worldbuilding, dangling plot threads, unusually basic wording errors, and possibly the shadiest love...

A divisive episode. Duncan declares victory as Geordie is forced to hand in his membership to the 'pretencious nerd who doesn't like Brandon Sanderson books' club, because this one is a corker. They cover Mistborn: The Final Empire, covering its excellent twists and implemenation of magic, its surprising themematic coherence and nuance, and Geordie has no choice to admit that this time, maybe worl...

At long last, the fellas cover one of the big daddies of epic fantasy. For Duncan its a return to an old-favourite, whilst Geordie experiences it for the first time. They discuss the start of Robert Jordan's saga: 'The Eye of the World.' Geordie wrestles with explaining how a book can be boring 'but in a good way,' whilst Duncan keeps forgetting how much of what he thinks happens in this book, won...

Consumer warning: this episode contains no Condors. But it does contain an in-depth review of one of the most influencial yet unknown books the fellas have covered on the podcast, the first part of Jin Yong's Legend of the Condor Heroes - "the Chinese Lord of the Rings." They cover the unbelievable Kung Fu action, the surprising blend of fantasy and real history, and the best plot twist they've en...

Ah, 2025. An impossibly long and packed year which just flew by. In their annual tradition, Duncan and Geordie take a look back at a year full of ambitious pulls, many surprises, and a couple of truly dire low-points (in terms of books, the podcast is obviously better than ever)! They take a look at everything they've reviewed to select their Most Surprising, Most Disapointing, Favourite, Worst, a...

Merry Christmas and Good Yule! You must've been good this year because Santa Claus is delivering you the annual Is This Just Fantasy Christmas episode (and if you haven't, lock your doors. Krampus is coming.) This year the fellas cover Krampus: The Yule Lord by writer/artist Brom. This episode: Geordie admits he's running out of Christmas episode ideas and has a little rant about depictions of val...

Don't ask: 'who's the biggest badass in fantasy?' Only fools ask that question. The real question is: 'how do you measure badassitude?' For years, nobody could answer this enigma. But finally, after months of tireless study and experimentation, Geordie has found it: an empiral, scientific system where we throw a list of the best fantasy heroes we've encountered on the podcast into a gauntlet of ho...

Its over at last. One of the most anticipated conclusions in history of the podcast. The fellas read and review Empire of the Dawn, the conclusion of Jay Kristoff's Empire of the Vampire trilogy. There's so much to discuss as they cover: the controversial change in illustrators, the exciting action, and a potentially devisive ending. Does the series stick the landing? Duncan marvels that any book...

At long last. The fellas set out to explore the hottest title in the world of fantasy right now. Their most anticipated read since their Top 50 Books review, their most Dragon Riders of Perny book since Dragonriders of Pern, and their horniest by far since The Eye of Argon. They cover: the steamy romance, the exciting pace, and just how unbelievably super special the heroine is, in one their nitpi...

The fellas wrap up their spooky month with the last halloween special, washing the taste of the Woman in Black out of their brains with an amazing collection of ghost stories, written by the creator of The Magnus Archives: Jonathan Sims. They reflect on the impressive change in mediums, as well as its somewhat heavy handed (yet nonetheless true) themes on capitalism, the environment and killing bi...

Some traditions never get old. Once again Duncan and Geordie return to the dark world of Berserk to wrap up its incredibly named Millenium Falcon Arc with Falconia. Its one of Geordie's favourite and least favourite parts of the series, containing some of the best action ever depicted in fiction, some astonishing world-building, a drastic change to the series' status quo... but it also spent three...

In the first part of their (somewhat delayed) Halloween Booooook Club, the fellas dive in to what is supposed to be one of the most iconic and scariest books in British horror: The Woman in Black.... and find it to be a massive disapointment. A dry, laughably unscary drag completely upstaged by both of its famous adaptations. Tune in to hear Geordie unleash the frustrations of a difficult day on a...

Slather yourself in gingerbread and fail to solve a mystery, its time for Duncan and Geordie to cover 'Paladin's Grace' by T. Kingfisher. They discuss an excellent love story, and a real pallete cleanser from the hormonal teenage romantasies they've experienced up till now. Even if the political intrigue and mysteries promised by the blurb fails to materialise. This episode Geordie learns a surpri...

For the final time (and this time we mean it) the fellas are embarking on another sword and sorcery adventure with the introduction to Fritz Leiber's classic dynamic duo Fafhrd and Grey Mouser in 'Ill Met in Lankhmar.' The fellas rave about the story's humour and excitement and beautifully morbid setting, and appreciate the irony of a classic 'fridging' scene appearing right after they covered Gai...

Can you ever really escape your fate? Not if Duncan has trapped you in a never ending cycle of sword and sorcery. Once again the fellas are going back to the Red Sonja well. Its the same author. Its the same character. Its... quite a few of the same plot beats as well, actually, but dumber this time. Duncan chose Red Sonja: Consumed, Gail Simone's first ever novel, and her second take on Red Sonja...

Is it Halloween already? No? Then how come the fellas are reading a comic book?! That's because this time, as preperation for the release of the new Red Sonja movie, Duncan has taken the fellas back to the Hyborian Age, with Red Sonja, written by comic book legend Gail Simone. Duncan leads the episode through the complicated canon of Red Sonja (and her endless reboots), whilst Geordie tries to fig...

Because for no obvious reason this has become tradition, its time for the annual Troy adaptation! (Which will they run out of first? Troy books, or fantasy novels set at Christmas?) Up till now those adaptations have mostly hinged on feminst reimaginings of the Illiad, and the commodification of women's bodies. But this time the fellas are gonna mix things up. They return to David Gemmel of Legend...

From Eragon to Book-Tok sensations about mormon super-soldiers, This is the book which started it all. Dragonflight brought readers to the Planet Pern for the first time in the 60s, and brought Geordie and Duncan to one of the earliest depictions of dragon riding in fantasy. And... it is not at all what they expected. Duncan covers some of the dragons.... unexpected powers. whilst Geordie unpacks...

I promise, the guys do like this book! They just have a lot to say about it which sounds like complaining. This week Geordie returns to familiar hunting grounds, whilst Duncan sets of on a sojourn to parts unknown as they read the first (chronological) book in the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore. Both the guys struggle with pronounciations this week, Duncan spends an unusually small amo...