Tar Valon Or Bust

In which Jenn is annoyed she can't remember what's going to happen next, Preeti has to be reminded of when we first met Ulfin, and there is much discussion of writing and misogyny. Next episode: The Last Enchantment, Book 1: Dunpeldyr, Sections 9-11 inclusive Guinevere Trilogy by Persia Woolley He's Just Some Guy (March 2027) - preorder now! Marvel Unlimited: Realm Guard - all 8 issues...

In which Preeti and Jenn talk about: how Merlin doth protest too much, about so many things; gender and Morgause; Jenn's deep need for more Mordred retellings; and more. Next episode: The Last Enchantment, Book 1: Dunpeldyr, Sections 6-8 inclusive He's Just Some Guy (2027) - preorder now! Marvel Unlimited: Realm Guard Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibbe...

In which Jenn loses her mind over the first sentence of the book, Merlyn doesn't know how to handle achieving his goal, Preeti makes some very good points, and Mary Stewart takes us on a hell of a ride. DragonCon (this weekend!) He's Just Some Guy (2027) - preorder now! Marvel Unlimited: Realm Guard Next episode: The Last Enchantment, Book 1: Dunpeldyr, Sections 4-5 inclusive Get more of Brett Par...

In which Jenn and Preeti "to and fro" from one thought to the next about Disney's 'The Sword in the Stone' and T.H. White's novel of the same name, and Jenn has her mind blown by the novel's publication history. Next episode, early September 2026: The Last Enchantment, Book 1: Dunpeldyr, Sections 1-3 Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Ge...

In which Jenn and Preeti talk about martyr complexes vs. sidekick syndrome, Mary Stewart: Action Writer, how epic this last section is, and one hell of an Author's Note. For those reading the ebook version, which doesn't have the Author's Note, we've got a PDF for you complete with Preeti's chicken scratch notation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xSJUeKDqdxwoFijBlCk0UQE6SN6Lv-aX/view?usp=share_l...

In which Merlin realizes how bad he is at people, two times over, and we talk about pivotal moments in Arthurian lore, three generations of unacknowledged royal boys, and .... apples? Castiel (June) House of Harkness (July)  DragonCon (September) Next episode: The King: Sections 6 - 11 inclusive Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Ho...

In which Merlin is bad at people in several ways, we love Cador of Cornwall, and the atmospheric writing is off the chain. Castiel (June) House of Harkness (July)  DragonCon (September) Next episode: The King: Sections 1 - 5 inclusive Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which there are several big discussions about Herms, class and its impact on publishing, anachronisms in historical fiction, and then the actual section -- which is very funny AND very foreboding all at once. Castiel (June) House of Harkness (July)  DragonCon (September) Next episode: The Sword: Sections 5 - 9 inclusive Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heer...

In which Preeti talks about ghosts, Jenn talks about layers, and they both cannot even with Stewart's linguistic stylings. In Your Spare Time - Ursula K. LeGuin, https://inyoursparetime.libsyn.com/ Castiel (June) House of Harkness (July)  DragonCon (September) Next episode: The Sword: Sections 1-4 inclusive Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at h...

In which this very short section gives Jenn and Preeti so many feelings, especially about high fantasy and how Stewart does (and doesn't) write it. And horses! CASSIEL’S SERVANT by Jacqueline Carey Next episode: The Search: Sections 9-11 inclusive Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Get merch: tar-valon-or-bust.printify.me/products and no...

In which Jenn and Preeti love this new, fancy-free Merlin, at least until things get EXTREMELY uncomfortable with Morgause. Next episode: The Search: Sections 6-8 inclusive Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Get merch: tar-valon-or-bust.printify.me/products and northingtron.redbubble.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more in...

In between all the descriptions of trees and Arthur lustily wailing, there's some really interesting stuff -- song callbacks, Merlin's "gap year", Mary Stewart's version of known characters ... and then some real weird descriptions of women. Next episode: The Hollow Hills, Book 2: The Search, Sections 1 - 5 Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral...

In which not that much happens actually, despite a lot of build-up, and Jenn and Preeti talk about narrative and meta-narrative, anxiety and prophecy, and lots of interesting parallels. Next episode: The Hollow Hills, Book 1: The Waiting, Sections 10 - 14 Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Get merch: tar-valon-or-bust.printify.me/product...

In which Preeti and Jenn return to the world of Mary Stewart's Arthurian Saga, can't remember very much, are gob-smacked by how it starts, and have a lot of theories and questions. Also, big love for Ralf! Next episode: The Hollow Hills, Book 1: The Waiting, Sections 5 - 9 Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Get merch: tar-valon-or-bust.p...

In which Jenn and Preeti work their way through The Green Knight by David Lowery, starring Dev Patel, with sidebars into Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by The Gawain Poet! So many colors! So many vignettes! So many choices (or lack thereof!!!) Next episode, sometime in January 2026: The Hollow Hills, Book 1: The Waiting, Sections 1-7 Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More fr...

In which Preeti and Jenn revisit Guy Ritchie's King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, which is actually two different movies (one of which is actually a video game), and possibly the least "King Arthur" Arthurian movie ever created. Listen as they talk female characters, meta-narrative, folk songs in fantasy properties, and more. The Devil & The Huntsman, by Sam Lee and Daniel Pemberton: https://ww...

In which Jenn and Preeti take back any nice things they ever said about Uther, have wildly different memories of this section, are gobsmacked by the fight but less enthused about the pages and pages of descriptions of wind, and talk a lot about word choice and authorial intent. Next episodes: Movie Break! Mid-November, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword Mid-December, The Green Knight Get more of Bre...

In which Preeti and Jenn discuss Merlin's (lack of) interiority, Mary Stewart's stylistic and mythological choices, and the Absolute Unit that is Ygraine. Next episode: Book V, The Coming of the Bear, Section 6 - The Legend of Merlin Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Get merch: tar-valon-or-bust.printify.me/products and northingtron.red...

In which Jenn and Preeti talk about emotional disconnection, historical infodumps, Big Feelings about Ambrosius and Merlin, and quests. Next episode: Book V, The Coming of the Bear: Sections 1-5 Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Get merch: tar-valon-or-bust.printify.me/products and northingtron.redbubble.com Read Preeti's story in the n...

In which Preeti and Jenn discuss timeline wibbly-wobbliness, Merlin's misogyny, #JusticeForNiniane, and the only moment in which they sort of liked Uther. Next episode: Book IV, The Red Dragon: Sections 6-10 Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Get merch: tar-valon-or-bust.printify.me/products and northingtron.redbubble.com Hosted on Acast...

In which the big question is, who is this scared Merlin and what happened to his assurance? Preeti and Jenn debate authorial intent vs. impact, possible theories, the Saxon perspective, and also wow what a banger of a section. Next episode: Book IV, The Red Dragon: Sections 1-5 The Shieldwall Song (via Holly B): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5uKIgSRVlg Get more of Brett Parnell's music at beari...

In which Preeti and Jenn spend an hour talking about 35 pages of text, because that's how they roll. Unreliable narrators, historical timelines, Parks and Rec comparisons, the works! But hey, at least it was only one recording session. Next section: Book III: The Wolf, Sections 7-12 inclusive Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Get merch:...

Get ready, y'all! Three recording sessions later, Preeti and Jenn dive THE DEEPEST into The Falcon. Join them for parallel characters, big revelations, druids, and all the ugh to Uther. Next section: Book III: The Wolf, Sections 1-6 inclusive Dhonielle Clayton's The Belles British officers and batmen/servants trope (Frodo & Sam): https://www.reddit.com/r/tolkienfans/comments/1iuuez9/is_frodo_a...

In this extra-long episode, Preeti and Jenn dig into the language, atmosphere, and voice of The Crystal Cage: Prologue - Book I: The Dove. (We will fight you for baby Merlin!!!!!) Hild and Menewood, Nicola Griffith The story of Dinas Emrys and the two dragons (Help Jenn find the audio cassette she used to listen to! The opening lines included something like 'Storm clouds marched along the sky. Rai...

As they prepare to dive into their next reread, Preeti and Jenn talk about Mary Stewart as a writer, their personal history with her Arthurian Saga, and what they're expecting, excited for, and nervous about. Next episode: Prologue - Book 1: The Dove Nicola Griffith, Hild / Menewood Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Get merch: tar-valon...