The Legendarium

Old friend of the podcast Kaela Rivera stops by for an Author's Shelf episode about I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak. This magical-realism novel was an absolute delight, and you should give it a read if you haven't yet. And as a bonus, it made for a fun 45 minutes of conversation!   Check out Kaela's stuff here: https://www.kaelarivera.com/   Support the show on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.co...

Moses Ose Utomi is Craig's guest today on the Author's Shelf series, and he's selected Fonda Lee's Jade City to discuss. As always, the first question is, "Why did you choose this book?" And with that, Moses and Craig are off to the races for a fun discussion.   Check out Moses's stuff here: https://www.mosesoseutomi.com/   Support the show on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/legendarium Check ou...

Craig and Kenn are joined by Eradandis (of Discord fame) to discuss A Game of Thrones, the first book in #georgerrmartin 's A Song of Ice and Fire series. Are they going to give it the lengthy treatment it deserves? Absolutely not. At least not today. But they are going to talk about its merits--and demerits--as they see them, for the next hour.   Support the show on Patreon:  https://www.patreon....

After the ... experience that is Blade of Tyshalle, Craig and Drew are back for more, starting in on part 1 of Caine Black Knife, the third book in Matthew Stover's Acts of Caine series. Is this book really as "fun" as Craig was promised?   Support the show on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/legendarium Check out the archives at  https://www.thelegendarium.com/ Join the Discord community:  https...

Author and journalist Hank Phillippi Ryan joins Craig for a very spoiler-y discussion. Luckily, they don't spoil anything for you, but Hank is here to talk about why she sometimes reads the last page of a book first. What exactly counts as a spoiler? When and why should we be careful about them? And when might we seek them out?   Check out Hank's latest book, One Last Word   Support the show on Pa...

What was once condescendingly sneered at only a few years ago has become more and more commonplace: self publishing. With the rise of new technologies and easier printing, now authors can bypass the middleman (the publisher) and get their work out on their own. But how does it actually work? Are publishers antiquated, and this is the wave of the future? And if he could, would Craig's guest, Philip...

Craig and Megan are joined by longtime listener and friend of the show, "Codingfoo," to discuss A Wrinkle in Time, the classic young-reader sci-fi novel by Madeleine L'Engle. Enjoy an hour of vintage Legendarium conversation on a vintage book.   Support the show on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/legendarium Check out the archives at  https://www.thelegendarium.com/ Join the Discord community: ...

Travis Baldree, Author of Legends and Lattes and the new Bookshops and Bonedust, stops by to chat with Craig about what it's like to go from narrating to writing books. What have been the challenges, the lessons, the surprises?   Check out Travis and his books here: https://www.travisbaldree.com/   Support the show on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/legendarium Check out the archives at  https:/...

Blade of Tyshalle, part 2. Craig and Drew dive into the second half of the book. Which in this case means Drew dives into it, because Craig has no idea what's going on in this book anymore. Drew attempts to explain it to him.   Check out part 1 at Inking Out Loud (Spotify link)   Support the show on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/legendarium Check out the archives at  https://www.thelegendarium...

Craig welcomes again Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, the writers behind the Liaden universe. They stop this time to discuss Hellspark, the 1988 novel by Janet Kagan. It's a murder mystery ("in spaaaaaace!!"), but more than that, it's a meditation on language, communication, and what it means to be a sapient being.   Grab Sharon and Steve's latest, Salvage Right   Support the show on Patreon:  https:/...

Is it projection? Wish fulfillment? Or just plain adorableness? Why do we readers (and viewers) enjoy stories with talking animals so much? Christopher Rowe stops by to chat with Craig about our favorite fabled furry friends.   Check out Christopher's latest, The Navigating Fox: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250804501/thenavigatingfox   Support the show on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/le...

Austin Freeman makes his return to the Legendarium! After a great discussion on the theology of Tolkien (episode 400), he's back for an Author's Shelf episode, and together he and Craig talk Dante's Divine Comedy. (Which is a bit like saying that between Craig and Jeff Bezos, they're multi-billionaires.) Enjoy!   Check out Austin's book, Tolkien Dogmatics   Support the show on Patreon:  https://ww...

Kristen Simmons joins Craig to discuss the intersection of her work both as a mental health professional and as an author. How does the one inform the other?   Check out Kristen's work here: https://www.kristensimmonsbooks.com/books   Support the show on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/legendarium Check out the archives at  https://www.thelegendarium.com/ Join the Discord community:  https://dis...

Craig and Kenn welcome Little Red Book from the Patrons' Discord channel as they discuss Mattimeo, the third book in Brian Jacques' Redwall series. Well, "discuss" may be the wrong word here. And maybe "Mattimeo" too, since they mostly spend their time sidetracked and flailing. But hey, that's fun too.   Support the show on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/legendarium Check out the archives at  h...

It's a big day at the Legendarium when Craig finally gets to talk with Tom Shippey, one of the most frequently cited writers on the show. Tom comes by to talk about his new translation of Beowulf, and especially about the chapter dedicated to Tolkien's relationship with the poem and the poet. It really is a fantastic translation and guide to Beowulf, so please check it out.   Grab a copy of the ne...

Dropping in from his temporary home in Poland, author and diplomat David Schlaefer joins Craig to talk about his experiences serving in the U.S. State Department. After having been stationed in several countries (most notably for this conversation, Finland), how do David's international experiences color his career as a writer?   Check out David's stuff here: https://davidschlaefer.com/   Support...

Craig and Drew embark on a new podcast series, covering Matthew Stover's four-book series, The Acts of Caine. To follow the entire series of discussions, you'll need to subscribe to both The Legendarium and Inking Out Loud, since episodes will appear both places. But you'll be well rewarded if you do, because this series is rich, interesting, funny, dark, distressing, heroic, tragic, and every oth...

Philip Chase joins Craig for an Author's Shelf episode about Beowulf. Why has this story endured? Is it just a historical artifact, or is there something worthwhile here on its own terms? Frankly, it's a long-overdue discussion, and Philip brought his A-game, so enjoy.   Check out Philip's book here: https://www.philipchaseauthor.com/ And Philip's YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@Phi...

Craig and Kenn are joined by longtime patron Levi, aka Texas Blade, to discuss Mossflower, Brian Jacques' prequel to Redwall. The guys talk about great heroes, great villains, and the establishment of many of the Redwall tropes that will hit us through this whole series.   Support the show on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/legendarium Check out the archives at  https://www.thelegendarium.com/ J...

Drew McCaffrey from Inking Out Loud joins Craig again for some seemingly random potpourri. But it's all for a purpose! The guys announce an upcoming series and the return of a beloved podcast.   Check out Inking Out Loud here: https://iolpodcast.com/   Support the show on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/legendarium Check out the archives at  https://www.thelegendarium.com/ Join the Discord commu...

Author, producer, and all-around interesting guy Frank Beddor joins Craig for a discussion about why stories last. Craig, as you know, is a big Tolkien guy, and Frank is a big Lewis Carroll guy--and between the two of them, they try to tease out what makes stories last (when they do).   Check out Frank's latest stuff here: https://frankbeddor.com/   Support the show on Patreon:  https://www.patreo...

Craig is joined again by Aparna Verma, and this time they also have R.R. Virdi to speak with as well. The trio (mostly the latter two) dive into the world of comparative mythology and the origins of many of our story beats and structures.   Check out R.R. Virdi's newest offerings here: http://rrvirdi.com/ And Aparna Verma is here: https://theaparnaverma.com/   Support the show on Patreon:  https:/...

Craig welcomes Jon Evans, author and Impressive Man extraordinaire, to discuss tech, AI, and how they think it may intersect with writing and storytelling.   Check out Jon's new book, Exadelic, here: https://rezendi.com/wp/   Support the show on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/legendarium Check out the archives at  https://www.thelegendarium.com/ Join the Discord community:  https://discord.com/...

Craig is joined for this episode by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, the husband-wife team behind the Liaden Universe (and plenty else besides). They talk about the history of the term "space opera," their own experiences with the genre, and the authors' approach to it.   Check out their latest Liaden entry, Salvage Right: https://a.co/d/3uGZyTs   Support the show on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/...

Craig and Todd are WoT'ing it up! They'll do a mini Wheel of Time series of podcasts, one after each 1-3 books or so. This series, though, aside from this episode, will be Patreon-only!! Check out the link below to sign up for as little as a dollar per episode. Glad to have the patrons along for this ride!   Support the show on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/legendarium Check out the archives a...