Fantology

The last of the First Law stand-alones by Joe Abercrombie was one of the more unique fantasy books we've explored. How often do you see a spaghetti western story disguised as a fantasy story? And how often do you see that done well? We saw it here! Red Country combines a streamlined narrative with brilliant characters and just a touch of grimdark violence. Add in some dark humor and you've got ano...

The full Fantology 5 is on hand to discuss a variety of news items from June, answer mailbag questions and most importantly kick-off our next round of Top Fantasy brackets. July will feature the Top 3 Settings in Fantasy. Middle Earth, Roshar, Westeros & Randland all make appearances of course, but you probably wouldn't expect the Pokémon World to make our lists! Plus, our plan to get sent to jail...

The Wheel of Time rolls on in this the fourth installment, The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan. Our WoT crew is back with a review from three different perspectives & experience levels. We talk through the plot and discuss why this is often considered the best of the series. How did it changed the series as a whole? And as always we deliver our Top & Bottom 3 Character Rankings. Plus, where does El...

The mud men blew it with this movie adaptation. The book material from Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer had plenty of material and an intricate yet compact plot, but boy did Disney screw it up on the big screen. Ben, Josh & Stephen don't mind too much though. About time we're able to do a good old fashioned roast! Plus, how many embarrassing guilty pleasure shows & movies will we admit to watching? Nex...

Welcome to Splattercon!!! Home to Chicago's latest & greatest Dresden Files case. Jim Butcher continues to showcase why he's at the top of modern urban fantasy as Harry tangles with fae, denarians, vampires and forces yet unknown. Ben, Josh & Stephen break down the plot and offer our opinions on character development and some hard hitting issues the book ventures into. Plus, how old is this Harry...

Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban doesn't feature Voldemort, and we're okay with that because Sirius Black is a compelling enough villain in his own right (or is he?). Dan, Nathan & Stephen have opinions on this and every other aspect of the book, from usefulness of boggart banishing to all-time greatest Quidditch teams and everything in between. Relive book three with us! Plus, will Nathan...

There aren't any real heroes in The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie. Other than the standing stones on the hill above Osrung that is. But you have to be realistic about these things. Stephen & Ryan break down the book, tell you who went back to the mud and explain why the First Law Universe is worth your time. Plus, the finer points of grammar around Bayaz's capacity for caring about others. Next Up: Ha...

This installment of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher features the single best climactic scene in the entire series. Each faction in the Dresden-verse comes together for a Halloween that few will forget! Listen as Ben & Stephen break the action down and discuss some the bigger themes of the series. Plus, Harry's Tinder game - are we glad cell phones wouldn't work for him? Next Up: The Heroes by Joe...

The debut Powdermage book is by all accounts an impressive start for Brian McClellan. Josh & Stephen loved the characters & magic system while being fully immersed in a unique setting with non-stop action. Tune in to for our takes on the plot beats and let us know what your favorite moments were! Plus, how does the magic in Promise of Blood connect to Elon Musk's latest idea? We'll let you know. N...

The gang is all here! The full cast of the Fantology Five share news tidbits from the fantasy landscape, answer mailbag questions and then kick off our next bracket competition - Top Fantasy Villains. Some mild spoilers surface here, although we do our best to keep our descriptions vague. What makes a good villain, why don't we have more of them and most importantly who's rankings are best? Plus,...

HBO's adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials got off to a fantastic start with a strong first season. Tune in as Josh and Stephen offer their opinions and reviews. The acting was memorable, the setting and filming was breathtaking and the budgeting was more than adequate! It's not Game of Thrones, but it's not intended to be. Instead the show was magnificent in its own right. Plus, the...

The Sixth entry into the Dresden Files wraps exceptional character growth in a disappointingly adequate plot. The series is now set-up for explosive entries, but it took a few rough patches in this book to get there. However, there were some amazing and memorable moments too - who can't appreciate holy water balloons and vampire being crushed by frozen turkeys? Plus, Stephen & Josh's favorite Dres...

Blood of Empire concludes the second of Brian McClellan's two Powder Mage trilogies. Stephen and Ryan recap the first two Gods of Blood and Powder books before breaking down the exciting conclusion. If you're looking for a nice combination of military fantasy, political machinations and well defined magic all wrapped around a layer of frontier flintlock fantasy, then this is the series for you! Pl...

The fifth installment of Dresden Files introduces our favorite plotline and enemy yet: the Fallen Angel Denarians. These guys cause major trouble for Harry and Chicago as they threaten to unleash the literal plague across the world. No word if they had a hand in COVID-19. Once again, Dresden will have to rely on his friends and reach into his bag of tricks in order to save the world! Plus, book yo...

Joe Abercrombie continues to impress Ryan, Ben & Stephen with his first stand-alone novel, Best Served Cold. This is a brutal and bloody tale of vengeance crafted by a master storyteller. Not only does this book contain many memorable moments, but it also has us reflecting on the nature of good and evil and how we as humans deal with the tragedies of life. Our characters here don't necessarily dea...

Dan & Nathan are back to chat with Stephen and break down the minutiae of the Harry Potter-verse. Apologies for the significant audio issues, some hexes are so strong that not even post-production editing can fix them! However, persevere and listen to our takes on Lockhart, Quidditch broom imbalance, Ron's broken wand and the state of house elf affairs. Plus, Stephen's strange connection to de-gno...

In this special edition Stephen, Ben and Josh supplement the low amount of news in Covid-19 April with their All-Time Top Five Fantasy Series Rankings. NO SPOILERS! Any book that makes a list like this is exemplary and deserves to be read, but with three different opinions on all time top five we couldn't help but drag each other's favorites through the mud. Just kidding... Kinda. Let us know what...

The Dresden Files train continues to pick up speed for Ben, Stephen & Josh in the fourth book of the series. Summer Knight introduces the fae courts in force, as Harry once again is the only wizard for hire that can prevent the annihilation of Chicago. Faeries, vampires & wizards...oh my! Plus, Harry Dresden or Harry Potter, which series handles muggles better? Next Up: Top 5 Series + April Fantas...

Book 3 of The Wheel of Time takes the series to new heights according to our host Stephen, expert Jake & first-time reader Kaden. The guys provide their unique perspectives on the characters and plot as they break down the action from The Dragon Reborn. No series spoilers, but be prepared to hear all the details of this book! Plus, comparisons to The Ocarina of Time & Animorphs and too bad Rand Al...

Rather than cover the entirety of Stephen King's magnum opus, Stephen extracts a broad strokes overview of these books from Josh. Our expert just finished the series and obviously wants to say a lot, but holds back enough to give this episode a yellow spoiler rating. No specific plot points will be harmed by listening to this episode! Plus, comparisons to The Series of Unfortunate Events and how d...

The Red Rising trilogy concludes in epic fashion with this exciting and harrowing adventure. Ben and Stephen are on hand to provide a blow by blow of the fate of Darrow and the rest of the Rising. We discuss our favorite moments, including rocket launchers and razor fights. Plus, which Wheel of Time character is Darrow's plot eerily similar to?  (Spoilers for the WoT series from 38:10 to 39:4...

Some differing opinions on the conclusion of His Dark Materials make up Josh and Stephen's review of book 3. We tackle some controversial subjects, ingrained in the subject matter of the book. How does this series compare to other contemporaries, and what were some of our favorite moments from the book? Plus, what mythology features the River Styx? Next up: Morning Star by Pierce Brown Followed By...

What else can we say about the GOAT series of YA fantasy? Stephen is joined by guest stars Dan and Nathan, who give their opinions on what makes Harry Potter what it is. We talk about some potential improvements to wizarding society, including issues with the house cup and Quidditch scoring systems. Plus, don't miss our power rankings of top and bottom character performances in the book! Next up: ...

Jim Butcher is starting to find his stride in the third entry of the Dresden files. Ben, Josh & Stephen talk through the ghosts, vampires & fae and hype up the rest of the series! Important characters are entering and the seeds of huge conflicts have been planted. While this entry still has a ways to go in terms of quality of the later books, we are officially headed there. At least Fantology thin...

Book Two of The Wheel of Time has an interesting structure. It's somewhat of a retelling of the first book, but it does so brilliantly, slowly fleshing out the world and larger plot of the series. Jake & Stephen break down the book without any series spoilers and first-time reader Kaden offers a unique perspective. The guys point out the important plot points and do a Power Ranking for their favor...