Back to One Piece + Malazan Gets BETTER?! - Weekly Reader 2x46

[00:00:00]Are you ready for a Father's Day weekly reader? That means that be before you say yes. Before you say yes, you have to be nice to me.

[00:00:09][sighs and gasps] Is that written down anywhere? I mean, it should be. I I signed nothing is all I'm saying. Sad face.

[00:00:23]Welcome back to Weekly Reader. Hey, my name is John Mitten. That right there is my literary wig man. The little pride and joy, the chill of happiness, the one son, the best producer on book, the giftifter of amazing father's day gifts. You were out here a little earlier. We had we had we had [music] some Father's Day shenanigans, some Father's Day son, and you >> gave me Get ready. I'm cracking it for weekly reader Father's Day edition.

[00:00:49]>> Let's hear it right into the mic.

[00:00:51]>> This is Triple Jam Jar hard cider. This is some of my favorite. Oh yeah, >> we had a lovely little lunch gathering with the family. It was >> great. It was amazing. We uh we had such a great time and uh we're we're recording this Father's Day night and I hope all of you had had a wonderful celebration um telling your dads that you love them. Uh which reminds me, uh Dad, I carry your name, but I can never fill your shoes. Miss you. So, [laughter] [gasps] happy Father's Day to all. So, it's weekly reader time. Bar the windows, lock the doors. Let's only let the good stuff in. We're going to talk about art and story. What we got up to this week, just the good stuff. Just the fun stuff. All that other stuff. Let's breathe in. Let's breathe out. Let's get a nice frosty beverage. Maybe one that'll like cause things to go off the rails here and just have a great time.

[00:01:45]Let's do it. Are we going to go off the rails now? I'm worried. Should I not have gifted that to you?

[00:01:49]>> I don't I've already start I don't I don't know. I don't know what percentage this is, but uh let's let's do this.

[00:01:54]>> You're drinking quickly, I'm noticing.

[00:01:56]>> That's what I'm talking about. Let's get into some announcements. Are you ready?

[00:02:00]You got any? Go for it.

[00:02:01]>> Uh I don't have any. Actually, I do have a bit of one. I You know what? I'm going to throw it. I have two, actually. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. You might make me so happy I have to break into song.

[00:02:14]All right. Go ahead.

[00:02:15]>> First things first. You and I are wearing matching shirts. If we want to talk about that real quick. real quick.

[00:02:20]We do have a merch store if you don't know. We have these cute little shirts.

[00:02:24]Book people are the best people in all kinds of different colors, not just these two. And we also now have bookmarks. Book people are the best people bookmarks. Uh 3D printed and coated in like a little resin, so it's nice and thick and and sturdy. Little bit of uh glittery and sparkly. Super cool. Available on the merch store. Go ahead and check that out below. Signed copies of Discovery on the merch store.

[00:02:45]You can throw that in there. The other announcement I wanted to bring up is uh for those that don't know, we have a newish now perk on the Patreon where mom and I are reading short fiction uh together. So, we've got some new uploads on there kind of dissecting uh Rita Hayworth and Shashank Redemption and they were super fun. So, if you don't know that that perk is there, it is on there. Uh and now we're going to have like our first collab video to dissect that and the ones who walk away from Alas by Ursula Ka. So, just two little quick shout outs. That That's all my announcements.

[00:03:18]>> Yeah, that that'll be fun. I can't wait for the >> very much looking forward to >> short the short story club wrap-up.

[00:03:23]That'll be really cool. Yeah. Uh, okay.

[00:03:25]Are you ready? Cuz I got announcements.

[00:03:27]Number one.

[00:03:28]>> Okay.

[00:03:29]>> Number one, our amazing brother and uncle from the north, Brian at Bell Tube. Um, you know, he tried to do the Kickstarter. He tried to get Bell Works audio going.

[00:03:40]>> Right. Yeah.

[00:03:41]>> And Right. So, like he always says, if if this plan doesn't work out, I got a plan B, C, D all the way to Z. He's got his website up. We're going to put a link right down there. You can still support, you can still back Bell Works Audio. He has got enough in to support him to go into production on his first audio book, which is enormously exciting.

[00:04:02]>> I did not know that. That's super cool.

[00:04:04]Yes.

[00:04:04]>> Yeah. Are there any like details of what the audio book is yet, or is that still kind of hush- hush? the the first audio book, I believe, is called The Key Event. Uh in print, if you look up look it up on Amazon, I think it's called a garden gnome. Uh but for the audio version, they're going with the key the key event, I think is the name of it.

[00:04:22]And uh and the second book he's going to produce is a little book I know you've heard of. It's called Wild Darkness Gathers by Dr. Philip Chase.

[00:04:30]>> Oh, really?

[00:04:32]>> Yes. So, very exciting. Check it out over on Bell Works. Support to whatever level you want. If you're a fan of audio books, if you're a fan of great stories, if you're a fan of just cool people making their dreams come true and and getting awesome stories out there, uh the link is right down there. Check it out. Yes. Uh we'll link uh both his channel and the website down in the description if you want to check both of those out. Uh cuz I'm sure on his YouTube channel, he's got more accurate information than we do about what exactly is going on over there. So, go ahead and check both of those out. Let me just take a drink of this and tell you quite honestly, I'm pretty sure every channel has more accurate information than this one.

[00:05:09]>> That That is very true. Hey, coming up this week, Wednesday the 24th, the Illuminati is going to meet over on Mike's channel. Mike's book reviews.

[00:05:18]We're going to talk about The Forever War by Joe Halddederman. Uh all four of us will get together. I know it's going to be during the day sometime on the 24th, but we haven't got from Mike. I don't think we've got from Mike what time it's going to be. So, okay. I'm not quite sure what time, but we'll get that announcement out there. We'll throw it out there for everyone. Uh, but if you're at work and you just want to listen to something fun, uh, just a little bit of Illuminati shenanigans, we're going to get together on the 24th.

[00:05:42]This is exciting. I know you're ready for this. I know you're very excited for this. Okay. On the 20 on the 26th is the very first Town Square Live.

[00:05:51]>> Yes, it is. I am very excited about this. This is going to be so much fun.

[00:05:56]I've been getting the notifications that we've got quite a few submissions rolling in. So, it will probably be a long one. It's going to You know what?

[00:06:03]That's why we're doing them long. We're going to party as long as we got submissions. So, we're going to have a good time. Let's Let's say we're rolling at 7:30. So, we start a little early if we have a lot of submissions. Makes a lot of sense to me. Let's go with that.

[00:06:14]7:30, Friday, 26th, Town Square Live. If you've sent something in, if if you're one of the fine fine folks uh that sent submissions in, join us and hang out and party. If you're not, you just want to hang out and party, join us. It's going to be a great great time. and we're going to watch these submissions all together. And then on the 27th, Saturday, 3:00, is going to be book club. We're going to be talking about The Elementals by Michael McDow. Uh, and everybody that has joined me for book club and it's it's it seems like this is a pretty popular one. I've been I've been hitting up Discord. We've been chatting back and forth about the book as people are reading it >> and um people are getting people are getting creeped out. People are are enjoying the dialogue because it's quite fun and I I think it's going to be a fun fun discussion. And I think people are having a good time. So that'll be great.

[00:06:59]This coming Saturday, 3:00, book club, Elementals by Michael McDow. That's a lot of good announcements, man. We have a lot of stuff going on. You got announcements. I got announcements. It's like, what? When did this happen?

[00:07:09]>> Too many. When did we get so many things happening? It's crazy.

[00:07:14]>> We haven't even gotten into the books yet. We still got to talk about all the crap we read this week.

[00:07:17]>> It keeps us young. And don't call it crap. I got to take another drink. Every time you say crap.

[00:07:21]>> Oh my god. Really?

[00:07:22]>> Yes. That's the rule. It's written down.

[00:07:24]You have to be nice to me for Father's Day. I didn't sign either of those statements. And then when you say crap, I drink. I'm going to get into the first thing that I read this week and finished this week. I might >> Oh, look out.

[00:07:35]>> Although it's it's it's really short, so it's not it's not that big of a flex.

[00:07:38]But I did finish Rita Hayworth and Shawank Redemption by Stephen King. My first ever Stephen King read. Didn't you say you finished this last week?

[00:07:47]>> Did I? I can't remember.

[00:07:49]>> I'm pretty sure I'm pretty sure if you check the tape Hold on.

[00:07:53]>> Like check the tape. Not only does he miss production meetings, he doesn't even watch what we do here. Stop it with your propaganda. [laughter] Now I got to pull up our own video. I got an ad.

[00:08:07][laughter] I am ashamed to admit you're 100% correct. I already talked about it.

[00:08:12][laughter] Okay. So now now you have to like look straight in the camera and say I tried to take credit for finishing something two weeks in a row.

[00:08:21]>> I'm an idiot. Does that cover it?

[00:08:23][laughter] Moving right along. Uh, >> okay. All right. I am right around a quarter of the way through The Blade Itself by Joe Abbercrombie. Uh, maybe talk to me.

[00:08:35]>> I'm not going to say a large dent, but you know, got got a little ways further now that I'm fully dedicated into this this week.

[00:08:42]>> Okay.

[00:08:44]Last time I talked about this, you asked me, "Have you met Baz yet?" And not really hadn't yet. Now I have probably new favorite character. I think >> I Let me tell you, I love me some Bayazz, but every I'm glad you love him. [laughter] I like Bay. Here's how I'm I'm feeling so far. We've got three different POVs that we're just switching between. I I don't know if we're going to add another later. I >> eventually maybe I would think we have Glocka, Jazal, and Logan Ninefingers.

[00:09:20]And okay, we we haven't switched to another POV yet, but the way that you just said it, I assume that we will soon. Um, maybe if we get a BAS chapter, that would make me very happy. Do [clears throat] we get a Do I get a B chapter?

[00:09:32]>> I I'm pokerfaced as can be.

[00:09:35]>> I'm not even going to say if you should love Bayas or not love Baz. I'm just pokerfaced as can be.

[00:09:41]>> I'm having fun with Bayas. How about that? But Bayas is very fun. Jazal and his chapters I'm not I'm still not totally enjoying.

[00:09:52]>> Um I got you.

[00:09:53]>> I I'm enjoying them a little bit more than I previously did just because I think I'm getting to a point where I've spent enough time with him that I'm starting to >> remember names and faces and I can enjoy the dialogue a little bit more. But I I don't like him as a person. He he >> he's a he's a little entitled. Little little full of himself.

[00:10:10]>> A little Oh my god, this dude is a lot.

[00:10:13]Uh, I mean they're all a lot in different ways, but Glocka's chapters I really like >> because we're we're [clears throat] really pushing plot with these and Glocka's views on the world are always very interesting and his dialogue is quite enjoyable. Um, but we're getting a lot of context with what exactly is going on with the political powers in this world. So, I like his chapters just because I'm getting world answers.

[00:10:39]>> Um, which I'm feeling >> a bit of a shortage on. in other chapters that there's a lot of talk of different um systems at work within the larger political powers and I I don't totally know what they all are and nor do I feel like I'm going to get much of a description about them.

[00:10:58]>> Um but I get I get pieces and all of that through Gla which I really enjoy.

[00:11:02]It's a very interesting world. Uh and I'm excited to learn more about it.

[00:11:06]>> Look for some pieces of that for from Jazal as well cuz Jazal is involved in something. We're getting bits of that. I I do like that Glock's chapters and Jazelle's chapters are >> not totally intermingling, but they they breeze past each other every once in a while. And I'm I'm waiting.

[00:11:22]>> They're in the same city. They're in the same city.

[00:11:24]>> Yeah. They they have that benefit. And yet Logan's chapters are my favorite by far. I just his is just full-blown fantasy sword and sorcery with the grim dark twist of of Joe Abbercrombiey's fantastic dialogue and knack for character voice like you would not believe. And it just flies.

[00:11:46]>> His chapters are amazing. Barbarian goodness, right? Like just Yes. 100%.

[00:11:52]And I cannot wait to see how this mage system goes because I feel like everything about this world has been there has not been a single aspect of this world that any of these characters can point at and go, I like that everything is everything sucks.

[00:12:14][laughter] Everything sucks.

[00:12:17]>> Yeah. And we introduced these mages and it seems like, hey, these guys are cool.

[00:12:22]>> Yeah.

[00:12:23]>> And now I'm worried. [laughter] I don't >> I got >> I don't think they're as cool as they seem.

[00:12:29]>> I got to be stonefaced here, but you know, you're I >> But I feel like I might be on to something there. Um, but as I'm going, I'm having a lot more fun with this book as I continue with it.

[00:12:40]>> It sounds like you're right where you should be.

[00:12:42]>> Yeah, >> I think you're right where you should be. And I think even some of these chapters that you don't feel are quite as um engaging, I think by the end when you when you see where they go, when you see what they build up to, when you see what happens, >> I think you might be and and some of the characters you like have some real peaks coming and some valleys coming. And I I think I I think you're right where you need to be. I really do. I think I've got some hope here. Even Jazal's chapters who I I don't really like Jazelle, but I'm enjoying the chapters enough then I do feel like >> if Jazelle has the growth that I hope that he has um from becoming, you know, something different from this just absolute tool that he is right now.

[00:13:27]Um I could see myself enjoying his chapters and even enjoying his character. And that's for the the one character that I really don't like. Um, everybody else is like, like Logan, I think as I continue with the series, and I think I will, um, I I'm really going to follow this character and feel for him and feel like I'm with him on his journey, and I'm a quarter of the way through book one. Like, I I think I'm feeling that at a good point.

[00:13:54]>> Yeah. What I will tell you is, remember what I keep telling you, it's one story.

[00:13:58]So, >> right, >> some of these things you're looking for possibly may not be the first book, but you know, if you stick in, if you stick around, you I think you will get some of the things you you hope.

[00:14:10]>> These little brushings between Glockton and Jazal and their chapters where they kind of intermingle for even just a moment and then go back to their respective corners. I don't expect I I I'm putting a prediction down that it would be really cool if this book ended with like an arrested development style end of the episode where they all come together and it's this big, you know, all the story lines connect. Um, I don't know if that's going to happen. I think it's going to be [snorts] almost like a spark of that that at least gives you the idea that that's coming. But I don't >> Mhm. It It feels like things are moving slowly enough that that won't be coming for a while and I'm kind of okay with it and I didn't think I was going to be.

[00:14:57]>> Yeah. Well, I think I think it may be more expansive and broader than you're thinking. So, there may need to be more than just one >> uh thread going on or happening. So, and I have to give huge props to and not just saying like what I like about the book. Um, you know, without any like evidence or anything, but huge props to Joe Abberrombie for using his voice in so many different aspects. Like I dude, all the characters, yes, have a very distinct voice and he's very good at it. But that voice is used to fill out the world and show you how you should feel about the world based on how this character feels about the world. Like >> I mentioned like a few weeks ago, one of the best things that you can do to amplify your character voice is make that character have really strong opinions about other people in the world and be very vocal about it. Every character does that and it makes the world feel so lived in because of that.

[00:15:54]But also >> something that is way harder to do is to push plot with that because you have to have uh there's almost like this, you know, political power struggle happening in the background almost that we >> it's not necessarily in the background.

[00:16:10]We just don't have access to all the information of what's really going on yet. Um, and all of these characters that we sometimes don't even get screen time for still have so much of a voice that they're making decisions based on the personality that you associate with them and makes that string of events feel real. Like it it's really incredible what he does.

[00:16:34]>> He is the king of voice. I keep saying it. Like I think you're starting to see what I mean now. It's not just it's not just quippy banter, but it it goes deeper than that. It does so much double duty.

[00:16:45]>> I had no idea that you could do this much damage in a story with voice. It's >> Yeah.

[00:16:53]>> Insane. So really, really enjoying it.

[00:16:55]Looking forward to get further in it.

[00:16:58]>> I'm happy. I'm so happy, man. That's awesome.

[00:17:00]>> Me, too. But that is everything that I read this week, >> I think. Yes. So, how about you? Uh, okay. Well, let me let me get into it. I have finished Black Sun by Rebecca Rowenhorse. This is book one of Between Earth and Sky. This is the buddy read that I'm doing with Josh over at Red Fury Books and Dr. Philip Chase, best of fantasy. Uh Josh and I do a buddy read every year, once a year. We start usually kind of right around the middle of the year and we usually pick a trilogy and we do one book a month for three months or so. Uh so I wrap this up.

[00:17:32]I kind of really I think probably to the shock of no one. I think I'm going to come in liking this more than Josh. I kind of really like this. Like, am I saying, "Ooh, this might be one of my faves of all time." I don't quite know if it's rarified error like that yet.

[00:17:48]But it's a really, really intriguing start. It's a really intriguing start.

[00:17:55]It's um I kind of like what I told you last week. It's like, how do you, you know, how do you It's Father's Day, but this is a mother. How does she show her son she loves him? She is going to change the world by making him a vessel for a god. This is a god that there's been a coup. This is the city that is run kind of by four different great houses. Uh each have their huge magical beasts that accompany that house. Each have different powers. Although a lot of these powers, a lot of this magic are somewhat underground now because the house in Ascension is the sun god. And the sun god is all about rational logic and science. And they have the tower and they can chart the stars and the planets and the moon and they'll from that they'll they'll be able to tell you what's coming around the corner as far as weather for crops and all types of things, right? [snorts] So that's kind of the way this world is going. But to get there, to get the sun god into ascension, there had to be a pretty bloody coup against the carrying crows.

[00:19:05]kind of the dark magic users. And now we're starting to see maybe a flipping of the table and the carrying crows coming back into Ascension. And how does that happen? And we get some really cool POVs here. We get a ship captain that is starts to take this boy that is a vessel for a god now to the capital city by the solstice day. we we get a young boy whose u matriarch of the family was assassinated and yet no one quite knows she's the current matriarch of the carrying crows and she's been assassinated. So there's a bit of a murder mystery going here. We get a POV of the current sun god priestess and how she's trying to bring change and what does that mean and are is she getting support? are are the the the rest of her followings behind her supporting her. Uh and so we're really kind of like you're saying, we're getting so many different peaks into this world and how it works and how it comes together and how this magic is starting to come back around.

[00:20:13]Uh this ship captain comes from a a land kind of far away. They have different beliefs. They have different types of things that can happen, different type magical things that could happen. So that's coming back around. We as relationships grow, as these characters bump into each other and they grow and these ascensions and descensions start to happen throughout this world, we learn more about the world and how it works and how it's put together and what could be around the corner. And what I will say that I love about a book one is by the end of this book, and this is not a huge book, by the end of this book, we have a completely different status quo.

[00:20:49]and we have all of these points of view set in a way that I cannot wait to pick up book two and see what happens to each and every one of them. So, it's it's quite the achievement in that way. Does it drive me to pick up the next book to see what happens with all of these characters? Does it drive me to pick up the book to see all right, where is this world going now? Because we are in a vastly different status quo and state of being than where we were at the beginning of this book. So all of that absolutely pushes me to want to grab the next book. And I also love the way the world is kind of that Mesoamerican Mayan Incan kind of influence. Uh very magical, very beautiful, very colorful in a different way than maybe Western medieval world is where so much of fantasy is kind of based on. Uh I'm it's I'm really finding it to be a breath of fresh air. I've done quite a bit of Asian influence fantasy lately, but this was just really different. um really interesting, really fun, really new, and uh I I I I don't know if it's a all-time fave, but I am so excited about booking picking up book two. So, it was completely successful in that way.

[00:21:57]>> Even if it's not an all-time fave, like I it's still high praise to say that you enjoyed it to this degree and that like you're >> fun. I >> not only excited to pick up book two, really excited to pick up book two.

[00:22:08]>> Yeah. Fun fun fun read. Like it was just fun. Like I whenever I got to this book, it was just like oh it's just it's [snorts] [sighs] you know sometimes if you go see a great movie some of them make you slow down and think just like a book sometimes that make you slow down and think. Some of them are just like okay this is this is just a great time and this is fun. I'm not saying there's not thoughtprovoking things in here and motivations for characters and things like that moral questions and ambiguity.

[00:22:35]There are uh but it's just presented in such a way that it was just a great fun time. It was a fun read for me and I really enjoyed it.

[00:22:42]>> Awesome, man. That's always really cool to see. Whenever you and Josh do a discussion on it, that'll be really fun.

[00:22:47]>> Yeah. Me, Josh, and Dr. Chase, I think, are going to have a lot to talk about and we I not I think Dr. Chase is the last to read it. Then we'll be setting up a day and getting together.

[00:22:56]>> Okay. Beginning of next month, I would guess.

[00:22:59]>> Okay, cool. Well, whip out that ginormous book.

[00:23:03]>> Nope. Cuz after that, the fun had to continue. So, I did the next volume of One Piece. All right. I did volume 33.

[00:23:11]Now, this is kind of misleading because this says we're getting into water 7.

[00:23:15]And maybe we are like I'm I'm, you know, I'm not I'm not a One Piece scholar, but I think this is kind of like some happenings that are a little bit before we really dig into water 7 if I'm understanding. kind of like that happens kind of at the beginning of each saga though that like there's there's a few volumes where you're kind of just getting through some things and moving from point A to point B and some stuff happens that maybe sets things up for the saga. But I don't know if it's really the start of the saga. Yeah, that's kind of how I felt. It's kind of like, okay, we're just kind of in that in between, >> you know, just going to have throw some fun stuff out there and see what happens, see what sticks. Uh, and that was, you know, it's so much was what we have here is we wrapped up Skypia. We're in that fun zone before we hit Water 7, uh, deep into Water 7. And you know, what do we have? We have some challenges. We have some games between our amazing Straw Hat crew and the Foxy Pirates. And it's like these games, these pirate games that happen, they come in three rounds. And when you lose a round, you could lose a crew member. Whoever wins gets to pick one of the crew members that you got to sign on with us and full on join our crew. So, it's like the emotional stakes already get really high. So, you have like these fun shenanigans, just kind of a break between the main the main story lines.

[00:24:40]And at the same time, uh, I mean, I got to tell you, I got I I was I was my guy Tony Tony Chopper was I I wasn't happy. That's all I'm going to say. What >> I would That's it. I wasn't happy. Not happy. If that means what I think it means, I'm I'm going to be really upset when I get to that. That's what I mean.

[00:25:02]Yeah. So, I look I It's It was fun. It was a great time. It was exciting. It was adrenaline charged. Uh, but there were stakes here. There were emotional stakes here at play the way kind of Oda always slides them in. And [snorts] um, you know, it was it was a great time for me because I just wanted some fun stuff because let me tell you the other thing I'm reading.

[00:25:31]You got to make it slam against the desk. Now, I'm not going to say I'm not enjoying this or I'm not going to say it's not fun. Sure. But but [sighs and gasps] >> I'm just going to say the siege the siege of Capistan is not fun. [laughter] >> It it is it is not a good time for anybody.

[00:25:55]>> I am on page 900.

[00:25:57]>> Okay. So you're getting close-ish to the end.

[00:26:00]>> I'm getting close. I'm getting close. I will wrap it up this week. Uh and and what can I say? what I said last week, the expansiveness of this the I mean Steven bent in the absolute best way.

[00:26:12]Ericson.

[00:26:13]>> Yeah.

[00:26:13]>> Because for by the way for those just listening to the audio, if you haven't put it together, this is Memories of Ice by Steven Ericson.

[00:26:19]>> Yes. Malazen Book of the Fallen book three, Memories of Ice by Steven Ericson. Thank you so much. You're absolutely right to do that. um the expansiveness, the scope of this, the human paos of this, the drama of this, the moments of this uh just start to stack up over and over again. And well, like I was talking about last last week, right, for weekly reader is there's many many layers to what's going on here. So, you have the layer of what's playing out what's playing out on the ground in the physical realm. this conflict that started 300,000 years ago and now has come to the forefront. It's come to a head all over again. Uh and the Malazan Empire is embroiled in it at this point. And we've got the siege of Capistan happening. But that's the phys that's on the physical level. Above and beyond that and the metaphysical level is you've got these elder gods, some newer gods, some ascended that might possibly be gods someday. We don't know. We've got gods even before the elder gods that were just kind of spirit animals that obtained godhood. They all have agency.

[00:27:28]They all have skin in the game in one way or another here. So, there's so many different levels. Whether it be house of death or light or dark or chaos or the newly forming house of chains or whatever it is, these gods are looking down. They're moving their pieces.

[00:27:45]They've got so much skin in the game about how this earthly conflict is going on and happening. And as I said, started 300,000 years ago.

[00:27:55]The gods were involved in it there as well. So, we've [snorts] got layers upon layers upon layers. And I said last week, it's like you kind of feel like one of these gods. The way Steven Ericson will focus in on on a pocket of characters here during the siege. He'll focus in on this group of characters that hasn't got to the siege yet. will focus in to this group of characters that is involved in sieging Kapestone not inside but on the other side and you can through this lensing over and over again you feel like a god standing back looking at the map laid in front of you and now I've gotten far enough away far enough through this to to get another add-on to that because it's so important here that the importance of the people, the human characters have so much importance and agency and decision-m.

[00:28:53]The gods actually in a large way are waiting to see what some of the decisions that these humans are carrying and which way they go because with belief comes strength and and there is free free agency here and they have to make their own choices even though they've been swayed one way or another and they put things in their path and they try and move them one way. It's the humans that over and over again seem to like have a whole card here possibly and they are going to move things on the board and makes decisions. So some of these characters you're following I've started to realize it's like whoa this is they're not just they're they're not just pawns they're not just fodder on a battlefield. They matter and they matter distinctly. What they believe in, how they're going to move through this, how much of themselves are they going to hold on to, how much of themselves is going to change and through that change come across a new decision or a new direction that will impact these metaphysical forces that are watching all of this go on. So, as above, so below. It's just as important. And it the the the characters whether they be humans or ascended or gods or elder gods or cub or or animal spirits from way back they all have weight and gravity and import and something to win and something to lose.

[00:30:26]this it's just an unbelievable massive story of these incredible beings on these different levels and not only that but there are moments and you know I don't normally do this this is how this struck me I want to read just a quick passage this passage this is the kind of thing that it's like just as you're reading and you're going through you'll hit this passage that makes you just stop and go whoa Oh, the the the the gravitas there.

[00:30:59]What Ericson is saying, how it not only affects these characters, but resonates and ripples through the human experience. This is just just listen to this and I think you'll I think you'll understand what I'm talking about. This now this is during this this is during the siege of Capistan and things are you know things are not going great. So you can see where something like this would get said.

[00:31:23]We are all pushed into a world of madness.

[00:31:28]Yet, it must now fall to each of us to pull back from this abyss. To drag ourselves free of the descending spiral.

[00:31:40]From horror, grief must be fashioned.

[00:31:44]And from grief, compassion.

[00:31:51]Think about those words for a second.

[00:31:54]Think about what he's saying. Think about how that represents the human experience in its darkest hour.

[00:32:02]Still looking for not only a glimmer of hope for yourselves, but for those oppressing you and attacking you.

[00:32:13]There must be a pulling back from the abyss.

[00:32:18]This is not just grand setpiece after grand setpiece. This is not just great battle after great battle. This is the cost to the human psyche and soul as well. And that human psyche and soul has just as much gravity and weight and importance as the gods above that are watching it all unfold. It is so amazing. It's so impactful. And I've just enjoyed my time with this one so much. It It's galvanized the whole series for me. It's brought into sharp focus the whole the whole thrust of what Stephen bent in the best possible way Ericson is trying to do here. Um I I just I'm telling you I'm just I I knew from Gardens of the Moon I wanted to finish the series. Like there was no way I'm not finishing the series. Now that I'm hitting Memories of Ice, I'm starting to feel like, okay, I need to finish the series and I might need to read all the ancillary books written by Esselmont as well. I might need to do everything. I might have to do everything. Like I I'm I'm >> I'm starting to like I it's it's really working for me. That's all I'm going to say. [laughter] And don't people say that the series gets better from here as well. That's that's what I keep hearing. People keep saying, "Oh my gosh, just wait if you're like this at Memory of Ice." And I was I look I really enjoyed Gardens of the Moon. I really enjoyed Dead House Gates.

[00:33:44]I'm I'm not saying I haven't enjoyed it up to now, >> right?

[00:33:47]>> But for some for some reason, this tapestry he's making just started to pull together enough for me. And I people say all the time, it's like, "Oh my gosh, but but I've heard it's so hard." And it's like, look, all I can tell you is it's not easy. Life's not easy. Some of the best things are not easy. I'm not I'm not saying it's like I'm not saying it's a great fun read that I just want to pick up and flip through. I'm not saying that. But what I am saying is absolutely trust Stephen Ericson and just go with it. Just go with it. If you're not getting every nuance and everything and you're not remembering every character and you're not placing them all in the world the way you're supposed to or the way you think you're supposed to, it's perfectly okay. You're probably not supposed to yet. You probably don't need to yet.

[00:34:35]Just pick up the threads that you can see. just start to just start to trust the storyteller and just hang with them.

[00:34:45]And now for me, it's memories of ice.

[00:34:47]Those threads start to come together.

[00:34:49]They start to weave together and create this tapestry and this picture uh that I'm just floored by. So it's so if it if it is effort, it is it is I will say it's so worth the effort.

[00:35:05]Un unless you just get into it and you're not that kind of reader and you just hate it, then you know, hey, fair play to you. You should grab something else. Uh, but that's that's the best way I can describe it. It's a journey. Trust the process, trust the journey, trust the storyteller, and just go with it.

[00:35:22]and it it will start to coalesce and that tangled sky will start to come together and form the tapestry or it won't and you know you're and you know you're in the you know you're in the wrong book and and you can you know maybe move on what you one way or another it'll happen.

[00:35:39]>> So lots of Malow and Book of the Falling coming up in future TBRs I would assume >> cuz Wars of Light and Shadow will be done relatively soon.

[00:35:49]>> The Wars of Light and Shadow will be finished this year. Yeah. And I think this is the next major series I'll be focusing on. Yeah, I figured um I'm not I there's so many. I definitely want to get back to Realm of the Elderlings as well. So maybe I'm trying to do a couple, you know?

[00:36:06]>> Sure.

[00:36:06]>> Cuz I think they they're very different.

[00:36:08]So maybe I'm trying to do a couple. And I don't think I can do one of these every other month. I I think I need a little bit more time between.

[00:36:14]>> Yeah.

[00:36:14]>> I I I may want to focus one a quarter. I may want to focus I really want to I really want to pace myself in a way that um because like I say I'm I'm reading this slowly. I'm reading probably somewhere between 40 to 50 pages a day and that seems to be just about right for me. I set it down and I and I don't pick up anything else for a while. Like after those 40 or 50 pages, I have to process for a bit and I have to think about how these threads connect and I have to remember where these where these characters above and below were last I touched base with them and and and it's I can see why people would rely on a a wiki or a spreadsheet or I I really can I really understand that. Um, so it's it's just not something I think I'm ever going to just blaze through or do fast.

[00:37:11]I just think I will I think I'll take more of it on if it's a more of a methodical slower pace.

[00:37:18]>> Yeah. Got to do what the author wants you to do. And if it feels like the author wants you to be slow and take a lot of stuff in, then that's what you got to do. If I'm just doing 40 to 50 pages, you know, I'm doing a little something else at the same time. I did start King and Yellow. So, this is a classic in the cosmic horror genre. This is uh it kind of predates Lovecraft. I think this is one of the things Lovecraft read that >> I believe. So if it if it I mean it maybe predates Lovecraft's writing. I don't know if it totally predates Lovecraft.

[00:37:49]>> Yeah. Yeah. Um but I I think it predated his mythos. I think when this came out, he hadn't really started >> creating the mythos in in Weird Tales and other places.

[00:38:00]>> Um >> so I'm going through this. I'm taking a lot of notes. A lot of notes uh for something we're working on. And interestingly, I'm not going to say I'm blown away by every story. There's 10 stories here. I'm halfway through. I'm through five and uh marking my place with this with that pretty bookmark. So, I'm halfway through. And I'm really interested in how the stories like dovetail or connect in one way or another. uh you will have, interestingly enough, there's so many artists involved here. Like we're dealing with The King in Yellow is a longforgotten and lost play and if it pops up here or there and you read it or you're near someone that reads it, it brings about obsession and madness and you know, all those kind of strange things if you go read it all the way through act two. [snorts] So, not only are you dealing with whatever artist from wherever wrote this play and it might not there are more worlds than these that there are more than than you know Horatio. So, it might not be this world where this work was created but also just the stories themselves. It's looked at through the lens of a lot of different artists. It seems like in the very first book, in the very first story, it's a bit of a sci-fi story cuz this was written in late 1800s and the story takes place in 1920. So, it's a bit of a time jump, bit of a future jump. And he uh Robert Chambers, the writer, is extrapolating where he thinks America as a empire will go. So, it's interestingly there's there's some art installations and the artist that created these art installations, he appears in the second story in Paris at his studio and you just start to see little things tying together and often times it's from the vision or eyes of these stories take place from some type of artist. Uh, it happens a lot. So, there's kind of themes repeating.

[00:40:08]There's different locations repeating.

[00:40:11]There's different certain things that happen such as a yellow sign appearing that leads to the play popping up somewhere where it wasn't before. It's like that you're starting to see where I'm I'm I'm making notes, a lot of notes, and starting to see the mechanics quite possibly of of how it works. But it's all very, if you're thinking about mechanics in a magic system, it's all very soft. There's really not a lot of explanation. It's really wild. It's really out there. It's really, it's very, it's almost experimental in a way.

[00:40:44]The a lot of what Robert Chambers did was uh romance writing. So, there's a lot of romance injected into these stories as well. Uh, and and they're not very long stories. So, you've got many many times of and we're just in love now or [laughter] and oh, here's the love triangle. Uh, it just is that way. We we need it by page two and that's the way it like there's it's very in there's no build. It's there's a lot a lot of times there's not explanation of to what is going on. Uh it's it's just it's it feels almost like you can't quite grasp what what is happening sometimes like what okay is this a dream? Is this not a dream? Was it a dream to begin with and now he wakes up and it was not quite a dream? Like there's a lot of strange and I think that's the point. It's trying to put you in a mindset where you're unsure and uncomfortable with reality and with the trappings of reality um and the shape of reality. and it it is quite good at that. So, I'm trying to make some notes of all the things that appear and reappear as far as okay, I can start to hang some meat off of the bones of those mechanics of kind of how this functions and how it works, which is what I'm trying to do for what what we've got coming up. Very interested to hear your notes on this. By the way, we haven't really talked much about it, but I I will be picking this up. I probably won't be reading all of the 10 stories that are in yours, but I'll read um I think there's usually like four or five, I think, that are the ones that are like kind of the highlights that are the heavy hitters. Yeah.

[00:42:21]>> And before you pick those up, like I'm making notes on every story and we'll talk before and and I'll make sure that I think those are the stories you should be looking at for for what we kind of have percolating, >> right? Uh but but that's just a little bit of a peak behind the scene of of things that are going on that we can't really talk more than that about, but we are very excited about.

[00:42:44]>> Okay. Well, off to what we watched then.

[00:42:46]>> No, you you go first.

[00:42:48]>> No, we go first. Widow's Bay.

[00:42:50]>> Yeah, [laughter] >> we we had the finale. We had the finale.

[00:42:54]>> I mean, we talked about this a little bit already, obviously, because we've been on the phone talking about it. One last time, if you do not know what Widow's Bay is, it is a show on Apple TV that you should absolutely watch. Um, it's kind of a a a small island in New England and they have no infrastructure, very, you know, >> uh uh lowbudget, shall we say, around here in the island of Widows Bay. And the mayor, Tom Loftess, who's kind of our focal point character, desperately wants more tourism to come to the island. And so he's doing all kinds of things, trying to get reporters to come out to publish things in their newspaper about how this island's so great and they need more tourists and blah blah blah so that they can get an influx of cash and build up their uh uh infrastructure and make it a nicer island for everybody. However, almost nobody wants him to succeed because the island is so cursed. So cursed. Stupid [laughter] cursed. Like stupid cursed. And that's the setup. And then I mean the ju Stephen King level weird supernatural shenanigans start to ensue.

[00:44:01][clears throat] >> Yes.

[00:44:02]>> Like episode after episode and it actually it starts to feel like ooh a little haunting of the week, a little monster of the week, you know, something like that as you get story to story.

[00:44:11]Yeah.

[00:44:11]>> But then it all starts to tie together and build towards something larger and more insidious and deeper on the island.

[00:44:17]And uh we had the final episode this week and some questions were answered.

[00:44:22]Here's the thing. It like >> Yeah.

[00:44:26]>> A few days before the finale aired, we got confirmation that they were renewed for season 2.

[00:44:31]>> I'm a little bit trepidacious about that.

[00:44:35]>> I am too. The finale was great. I really liked the finale. They answered a lot of questions. Um, there weren't a lot of questions left unanswered that I feel like would take a long time to explore.

[00:44:52]So, I I'm I'm a little worried that like how much do we have to do in season two?

[00:44:59]And how much of like is is there a plan for a five season arc? Like how how >> see here how plotted out is all of this?

[00:45:09]Because >> that's exactly I'm a little worried.

[00:45:12]>> That's exactly my fear because I think correct me if I'm wrong here. the main creative force behind this and I can't think of her name and season one.

[00:45:22]>> Katie Dipple, >> I believe u the majority of her work has been in Parks and Wreck in that show Parks and Wreck.

[00:45:30]>> Oh, I did not know that.

[00:45:31]>> That's where she's come. Yeah, that's where she's come from. Yeah.

[00:45:34]>> Um actually, she wrote a spec script for Widows Bay that used to be way more comedy ccentric and that's what got her the job at Parks and Wreck. And now it's come all the way around after Parks and Wreck. She's come back to this that she had this idea for long long ago. So, here's the thing with Parks and Wreck.

[00:45:53]You don't need a plan for season two.

[00:45:56]You just you just need these characters to pin some crazy stuff on and follow and you're going to you're going to find a season and as the seasons go on and you learn your characters more, you can do more and more and mine that for more and more.

[00:46:09]>> Sure. This is a different animal. If she doesn't have a long-term, like you say, a three-year arc, four year arc, 5year arc of exactly what builds and where it goes, I think this house of cards could start get rickety. I would be nervous.

[00:46:23]Like I I so look forward to season two of severance. [snorts] >> And it's like I don't >> Season two of Seance came and it was like I don't know if you have a plan.

[00:46:34]I'm a little worried. and and season one of Severance ended to where I was like, "Oh my, I'm all in." Like where this ended, you guys got to have, "Oh my gosh, you this is going to be" And then it started to meander.

[00:46:48]>> So for for me, I'm just speaking for myself, but I'm a little nervous. I'm a little nervous about this.

[00:46:56]>> Yeah.

[00:46:56]>> You could tell in the finale and and mom and I talked about this. You could tell uh they probably had stuff shot.

[00:47:04]>> Mhm. if they didn't get picked up and they probably had stuff shot at they did to put to put in.

[00:47:10]>> Oh, I did not think about that. But I'm sure that's true.

[00:47:13]>> Yeah, >> we could talk afterwards. I no spoilers.

[00:47:16]We can talk afterwards. Like obviously they got picked up so we have this and we you know there's a couple things layered in and I'm with you. I'm not sure if it's enough for another eight episodes, nine up 10 episodes. It could be if there's a plan.

[00:47:34]Like I I don't know. It makes me a little nervous. It I'm almost would rather have gone all in and gone we're going to tell this story and get out.

[00:47:43]>> Sure. Just make it a miniseries and be one and done and you know that's it. But there there are a few things that come to mind that's like >> there there are some stories they set up. There's like there's no possible way they were going to finish that by the end of the first season.

[00:48:01]So that kind of puts me a little bit in the column like, >> well, you must have some sort of a plan then and that gets me excited, but I'm wrong. I'm a little worried. I would love to be wrong.

[00:48:13]>> Yes, >> I would love to be wrong. But what I will say, the performances, >> oh man, you got I mean, look, Steven Root, Matthew Reese, Katie O Flynn, uh, and and it goes on. There's not a weak link in this chain at all. and what they got to do, particularly the Matthew Reese and and some others got to do in this final episode. Yeah. Not only do they get to play that character comedy that we've seen all season long, but they get to go to some darker, more dramatic moments, and they're just so capable >> and nail it so great, so hard that that it's just like, oh, that's why this finale was so >> shocking and impactful is because you had the actors that could go to a totally different place.

[00:48:59]>> Yeah.

[00:48:59]>> Than they'd been uh for the episodes up to now. And the transitions between those tones were pretty seamless. I I >> Beautiful.

[00:49:07]>> Usually in a horror comedy, it doesn't really work that well.

[00:49:12]>> Um because >> you need time to switch between the two of them. And if you're, you know, especially in a show like this where I don't think the other episodes have been a full hour. Am I right about that? Or were they?

[00:49:24]>> Oh, most. Yeah. No, most of them are around 30 40 minutes. I think 35. So to have that and still have the skill of being able to flip back and forth and I think this last episode was about an hour and 10 minutes and there's there's one scene in particular where >> there's just a solid 30 seconds to a minute where somebody is sitting in silence and walking around a room and you have the time to allow that tone shift to be okay >> and that they really keep that in mind and it works to a tea for me in a way that I don't know anybody else has accomplished. I think the director of this last episode was Hero >> Hero Marai. Yeah, he he directed the first two and I think the finale. He directed three of them.

[00:50:05]>> I'm Yeah, I'm positive he directed the finale because I made a I made a point of of checking.

[00:50:10]>> Uh and it was just so well done, so well paced.

[00:50:14]>> The moments had such a point because they were so earned.

[00:50:18]>> Um just ju just phenomenal. And I I guess I always just get a little a little scared. [laughter] Can we get season two that's at that level? I sure hope we can. Like I sure hope we can.

[00:50:32]>> That would be great. I also don't know how long we're going to be waiting for it because they just only just now renewed it. So I Is it >> Yeah.

[00:50:40]>> written yet? Is some of it written yet?

[00:50:42]I have I have no idea. We don't know. So >> I don't know. I don't know. Was the Was the writing team waiting to hear or were they working ahead or you know we don't we have we have no idea.

[00:50:52]>> I hope it comes soon though. I would I would love nothing more. But I think >> yeah, >> if I remember correctly, I think that's everything I watched this week.

[00:51:00]>> Uh I watched Shaw Shank Redemption because you know we're having our father-son buddy read and we were doing a vlog after the read and a vlog after the watch. So I did get it watched and I did I did post my vlog in case anybody wants to check that out on Patreon. Um, I just look at the r at at the risk of sounding like that old guy.

[00:51:23]Like they just don't make movies like this. They just don't >> anymore. I mean, >> I haven't even seen the movie yet and I know what you're talking about and I agree. I feel the same way. [laughter] >> I mean, can you imagine pick a studio, pick any studio, and you have somebody walk in and go, "Hey, we want to adapt a book. Uh it's very slow burn character-driven about what makes us uh special in the deepest darkest moments of our lives and uh with a wi with the theme of of how how we how you keep the ideas of of hope and freedom alive in the human experience at the deepest darkest moment. Like who's writing a check for that these day? Are you saying no nobody wears spandex nothing blows up there? I mean, it it it's it's they just don't make flicks like this.

[00:52:19]The way it was lit, the the way it was paced.

[00:52:24]>> I was going to say from the screenshots that I've seen, literally nobody makes movies like this anymore because it's it feels like >> obviously like I I I'm not making big budget Hollywood movies. What do I know?

[00:52:37]But it feels like a lot of people are afraid of shadows these days in a way that everything is lit so flat. I I want harsh contrast. I want the heavy lines where there is light and dark. I don't every not everything needs to be so soft.

[00:52:54]>> There is so much done with light and shadow in this.

[00:52:57]>> Yeah. So I just like shot after shot. I just I can't wait for you to watch it just as a filmmaker. And that's one of the reasons why I made this choice. and and I we're not supposed to be talking this much because we're going to do we're going to do we're going to do our big episode this week about when when we watch each other's vlogs.

[00:53:14]>> Yeah.

[00:53:14]>> I just think this story is going to hit for you in a visual way and you're going to get to see something adapted in the just >> I like it's adapted to the most highest level and I I can't wait for you to watch it and and and feel that. I do remember getting to the end of the book and feeling like great feel like it would work better as a movie. And I that that's like I don't even know if that's ever happened to me.

[00:53:43]I And there's things and we'll talk after, but there there's choices they made and things they did and it was all in service to a visual medium.

[00:53:50]>> Yeah.

[00:53:50]>> They still continued to keep the story and the spirit and the soul of what Stephen King did and every choice they made was to make it stronger for the visual medium. And it was it's it's I just think it's one of the one of the top adaptations I've ever seen. I can't wait for you to watch it. Very excited.

[00:54:08]>> Well, how about you all?

[00:54:09]>> And wait, I also watched another movie.

[00:54:13]>> Oh, okay. Which was >> I watched a movie called Burial and this is like the true story. Yeah, it it was from some years back. I just saw it on Prime. I was like, "Sure, I'll watch that." It was Tommy Lee Jones and and Jamie Fox. And it's a small town funeral home director and owner in um I believe Alabama, Mobile, I think. I'm not sure.

[00:54:43]And he's come on hard times and he's going to sell some of his to like this big corporation. And the way the deal goes, he has to end up suing the big corporation. So, it's like a David and Goliath courtroom kind of thing. And they get in Jamie Fox as the as the lawyer to to handle the case. And uh it I it was it was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed a true story. It was one of those kind of it was kind of a feel-good true I would I would recommend it. I had never seen it, never heard of it, and just flipping through one night saw that and I was like, "Dude, Tommy Lee Jones, Jamie Fox, true story. I will totally watch that." And I had a good time. It was very good.

[00:55:19]>> Very cool. I had no idea about that. I might check that out.

[00:55:22]>> Yeah. Uh, it's on Prime. Well, then how about you all? Have you checked out that movie? Are you blowing yourself away with Memories of Ice? Or have you read the whole thing, I don't know, three times [music] over and you feel differently? Let us know everything that you've been reading and watching in the comments. My dad here is going to reply to every single comment down there just because it's what he likes to do.

[00:55:40][music] If you haven't hit that subscription button, boop, it's that easy. And when you join this amazing group of people here and [music] on Discord, God, you join that group and it you just get a tingle. [music] And I'm sure for Father's Day, the only gift I really want, you already got alcohol.

[00:55:59]I'm not giving it to you. I'm I'm just going to cut in right now. I I already gave you your gift.

[00:56:03]>> So, you're not you're just not you're not going to agree to the tingle. The tingle is real. How many weeks have we been doing this now? I'm not going to give it to you. All you have to do is say it's real and we'll stop. I'll come up with a whole new thing. If you give it to me on Father's Day, I'll come up with a whole new thing by next week.

[00:56:21]Never have I been so tempted.

[00:56:23]>> You got You got to go, man. You got to go.

[00:56:26]>> No, I don't. I can't do it. But what I will do is make you angry with yourself.

[00:56:30]Thanks to all of our patrons, correspondents, directors, and producers on Patreon. They keep the lights going around here. They give my dad a pink slip because he can't remember to thank them in every video. I deserve that pink slip. You've earned it now. There's I don't know how many times you hear correspondents, directors, [laughter] and producers. Oh my gosh, it's way too late.

[00:56:50]>> You know what it is? It's because I'm so disappointed in you for not agreeing.

[00:56:54]>> How is this mindful? You can't turn this around on me.

[00:56:58]>> That's I have so much focus on just getting my son across the line of understanding that the magic in the world is real. Is this what Father's Day is for? You just take all of your blame and shove it onto your son. That's what this holiday is all about.

[00:57:13]>> Well, that that's what having a son is all about.

[00:57:16]>> Wow.

[00:57:18][laughter] If you're still here, your book people and in our book that makes you the best people. Thanks so much for joining us here on Talking Story.

[00:57:27][music] Yeah.

[00:57:34]Heat.

[00:57:42]>> [music]