Craig and Todd chat for a few minutes about the new installment of Denis Villeneuve's Dune adaptation. Before that, Craig makes an announcement about the show taking a short break.   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/invite/FnCSsxx Twitter: https://twitter.com/LegendariumPod

Returning guest Daniel Ford drops by to discuss a favorite of his, Parke Godwin's Firelord. This 1980 retelling of the King Arthur myth is one of the best you'll come across, and it made for some great discussion.   Check out Daniel's stuff here: https://www.danielmford.com/books   Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/legendarium Check out the archives at https://www.thelegendarium.com/ Join the Discord...

Megan has brought the Blue Team back together to a discussion of a recent favorite: Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary. Will she have better success in bringing them a good book than Todd did when he made her read John Carter of Mars? (Hint: How could she not?)   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/invite/FnCSsxx Twitter: https://twitter.com/LegendariumPod

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.com/legendarium Check out the archives at https://www.thelegendarium.com/ Join the Discord...

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 out the archives at https://www.thelegendarium.com/ Join the Discord...

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.com/legendarium Check out the archives at https://www.thelegendarium.com/ Join the Discord...

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://discord.com/invite/FnCSsxx Twitter: https://twitter.com/LegendariumPod

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 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/legendarium Check out the archives...

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 Chase, do it again?   Grab The Way of Edan here: https://a.co/d/heM6yFa   Support the show on...

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: https://discord.com/invite/FnCSsxx Twitter: https://twitter.com/LegendariumPod

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://www.thelegendarium.com/ Join the Discord...

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.com/ Join the Discord...

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://www.patreon.com/legendarium Check out the archives at https://www.thelegendarium.com/ Join the...

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/legendarium Check out the archives at https://www.thelegendarium.com/ Join the Discord...

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://www.patreon.com/legendarium Check out the archives at https://www.thelegendarium.com/ Join the...

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://discord.com/invite/FnCSsxx Twitter: https://twitter.com/LegendariumPod

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 https://www.thelegendarium.com/ Join the Discord...

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 new Beowulf translation: https://a.co/d/6fnzbxs Check out Uppsala Books here:...

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 the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/legendarium Check out the archives...

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 other word you might care to use, except boring.   Inking Out Loud:...

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/@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy   Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/legendarium Check...

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/ Join the Discord...

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 community: https://discord.com/invite/FnCSsxx Twitter: https://twitter.com/LegendariumPod

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.patreon.com/legendarium Check out the archives at https://www.thelegendarium.com/ Join the Discord...