Which is the higher good, freedom or power? Is there any nuance to be had in a discussion of the evil of slavery? Are rich people just the worst? Today we're talking through the first half of The Blinding Knife, the second book in Brent Weeks's Lightbringer series. This episode is chock full of heavy stuff -- and fun stuff! -- to talk about, and we’ll get to … well, at least some of it. 

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Music: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/

This episode will be best heard if you can see those works of Miranda's that we reference, over at MirandaMeeks.com. Miranda is an artist whose work frequently graces the covers -- and sometimes pages -- of Brandon Sanderson's books, as well as other novels. (Several prints adorn the walls of our studio, in fact.) Her style is at once dark, accessible, and unique, and on top of that she is a wonderful conversational partner. Listen in, I think you'll enjoy this interview.

Get updates about Miranda's forthcoming art book at http://nocturnebook.com

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Craig, Ryan, and Stephanie discuss the second half of Brent Weeks's The Black Prism, book 1 in the Lightbringer series. After a long setup in the first half, we get a lot of interesting questions and moments to chew on. Why is this book titled The Black Prism? Is it actually awful that the Chromeria expects a high price from their ranks of drafters? What exactly is a turtle-bear? And Craig makes at least one bold prediction for the rest of the series.

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This episode is truly a first: the first time we've ever read a historical action comedy horror parody of a 19th century classic. Oh, and it's also our first-ever ladies-only show! Stephanie and Megan welcome newcomer Kate to the Legendarium and together the three of them dissect (eww) this fun, hilarious, sometimes gory, sometimes touching book.

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Craig, Ryan, and Kyle continue through The Hobbit, discussing (we're using that term as broadly as possible here) chapters eight through eleven. Without Stephanie to keep the guys on track, things get ... well let's just say it's not as polished a conversation as she might have helped provide. Together they discuss Mirkwood, giant spiders, elves, barrels, Lake Town, and opening Erebor's back door.

TODAY'S SPONSOR: https://www.storyhack.com/ - Click through to get your first issue free

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TBR = "to be read." Most of us have a TBR pile, but some of us can get a bit overwhelmed by it. For this topic, Craig, Ryan, and Kyle are joined by a special guest: YouTube sensation Daniel Greene. (And now we expect him to put "'YouTube sensation' -The Legendarium" in all of his promotional materials.) Together they discuss not only their TBR piles and how they manage them, but also what it means to read deeply and whether that can be done if one is multitasking while working through that giant stack of books to be read.

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The Blue Team is taking a deep breath before a giant Dresden plunge! In preparation for another spate of Dresden Files episodes coming up, Megan, Kenn, and Todd take stock of where they're at in the series, how they're enjoying, what they're enjoying most, and what they're looking forward to in coming books. Look forward to at least another 4-5 Dresden episodes in the coming weeks!

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Craig and Kyle discuss the thing that has kept Kyle off the show for too long now: burnout. It can sneak up on anyone, even the biggest of fans, and they talk about how to combat it. They also address a listener question about how to introduce fantasy to the uninitiated. (Spoiler alert: the answer is "slowly and carefully."

Please let us know what you think of us doing more small episodes like this between out main book-centric episodes.

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Music: "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/

(Skip to 5:20 to get to actual Lightbringer content.) Our inaugural Lightbringer discussion! If you haven't read this series, now's a good time to start, as it is highly recommended among fiction readers. With good reason, as it turns out.

It's just Craig and Ryan for this one! And maybe for a lot of Lightbringer episodes coming up. Hopefully they still like each other when it's done. Anyway, in this episode Craig gives his first impressions on the first half of the book (Ryan's read the series already); they talk about what makes Kip (and Liv) a good protagonist; and Craig makes some predictions about what's to come. Oh! And Ryan wants everyone to watch the aftermath of Fabio getting hit in the face by a goose whilst riding a roller coaster. Which you can do, here.

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Todd, Megan, Kenn, and Jack are all back for a wrap-up of their discussion of God Emperor of Dune, the fourth book in Frank Herbert's Dune series. And it's time for a brand new drinking game! If you are inclined to imbibe, then toss one back every time you hear the phrase "gross protuberance." Now what was already going to be a good episode just became a lot of fun, because you're living on the edge due to the very real danger of liver failure before the hour is up.

Hear more of Jack on the Young Americans podcast

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Music: "Adventure Time" and "The Seven Seas" courtesy of https://www.philter.no/