Bridgeburners Book Club

It's Mat week and boy have we got a Mat for you. This time, it's Mat, but instead of Regular Mat... it's Lucky Mat! Lucky Mat luckily wins some money before luckily stabbing a guy in the chest. Come for the Mat, stay for the extended stories of collegiate culinary misadventure! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

This week, it's time for three grown men to discuss a Nancy Drew style boarding school mystery investigation! How many cauldrons will be scrubbed? Are we stuck in the tower forever? Will the Wienermobile whisk Egwene away to Tel'aran'rhiod to try out the Ter'angreal? We may never know! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

On this episode we talk about the difficulty of following TV adaptations of epic fantasy series as a non-reader, before diving into the longest chapter of the book! The ter'angreals are tingling, Egwene's ultimate fears all center around Rand, and we're writing Hallmark Channel original movies. YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

We get to the bottom of whether the lord of the rings actually needed the ring in the Lord of the Rings as well as our strategies for eagle-borne bombing runs in this breezy episode! This week we finally get to see a bit of who Mat really is as a character, which mostly involves eating and thinking about girls. Make sure to stick around for some valuable advice concerning the dress code at hotel continental breakfasts! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

We discuss the Amazon show and vacations before getting into a classic round of chapter chat. Will the Egwene's day ever end? Did Robert Jordan finally figure out how magic works in book three? Is Gawyn truly besotted? The White Tower crime thriller continues! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

This week, we do a whole lot of comparing The Dragon Reborn with Season 3 of the show before flexing our renowned Boston accents to talk about a certain box of documents! Robert Jordan's prose has leveled up, aquatic metaphors and braid tugging stocks are at an all time high, and we have yet to see a single class classroom in the white tower. Make sure to stick around for Seinfeld on 9/11 round 2! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

As much as we love our big thick boy Perrin, it's about time for a perspective shift to the White Tower! Will baby Bornhald and his men become a little more intimidating than Elmer Fudd? Is Verin for real with all this naivety and dilly-dallying? Will Mat finally become a real character? Who can say, but not to worry, we'll all get through this together. YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

Rand attempts to force destiny, Moiraine tries her hand at catfish noodling, and entire towns are getting married at once this week, but not before we continue our series on fantasy creature milking content! Has the Dragon actually been reborn? Will Rand learn not to leaving devastation in his wake? Will every chapter be a Perrin POV? Nobody can say, all the way up until the point where maybe we can. YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

In this one we talk growing power levels, creepy toilet men, and manage to offend all of our bovine listeners. Make sure to stick around to the end for the details of the hit new game show "Jarra" hosted by the dark one himself, Ba'alzamon! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

It was not the beginning... but it is a beginning. The beginning of a new season, and the next installment in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time! We explore new acronyms, we rope in a guest, and we learn a whole lot about Whitecloak politics! Is this book all Perrin chapters? Is Rand doing a Jesus? Has Robert Jordan finally decided to show a little less than he tells? Some of these questions will be answered as we hop back on the wagon wheel and see where it takes us! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

Join us as we wrap the second half of Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary on this one! We give our final thoughts on our pitiable protagonist, talk through what we thought could have been done better structurally and tonally, and discuss the very likely success of the upcoming Ryan Gosling adaptation.  YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

Come get Weir-d with us as we talk through chapters 1-15 of Andy Weir's second  follow up The Martian, Project Hail Mary, soon to be a major motion picture starring Ryan Gosling! We explore what we like and dislike so far, the book's humor, Andy Weir's personality overlap in his writing, and the believability of the science that is portrayed. Was this book written explicitly with the idea that it would be adapted for the screen? Will there be any kind of immediate threat to our hero's mission in the second half? Will Ryan Gosling manage to make our incel protagonist charming? We probably don't have the answers, but we it won't stop us from talking through it! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

There are neither beginnings nor endings in podcasting. Although you could probably determine exactly when we began fairly easily... and you would realize that this is the 50th episode of the Bridgeburners Book Club! We won't be able to satisfy your need for chapter chat this week, but we will leave you full of understandings! We discuss Star Wars naming conventions, write an insufferably self-referential jingle, and draft our own Malazan-style squads from a pool of some of your favorite characters in fantasy fiction. They said it couldn't be done, but here we are! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

Put Your Clothes Back on, I said *SecUnit*. It's all happening, today we're talking about Martha Wells' fantastic series The Murderbot Diaries! We discuss the longtime fascination with robots and artificial intelligence in fiction, the upcoming television adaptation of the books, and the first novella in the series, All Systems Red.  YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

We selected three fun short stories to discuss today, and you absolutely don't need to read them to enjoy! We read RSA Garcia's adorable Nebula award-winning "Tantie Merle and the Farmhand 4200", Gene Wolfe's unique "How I got Three Zip Codes", and Alexander Weinstein's outrageous satire "The Pyramid and the Ass". Nope, not that ass, the other one. Come for the heartwarming story of a grandmother, a goat, and a robot, stay for the Dalai Lama's 9/11! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

As we prepare to tackle our next full readalong, come on in and join us our first go at some shorter book discussions with Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time and Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings! We talk genetically modified spiders with space suits and genetically modified reproductive motivations, guys that wear crab shells and swing really big swords at each other, and give our latest film and television recommendations.  YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

Listen as we bounce around our thoughts on various subgenres and the books thereof before diving into the climax of The Great Hunt! We talk how much description is enough for an evocative battle sequence, the morality of murdering one's enslaver, and we outline a superior way to round out Ingtar's character arc. Join us for our lengthiest episode yet, sure to be an instant classic. It's just as the prophecy foretold! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

We debate whether or not Robert Jordan's intimate proclivities made their way into his writing, before discussing our upcoming special episodes as well as catching up on what we've been reading outside of the show. Egwene gets tortured while our girls make a plan to free her from her neck prison, Bornhald decides ahead of time to get himself killed, and Verin is definitely not trying to work backwards to make prophecies come to pass.  YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

This week, Rand attends a party where nobody is having fun and nothing is accomplished. Thom Merrilin receives a lovely gift from Robert Jordan before Rand makes a foolish choice that leaves his friends with a lifetime of trauma. It's totally cool though! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

We have a talk about talking, movies, and sci-fi short stories before getting into how we feel about The Great Hunt so far. Rand and friends carry out their totally not useless in the end plan to attend Lord Damodred's party, Padan Fain turns himself in to Turak the Dinosaur Hunter, and Robert Jordan decides to dish out some cruel and unusual punishment to his characters at last. Get cozy, hold your void and your flame tight, and together we'll reminisce about how Tam is definitely your real father. YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

We give an update with what we've been reading outside of the all-consuming Wheel of Time before getting into what, if anything has been accomplished so far in The Great Hunt. Hurin is vying for the supplicant of the year award, Rand gets another inn burned to the ground, and Chekhov's Thom Merrilin shows up at the party!  YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

We're back, and with several bangs! Come get cozy with us as we remember that time when Rand tried to burn down the fireworks factory, that time when Mat and Perrin met their first Aiel before immediately realizing that Rand is one, and that other time when Bayle Domon was heartwarmingly adopted by Turak the Dinosaur Hunter.  YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

This week, Egwene encounters a parade of hot guys and becomes besties with Elayne and Min.  Meanwhile, amidst the chaos of King's Gift festivities, Rand reunites with Thom Merrilin at last as they are both pulled closer into the web of the Great Game.  YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

This week, Tyler begins writing his erotic Wheel of Time fan fiction and we compare The Great Hunt so far to its television counterpart before getting into Cairhienen consonant bombs, Moiraine's red flags, and Nynaeve's wild DMT trip while chilling in the Aes Sedai isolation tanks. Don't forget to watch to watch Naked and Afraid In a Maze, coming this fall! This and all episodes contain original music by Ben Thede. YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

We talk about some of our favorite Wheel of Time chapters yet this week as Nynaeve is forced to swallow a magical ball of sludge, Rand does his best Metal Gear Solid impression, and Robert Jordan just has to insert references to Lord of the Rings wherever he can. We are served up some action before finding ourselves headed to, you guessed it, an inn. We are so back. YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

We discuss the Star Wars Expanded Universe novels and nearly forgotten memories of the Young Adult fiction that we read growing up, before getting into a nicely rounded three chapter story arc. We meet a new traveling companion and Rand showcases not only his newfound leadership skills but displays some very impressive archery. Come for the first of many badass moments from the Dragon Reborn, stay for the unusually high levels of horniness that carry through this week's chapters! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

After a brutal and protracted war of attrition with Robert Jordan's endless first 10 chapters, we are finally back to 3 at a time! We somehow find a way to talk about post-apocalyptic fiction again before coming up with some new names for Nynaeve and Egwene. It's schooltime for our prospective Aes Sedai, while Rand is busy traveling the... stones and learning to be a leader. Things are moving and the Wheel is weaving like it's never woven before! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

The plot is finally on the move this week, and so are we! We show our range as we go from talking Furiosa and the emerging field of Forensic Scatology, to an updated discussion about Robert Jordan's writing(brought on by the inclusion of yet another clothing-oriented section).  Come along with us for some of the darker chapters yet in the Wheel of Time! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

Arrrrgh just when ye thought this were the last episode covering the extra long and meandering first 10 chapters, we found a way to make it last a bit longer. Join us to hear about some of our favorite death scenes as well as a ranking of the approximately 1 deaths so far in Wheel of Time, before getting into the reading and some new territory: Bayle Domon's head, matey!This and all episodes contain original music by Ben Thede. YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

Things are starting to get interesting this week as we talk annoying atheists and alleged cults before getting into dark prophecies and daddy issues. Join us for some of our favorite Wheel of Time chapters yet! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

Hope you like rooms and mildly interesting conversations because... wait what's this, a trolloc sighting?!? We discuss what we enjoy about post apocalyptic fiction before getting into some serious horn and dagger talk. Will Lord Bornhald's metophorical cloak remain spotless or will he get his hands dirty just like everyone else? Is Liandrin on the side of the dark one or do her motives lie elsewhere? Could Rand be on the verge of a sexual awakening? Join us for the thrilling answers to some of these questions! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

On this episode we discuss the Fallout show and grocery store book nook nostalgia, before getting into a tangled web of Aes Sedai political intrigue. How many momentarily mentioned characters will be introduced this week? Will we remember all of them? Will we remember any of them? Like, the wheel weaves as the wheel wills man.This and all episodes contain original music by Ben Thede. YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

Wheel of Time is back, but not before we discuss our favorite weapons from science fiction and fantasy! We meet a man called Bors as he attends one of the Dark One's famous wiggle parties, Rand is still flighty and indecisive, and we make some of our famously correct predictions for the coming chapters. No better time than now to hop on the Wienermobile! This and all episodes contain original music by Ben Thede. YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

We welcome our first guest host to the show, Denny, for our Piranesi wrap-up episode! We discuss Piranesi's badass confrontation with the Other, trauma and its relation to memory, and becoming a new version of yourself.  Stop by and enjoy the beauty of the house one more time before we launch right back into Wheel of Time! This and all episodes contain original music by Ben Thede. YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

This one is a relatively bite-sized episode, covering everything from the new Dune adaptation to the old Dune adaptation as well as that other Dune adaptation, but not before discussing the dangers of cheese grating. We even find a little bit of time to talk about Piranesi. Stay tuned for the season finale coming up next, including our very first guest! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

This one is all about adaptation when we talk about Dune and our favorite books translated to screen before getting back into Piranesi's struggle to survive the often inhospitable environment of the house while working around the gaps in his memory. A flood is coming and the Other sees it as an opportunity to end things with 16, but Piranesi feels the need to warn her. Things are falling into place for a tense conclusion with only a couple more episodes left before we shake off the Tam's Brandy hangover at last and find out what the heck is going on with that horn! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

This episode covers the last 3 entries for Part 3 of Piranesi and through the entry "Light in the Darkness" in Part 4. We talk cults of personality, digging through bird droppings, and the Other discovers how easy it is to buy a gun. Come along with us as we build to the exciting finale over the next few weeks, then back to Wheel of Time we go! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

We take on Part 3 of Piranesi and really start to solve some mysteries on this one! Travel between worlds is confirmed, the Prophet warns Piranesi about the other, and Ben gets cancelled. Again.  This and all episodes contain original music by Ben Thede. YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

We finish out the second half of Part 2 in this one, but first we respond to a listener email! Then, the other tells Piranesi that he has a faulty memory and of the existence of a sixteenth person, before our guy goes sniffing around in that not-at-all fishy first hall. P.S. Please try to remember to take your multivitamin. This and all episodes contain original music by our own Ben Thede. YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

This episode covers Part 2 from the entry "A white cross" through the entry "None of the Dead claim the name Addy Domarus". We discuss what we've been reading recently and our distaste for the way that the Other treats poor innocent Piranesi, before writing our own versions of small talk between Piranesi and the birds of the house. This and all episodes contain original music by our own Ben Thede. YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

We take our first trip to the house this week, when we begin our reading of Susanna Clarke's Piranesi.  Follow us through all of Part 1 and the first entry of Part 2: "Batter-Sea". We discuss how the book came to be, Italian artists, Plato, hypothetical cats, and indoor ecosystems. This episode features(more) of Ben's original music! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

One more time around the wheel! We give our final critique and ratings, discuss the future books, the Amazon adaptation, and Robert Jordan's own words. One book ends... and with the turning of a page, a new one begins.  YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

This is part 2 of our The Eye of the World Final Chapters Megasode! We discuss the Easter Egg Hunt of Valere, abrupt endings, and Robert Jordan hesitating to harm any of his characters. One more episode to wrap things up and bridge the gap to Susanna Clarke's Piranesi! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

This is part 1 of our Eye of the World Final Chapters Megasode! We talked so long that we decided to split it up into two episodes after all. We discuss a new addition to the scope of the show before getting into the defensive capabilities of Fal Dara's watchtowers, get into what it means to be a Green Man for real this time, and act out some intimate lines between Lan and Nynaeve. This one's a classic! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

We're out the the Ways and on to Fal Dara before you know it this week! Moiraine fires up her blowtorch, our boys are too embarrassing to take out into public, and we're *so* surprised that Lan is a secret king.  YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

The gang is finally back together and we have a convenient new fast travel and fast plot device known as the Ways, a place that the book spends longer discussing than describing. We really explore what it means to be a green man, Ba'alzamon is back up to his old dream tricks(more like Ba'alzayawn, amirite?), and Lan does some breaking and entering. Check out Jagged Gap, coming to the CW this Fall. YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

This one is a beast of an episode! We talk about what makes a good bookstore and discuss some of our favorites. Rand embraces his new role as "very special boy that can't truly make a mistake" and decides to fall into the lap of a princess, before being reunited with every one of his traveling companions outside of Thom Merrilin. We only mention scarves, carts and innkeepers a few times! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

We took on four chapters this week and ended up with a neatly divided pair of stories! Rand adopts an Ogier who tells him that he's the most specialest boy in the whole wide world, Nynaeve goes Metal Gear Solid and everyone knows that Perrin is into some weird stuff with animals now. Stick around to the end for our chapter predictions and how there is going to be an epic Charlotte-style web weaving contest between two giant spiders! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

Either we get into some Memento Tarantino fever dream non-linear storytelling this week, or Mat and Rand are stuck in some sort of time loop. Questionable structural decisions lead us into a broader discussion about the evolution of editing and publishing in the world of fantasy fiction. Make sure to stick around for the definitely not movie related fan-fic's at the end! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]

As we dive a little deeper into the back half of The Eye of the World, we find ourselves along for a real American road trip style hitchhiking and busking tale with Mat and Rand as they use their underwhelming Gleeman's skills, earning a pittance that is somehow a step up from their previous circumstances: getting used for form labor before being chased out by dogs before being paid. We write a more modern movie version as we go along, by employing every film trope we can think of. Settle down with your goodwife and get cozy for Episode 12 of the Bridgeburners Book Club! YouTubeInstagramTwitterDiscordEmail us at [email protected]