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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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.

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.

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.

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.