The Legendarium

A discussion of the conclusion of Well of Ascension. The 4 members of the Legendarium Brain Trust start by answering for Kenn's attack on squishy literature, followed by a discussion of fantastic battle sequences, relationships gone amok, and give the future movie version it's rating.

Ryan, Craig, Kenn, and Todd discuss The Well of Ascension, sections 1-3. Kenn is super squishy, and loves all the romance stuff, despite his super masculine mutton chops. Todd about puts Ryan to sleep with a discussion of the politics in Luthadel.

Craig, Ryan, and Todd welcome back Dr Matt Woolley to talk about how comic books can affect literacy in children. Craig is revealed as a no-comic-reading snob; Ryan, who is half-asleep, is revealed to have partied much harder than we thought him capable of.

We got the band back together! Craig, Ryan, Todd, and Kenn are joined by a live audience at Salt Lake Comic Con, recorded in September 2014. Chosen topics were quickly discarded in favor of nerdy games and audience participation. Fun was had.

Craig, Ryan, Todd, and Kenn are all together again to discuss Mistborn: The Final Empire in its entirety. Todd and Kenn are thoroughly satisfied by a great book, while Craig and Ryan are just about wetting their pants trying not to give away the other two in the trilogy. Topics include magic systems, sleeveless thugs, mysterious mists, and casting the inevitable movie (Alfred Molina as Breeze, duh!).

Ryan, Craig, and Todd discuss the world, the magic, and the characters of Mistborn: The Final Empire. The general consensus is ... it's pretty darn cool so far.

Craig and Ryan talk about their experience at Salt Lake Comic Con. The short of it: it was pretty wild. And super crowded. The lines were long, the costumes were great, and the booths were many. At the end, there's a FantasyCon vs ComicCon discussion, and they even philosophize for a few minutes on fan conventions in general. What a treat.

Craig, Ryan, and Todd discuss, among other things: Craig's high levels of suaveness; a preview of Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson; Ryan's quick review of the latest Dr Who iteration; and some brief Star Wars news. Two sore throats and too much sugar later ... really nothing is accomplished.

We are joined by clinical psychologist and Professor Matt Woolley to discuss original fairy tales and their darker pieces. We cover the importance of these stories for children and adults and we walk through Hansel and Gretel's story. All while Ryan gets a chance at a small therapy session.

Hobbit News. Guardians of the Galaxy review. A bit of Star Wars news. And we make announcements about some future episodes. Unfortunately, we talk about Craig's sweaty back at the same time.

Book 6, Chapters 4-9. This is it! Our final episode in the LotR series is a doozy, with Larry D Curtis from theonering.net joining us as we discuss the good, the great, and the tear-jerking in the last few chapters. Ryan loves the Scouring of the Shire, Craig thinks that rock he just passed might be an old elf-lord, and Larry thinks the Ring looks decidedly cross-shaped toward the end of the story.

Craig and Ryan wax nostalgic (a whole 2 weeks later) about the inaugural FantasyCon in Salt Lake City. If you were there, come relive it. If you weren't, consider this the first step to getting psyched about next year! A huge thanks to FantasyCon for an awesome weekend.

Book 6, Chapters 1-3Ryan and Craig explore the...excellent?...disappointing?...something...death of the Ring of Power. This episode features Ryan at his most referential and bizarre. And maybe his most awesome.

Book 5, Chapters 6-10: Special guest: Nick Jeter. Ryan and Nick have to endure Craig's lessons on the history and family trees of the Numenoreans, their ancestors, and their descendents. Denethor's despair is deemed decidedly damaging. How does Witch-king die? Well, we're not quite sure, but then Ryan gets it with the help of the All-Powerful Internets.

Book 5, Ch 1-5: Lots of lots of lots of details provided by Tolkien. Any writing is better when you say "ye" instead of "you". The Witch King doesn't know any multi-syllabic words.

Ryan and Craig discuss a few recent Star Wars developments--and nerd out excessively--with returning guest Todd Wente, and newcomer Kenn Johnson.

FantasyCon is on! 4th of July weekend, SLC will play host to what we think sounds like the coolest convention ever. Our guests are Larry D. Curtis and Ashley Turner, both organizers for FantasyCon. They'll tell us all about the panels, celebrities, sword fighting, and world's-largest-dragons that we can expect.

The discussion continues into the realm of the films and we get a few moments of pro prequel arguments.

Enjoy this special edition episode as it was meant to be heard! In celebration of Star Wars Day (May 4th) Craig, Ryan, and guest Todd Wente discuss the Star Wars Universe and why it continues to enthrall generation after generation.

Book 4, Chapters 1-3 Special guest: Jeff Hewitt, a fantasy author from Georgia. Craig and Ryan celebrate their birthdays hobbit-style. Ryan finally identifies with a Middle-earth activity: rock climbing. Craig thinks Sam is getting a bit orcish in his behavior. Ryan identifies Tolkien's greatest life lesson so far: get out and serve someone else, you selfish jackass.

Book 3, Chapters 8-11 With special guest Rebecca (aka Geeklady) Maps! Craig encourages their liberal use as we make our way through the Two Towers. Ryan wonders if the LotR would be popular if it had been published today. The special guest rolls up "Craig's LotR Trivia" and smokes it.

Two Towers, Chapters 5-7 Ryan apparently has some serious problems with the names Tolkien is choosing. Craig can't really blame him. Peter Jackson may have taken some liberties at Helm's Deep, but that's not so bad, considering how amazeballs it turned out. Craig basically reads a Middle- and Old-English dictionary on the air. Good times are had by all.

The Two Towers, Book 3, Chapters 1-4 An insanely difficult edition of Craig's LotR Trivia, much to the chagrin of Ryan and special(ish) guest Brian. Discussion includes the origin of the Ents (they were created because of some cosmic marital strife) and the unfailing cheerfulness of Hobbits. Ryan can't figure out why people like Treebeard and don't like Tom Bombadil.

Craig and Ryan discuss what they liked about the Fellowship of the Ring, and what they expect from The Two Towers. Ryan turns the tables on Craig for this round of Craig's Lord of the Rings Trivia. Craig speaks Elvish. Not kidding.

Book 2, Chapter 6-10 Wrapping up the Fellowship, we delve into a timid discussion on religion, and Craig makes a controversial claim: Tolkien saw the future and imagined Cate.

Book 2, Chapters 3-5 Finally, we get resolution on the biggest cliffhanger from The Hobbit: What in the world happened to Balin, son of Fundin? We’ll also say a tearful farewell to our trusty guide, Gandalf the Grey.

Book 2, Chapters 1-2 Welcome to Rivendell! We don’t go anywhere, but we hear a lot about many far away places, from many new and old characters. Elves count by twelves, and anyone who has been to Salt Lake City in the winter has seen Isengard in the flesh.

Book 1 Chapters 9-12 Picking up the pace, we go from Bree to the Ford of Bruinen, meet Strider, and run away from Black Riders–a lot.

Book 1 Chapters 6-8 O Tom, Jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo! Discussion includes the singing weirdo, barrow wights, and “mastery” vs. “domination”. We’ve left the Shire, and we’re now in the wide world, just like leaving real life and entering wild world of Fairy Tales. This is not Ryan’s best week as a contestant in CRAIG’S LORD OF THE RINGS TRIVIA.

Book 1, Chapters 3-5 Hitting the road, getting our first glimpse of Black Riders, and lots of first glimpses of what’s to come: poetry, themes, and elves. A salute to the worst accidental innuendo in all of fantasy literature. We also try to answer the question: Why on Eru’s green Middle-earth do we care about the origins of Brandy Hall?

Book 1, Chapters 1-2 We discuss the ways of hobbits, Bilbo Baggins as one of the 1% (doggone rich people!), and the setting of the massive story to follow.

A welcome into The Legendarium. We give you a brief overview of what the Legendarium is and does along with a bit about your hosts as they prepare to embark into the realm of fantasy.