The Legendarium

In part two of our Crown of Swords podcast discussions, the guys answer another voicemail, discuss the intricacies of balefire, and consider the mark that Cadsuane left on Brandon Sanderson. Support the show on Patreon Join the conversation on Reddit

First of all, our apologies. The audio quality on this episode is terrible. But when you can't get the mics to work right, what do you do? You record anyway! Enjoy our rambunctious, bizarre, tangential conversation about Redshirts. Join the conversation on Reddit Support the show on Patreon

Forgive us, listeners, for we have sinned. It has been far too long since our last episode. Hopefully things pick up well, though, as we hit the halfway point in our epic journey through Randland. Although some say that this is where WoT starts to slow down, but we were all well-entertained. Except for the Morgase chapters, of course. Enjoy! Support the show on Patreon Join the conversation on Reddit

Part two of our epic two-hour discussion of Lord of Chaos, book 6 in the Wheel of Time series. Rand and Elayne might be kissin' cousins. More about Rand and Alanna's bond. Dumai's Wells, no need to say more.

We begin our Lord of Chaos discussion by featuring a couple of voicemails we received through the website. (You should send us one, too!) We also get to a few written questions from Redditors, as well as our own thoughts on the book. Support the show on Patreon Leave a voicemail on our site Join the new Reddit community

We take an hour to play catch-up on some of our points and your questions that we never got around to in the first 10 Wheel of Time episodes. So, do we actually catch up? Ha ha ha! No, of course not! But we get to a few more things and clarify a few others. Enjoy this bonus WoT discussion. Support the show on Patreon Join the new Legendarium subreddit

This week we take a little breather from all the reading and relax with a discussion of all the other media we've been consuming for the last few months. Topics include Kong: Skull Island, Iron Fist, Logan, Power Rangers, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the new Stormlight cover reveal, and more. Craig lost a Reddit bet and actually compliments the other guys. The world remains nevertheless intact. Support the show on Patreon Join the conversation on our new subreddit

We wrap our discussion of The Fires of Heaven, book 5 of The Wheel of Time. This episode takes on the rampage of the Shaido Aiel, the possible real-world origin of Rand's aversion to harming women, and Kyle's tendency to just let the rest of the guys say idiotic things about the series.

Haven't read this one yet? Don't worry about it! Dauntless isn't the type of book that relies on a surprise ending, so feel free to listen along and let us whet your appetite for this modern scifi classic. Craig and Todd welcome new panelist Scott for this one.

First, we announce the winner of the WoT-themed giveaway. Then we get into The Fires of Heaven, book 5 of The Wheel of Time. We talk about a lot of stuff, but the most important may be the question, "What's up with the menagerie, RJ?"

We mop up our discussion of The Shadow Rising, book 4 of the Wheel of Time. Craig, Ryan, Kyle, and Kenn dive into the Perrin chapters, where he and Faile have moved from "utterly rage inducing" to just "pretty annoying most of the time." The final Word of the Day is revealed.

Spoilers for all of The Shadow Rising. It's a frantic rush to cover as much as we can as we work our way through a discussion of this mammoth, 386K-word novel. This discussion turns out to be almost exlusively about the adventures of the crew in the Aiel Waste. Special attention is paid, per Reddit request, to the vision in Rhuidean. Word of the Day number 2 of 3 is revealed.

MEGA SPOILER ALERT for the Cosmere. Seriously, we spoil most of it, so make sure you're caught up. The good news is that this story really doesn't work unless you're pretty well caught up anyway. Support the show on Patreon

More discussion of The Dragon Reborn, including an excellent "farmer with a quarterstaff" reference. (Thanks to Reddit listener jffdougan!) Also includes WORD OF THE DAY #1 of 3! Stay tuned through the next two WoT podcasts to hear the others and qualify for entry in the giveaway. Support the show on Patreon and get double entry for the giveaway.

GENERAL COSMERE SPOILER ALERT. The crew discusses Brandon Sanderson's short story, Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell, in this podcast. Is it fantasy? Horror? Something in between? It's a quick read, so if you haven't got to this one yet, take an hour to read before listening in. Support the show on Patreon

The guys discuss book 3 of the Wheel of Time. Craig forgets Kyle's name. Mat finally gets some pagecount. Everybody hates Faile. Rand is the new King of the Britons. Oh, and SPOILER ALERT, between approximately 42:00 and 45:00, Kyle apparently gave away a plot point that occurs in a later book, but none of us even realized it. I doubt it's that big a deal. Support the show on Patreon

Craig and Todd discuss the 1938 novelette, Who Goes There? by J.W. Campbell. This is the story that John Carpenter's movie The Thing was based on. It's a fun one, and a good way to talk about old sci-fi in general. PDF of the story itself PDF scan of the original magazine it was published in Support the show on Patreon

We finish up our discussion of The Great Hunt. A lot of talk of foreshadowing, with Lan teaching Rand about "sheathing the sword." Or was it "heron in the rushes?" Or "pigs in a blanket?" We close out with a clip from the song The Wisdom of Emond's Field, by the Swedish metal band Katana. Please support the podcast on Patreon.

GENERAL SPOILER ALERT FOR THE COSMERE. The crew discusses Brandon Sanderson's novella, The Emperor's Soul. Most of the discussion is about the philosophical importance of the story, but we do stray into some discussion of the Cosmere and how it works, with a few references to other stories that you may not want spoiled. Please donate to the show on Patreon. (And go there to hear a bonus Rogue One episode.)

Craig, Todd, and Kenn resurrect our Heroes of Sci-fi series by diving into Ray Bradbury's classic dystopia, Fahrenheit 451. So get back in the high-school-english-class mindset. Or, if you're still in high school, just use this to pretend like you read the book.

The guys discuss Robert Jordan's The Great Hunt, in the first of two episodes on the book. Support us on Patreon

We tackle the November movies that most of you saw. First, we discuss Doctor Strange and rank the MCU movies so far. Then, at 39:45, we talk Fantastic Beasts. Unshockingly, Craig has some opinions that prove none-too-popular. At least not with Ryan. Support the show on Patreon.

Part 2 of our discussion of The Eye of the World. Craig, Ryan, Kenn, and Kyle finally discuss more than just the prologue. This time we get around to talking about the setting, characters, and plot, plus a few frustrations. Like Part 1, this episode is missing a recap. Our apologies, we'll bring that back for the next Wheel of Time episode. Support the show on Patreon.

NO SPOILERS, so listen away. Craig, Ryan, and Todd review White Sand, the only thing they've ever read with as many credited authors as Legendarium reviewers. White Sand is the first piece of Cosmere lore that isn't written by Sanderson himself, but rather a graphic novel adaptation of an unpublished manuscript. This is only part 1 of 3 of the story, so there's nothing to spoil yet.

Spoiler alert for The Eye of the World. Read first, then listen. Craig, Ryan, Kenn, and newcomer Kyle are ready to take on Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, and they start ... well, at the beginning. This was meant to be a discussion about the entire first book, but they didn't even make it past the first chapter. So there will be more EotW discussion later this month. Please support the show at Patreon.com/Legendarium.

Two things you need to know before you listen: (1) there is a general spoiler alert that comes into effect after about the 30-minute mark; and (2) Ryan, Craig, and Todd are about to try to distill a dozen concepts from the Cosmere into 60 minutes of discussion. They fail. But it's fun to hear them try! Support the show on Patreon.

Who reviewed it best? Craig, Todd, and Kenn each review the new cowboy fantasy movie, The Magnificent Seven. You can vote for your favorite on our website or on twitter (@LegendariumPod). No spoilers. Well, spoilers, but this isn't really a spoiler kind of movie, so don't worry about it. Craig - 4:15 Todd - 8:20 Kenn - 12:30 Support the show on Patreon.

It’s our final Stormlight Archive podcast! It’s been an amazing ride, and we’re all super excited for the third book. Listen for the third WORD OF THE DAY to enter the drawing for the poster, t-shirt, or signed book. Donate at Patreon.com/legendarium to be entered for the limited edition Lightweaver pin. **Spoiler Alerts** A blanket heads-up for Warbreaker and Mistborn: Secret History. Also, we mention a chapter from book 3 that Brandon has posted online. Because of technical issues that we just can’t work around anymore, this is our last Facebook Live broadcast episode. We’re working on an alternative, and we’ll let you know when we have one. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@LegendariumPod) to stay up to date.

The crew is all back for episode 2 of 3 in our Words of Radiance podcast series. There's a ton to discuss, and unfortunately we only get to a small part of it. Luckily there's one more episode to go after this. There is a MINOR SPOILER to Warbreaker in there somewhere. Listen at your own risk if you haven't read that one yet. But you should read it before this book anyway. HINT: The word of the day comes between the 50:00 and 60:00 marks. ***Please support the show at Patreon.com/Legendarium***

We take on just the first two parts of Words of Radiance in the first of three episodes on the book. SPOILERS for Mistborn: Secret History... Starts 25:05, ends 31:00; starts 1:19:14, ends 1:19:23 ***Important: We're kicking off a new giveaway on this episode. One thing we forgot to mention is that this giveaway is restricted to US listeners only. We know it sucks, and we're sorry. We'll make it up to all of our overseas listeners in the future.*** (HINT: The word of the day comes between 30:00 and 40:00.)

You asked, we answered: It's our longest episode to date. Craig, Ryan, Todd, Kenn, and newcomer Megan talk about The Way of Kings, part 5, and the book in its entirety. A few questions get answered, but mostly, we get a lot more questions to take us into Words of Radiance. Craig reveals the final word of the day. Tweet the completed phrase at us, @LegendariumPod. Please support the show with just a couple bucks on Patreon.

The 2nd portion of our Way of Kings podcast discussion is made up of parts 3 & 4 of the book. Craig, Ryan, Kenn, and Todd, discuss their favorite scenes, characters, and quotes; what they'll take from the book so far; how many times they think they'll need to re-read; and give a huge thank-you to the listeners and supporters on Facebook, Reddit, and Patreon. This episode contains the second word of the day needed to enter the giveaway for the Sanderson-signed copy of The Way of Kings. Please support the show at Patreon.com/legendarium.

Number 1 in a 3-part series. Discussing parts 1 & 2 of Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings. We're giving away a Sanderson-signed hardcover copy of the book. Rules are at the 3-minute mark. The recording of this episode was broadcast live on facebook. Like our page and subscribe to live videos to get alerts the next time we're live. Support the Legendarium at Patreon.com/Legendarium

Well, we'd better hop on this bandwagon before everyone's done with it. Craig, Ryan, Todd, and Kenn discuss Netflix's mega-hit show, Stranger Things. Support the show on Patreon. Sign up for the monthly newsletter.

Holy crap, we made it to a hundred episodes? Time to party! Which is pretty much what we did on this episode. There was no topic for the day, other than to chat about our history and how we've changed in our attitudes toward fantasy literature. Oh, and we recorded this episode while simultaneously streaming a video feed live on facebook! So forgive the unpolished delivery. The good news, though, is that we got to interact with a few of you while we recorded. We also played audio from a couple of fans from wildly different parts of the world. Thank you to EVERYONE for listening, and here's to another 100! Support us on Patreon and get exclusive access to amazing perks.

The whole crew (Craig, Ryan, Kenn, and Todd) is back together for this discussion of Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker. We discuss the magic, the characters, the pacing, the humor, and the story's place in the greater Cosmere. Do Vasher and Vivenna show up in Mistborn: Secret History? What other book does Nightblood make an appearance in? Also, we finally announce our post-Sanderson podcast series, toward the end of the episode.

In which is discussed the Silmarillion, chapters 5-9. This is the section all about Fëanor, Melkor, the Silmarils, and the flight of the Noldor. We go back to our roots for this episode. This time it's just Ryan and Craig in the studio, talking about Tolkien, playing trivia games, and trying to get something out of fantasy literature that's above their heads. Support the Legendarium by donating on Imzy.

The rules are simple: Four of us separately recorded reviews for Warcraft. The review had to be 2-4 minutes. Your job is to decide who reviewed it best. Vote on our website for your favorite: Craig - 1:05 Ryan - 3:40 Kenn - 7:20 Jake - 9:40 Support us on Imzy.

Show Notes Panel: Craig, Ryan, Geoff ***Spoilers*** for Elantris, but no spoilers for the rest of the Cosmere Donate to the podcast here: Imzy.com/legendarium Check out the archive here: thelegendariumpodcast.com 5:25 - Elantris recap 14:00 - The magic system, the setting 18:55 - The politics 22:30 - Elantrian pain = real life. Find a purpose. What are Sanderson’s personal politics? 38:30 - Exploring faith through Hrathen 43:00 - Elantris as a film 44:30 - Do Raoden and Sarene have an actual character arc? 49:45 - Some constructive criticisms 59:00 - The 10th Anniversary edition

Craig, Ryan, and Nic discuss Akallabêth, the story of the downfall of Númenor. Bit by bit, Craig is forcing Ryan to read the entire book. They dispense with the regular opening insults, and instead opt for bringing back the long-lost "Craig's LotR [Silmarillion] Trivia." 0:00 - Intro, Brandon Sanderson Reading Challenge, Support us on Imzy 4:30 - Craig's LotR Trivia 15:10 - So... What did everyone think of Akallabêth? 21:16 - Arthurian influence on Tolkien 31:44 - Being loyal to fundamental principles 40:45 - Art and holistic progress in Númenor 45:35 - Making the Silmarillion movie 51:33 - Getting to know Sauron the Deceiver

Today's panel: Craig, Ryan, Geoff, Tommy, Kenn. SPOILER-heavy episode, as always. We discuss Calamity, book 3 of the Reckoners series. We have a few things to say about the setting and the characters, but we save most of our conversation for the ending of the trilogy. 0:00 - Intro, insults, and housekeeping 6:45 - Craig's quick review 8:50 - Reaction and discussion 47:00 - Final thoughts Support the Legendarium Podcast by tipping us at imzy.com/legendarium.

Today's panel: Craig, Kenn, Jake J, and Jake H. This Zelda podcast started as a review of Twilight Princess HD, but quickly turned into a general discussion of the Zelda franchise, past and future. Support the Legendarium Podcast by tipping us at imzy.com/legendarium. SHOW NOTES: Twilight Princess review - 8:05 NX speculation - 21:03 What makes a game a Zelda game? - 23:50 Favorite items - 27:40 The music of Zelda - 30:13 Favorite game in the franchise? - 35:13 Which is the darker game, MM or TP? - 39:35 Digging into the franchise timeline - 46:55 Support the Legendarium Podcast by tipping us at imzy.com/legendarium.

This week we each give a separately recorded review of Captain America: Civil War. The reviewers in order: Ryan: 1:00 Craig: 4:00 Kenn: 6:40 Todd: 9:20 We need you to vote on which review is the best! Pride is at stake! Vote at any of the following places: thelegendariumpodcast.com facebook.com/thelegendarium twitter.com/legendariumpod imzy.com/legendarium

Craig, Nic, and Geoff discuss the second book in the Reckoners series in this Firefight podcast. Everyone loved the book and thought it had a much stronger antagonist than Steelheart. Nic tries to spoil Mistborn (Craig won't let him), and Geoff teases just a bit of Calamity, making us all pretty excited to get to it.

Bonus! Since Brandon Sanderson was kind enough to write a tiny little short story before releasing Firefight a couple years ago, we decided to do a smaller episode of our own. In our Mitosis podcast, we deal with some of the good and bad, and some of the popular reactions to the story. Links we mention during the cast: Writing Excuses - Brandon's podcast Imzy.com/legendarium - Home base for interacting with the Legendarium's hosts and listeners

Ryan, Craig, Geoff, and Tommy discuss Steelheart, the first book in Brandon Sanderson's unconventional superhero trilogy. The novel is written for teenagers, so it's no surprise that the four guys who are getting too old for that sort of thing like it a lot. Congrats to the winner of the signed copy of The Bands of Mourning: Ryan A., from New Brighton, MN!

Bonus episode for a bonus book! Brandon dropped Secret History on the world without any warning, so we didn't include it officially in our 2016 reading challenge. But it had to go in, of course. So Craig, Ryan, and Nic chat for a few minutes about seeing some of the old Mistborn cast again, plus implications for the Cosmere at large. Don't forget to go to Imzy.com/legendarium and sign up for the beta test. Do it before midnight on April 10th and you'll be entered for a signed and personalized copy of The Bands of Mourning!

Craig, Ryan, Todd, and Kenn wrap up the Mistborn series (so far) with a discussion of The Bands of Mourning, book 3 in the Wax and Wayne era. This will be the last Mistborn episode for a while ... Or will it? Sign up for the new Legendarium community at Imzy.com/legendarium before midnight on April 10th to be entered to win a signed and personalized copy of The Bands of Mourning.

The "let's sit around and chat about geeky stuff!" version of The Legendarium Podcast. Topics include: 0:00 - Intro and insults 1:39 - Pitching the Brandon Sanderson reading challenge and Imzy.com/legendarium 5:24 - Zelda: Twilight Princess HD review so far; plus, the state of Nintendo 12:09 - Brandon Sanderson’s upcoming White Sands graphic novel 16:00 - Deadpool 22:14 - Shannara Chronicles 26:27 - Divergent: Allegiant 27:54 - Gods of Egypt 31:54 - Craig gets political about Hollywood 34:15 - Upcoming movies: Captain America, Batman v Superman 47:05 - Daredevil

It's a packed house, as Craig, Ryan, Kenn, Nic, and newcomer Geoff discuss Shadows of Self. The streak continues, as we have yet to read a Sanderson book we didn't enjoy. Mistborn fans who haven't read Sanderson's other work will be excited after this to dive deep into his Cosmere. Listener notes from two listeners, and Kenn says "duality of perspective," blowing Craig's mind with his excellent new vocabulary.Join the 2016 Brandon Sanderson Reading Challenge.