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PODCAST

Is This Just Fantasy?

Is This Just Fantasy?

The book club where we review all things fantasy! Join Duncan and Geordie as they embark on a quest to track the breadth and history of the fantasy genre, one epic at the time. Whether you"re a fan of book-stopper tomes like Duncan, or lighter YA fantasy like Geordie, we want you to read-along with us. Episodes are released every two weeks, giving you enough to read the book (or skim the synopsis if you"re just here for the banter.)

arts books

All Episodes

76:12

Hogfather

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/12/24

To wrap up the first year of Is This Just Fantasy, Duncan and Geordie make their first journey to the late great Sir Terry Pratchett's seasonal parody: Hogfather. The fellas reflect of their love for Sir Terry's depiction of Death as a character, as well as one of the best speeches in his canon. Duncan denies that the book is a parody of the Nightmare Before Christmas, Geordie can't say the word anthropormorphisation, and the fellas perform their first reading (and Geordie enjoys playing with the

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63:34

Bloody Rose

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/12/15

The boys discuss the exciting follow-up to Nicholas Eames' Kings of Wyld. Immediately the debate is on, which of the two books do the lads enjoy more? They discuss characters arcs, the author's worrying increase in willingness to kill characters, evil bunny girls, Duncan's hatred of a fictional child and Geordie relating too much to falling for goth girls who just ain't good for you.

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128:10

Kings of the Wyld (feat. Nicholas Eames)

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/12/07

(Audio fixed) What an episode! Not only do the fellas enjoy an amazing fantasy novel, they also got a chance to land their first interview with an author. Nicholas Eames joins them to discuss his novels, his reading list, and the power of rock 'n roll, baby. Geordie and Duncan discuss this novel's comedy, pathos, fist-pumping action and unnecessarily emotionally stirring ettins.

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69:58

First Rider's Call

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/11/27

Revisiting one of their favourite books of the pod so far, the fellas check out the sequel to Green Rider by Kristen Britain, and it is... about time travel? Yeah, this episode is a bit of a curveball. Duncan grapples with his mingled disappointment and hope for the sequels, and tasks Geordie with determining whether this is the end of the road or whether to press on with the rest of the series.

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77:35

Berserk: The Eclipse

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/11/05

It doesn't get much more 'E' for explicit than this one. The fellas discuss the conclusion to Berserk's Golden Age Arc and the fateful eclipse, where the flow of causality turns on a gyre. It's a heavy episode, where they discuss the Berserk's lofty themes alongside it's gratuity. Geordie is given the impossible task of defending the character of Wyald, Duncan denies that he ever said Griffith did nothing wrong, Geordie gushes for minutes straight about Hieronymus Bosch, William Blake, and the Saga

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86:02

Berserk: Black Swordsman Arc and The Golden Age

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/10/23

That thing, it was too long to be called a podcast... so we split it in two. The fella's wrap up their Halloween booooooook club with the first part of their discussion of Berserk: Geordie's favourite fantasy series of all time and a first time read for Duncan. Covering the the Black Swordsman Arc till Guts' departure from the Band of the Hawk, Duncan and Geordie rave about Miura's genius penmanship, how Berserk ruined all western comic books, the '97 anime, and the marvellous nuances behind its

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66:40

The Library at Mount Char

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/10/15

It's the first of two episodes in our annual Halloween boooook club. Geordie picked the Library at Mount Char completely by accident and what a triumph! The boys adored this book and they discuss: its humour, its intense metaphysical weirdness, its stubborn refusal to be compared with anything else, and the unbelievable fact that its the author's debut.

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64:26

Bonus: First Sentence Challenge

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/09/28

Sooooo due to Geordie trying to be a responsible book buyer, his copy of The Library at Mount Char hasn't arrived yet. Oh calamity, oh Bailey! But Geordie has a plan. He challenges Duncan to a first sentence challenge, where the fellas test the other to see if they can guess the fantasy novel from just the opening line.Duncan plays dirty, Geordie plays too nice, and it's a pretty embarrassing showing all round. Nobody tell Duncan that Geordie heard about this challenge from TikTok.

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84:34

Red Sister

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/09/19

“It is important, when recording a podcast, to ensure that you choose a book of sufficient quality." Duncan and Geordie are back from their holidays, ready to recount all the books they read and discuss 'Red Sister' by Mark Lawrence. Duncan is a big fan of Lawrence's, whereas Geordie thinks 'Prince of Thorns' is the most repugnant book he ever gave up on.In addition to discussing the highs and lows of this book, the fellas discuss their summer reading, Duncan reveals he's never heard of iCarly,

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75:42

Red Nails - Conan the Barbarian

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/09/14

Hoo-boy! More racist than you thought. Yup, Robert E. Howard is tragically offensive in this 1936 novella. The fellas are left gutted, and with complicated feelings about Howard using his amazing writing for evil. Duncan gives a crash-course in Conan history, and talks non-stop about pastiche novels, and Geordie doesn't have the heart to tell him that he doesn't know how to pronounce "pastiche."

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82:36

The Song of Achilles

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/09/11

The curse is ended, we've got a good book! A great book! The fellas get lost in Geordie's vast love of Greek mythology, the wonderful love story of Achilles and Patroclus, One of the best episodes yet!T/W: This episode contains discussions around the topic of rape, which is an important theme within the book.

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80:20

BONUS: Our Monster Tier List

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/08/31

It's a real monster of an episode! Whilst the fellas make their way through Song of Achilles, they take a break to discuss the dark and perilous side of fantasy: the monsters that must be slain. The topics discussion stray into Geordie being confidently wrong about Chinese mythology, Hogwarts plumbing, and fist fighting H.P. Lovecraft. How is it to say Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn, anyway?

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83:55

A Demon in Silver

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/08/13

The title of this book doesn't even make sense! It's a good day for John Gwynn, but a bad one for Duncan and Geordie. The boys have found their new low-point in their quest to explore the fantasy genre. Even Duncan, try as he might, can't fully defend this book. They discuss: baffling writing choices, painfully cringey sex scenes, and all the books you should read instead of this one.

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88:12

The Gutter Prayer

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/07/30

The boys blend ancient divine rites with alchemy in Gareth Hanrahan's debut, The Gutter Prayer. Duncan lauds the book's world building, whilst Geordie thinks it's not enough to support a weak story and characters. They discuss the use of tense, Duncan's new mistrust of professors since leaving academics, and Geordie keeps trying to talk about The Expanse and the Count of Monte Cristo instead

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87:37

American Gods

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/07/17

The fellas roadtrip across America, meeting a cavalcade of gods in the process. No, it's not Percy Jackson. In this episode Geordie and Duncan debate the pros and cons of Neil Gaiman's fantasy-novel-with-a-lot-of-hyphens. The episode highlights include: Geordie's horror when he realised Duncan didn't like it, Duncan not realising that Jesus appears in the novel, and a gust appearance by Geordie's beautiful dachshund, Tilly.

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86:57

BONUS - Our fantasy origin stories

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/07/02

Whoa! A bonus episode? That's right, Duncan and Geordie can't get enough of podcasting and have released their first bonus episode. In this episode the fellas discuss their early reading years and how they got into the fantasy genre. The discussion goes everywhere, from being read bedtime stories, the time Duncan read all of A Song of Ice and Fire in 19 days, Dragon Ball, and perhaps the most obscure book series that Duncan and Geordie somehow both know.

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76:56

Green Rider

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/06/27

Neither of the fellas knew this book existed until Duncan unwrapped it at Christmas, so they're surprised to find out how much they love it! In this episode the boys cover Kristen Britain's 1998 ya fantasy adventure debut, Green Rider. They discuss sword fights, the best horses in fantasy, and a shocking revelation makes Geordie laugh harder than he has in years.]TW: this book contains scenes depicting attempted rape. This is covered in the episode.

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78:14

Twilight

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/06/12

To begin their journey into YA literature, the fellas settle in to read Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. They discuss the book's popularity, the blow-back against it, and misogyny in the fantasy landscape. They've a lot to cover in this episode, from discussing the highs and lows of Edward's qualities as a boyfriend, the surprising lack of Jacob, and Geordie's hatred of the word "chuckled."

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86:25

Malice - The Faithful and the Fallen

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/05/28

For the first time in history, the fellas have no idea what the other thought of the book. Its a journey of discovery for all of us. Duncan and Geordie discuss 'Malice' John Gwynne's debut novel - best known as the author of those books with the real big monsters on the front.In this ep Geordie schools Duncan on Irish mythology and has a good rant about shieldwall logistics, whilst Duncan cannot stop drawing comparisons between the book and just about every part of the fantasy canon.

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75:13

A Wizard of Earthsea

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2022/05/08

Duncan and Geordie voyage across the deep seas in their first forray into Ursula K. Le Guin's fantasy continuum: A Wizard of Earthsea. The fellas discuss the power of names in fantasy, from Ra to Rumpelstiltskin to Rothfuss, feminism, Le Guin's revolutionary place in the canon of fantasy, as well as the novel's unique Daoist philosophy. In case that sounds too heavy, Duncan also takes Geordie as his sith apprentice and refuses to let Geordie brag about reading Chinese sci-fi.

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