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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

82:53

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2023/04/17

At long last, after fighting through Duncan's bout with covid (which was just as hard on Geordie) the fellas are back in action and reading Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses. They spend a little too long talking about War & Peace and Batman, before getting onto the important topics, like alpha-male faeries, extremely easy riddles and Duncan having to borrow smut from his sister.

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44:49

Bonus: D&D Honour Among Thieves Review & Geordie's...

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2023/04/02

The One Where Duncan had covid. Geordie embarks on his solo career, giving both his review of the new D&D movie and also giving a breakdown of his pitch for what a D&D movie ought to be.

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68:07

Bonus: The Eye of Argon

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2023/03/19

It's a week of harsh punishments for Duncan. For his crimes against humanity (Geordie) he has been forced to read what is widely regarded as the worst fantasy novel of all time: The Eye of Argon. But because he's such a nice guy, Geordie read it too. The fellas discuss Conan fanfiction, when is a book so bad it's funny, and the actually pretty sad story behind it's creation.Highlights of the episode include: arguments about the existence of "red emeralds," Geordie's inability to pronounce

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75:54

Legend

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2023/03/12

The fellas read Legend by David Gemmel and what do you know, Duncan found another Conan story! How does he do it? The fellas discuss siege logistics, the etymology of the word berserker, a good story weighed down by misogyny, and the story of the book's heartbreaking inception. Plus, Geordie begins his path towards revenge for Duncan's treachery.

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73:32

Deadly Education

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2023/02/26

Want a story about an extremely dangerous school for wizards, but with actual themes?! This episode the fellas check out Naomi Novik's Deadly Education. Once again Geordie has dragged Duncan back to the world of YA literature (don't worry he he loves it really.) The fellas discuss the books' themes of social isolation, class division and wizard socialism. The highlights of the episode include: getting stressed over the word sophomore, Duncan getting way too into shipping culture, and finally an act

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74:45

BONUS: Legend of Vox Machina Season 2

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2023/02/19

The fellas take a break from books (gross) to catch up on their current favourite fantasy TV show: Critical Role's Legend of Vox Machina. Geordie takes Duncan on a tour of the backstory of the D&D campaign which led up to the TV show. What discussion would be complete without an argument about Keyleth? This episode's highlights include Duncan getting the chance to correct Geordie for the first time ever, and Geordie events a new drinking game: take a drink every time he says the words:

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78:45

The Neverending Story

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2023/02/13

Duncan and Geordie set off on an epic journey into imagination and adaptations in their analysis of Michael Ende's classic, The Neverending Story. Highlights include a fascinating role reversal, where Duncan can pronounce things and Geordie cannot, Geordie struggling with why he didn't enjoy the book more, and Duncan begins to suspect that all the book characters are secretly evil.

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85:29

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2023/02/02

Back for a new year and season 2! The fellas return to form by talking about another dynamic duo: the titular Strange and Norrell. This slow epic is a favourite of Geordie's but will Duncan feel the same? They discuss the themes of Englishness and unheard voices in regency era England. Highlights include Geordie adding a sinister new rule to the podcast and Duncan goes a whole episode without mispronouncing a name! A new record!

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74:06

A look back at 2022

Is This Just Fantasy? ·

2023/01/03

So ends season 1. Starting a podcast was last year's new years resolution, so what shall it be this year? Duncan and Geordie look back at the heights of the books they covered over the year, as well as some of their favourite pieces of media from outside the fantasy genre.

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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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