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Page Chewing

Page Chewing is where books, comics, and conversations collide. From in-depth chats with authors and artists to lively discussions with fellow readers, we explore the craft of storytelling, the worlds we love, and the ideas that stay with us long after the last page.

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All Episodes

16:25

My Top 10 Grimdark & Dark Fantasy Books

Page Chewing ·

2026/10/06

What are my favorite grimdark and dark fantasy books?This isn't quite the usual list.I'm counting down ten of the books and series that have stuck with me the most—from lesser-known indie fantasy to some familiar names that longtime Page Chewing listeners probably won't be surprised to see near the top.We get into brutal worlds, morally complicated characters, dark humor, grief, violence, philosophy, unforgettable endings, and the books that have affected me enough that I literally needed to put

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58:28

Beyond the Page: Reclaiming Your Life After Emotional...

Page Chewing ·

2026/10/06

In this episode of Beyond the Page, Steve talks with Eva Levina, author of the two book Death Is No Reason to Stop Living series, about her experience in a 25-year marriage that she describes as involving covert emotional abuse and the difficult journey of rebuilding her life afterward. Eva discusses the subtle warning signs she says she missed, including gaslighting, constant criticism, sleep deprivation, manipulation and financial control. She also talks candidly about trauma bonding, therapy,

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09:04

Pet Sematary Read-Along #1 | Chapters 1–5: Something...

Page Chewing ·

2026/10/05

The Pet Sematary Read-Along begins!For the first episode, I'm discussing Stephen King's introduction and Chapters 1–5 as the Creed family settles into their new home and Louis begins an unexpected friendship with their neighbor, Jud.This is my first time reading Pet Sematary, and I've never seen any of the film adaptations, so I'm going into the story almost completely blind. Using the same evolving-notebook approach from the Blood Meridian read-along, I'll be tracking six questions throughout the

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21:03

Blood Meridian Is Over… Now It’s Time for Pet...

Page Chewing ·

2026/10/04

This week on Page Chewing, I’m wrapping up my September Blood Meridian read-along and looking ahead to October’s journey through Stephen King’s Pet Sematary.I talk about how slowing down and reading Blood Meridian one chapter at a time completely changed my experience with the novel, what I’m currently reading—including The Warrior Prophet and Lone Wolf and Cub—and what’s coming up on Page Chewing.I also share some thoughts on rewatching The Sopranos and One Hour Photo, including how differently One

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14:47

You Don’t Read Comics? Here Are 10 Great Places to Start

Page Chewing ·

2026/10/02

Think comic books are all superheroes, capes, and decades of confusing continuity? There’s a lot more to the medium than that.In this episode, Steve shares 10 comics he’d recommend to someone who says, “I don’t read comics—where do I start?”This isn’t a ranking of the greatest comics ever written. Instead, these are approachable recommendations covering fantasy, crime, science fiction, comedy, superheroes, and several very different flavors of horror.The recommendations include (Amazon Affiliate

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01:08:50

Understanding Blood Meridian with Steven Frye | Judge...

Page Chewing ·

2026/09/30

After 23 chapters, the Blood Meridian read-along is complete—but the questions certainly aren't.For this special concluding conversation, I'm joined by Steven Frye, author of Understanding Cormac McCarthy, to dig into some of the biggest questions I was left with after finishing Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian.What exactly is Judge Holden? Why is he so interested in the kid? Does the kid actually change? What does his refusal to completely embrace the Judge's philosophy tell us about him? And what

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44:43

Our REAL Pick of the Week Wasn't a New Comic | Panel...

Page Chewing ·

2026/09/30

We start with Jarrod's thoughts on Supergirl, which leads us into a larger conversation about superhero movies, shorter theatrical windows, interconnected universes, and whether Marvel and DC would be better served by worrying less about the bigger universe and simply making good individual movies. 149Then it's time for this week's comics, including Lost Fantasy #2, Absolute Cassandra Cain #1, Detective Comics #1113, Absolute Green Arrow #5, The Hab #4, and Hellraiser: Resurrections #1. There

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17:43

Blood Meridian Chapter 23 | The Dance Never Ends

Page Chewing ·

2026/09/29

We've reached the end of Blood Meridian.Chapter 23 brings the kid, now the man, face-to-face with Judge Holden one final time, and suddenly so many things we've been tracking throughout this read-along begin connecting.The dancing.The kid's capacity for mercy.The Judge's obsession with war.Predators and prey.Cycles of violence.And the question we've been asking almost from the beginning: Why did Judge Holden take such an interest in the kid?In this episode, I work through my immediate reaction to

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09:05

Blood Meridian Chapter 22 | Chapter by Chapter Read...

Page Chewing ·

2026/09/28

For twenty-two chapters, we've been asking the same question.Why is Judge Holden interested in the kid?We've noticed the smiles.The conversations.The Judge's attempts to influence him.The kid's apparent resistance.Holden hunting him through the desert.And throughout all of it, we've wondered whether the Judge sees something in the kid that we don't.Chapter 22 may finally give us the answer.Page Chewing BlogPage Chewing ForumSupport Page Chewing on PatreonAffiliate Links that support the show:Audible

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07:43

Blood Meridian Chapter 21 | Chapter by Chapter Read...

Page Chewing ·

2026/09/27

Chapter 21 is short, but it gives us one of the clearest looks yet at who the kid has become.Wounded and still being hunted by Judge Holden, the kid has multiple opportunities to abandon Tobin and save himself. Tobin even tells him to go.The kid refuses.He also gets an opportunity to fire at the Judge and doesn't take it, raising another question we've been carrying since Chapter 15: is the kid actually afraid of Judge Holden?Then comes one of the great reversals of the novel. The kid and Tobin are

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09:17

Blood Meridian Chapter 20 | Chapter by Chapter Read...

Page Chewing ·

2026/09/26

In Chapter 20, the remains of the gang are scattered and vulnerable. The kid is wounded, Toadvine and Tobin are trying to survive alongside him, and the hunters we've followed throughout the novel have finally become the hunted.Except for Judge Holden.The Judge emerges from the destruction of the gang seemingly transformed into an even more frightening figure. He stalks the survivors through the wilderness, calls out to them, offers forgiveness, and seems so capable of manipulating people through

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01:39:36

Page Burners: The Bonehunters Ch. 22 | The Empire Turns

Page Chewing ·

2026/09/26

We've reached the end of The Bonehunters.In this episode of Page Burners, we dive into Chapter 22, as Steven Erikson brings months of reading and storylines stretching across multiple Malazan novels, crashing together in an explosive finale.After four months with The Bonehunters, it's finally time to say goodbye to Book Six and figure out exactly what this ending means for the Malazan Empire and the characters we've followed this far.As always, this is a full-spoiler discussion for The Bonehunters

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12:27

Blood Meridian Chapter 19 | Chapter by Chapter Read...

Page Chewing ·

2026/09/25

Chapter 19 brings one of the biggest turning points in our Blood Meridian read-along: John Joel Glanton finally meets his end.After taking control of the Colorado River ferry, Glanton's gang turns another opportunity for profit into something far more horrific. Travelers who simply want to cross the river become victims of robbery, murder, assault, and abuse as the gang's violence reaches another extreme.But this time, there are consequences.The Yumas attack the ferry operation, killing Glanton and

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08:08

Blood Meridian Chapter 18 | Chapter by Chapter Read...

Page Chewing ·

2026/09/24

Chapter 18 of Blood Meridian is extremely short, but there's much more happening here than its length initially suggests.The chapter focuses on the disabled man Glanton's gang has been carrying in a cage. When a group of women discovers him, their reaction creates a striking contrast with the way the gang has treated him: they release him, wash him, care for him, and seemingly recognize a humanity the men around him have ignored.Then Judge Holden intervenes.After the man wanders into the water and

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01:00:41

Beyond the Page: Can Science Prove Life After Death?...

Page Chewing ·

2026/09/24

In this episode of Beyond the Page, Steve sits down with filmmaker, professor, TEDx director, and author Don Schechter to discuss his science fiction techno thriller Ascendants.Don shares the remarkable 20 year journey that took Ascendants from an idea for a film to a series of short films and eventually a novel. They explore the book's collision of science and belief, what happens when technology divides society into those who can "ascend" and those who cannot, and why the story feels particularly

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11:05

Blood Meridian Chapter 17 | Chapter by Chapter Read...

Page Chewing ·

2026/09/23

Chapter 17 may be the most revealing Judge Holden chapter of Blood Meridian so far.The Judge lays out his philosophy of war, games, morality, chance, agency, and the human desire to impose order on a universe that may have none. His argument that war exists independently of human judgment gives us one of the clearest glimpses yet into the worldview behind this mysterious character.But then McCarthy complicates things even further.Around the fire, the Judge performs an apparently impossible trick

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53:34

This Comic Feels Like a Nightmare | Panel Chewing #148

Page Chewing ·

2026/09/23

This week on Panel Chewing, we're talking Batman, dropping comics from our pull lists, discovering some unexpected favorites and reading a comic that feels like an actual nightmare.We kick things off with a list of the Top 10 standalone Batman stories, including The Long Halloween, Hush, The Court of Owls, The Killing Joke, Year One, and The Dark Knight Returns. Some placements make sense. Others? We're not so sure. We also discover a couple of Batman stories we somehow haven't read yet. Then we

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09:25

Blood Meridian Chapter 16 | Chapter by Chapter Read...

Page Chewing ·

2026/09/22

Chapter 16 returns us to Glanton's gang as they continue moving across the landscape and leaving death behind them.This isn't one of the most character-heavy chapters of Blood Meridian, but it reinforces just how completely violence has become the gang's normal way of interacting with the world. Murder barely requires justification anymore, and consequences seem almost irrelevant.In this episode, I look at the horrifying fate of the Delaware scouts, the killing of Owens and the gang's apparent lack

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51:35

Beyond the Page: Samurai in Space, Character-Driven...

Page Chewing ·

2026/09/22

On this episode of Beyond the Page, I’m joined by science-fiction author Dawn Ross, creator of the seven-book Starfire Dragons series.Dawn explains how the “dragons” of Starfire Dragons aren't literal creatures, but symbolic of a futuristic warrior culture. At the center of the story are characters dealing with loyalty, family, morality, and the difficult choices that arise when doing the “right” thing isn't always clear.We also talk about Dawn's lifelong love of character-driven storytelling, how

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13:46

Blood Meridian Chapter 15 | Chapter by Chapter Read...

Page Chewing ·

2026/09/21

Chapter 15 shifts the focus back toward the kid as Glanton's gang is scattered, exhausted, starving, and on the run.In this episode, I look at the kid's encounter with the wounded Shelby and his refusal to kill him, raising a difficult question we've encountered before: is refusing to kill an act of mercy when it leaves someone behind to suffer?We also get one of the most striking scenes in the novel so far as the kid encounters a burning tree in the desert surrounded by animals. For a brief moment,

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