Bookstabber

Gene and Willow are transported to a magical -- hey wait, isn't that what always happens? This episode we discuss magical children, Ned Flanders, and Gene's Top Five novellas.

Willow and Gene are whisked away back to the fantastical world of Narnia. Willow still believes in Aslan, but Gene doesn't believe in magic any more. Who could have expected a reversal like this in the Year of Sword and Sorcery!?!?

Gene and Willow level up! Get your torches and ten-foot poles ready to explore the Forgotten Realms in -- What do you mean it's not a Drizzt book? Is it an Ed Greenwood book? Oh dang. Wait, is that a dinosaur? The Year of Sword and Sorcery continues.

It's the exciting draconic romance everyone is talking about! Action, murder, extreme horniness, and much more. Willow's anger burns with the heat of dragonfire, and Gene's love for books is more durable than dragon scale.   Another installment of the Year of Sword and Sorcery!

All events can be seen from different perspectives. Gene sees a delightful novella. Willow sees a bog-standard science fiction premise. Does the truth lie somewhere in between? Why would a spacefaring civilization put horns on their heads?! Another installment of the Year of Sword and Sorcery!

Gene and Willow are transported to a mystical, magical place- a posh university. They learn about magic, addiction, and navigating difficult relationships. Willow feels a smug satisfaction in finding a book that she likes (and that Gene doesn't!). Another installment of the Year of Sword and Sorcery!

Gene and Willow must save the princess from vile monsters, but get derailed talking about The Empire Strikes Back, The Dark Crystal, and Batman's sexuality. It's another installment in THE YEAR OF SWORD AND SORCERY!

Gene fondly recalls his childhood in the lands of Prydain while Willow absolutely beefs her Gurgi impression. Once again these two can't agree on anything other than sounding tired! Another epic installment in the YEAR OF SWORD AND SORCERY. 

Join Gene and Willow on a tour of graphic novels during the Year of Sword and Sorcery (TM). Rakish dragons, monstrous princesses, disembodied witches, and weird leg monsters abound in this exciting podcast! (Discalimer, the podcast is only as exciting as two nerds talking about books ever is.) Books discussed: Head Lopper Volume 1: The Island or a Plague of Beasts (2016) Scales and Scoundrels Book 1 (Definitive Edition) (2021) Darkly She Goes (2023) Mirenda by Grim Wilkins (2018)  

Gene and Willow find themselves in debt to a hostile universe full of intelligent slugs, hungry dinosaurs, and horny insects. Can they escape an intergalactic MLM scheme or will they be "retired" into oblivion?   Trigger Warning: This book contains extremely weird and potentially upsetting ideas not limited to: slavery, sexual assault, gross insect stuff, racial slurs. 

Long ago, a cursed book was forged in the fires of hell, destined to slay its reader. Willow must take up this book against Gene and make war so great that all the elves, trolls and Aesir tremble in its shadow. Trigger warning: the book (and the podcast discussing it) contains sexual violence. 

Gene and Willow learn that it takes a lot to become San Francisco's top gumshoe. Move over Columbo, there's a new detective in town, and he's a giant black dragon! 

Long ago when wizards walked the earth, some of them had magnificent adventures with dragons, giants, and powers beyond comprehension. Willow and Gene read about some wizards who do none of that, and aren't really sure what they're supposed to be doing at all. Will the hero save the day? And does the day actually need saving??

Within the maelstrom of parallel planes there is a constant: two eternal readers, sometimes allied, at other times opposed. Willow, with her black rune sword, and Gene, heir to the Library Throne, meet again on the field of podcast to delve into classic sword and sorcery.

Gene and Willow struggle to remember the one true podcast, the podcast which casts all others as shadows. Can they ally themselves with sibling podcasts and take the throne, or will this book lock them in a dungeon? This marks the beginning of The Year of Sword and Sorcery, which Gene is excited for. Willow estimates it will last three months.

Put on your goggles and galoshes, because you're about to be splattered with viscera! Gene and Willow get this book implanted into their brains and it does not make their lives better. Willow wishes the narrator would shut up and Gene wishes they would stop over-explaining how octopus DNA works.

Retired Norse God Vidar fights many big, strong men and many hairy giants in onesies. Willow and Gene stare at the cover of the book, confused. Warriors from across the Nine Realms converge to decide if this book is worth reading. 

Gene and Willow are bound by their Houses to raise the corpse of their podcast. Willow is frustrated about swords and queer representation while Gene enjoys being a smartass.

Gene and Willow go beyond the ninth gate armed with charter magic and forty enchanted bells, each named Saranael. They must suss out what lore is actually relevant to the story, and withstand the withering magics of YA romance.

Gene and Willow have traveled light years to discover humanity's glorious past, a science fictin classic from 1970. Does it hold up? Do Willow and Gene embody singular character traits suited for book reviewing? Find out!

Deep within this ancient house of Bookstabber lurks a secret- one that will curdle your blood and roast your portobellos. Gene and Willow discuss fictional European countries, the works of Poe, and the perils of fungi.   Check out our comics at hauntedskull.com and librarycomic.com!

This book is a bloody brick crashing through your wet-grape eyes. Gene and Willow need all of their special crime strength to unpack this revenge story, and to learn intersectional identity politics along the way.

Just when you thought it was safe to podcast! Gene and Willow stare into the dark hearts of fictional, meta-narrative murderers and victims. Can our heroes unmask this book before it kills again?!

Two stories of love and loss, families and long journeys. Two short novellas that Gene found to be well-crafted samples of what the form has to offer. I uh... wouldn't ask Willow her opinion of these.    Check out the comics we make at librarycomic.com, barbariangirl.com, and Willow's new site, hauntedskull.com

Bigmouth bass, seductive women, televangelists, and cold-blooded murder. What have they all got in common? Gene and Willow have to tour the Sunshine State to get to the bottom of this mystery, and maybe eat some roadkill along the way.   Have a suggestion for what we should read next? Want to warn us away from your favorite book? Email bookstabberpodcast@gmail.com

Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of. Conan the Cimmerian struggled to return to his beloved- but not before bedding another dozen random sex objects. Evil priests everywhere wet themselves. Gene foists book after book upon Willow's troubled brow.

A universe-spanning conspiracy threatens human life as we know it. Science is our only hope. Defeatism is at an all-time high. In other news, Gene and Willow read a book.

Spoiler: Boy meets girl, boy clones girl, clone kills boy. A tale as old as time! And Gene and Willow discover shocking secrets about memory retention.

Gene and Willow discuss four Moon Knight graphic novels from the 2010s: Vol. 1 From The Dead, Vol. 2 The Dead Will Rise, and Vol. 3 In The Night, plus Vol. 1 Lunatic which was either a continuation or a relaunch or maybe both. Plus find out if "white" the same as "optically white" and hear a list of Willow's peeves about superhero comics!   Check out Willow's new comics at hauntedskull.com!

Gene and Willow are transported on a magical trip to the worst place on Earth. Between shark attacks, abusive Taekwondo champions, poisoned peaches, and state propaganda, it's a miracle they both managed to have a good time.   Content warning: This book deals with heavy topics, both sexual and violent. Discretion is advised.   Check out Willow's new comics at hauntedskull.com and the comics we make together at librarycomic.com

At the end of time stand two opposing forces: The Willow Agency, who finds this book to be a bloated Writing 201 experiment, and the Gene Garden, for whom each book is like a newborn bird being hatched. Can either win the Time War? Obviously not, it's in the title.   Willow has started publishing absurdist-horror-comedy comics stories at hauntedskull.com -- please check them out! And you can still find comics Gene and Willow make together at librarycomic.com

Willow fondly remembers someone else's childhood and battles alien spiders. Gene laughs at poop jokes and parenting foibles. Together they ask the immortal question: is it okay to smell the underwear of an extra terrestrial?

Gene is delighted, as usual. Willow drinks deep the sorrows of children's literature. Four Loko and books about peanuts are banished from the kingdom.

Gene and Willow disagree about this magical novel set in 1940s New York, in which an uncanny assassin and others with strange powers try to create a safe space for love and family. (Trouble the Saints won a 2021 World Fantasy Award.)

This week Gene and Willow discuss Nicola Yoon's YA romance The Sun Is Also A Star. Gene loved this story of love at first sight story about a young man on his way to a college interview for a school he doesn't want to attend and a young woman trying to keep her family from being deported that evening. Willow was not as swept away.   You can find the comics Gene and Willow make together at librarycomic.com

This week Gene and Willow discuss the weird and Lovecraftian novel A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill. Are monsters real? Are all tentacles evil? And how does Willow feel about flying werewolf sex? Find out in this exciting episode!

This episode Gene and Willow discuss The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro, an Arthurian tale of forgetfulness. It's the first episode featuring work by an author who has won the Man Booker Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature. Do you think Willow was impressed?   You can find comics Gene and Willow make together at librarycomic.com and barbariangirl.com

This week Gene and Willow discuss Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson (The Family Fang, Perfect Little World). Gene loves Wilson's novels, and Willow's reaction to this one surprises him.   You can read the comics we make together at librarycomic.com and barbariangirl.com  And please email suggestions about what we should read for a future episode.

This week we're doing something different! Willow and I discuss four graphic novels we both love: Robot Dreams by Sara Varon, King City by Brandon Graham, Legion of Super-Heroes: Teenage Revolution by Mark Waid and Barry Kitson, and Friends With Boys by Faith Erin Hicks.  (Of course we don't agree on everything.)   To find comics we make together, visit librarycomic.com

Gene and Willow discuss All The Birds In The Sky by Charlie Jane Anders. It's an apocalyptic book that both defies and embraces the conventions of fantasy, science fiction, and coming of age novels. Gene loves it, and was sure Willow would, too. Wrong.   You can find the comics Gene and Willow make together at www.librarycomic.com    And if you know a book Willow might like, please please please email us your suggestion at bookstabberpodcast@gmail.com

In this episode, Gene and Willow discuss The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. The title character, Maia, is the unlikely, half-goblin ruler of the Elflands who comes to power after an airship accident kills his father and half-brothers. To keep his throne, and just to stay alive, Maia has to deal with a lot of bs at court. A librarian once put the book into Gene's hands and told him it was his next favorite book, and several of his friends love it. Yet Willow rants! And Gene drives her a little crazy. And please check out the comics Gene and Willow make at www.librarycomic.com 

In this episode, Gene and Willow discuss the first two volumes of Martha Wells' series The Murderbot Diaries, All Systems Red and Artificial Condition. The main character is a SecUnit that has hacked its own controller module and spends much of its time watching media (when it isn't saving idiotic humans from danger). It's one of Gene's favorite science fiction series.  And please check out the comics Gene and Willow make at www.librarycomic.com 

Library Comic's Gene Ambaum and Willow Payne discuss The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay and the YA novel Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S.King. Rant ahoy!

Episode 4 is the first Bookstabber double feature! Gene and Willow discuss Gene's favorite space opera, Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks, and then talk about When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald, a YA-ish novel with an unusual narrator. As usual Willow questions Gene's taste and his mental state.    

Library Comic's Gene Ambaum and Willow Payne discuss Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, a short novel about a man exploring an endless labyrinth full of statues. Weird book that we both thought was well written, though of course we disagreed on several points.  

Library Comic's Gene Ambaum and Willow Payne discuss Joe Abercrombie's The Blade itself, a book Gene really enjoyed. Willow did not.

Library Comic's Gene Ambaum and Willow Payne discuss Gene's favorite book, A Wizard of Earthsea. Willow liked it. Rant fail! But a win for both Gene and Willow.