Subplot A Course

The guys attempt to guess the ending to The Gods of Mars, only to fail horribly. See if you can do better!

5 guys try to guess what is going on in Cixin Liu's, "The Three Body Problem."

Armed with a bonafied rocket scientist, the guys take a look at the first book of the popular Expanse series, Leviathan Wakes. 0:00 Intro 0:41 Expert introduction 1:18 Plot summary 4:21 John reacts to Epstein drive tech 19:05 John and Charlie react to the asteroid stations and the Coriolis Effect 31:21 "Normal" weapon tech 34:24 The near future setting 46:41 What's the theme? 47:31 Zombies and eeevil corporations 54:58 Contest: Rename the Rocinante! 1:08:35 Best thing, worst thing 1:26:34 Outro

The Subplot a Course crew is back from break and reading the latest from Ernest Cline! Adrian Acu weighs in as an expert on all things simulacra in the sequel to Cline's blockbuster franchise. Beware, the crew has a lot of interesting things to say about this novel, and not all of it is good! 0:00 Intro, Season 5 updates 1:31 Expert introduction 2:14 Plot summary 4:32 Adrian breaks down simulacra, discussion on the theme of Ready Player Two 19:26 Reference quality, the 80s challenges and Wade's journey 40:14 The ending, off the rails? 45:50 Contest: Pitch an ending rewrite 1:02:16 Best thing, worst thing 1:16:57 Outro and next book announcement

Charlie runs a special anniversary episode of Subplot A Course! Listen on for an off the rails discussion of books we've read and random opinions of the 5 hosts.

The guys react to the Asimov classic Foundation, and discuss the storytelling structure, the believability of the technological decline in the galaxy and debate which failed ruler the Foundation faced off against was the best. 0:00 Intro 1:31 Plot summary 5:10 5-part structure 12:36 Storytelling scope 14:02 Psychohistory validity? 29:15 Atomic power in everything 33:24 Technological decline feasible? 41:35 Ending satisfying? 46:15 Contest: Who was the best failed ruler the Foundation dominated and why? 56:01 Best thing, worst thing 1:07:05 Outro

The crew may be down a few regulars but that didn't stop us from checking out John Scalzi's popular novel Old Man's War! We discuss the nature of the mysterious CDF, diversity of the aliens, political commentary and more! 0:00 Intro 1:38 Plot Summary 6:05 Old people enlistment twist 12:18 CDF's mysteriousness 27:16 BrainPals 32:18 Alien diversity 41:35 Political commentary 55:43 Contest: How would you convince Earthers to join the CDF? 1:00:00 Best thing, worst thing 1:06:25 Outro and next book announcement

Join us with The Punch Escrow author Tal M. Klein to discuss his novel, The Punch Escrow! We discuss the villain, reference and inspiration to other works, the details of the audiobook, and try to come up with the best elevator pitch for the novel. 0:00 Intro 1:08 Plot synopsis and the villain 5:31 James Bond outfits and situations and the ending 10:08 References of and inspiration to other works 16:42 Philosophical implications of teleportation 29:32 Joel to the Second, audiobook features and footnotes 37:39 Portrayal of society, government, corporate and religion 44:03 Mosquitoes 45:11 The Ambulance and salting/peppering 48:42 Contest: Elevator pitch for The Punch Escrow 55:09 Best thing, worst thing 1:12:46 Outro and next book announcement

The team takes a look at Battle Royale, the Japanese novel that predates the battle royale video game genre and Hunger Games. We discuss the book's theme, the power of Bruce Springsteen and argue about which item we would bring with us to the Program if we were selected! 0:00 Intro 1:28 Plot Summary 3:36 Inspiration for other media 8:28 The book's theme, Stavros's rant, utopias vs dystopias 15:23 Believability of plot and characters 25:49 The fascist government setting, the power of Bruce Springsteen and comparison to 90s Japanese culture 34:48 A look at the muderer population metrics 37:23 Horror movie vibe 42:09 Contest: What one item would you bring with you into the Program? 52:31 Best thing/worst thing 1:02:48 Outro and next book announcement

With several awards won or pending, the crew talks about This Is How You Lose the Time War and discuss the poetic tone, the time travel elements and the believably of the love story. 0:00 Intro 1:44 Plot synopsis and awards 3:39 Poetic tone and Red's/Blue's letters 11:07 The two factions: Garden and Agency 25:42 Time travel gimmick and letter-sending 34:42 Contest: Secret time messages, which of us could do it better? 46:42 Best thing, worst thing 58:40 Outro and next book announcement

Everyone dons their towels and prepare for a dive into the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Discussion around the comedy elements, randomness and improbability, and competition on how each host would update the look of the Guide itself! 0:00 Intro 1:37 Plot summary 3:27 Comedy vs Sci-Fi and Randomness 19:38 Vogon poetry reactions 25:44 Scientific critiques and believability 33:16 Marvin 36:22 Asides and HHG entries: did they work? 40:21 Contest: Updated version of the Hitchhiker's Guide 51:43 Best thing, worst thing 58:59 Outro and next book announcement

Author Peter Tieryas returns for discussion on his latest alternate history novel in his United States of Japan series, Cyber Shogun Revolution! We talk about the lack of food, the nature of morality, references, and even decide which of us can make the "best" elevator pitch for the novel. 0:00 Intro 1:41 Plot summary 3:27 Audiobook reactions 4:13 Not as much food! 8:26 Akiko's role and twist, the revolution's agenda, good/bad guys 25:28 Future tech, mecha combat and references 34:31 The Tokko data breach 39:13 Contest: Elevator pitch for Cyber Shogun Revolution 48:30 Best thing/worst thing 1:06:00 Outro and next book announcement

The crew takes a look at a second work by Cixin Liu, this time a novel, and have some opinions on the premise and believability of the kids-only world, and even argue about what appraoch from the adults would have worked better! 0:00 Intro 2:00 Plot synopsis 3:40 Analysis of the premise, Lord of the Flies 9:36 John's opinion on mechanical maintenance and infrastructure 15:36 Violence and kids' empathy 21:22 Radiation realism 28:09 Doomsday clock 28:56 Charlie's hated trope 29:30 Americans, guns and games 37:43 The ending 43:51 Contest: What strategy would have worked better? 59:37 Best thing, worst thing 1:08:23 Outro and next book announcement

The crew is joined by author M.S. Farzan (Som) and discuss his novel Entromancy! We discuss the intersection of genres, the San Francisco Bay Area and even have a contest for who can pitch the book the best. 0:00 Intro 1:10 Plot Summary 3:19 Genre crossroads 12:38 San Francisco Bay Area location 20:24 Reactions to Ceridium worldbuilding 27:24 Main character's motivation 36:44 Contest: Elevator pitch for Entromancy 44:57 Best and worst 1:00:23 Plot teaser for Entromancy books 2+3 1:02:01 Outro and next book announcement

Back for a new season, with a sequel to the classic Dune, Dune Messiah! We cover inane topics like how many Fremen are there really, to undead Duncan Idaho, to the living hell that makes up Paul's life. 00:00 Intro 1:36 Plot summary 4:37 Palace Intrigue: The Novel 9:51 How many Fremen are there? 14:07 Dune is Star Wars 14:42 Light on sci fi elements 19:18 Duncan Idaho is James Bond 24:50 Paul's journey and a potential fatal flaw 36:41 Why are all the babies prescient? 39:02 Contest: What real life experience is most similar to taking spice? 50:31 Best thing, worst thing 57:43 Outro and next book announcement

In this special anniversary episode, Charlie runs the show! Off the wall commentary on the last season, what the crew has been up to, and more.