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In which Preeti and Jenn talk about: how Merlin doth protest too much, about so many things; gender and Morgause; Jenn's deep need for more Mordred retellings; and more. Next episode: The Last Enchantment, Book 1: Dunpeldyr, Sections 6-8 inclusive He's Just Some Guy (2027) - preorder now! Marvel Unlimited: Realm Guard Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which Jenn loses her mind over the first sentence of the book, Merlyn doesn't know how to handle achieving his goal, Preeti makes some very good points, and Mary Stewart takes us on a hell of a ride. DragonCon (this weekend!) He's Just Some Guy (2027) - preorder now! Marvel Unlimited: Realm Guard Next episode: The Last Enchantment, Book 1: Dunpeldyr, Sections 4-5 inclusive Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which Jenn and Preeti "to and fro" from one thought to the next about Disney's 'The Sword in the Stone' and T.H. White's novel of the same name, and Jenn has her mind blown by the novel's publication history. Next episode, early September 2026: The Last Enchantment, Book 1: Dunpeldyr, Sections 1-3 Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Get merch: tar-valon-or-bust.printify.me/products and northingtron.redbubble.com Preorder Preeti's new book, HE'S JUST SOME GUY -- out in January 2027! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which Jenn and Preeti talk about martyr complexes vs. sidekick syndrome, Mary Stewart: Action Writer, how epic this last section is, and one hell of an Author's Note. For those reading the ebook version, which doesn't have the Author's Note, we've got a PDF for you complete with Preeti's chicken scratch notation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xSJUeKDqdxwoFijBlCk0UQE6SN6Lv-aX/view?usp=share_link (Copyright holders, please don't sue us! It's just too good not to share!!) Daniel José Older, Half-Resurrection Blues The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction, Ursula K Le Guin (either stand-alone or in Dancing at the Edge of World) Castiel (June) House of Harkness (July)  DragonCon (September) He's Just Some Guy (January 2027) - preorder now! Next episode: Disney's The Sword in the Stone (with a side of T.H. White's Once and Future King) Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which Merlin realizes how bad he is at people, two times over, and we talk about pivotal moments in Arthurian lore, three generations of unacknowledged royal boys, and .... apples? Castiel (June) House of Harkness (July)  DragonCon (September) Next episode: The King: Sections 6 - 11 inclusive Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which Merlin is bad at people in several ways, we love Cador of Cornwall, and the atmospheric writing is off the chain. Castiel (June) House of Harkness (July)  DragonCon (September) Next episode: The King: Sections 1 - 5 inclusive Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which there are several big discussions about Herms, class and its impact on publishing, anachronisms in historical fiction, and then the actual section -- which is very funny AND very foreboding all at once. Castiel (June) House of Harkness (July)  DragonCon (September) Next episode: The Sword: Sections 5 - 9 inclusive Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Get merch: tar-valon-or-bust.printify.me/products and northingtron.redbubble.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which Preeti talks about ghosts, Jenn talks about layers, and they both cannot even with Stewart's linguistic stylings. In Your Spare Time - Ursula K. LeGuin, https://inyoursparetime.libsyn.com/ Castiel (June) House of Harkness (July)  DragonCon (September) Next episode: The Sword: Sections 1-4 inclusive Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Get merch: tar-valon-or-bust.printify.me/products and northingtron.redbubble.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which this very short section gives Jenn and Preeti so many feelings, especially about high fantasy and how Stewart does (and doesn't) write it. And horses! CASSIEL’S SERVANT by Jacqueline Carey Next episode: The Search: Sections 9-11 inclusive Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Get merch: tar-valon-or-bust.printify.me/products and northingtron.redbubble.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which Jenn and Preeti love this new, fancy-free Merlin, at least until things get EXTREMELY uncomfortable with Morgause. Next episode: The Search: Sections 6-8 inclusive Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Get merch: tar-valon-or-bust.printify.me/products and northingtron.redbubble.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In between all the descriptions of trees and Arthur lustily wailing, there's some really interesting stuff -- song callbacks, Merlin's "gap year", Mary Stewart's version of known characters ... and then some real weird descriptions of women. Next episode: The Hollow Hills, Book 2: The Search, Sections 1 - 5 Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Get merch: tar-valon-or-bust.printify.me/products and northingtron.redbubble.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which not that much happens actually, despite a lot of build-up, and Jenn and Preeti talk about narrative and meta-narrative, anxiety and prophecy, and lots of interesting parallels. Next episode: The Hollow Hills, Book 1: The Waiting, Sections 10 - 14 Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Get merch: tar-valon-or-bust.printify.me/products and northingtron.redbubble.com Supernatural: Valentine's Day Oneshot Strange Tails Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which Preeti and Jenn return to the world of Mary Stewart's Arthurian Saga, can't remember very much, are gob-smacked by how it starts, and have a lot of theories and questions. Also, big love for Ralf! Next episode: The Hollow Hills, Book 1: The Waiting, Sections 5 - 9 Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Get merch: tar-valon-or-bust.printify.me/products and northingtron.redbubble.com Supernatural: Valentine's Day Oneshot Strange Tails Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which Jenn and Preeti work their way through The Green Knight by David Lowery, starring Dev Patel, with sidebars into Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by The Gawain Poet! So many colors! So many vignettes! So many choices (or lack thereof!!!) Next episode, sometime in January 2026: The Hollow Hills, Book 1: The Waiting, Sections 1-7 Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Get merch: tar-valon-or-bust.printify.me/products and northingtron.redbubble.com Preorder SUPERNATURAL: Valentine's Day Special from your local comic book shop: https://www.dynamite.com/htmlfiles/viewProduct.html?PRO=C72513036287201011 Read STRANGE TAILS #1 on Marvel Unlimited now! https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/134670/strange_tails_infinity_comic_2025_1 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which Preeti and Jenn revisit Guy Ritchie's King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, which is actually two different movies (one of which is actually a video game), and possibly the least "King Arthur" Arthurian movie ever created. Listen as they talk female characters, meta-narrative, folk songs in fantasy properties, and more. The Devil & The Huntsman, by Sam Lee and Daniel Pemberton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGnfFW-vyzU&themeRefresh=1 Jenn's Note: Also! We completely forgot until after we stopped recording that this episode is basically the 5-year anniversary of TVOB! Seems weirdly fitting, somehow. Next episode, Mid-December: The Green Knight Join Preeti at Barnes & Noble in Atlanta for a Romance panel! Slash, The Game: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/148209/slash-romance-without-boundaries Get more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.com More from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.org Get merch: tar-valon-or-bust.printify.me/products and northingtron.redbubble.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.