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Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Mercy of Pods, a podcast about The Captive's War by James S.A. Corey, hosted by Brigid & Clint. Episode 31 is a spoileriffic overview of our first read of The Faith of Beasts, the second novel in the series, published just a few days ago! This episode comes to you from our UNDISCLOSED SECRET LOCATION (that we will never reveal) where we read the book together with friends.  In this episode: We give our off-the-cuff impressions of the wonderous and amazing book that completely reframes everything we ever thought about anything.Brigid takes a well-earned victory lap for nailing the most important theory we ever put forth: the Jessyn-Irrina ship.Clint is blown away by surprising revelations about Campar and details why the final reveals about the deathless don't necessarily mean his Trap World theory is dead.The Swarm experiences gender euphoria, and we all learn to appreciate baby factories.We draw connections between Human, Lothark, Deathless, and Carryx societies while saying hello to some old friends (hi Corval!) and greeting some new ones (hi giant slug!).We give a rundown of what we learned from the JSAC subreddit AMA and lay out a plan for covering TFOB completely.Join us next time when we give our hot takes and first impressions of The Faith of Beasts. Follow the Mercy of Pods on social media at themercyofpods, or email us at [email protected]. Logo by Matt Howse. Music is Push The Button by Sid Luscious and the Pants. Read Brigid's stuff here. All our links

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Mercy of Pods, a podcast that is normally about The Captive's War by James S.A. Corey, but today we are finishing our coverage of the second book from main Expanse narrative with the last set of chapters of CALIBAN'S WAR, also by James S.A. Corey. This episode is spoilers for the entire Expansiverse!    In this episode: James Holden for the first and surely final time does something insanely stupid and heroic, and gets away with it!Bobbie faces her demons, the Creature, and experiences some truly disgusting body horror.Prax finally finds Dr. Strickland and Amos decides he should maybe do something about some of this.Chrisjen Avasarala gets an unwelcome promotion and has a very welcome little convo with Jules Pierre Mao.Naomi finds out that Jim's parents are racist and we maybe learn why they decided not to have kids.Clint talks about problem solving and shooting first.Brigid details how Caliban's War is about mourning, loss, and the end of history. It's MILLER TIME BABYEEEJoin us next time when we do quick reacts for THE FAITH OF BEASTS, omg omg new TCW content omg. Follow the Mercy of Pods on social media at themercyofpods, or email us at [email protected]. Logo by Matt Howse. Music is Push The Button by Sid Luscious and the Pants. Read Brigid's stuff here. All our links

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Mercy of Pods, a podcast that AT LONG LAST is about The Captive's War by James S.A. Corey, hosted by Brigid & Clint. Episode 29 is a SPOILER FREE preview of The Faith of Beasts, the second novel in the series, due to be published in under a week!   In this episode: We give an overview of the podcast's structure for new listeners and talk about some of the main theories we've developed so far. We lay out our plan to gaslight everyone when TFOB proves those theories wrong. Brigid wonders about the importance of religion in the story, and gives her illicit romantasy recommendations.Clint offers a theory about MacBeth and talks about why Ekur-Tklal is actually the universe's greatest hater.We compare and contrast how The Captive's War and the Expanse deal with the differences between story and plot.The plan for covering The Faith of Beasts is laid out in detail. Join us next time when we give our hot takes and first impressions of The Faith of Beasts. Follow the Mercy of Pods on social media at themercyofpods, or email us at [email protected]. Logo by Matt Howse. Music is Push The Button by Sid Luscious and the Pants. Read Brigid's stuff here. All our links

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Mercy of Pods, a podcast that is normally about The Captive's War by James S.A. Corey, but today we are continuing our coverage of the main Expanse narrative with the sixth set of chapters of CALIBAN'S WAR, also by James S.A. Corey. This episode is spoilers for the entire Expansiverse!    In this episode: Bobbie and Chrissie board the Roci, and hilarity ensues as the crew try to figure out how to deal with the big woman and the loud grandma.Chrisjen wields the full weight of her soft power to avoid getting obliterated by Nguyen's fleet and cuts off Errinwright at the knees.The Martians ride in to the rescue as we get the hugest space battle of the series (so far).Holden is thwarted by democracy.Clint gushes over Bobbie's preparations for battle and death.Brigid crushes the summary of this penultimate part of book two.Join us next time when we cover the seventh and final part of CALIBAN'S WAR, where we find out who is that guy. Follow the Mercy of Pods on social media at themercyofpods, or email us at [email protected]. Logo by Matt Howse. Music is Push The Button by Sid Luscious and the Pants. Read Brigid's stuff here. All our links

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Mercy of Pods, a podcast that is normally about The Captive's War by James S.A. Corey, but today we are continuing our coverage of the main Expanse narrative with the fifth set of chapters of CALIBAN'S WAR, also by James S.A. Corey. This episode is spoilers for the entire Expansiverse!    In this episode: We talk a little TFOB in advance of publication in one (1) month!Naomi and Sam Rosenberg become roommates. This is probably not a euphemism? Jim Holden makes an interesting career choice, but he survives by Posting Through It.Prax sets up an extremely successful gofundme, in some respects at least.Bobbie introduces herself to the crew of Jules-Pierre Mao's pleasure yacht. Brigid triples down on #timidike ship, and tells the funniest joke in this podcast's history.Clint walks back his previous take on this book's pacing and explains the concept of comity. Avasarala takes the weight of many worlds on her shoulders, sounds cool while doing it. Join us next time when we cover the sixth part of CALIBAN'S WAR, where the Roci Crew face down the UN and Martian fleets. Follow the Mercy of Pods on social media at themercyofpods, or email us at [email protected]. Logo by Matt Howse. Music is Push The Button by Sid Luscious and the Pants. Read Brigid's stuff here. All our links

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Mercy of Pods, a podcast that is normally about The Captive's War by James S.A. Corey, but today we are continuing our coverage of the main Expanse narrative with the fourth set of chapters of CALIBAN'S WAR, also by James S.A. Corey. This episode is spoilers for the entire Expansiverse!    In this episode: Bobbie Draper plays her hand at espionage, is unsurprisingly very good at it.The Roci crew discover something special hiding on their ship, and the results are a banging good time.Prax saves the crew by applying his botany superpowers.Avasarala watches Venus toy with humanity, and realizes she's being toyed with herself.Brigid talks Romans and Goths and other myths of antiquity.  Clint gets to talk about Varys's Riddle and refuses to give legal advice. Soren has a no good very bad day. Join us next time when we cover the fifth part of CALIBAN'S WAR, where Bobbie and Chrissie take a luxury cruise. Follow the Mercy of Pods on social media at themercyofpods, or email us at [email protected]. Logo by Matt Howse. Music is Push The Button by Sid Luscious and the Pants. Read Brigid's stuff here. All our links

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Mercy of Pods, a podcast that is normally about The Captive's War by James S.A. Corey, but today we are continuing our coverage of the main Expanse narrative with the third set of chapters of CALIBAN'S WAR, also by James S.A. Corey. This episode is spoilers for the entire Expansiverse!    In this episode: BOBBIE DRAPER AND CHRISJEN AVASARALA MEET AT LAST.Just like Han, Prax shoots first. Hilarity ensues!We get one of the few chapters that takes place Out In The World On Earth before the rocks drop, and it's a fascinating exploration of Red State/Blue State perceptions vs. realities. Holden orders some casual murders.Amos dies for the first time (Ding!)Clint talks about political philosophy, childhood trauma, and the banality of government work.Brigid explains how Holden wobbles between Captains Shackleford and Ahab, and details how all of our main characters are missing the forest through the trees. The Gang Escapes Ganymede, but no one escaped trauma. Join us next time when we cover the fourth part of CALIBAN'S WAR, where the Roci Crew have a lil stowaway. Follow the Mercy of Pods on social media at themercyofpods, or email us at [email protected]. Logo by Matt Howse. Music is Push The Button by Sid Luscious and the Pants. Read Brigid's stuff here. All our links

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Mercy of Pods, a podcast that is normally about The Captive's War by James S.A. Corey, but today we are continuing our coverage of the main Expanse narrative with the second set of chapters of CALIBAN'S WAR, also by James S.A. Corey. This episode is spoilers for the entire Expansiverse!    In this episode: Prax is having a real REAL bad time, fighting his way through starvation until he finds his Knight in martian armor: James Holden.Bobbie is trying to muscle her way through PTSD, which is never a bad idea.Avasarala works her magic to defang Admiral Nguyen, and begins to suspect that some people she's working with may not be telling her the unvarnished truth. Brigid explains Cassandra and explores how the story reflects that the term "collateral damage" is insufficient to explain the devastation and struggle that those directly affected by war suffer. Clint tells a story about his favorite bar and how laws stop having meaning when you're faced with unprecedented circumstances, and plays his favorite game: What happens if Naomi doesn't intervene?Your hosts compare and contrast Chrissie's problem solving process with Jim's and decide which one is better. You'll never guess who they pick!Amos, Jim, and Prax happen upon a group of rogue mercenaries, roll d20 to see if they join the quest!Join us next time when we cover the third part of CALIBAN'S WAR, where some other stuff happens but also Bobbie and Avasarala meet(!!!!). Follow the Mercy of Pods on social media at themercyofpods, or email us at [email protected]. Logo by Matt Howse. Music is Push The Button by Sid Luscious and the Pants. Read Brigid's stuff here. All our links

Send us Fan Mail HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIGID! Welcome to the Mercy of Pods, a podcast that is normally about The Captive's War by James S.A. Corey, but today we are continuing our coverage of the main Expanse narrative with the first 7 chapters of CALIBAN'S WAR, also by James S.A. Corey. This episode is spoilers for the entire Expansiverse!    In this episode: We meet Roberta Draper, Praxidike Meng, Mei Meng, and Queen of Clint's Heart Chrisjen Avasarala, as the narrative expands to additional POVs, plotlines, and characters.Despite all of this, Holden is still obsessing about coffee. Also pirates or whatever.Brigid talks about the Creature, Frankenstein, Caliban, and other wonderful and terrifying literary monsters.Clint talks about government work, politics, and persuasion and gushes about the assistant TO the Undersecretary of the Executive of the United Nations.Amos grows a beard and hilariously annoys the Captain, Naomi remains insanely competent, and Alex is mostly just there.We introduce book two of the series discuss the real villain of the Universe: Capitalism. Join us next time when we cover the second part of CALIBAN'S WAR, and learn more about what is going down on Ganymede. Follow the Mercy of Pods on social media at themercyofpods, or email us at [email protected]. Logo by Matt Howse. Music is Push The Button by Sid Luscious and the Pants. Read Brigid's stuff here. All our links

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Mercy of Pods, a podcast that is normally about The Captive's War by James S.A. Corey, and sometimes it's about The Expanse but today is about the 2023 James S.A. Corey novella How it Unfolds. This episode is spoilers for the entire Expansiverse and Unfoldsiverse!    In this episode: We meet Roy Court and his former wife Anjulah as they unfold throughout the universe, discovering the beautiful and terrible possibilities of living thousands of lives on thousands of worlds.Megan Lee makes THEEE most romantic gesture in the history of humankind, and it works.Brigid explains epistolary storytelling, drops a banger GnR reference, and summarizes the wonderful timeloop of this amazing story.Clint talks about ghosting, Moore's Law, the common law, and why How it Unfolds > Project Hail Mary.JSAC makes yet another ASOIAF reference, we make some memes.Your hosts explore whether this story is in The Captive's War universe, and come down firmly on one side. Our wonderful audio engineer comes down on the other.Join us next time when we cover the first part of CALIBAN'S WAR! Do not miss it! Follow the Mercy of Pods on social media at themercyofpods, or email us at [email protected]. Logo by Matt Howse. Music is Push The Button by Sid Luscious and the Pants. Audio Engineering by QueenCorpseFace. Read Brigid's stuff here. Tip Brigid to support the pod.  All our links

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Mercy of Pods, a podcast that is normally about The Captive's War by James S.A. Corey, and sometimes it's about The Expanse but today is a Low Effort Mailbag! Everyone loves those. This episode is spoilers for the entire Expansiverse!    In this episode: We reveal the podcast's process, publishing plan, and strategy for tackling The Faith of BeastsBrigid cites her recommended books, email salutations, and nutrient slurries.Clint talks pleasant peninsulas, treating people as things, and band names.Questions about Livesuits, AI, and trap planets are answered.Someone actually freakin' tells us how many hamburgers it takes to move Eros!!! It's a lot!Join us next time when we cover HOW IT UNFOLDS! Do not miss it! Follow the Mercy of Pods on social media at themercyofpods, or email us at [email protected]. Logo by Matt Howse. Music is Push The Button by Sid Luscious and the Pants. Audio Engineering by QueenCorpseFace. Read Brigid's stuff here. Tip Brigid to support the pod.  All our links

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Mercy of Pods, a podcast that is normally about The Captive's War by James S.A. Corey, but today we are continuing our coverage of the main Expanse narrative with the final part of LEVIATHAN WAKES, also by James S.A. Corey. This episode is spoilers for the entire Expansiverse!    In this episode: Miller finally gets the girl but, as usual, she's too good for him. Holden commits some light war crimes and finally gets revenge on Venus for some reason.We travel back through the depths of Eros with our handy Macguffin, encountering many wonders of the deep.Brigid explains the literary and poetic allusions of the final portion of the book, and explores Miller's connection to J. Alfred Prufrock and Jesus H. Christ. Clint has some choice words for Holden, Immanuel Kant, and STEM majors, and draws line from Miller to Willy Loman. Your hosts compare and contrast Leviathan Wakes with The Mercy of Gods, in theme, structure, and quality. We die maybe... but if we don't die, well that'll be interesting. Join us next time when we do a low effort mailbag episode! Be included by sending us a message! Follow the Mercy of Pods on social media at themercyofpods, or email us at [email protected]. Logo by Matt Howse. Music is Push The Button by Sid Luscious and the Pants. Audio Engineering by QueenCorpseFace. Read Brigid's stuff here. Tip Brigid to support the pod.  All our links

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Mercy of Pods, a podcast that is normally about The Captive's War by James S.A. Corey, but today we are continuing our coverage of the main Expanse narrative with chapters 43 through 49 of LEVIATHAN WAKES, also by James S.A. Corey. This episode is spoilers for the entire Expansiverse!    In this episode: Holden is cranky at Miller for being cool.Miller is down apocalyptic over the loss of his job, crew, life, and most of all the love of his life (and death).We get our one and ONLY sex chapter in the entire books, and a wild boner appears, but little else. The Gang comes up with a plan to knock Eros into the sun, which takes some exciting twists and turns!Clint psychoanalyzes what Holden's polyamorist upbringing did to his brain and heart.Brigid goes linguist on lang belta and breaks down other fun stories about suicidal ideation.We talk about the rules of Golgo and shout out America's finest jurist, Judy Sheindlin. Julie begins her trip home. Join us next time when we cover the seventh and final part of LEVIATHAN WAKES, where everything turns out just fine. Follow the Mercy of Pods on social media at themercyofpods, or email us at [email protected]. Logo by Matt Howse. Music is Push The Button by Sid Luscious and the Pants. Audio Engineering by QueenCorpseFace. Read Brigid's stuff here. Tip Brigid to support the pod.  All our links

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Mercy of Pods, a podcast that is normally about The Captive's War by James S.A. Corey, but today we are continuing our coverage of the main Expanse narrative with chapters 33 through 42 of LEVIATHAN WAKES, also by James S.A. Corey. This episode is spoilers for the entire Expansiverse!    In this episode: The crew is together and on the same page and everything is going great, with the teensy exception of Jim Holden accidentally starting more interplanetary wars.We explore the Anubis and get lots of backstory on Protogen and the origin of the name of the Amon-Ra Class stealth ships. Holden acquires a Chekov's protomolecule sample. Clint wonders why none of the characters are aware of the Trump Era, and praises the authors for refraining from putting a bunch of sexual violence in the Expansiverse.Brigid delights in how Leviathan Wakes explores the found family trope, and goes long on sociopathy and how it relates to a host of characters.Everyone loves the bit about no one knowing who Fred is.The OPA performs a hostile takeover of Protogen's assets and Miller suggests some targeted terminations to trim the corporate fat.Clint talks about his pet theory about the Expanse being about humanity being the cause of and solution to all of our problems. Join us next time when we cover the sixth part of LEVIATHAN WAKES, where Julie sings the siren song to Miller, beckoning him back to Eros and the abyss. Follow the Mercy of Pods on social media at themercyofpods, or email us at [email protected]. Logo by Matt Howse. Music is Push The Button by Sid Luscious and the Pants. Audio Engineering by QueenCorpseFace. Read Brigid's stuff here. Tip Brigid to support the pod.  All our links

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Mercy of Pods, a podcast that is normally about The Captive's War by James S.A. Corey, but today we are continuing our coverage of the main Expanse narrative with chapters 25 through 32 of LEVIATHAN WAKES, also by James S.A. Corey. This episode is spoilers for the entire Expansiverse!    In this episode: Everyone Is A Winner On Eros, for a very given definition of "Winner".Miller goes all in on the love of his life, ignoring only a few of her metaphorical warts.Jim throws his chips in the pot to be a hero and pays dearly for it (again).Our two main characters are positively radiating with comradery as they make their way through a team building adventure of discovery. Miller begins the splitting of his consciousness between The Investigator and his Death Self, and foreshadows his eventual journey into oblivion. We are witness to the absolute most horrifying, stomach-churning, uncomfortable scene in the entire series: Jim's chemically-induced confession of love. Your Hosts compare and contrast Miller's crush on Julie, Holden's crush on Naomi, and The Swaaaaarrrrmm's crush on Dafyd. Brigid talks about obscure poetry, serial killers, and caked up cartoon mice.Clint wonders about the cognitive abilities of the Vomit Zombies, and continues thirsting for Mother Elise.Naomi follows orders and Holden is salty about it. Join us next time when we cover the sixth part of LEVIATHAN WAKES, where The Gang Invades A Protogen Research Station. Follow the Mercy of Pods on social media at themercyofpods, or email us at [email protected]. Logo by Matt Howse. Music is Push The Button by Sid Luscious and the Pants. Audio Engineering by QueenCorpseFace. Read Brigid's stuff here. Tip Brigid to support the pod.  All our links