Hardcover Hooligans

“This is a book written by a maniac for lunatics.” - Mc

CW: This is a sexy book, so we discuss sexual topics throughout. So don’t listen to this on speakerphone at a Wal-Mart. Or do, it would be good for our marketing maybe.

Iron Flame
By Rebecca Yarros
Published in 2023, by Red Tower Books

Spoilers
The first 200 pages of Iron Flame
All of Fourth Wing

Links:
Summary of the whole book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Flame

Thanks for Listening!
If you...

A book that has nothing at all to do with what’s happening in our world right now.
Plus, we chat about current events in our city, which are, again, entirely unrelated to this book.

Places to donate:
Stand with MN: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/directory
Monarca (legal aid): https://monarcamn.org/
Legal Aid for Ukrainian Refugees in Minneapolis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/legal-aid-for-ukrainian-refugees-affected-by-ice

CW: mention of sexual assault at 17m19s

The Word for World Is Forest
By Ursula K. LeGuin
Published in 1972, by Doubleday

It’s the book after Fourth Wing! Fifth Wing! No wait, it’s Iron Flame.
And current events might be affecting our experience of this book…

Iron Flame
By Rebecca Yarros
Published in 2023, by Red Tower Books

Spoilers
The first third of Iron Flame
All of Fourth Wing

Links:
Summary of the whole book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Flame

Thanks for Listening!
If you liked the show, please leave us a review! And if you want to contact us, shoot us an email...

We finally get to the NSFW parts of Fourth Wing! And also there is a sweet wizard fight.

Fourth Wing
By Rebecca Yarros
Published in 2023, by Entangled Publishing

Spoilers
Fourth Wing (entire book)

Thanks for Listening!
If you liked the show, please leave us a review! And if you want to contact us, shoot us an email at hardcoverhooligans@gmail.com.
And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and Tiktok if you’re into that sort of thing.

We tackle the booktok sensation "Fourth Wing" to find out just what all the hub-bub is about. Is it good? Bad? Sexy??
Maybe it could be all three.

Note: this is a re-upload in anticipation of our upcoming episodes on 'Iron Flame'

Fourth Wing
By Rebecca Yarros
Published in 2023, by Entangled Publishing

Spoilers
Fourth Wing (first half)

While there are several climaxes in this book, the one that matters unfortunately made no sense.

Note: due to the nature of fairy smut books, this episode contains discussions of sexual themes and situations. Use caution when playing out loud on the bus.

A Court of Mist and Fury
By Sarah J. Maas
Published in 2016, by Bloombury Publishing.

Spoilers
All of A Court Of Thorns and Roses
All of A Court of Mist and Fury

Links:
Summary of the book: https://acourtofthornsandroses.fandom.com/wiki/A...

Everyone's favorite fairy smut series is back! And this time with…less sex? And more PTSD?!

Note: due to the nature of fairy smut books, this episode contains discussions of sexual themes and situations. Use caution when playing out loud on the bus.

*Double note: * right at the top, Danylo mistaken describes the mode of fantasy communication that's used the Stormlight Archive, NOT the mode of communication used in the Mistborn series. It's important to him that you all know that he knows he was wrong.

A Court of Mist and Fury
By...

Cauldron boil and fry me! It's part two of our discussion of the fairy smut phenomenon! And yes, Feyre's bowels are still watery!

A Court of Thorns and Roses
By Sarah J. Maas
Published in 2015, by Bloombury Publishing.

Spoilers
All of A Court Of Thorns and Roses
Some series spoilers

Links:
Summary of the book: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses/summary/

Thanks for Listening!
If you liked the show, please leave us a review! And if you want to contact us, shoot us an...

In anticipation of the podcast's return to the world of Sarah J. Maas, here's our first episode on the romantasy phenomenon.

A Court of Thorns and Roses
By Sarah J. Maas
Published in 2015, by Bloombury Publishing.

Spoilers
A Court Of Thorns and Roses (the first half)

Links:
Summary of the book: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses/summary/

Thanks for Listening!
If you liked the show, please leave us a review! And if you want to contact us, shoot us an email at hardcoverhooligans@gmail.com. <...

After 400 years, humanity has finally recovered all their technology…including nuclear bombs! Uh oh!

A Canticle for Leibowitz
By Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Published in 1959 by J. B. Lippincott & Co.

Links:
A Canticle for Leibowitz: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Canticle_for_Leibowitz

Walter M. Miller, Jr.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_M._Miller_Jr.

Thanks for listening!
If you liked the show, please leave us a review! If it’s funny, we’ll read it on air. Guaranteed.
And if you want to contac...

We finally arrive at the first piece of true advanced technology in this novel: a lightbulb.

A Canticle for Leibowitz
By Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Published in 1959 by J. B. Lippincott & Co.

Links:
A Canticle for Leibowitz: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Canticle_for_Leibowitz

Walter M. Miller, Jr.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_M._Miller_Jr.

The Story of Job: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Job

Thanks for listening!
If you liked the show, please leave us a review! If...

No lasers, no spaceships, just a sci-fi novel about a monk who finds a grocery list. Featuring our first ever guest on the podcast!

Sorry we mentioned the new pope so many times–it was really relevant back when we recorded this.

A Canticle for Leibowitz
By Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Published in 1959 by J. B. Lippincott & Co.

Links:
A Canticle for Leibowitz: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Canticle_for_Leibowitz

Walter M. Miller, Jr.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_M._Miller_Jr.

How to...

After an unintentional summer hiatus, we’re back with the third and final installment of our short series on Borges short stories.

And oh no! It turns out a billionaire creating a fantasy planet with his friends can destroy the world.

Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius
By Jorge Luis Borges
Published in 1940 by Sur.

Links:
Borges:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Luis_Borges

Tlön, Uqbar, Orbius Tertius
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tl%C3%B6n,_Uqbar,_Orbis_Tertius

Thanks for listening!
...

If we claimed we wrote a Borges story and read it in its entirety at the end of our podcast, that would make the story infinitely richer.

Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote
By Jorge Luis Borges
Published in 1939 by Editorial Sur.

Spoilers
Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote, by Jorge Luis Borges

Links:
Borges:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Luis_Borges

Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Menard,_Author_of_the_Quixote

Thanks for listening!<...

An infinite library implies the existence of infinite Mr. Beast video transcripts.

The Library of Babel
By Jorge Luis Borges
Published in 1941 by Editorial Sur.
Part of the story collection “The Garden of Forking Paths”

Spoilers
The Library of Babel, by Jorge Luis Borges

Links:
The Library of Babel exists!
https://libraryofbabel.info/’

Borges:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Luis_Borges

The Library of Babel:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Library_of_Babel

Thanks for listening!
If you...

The moral of this story is to not bully the girl with latent psychic abilities.

CW: discussions of violence, blood, domestic abuse, various sexual stuff, misogyny, religious abuse, and I’m sure other unpleasant things.

Carrie
By Stephen King
Published in 1974 by Doubleday.

Spoilers
Carrie

Links:
Summary and info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_(novel)

Thanks for listening!
If you liked the show, please leave us a review! If it’s funny, we’ll read it on air. Guaranteed.
And if you wa...

I guess books are just video games now.

This week we cover “Dungeon Crawler Carl”, the first book in the best-selling LitRPG series of the same name.

Dungeon Crawler Carl
By Matt Dinniman
Self-published in 2020.

Spoilers
Dungeon Crawler Carl

Links:
Summary and info:
https://dungeon-crawler-carl.fandom.com/wiki/Dungeon_Crawler_Carl_(Book)

LitRPG:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LitRPG

Thanks for listening!
If you liked the show, please leave us a review! If it’s funny, we’ll read it on air...

That’s right, we read comic books now! Just kidding, it’s called a graphic novel. And this one’s about a bunch of superheroes who aren’t really that super and one blue guy who is TOO super. Get ready for morally grey characters, questionable motives, and a weird spooky pirate story.

Watchmen
By Alan Moore & David Ribbons
Published in 1987 by DC Comics.

Spoilers
Watchmen

Links:
Summary and info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchmen

The Greater Good: Analyzing Morality in Watchmen, by Jeffrey Wu
http...

We finish The Way of Kings and are left with boredomspren floating around our computers.

Plus, we read some one-star Goodreads reviews of The Way of Kings and do a quick overview of the other Stormlight Archive books.

The Way of Kings
By Brandon Sanderson
Published in 2010 by Tor Books.

Spoilers
The Way of Kings
Misc. spoilers for Words of Radiance, Oathbringer, and Rhythm of War
(marked off at the end of the episode)

Links:
Summary and info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The...

We embark on The Way of Kings, the first book in Brandon Sanderson’s magnum opus series, The Stormlight Archive.

This book dares to explore such important questions as “what if someone who was good at fighting also had depression?” and “what if big swords but no blood?”

Content warnings: discussion of depression, mentions of suicide

The Way of Kings
By Brandon Sanderson
Published in 2010 by Tor Books.

Spoilers
The Way of Kings
Some other Stormlight Archive plot spoilers (marked off near the end of the episode)

Link...

Fitz’s story finds a poetic, complex, and bittersweet ending, but all we can talk about are Prince Verity’s cool silver arms. Which begs the question: did Robin Hobb want Prince Verity to eventually become this world’s Silver Surfer?

As usual, we also read a bunch of one-star Goodreads reviews about the book.

Plus, we announce what we’ll be tackling next on the Hardcover Hooligans podcast.

Assassin’s Quest
By Robin Hobb
Published in 1997 by Voyageur Books.

Spoilers
Assassin’s Apprentice
Royal Assassin
Assassin’s Q...

Are chronic pain, sadness, social isolation, and the unbearable burden of duty worth it if it means you get abs?

The Hardcover Hiatus is over, and the boys are back to talk about the final sections of Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy.

Assassin’s Quest
By Robin Hobb
Published in 1997 by Voyageur Books.

Spoilers
Assassin’s Apprentice
Royal Assassin
Assassin’s Quest

Links:
Summary and info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassin's_Quest

Elderlings in the Stone Garden:
https://shorturl.at/8EkKK

"Huh?! They're not dead?! And now they're trying to bait me into listening to this announcement by being intentionally omnious and vague?! What the hell?!" – All of you, right now

A quick announcement by Danylo about the future of the podcast.

Our favorite teenage wolf assassin is back, but does this mean he stops getting shafted by everyone and everything in his life? No. But has he learned anything from what he's gone through? Also, no. Will he continue to make questionable decisions about his life? Yes. And we get to read about it.

Content Warnings
Mention of sexual assault

Assassin’s Quest
By Robin Hobb
Book 3 of the Farseer Trilogy
Published in 1997 by Spectra.

Spoilers
Assassin’s Apprentice
Royal Assassin
First third of Assassin's Quest

Li...

We continue to read about the fraught life of a moody teen who is slowly turning into a crazy wolf man. Believe it or not, this causes problems in his personal life.

Royal Assassin
By Robin Hobb
Book 2 of the Farseer Trilogy
Published in 1996 by Spectra.

Spoilers
Assassin’s Apprentice
Royal Assassin

Links:
Summary: https://robinhobbelderlings.fandom.com/wiki/Royal_Assassin

Image of final scene:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/KaxTxBlMQEr0n36ejcsgCc2Zatgc_lX94FjvUFt0oj_jXZp3Zxsettkbvoah5z8wF-JA-QsabcotQHq7Kgk_COzVITGSUFem0lDXk138U6...

In the previous book, Fitz bonds with a dog. In this book, he bonds with a wolf. What's the next step, the final evolution? What's the Blastoise of wolves?
These questions not answered in the episode, but it's still a fun discussion of a great book.

We're continuing with the second book in the Farseer Trilogy, Royal Assassin. And goddamit, it's even better than the first one.

And we're sorry about the weedwhacker noise in the background of Danylo's audio about halfway through. If we could go back in time and kill the weedwhacker...

This book is unbelievably good. I love Fitz and Prince Verity and they are my real life best friends.

What an incredibly breath of fresh air! The fellas finish Assassin's Apprentice and are left feeling... good? Excited for the future? Almost as if maybe they should just be reading stuff they like and not stuff that makes them want to give up their ability to read? Find out within...

Assassin’s Apprentice
By Robin Hobb
Book 1 of the Farseer Trilogy
Published in 1995 by Spectra.

Spoilers
Assassin’s Apprentice

Li...

The blurb on the back cover of this book makes it sound like it’s fantasy for babies, but it’s actually really really good.

Assassin’s Apprentice
By Robin Hobb
Book 1 of the Farseer Trilogy
Published in 1995 by Spectra.

Spoilers
Assassin’s Apprentice

Links
Summary and info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassin%27s_Apprentice

Chapter-by-chapter summary: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/robinhobbmeganlindholm/chapter-summaries-for-aa-group-re-read-t3975.html

Thanks for listening!
If you liked the show, please leave us a review! If it’s funny, we’ll read...

We dive into the mind of Robert Neville, a lonely, sexually repressed, alcoholic 1950s white man who staves off his horniness by blasting classical music and checking out books from the library.

And yeah, he’s the last man in the world. And yeah, he’s killing LOTS of vampires.

(Also did we mention he’s really horny?)

I Am Legend
By Richard Matheson
Published in 1954 by Gold Medal Books.

Spoilers
I Am Legend (books AND movie)

Links:
I Am Legend: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I...

Well, we did it. We solved the Three Body Problem.

Maybe the real Trisolaran Empire was the friends we made along the way.

Big sigh.

The Three Body Problem
By Cixin Liu
Translated by Ken Liu
First published in China as a serial in 2006, then as a standalone book in 2008.
Published in 2014 in English by Tor Books.

Spoilers
The Three Body Problem (the whole book)

Thanks for listening!
If you liked the show, please leave us a review! And if you want to...

Danylo and Mc venture into the past, to then rocket into the future in The Three Body Problem!

Things are not looking good for science, or anything else for that matter!

What could it be?? Aliens??

Yup.

The Three Body Problem
By Cixin Liu
Translated by Ken Liu
First published in China as a serial in 2006, then as a standalone book in 2008.
Published in 2014 in English by Tor Books.

Spoilers
The Three Body Problem (first half)

Thanks for listening!
If you...

We finally get to the NSFW parts of Fourth Wing!

And also there is a sweet wizard fight.

Join us as Mc leads us through the joy of audiobook listening to great performers when the actual book probably actually sucks!

Fourth Wing
By Rebecca Yarros
Published in 2023, by Entangled Publishing

Spoilers
Fourth Wing (second half)

Thanks for listening!
If you liked the show, please leave us a review! And if you want to contact us, shoot us an email at hardcoverhooligans@gmail.com.
And...

Oh boy here we go.

A book that came out in the last five years?? What has this podcast become.

This week Mc tackles the booktok sensation Fourth Wing to find just what all the hub bub is about. Is it good? Bad? Sexy??
Maybe it could be all three. Like Challengers! I guess you gotta listen to find out...

Fourth Wing
By Rebecca Yarros
Published in 2023, by Entangled Publishing

Spoilers
Fourth Wing (first half)

Thanks for listening!
If you liked the show, please...

Cauldron boil and fry me! Danylo has finished A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR), and he has some thoughts and feelings.
Maybe, just maybe, the real ACOTAR was the friends we made along the way.

A Court of Thorns and Roses
By Sarah J. Maas
Published in 2015, by Bloombury Publishing

Spoilers
A Court of Thorns and Roses (entire book, and some for the rest of the series)

Links
Read AI Jereny's wonderful book reviews: https://medium.com/@jerenymarkenz/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-by-sarah-j-maas-book-review-1283bec0de22

Thanks for listening!
...

WHY GOD WHY??? Danylo and Mc explore the #Booktok phenomenon 'A Court of Thorns and Roses', written by Sarah J. Mass. It's uh.... well it's certainly a novel!
We are trying something new! In an unexpected twist, Mc hasn't read the book. Does he have the attention span to listen to Danylo talk about lore he doesn't care about? Find out within!

A Court of Thorns and Roses
By Sarah J. Maas
Published in 2015, by Bloombury Publishing.

Spoilers
A Court Of Thorns and Roses (the first half)

Thanks for...

Danylo and Mc finally finish The Silmarillion, and with that all of J.R.R. Tolkien’s most notable work. Turin Turumbar is the most depressing man of all time, Mîm sucks, and a hidden city becomes no longer hidden in dramatic fashion.

The Silmarillion
By J.R.R. Tolkien. Edited by Christopher Tolkien
Published in 1977 by George Allen & Unwin.

*Spoilers: *
The Silmarillion
The Lord of Rings
The Hobbit

Links:
Chapter summaries: https://www.silmarillionwritersguild.org/reference/silmsummaries/home.php

Glaurung vs. Anchalagon the Bla...

The tragic saga of the Silmarils continues with Sauron doing a Battle of the Bands, a talking dog, and the coolest heist ever.

The Silmarillion
By J.R.R. Tolkien. Edited by Christopher Tolkien
Published in 1977 by George Allen & Unwin.

*Spoilers: *
The Silmarillion
The Lord of Rings
The Hobbit

Links:
Chapter summaries: https://www.silmarillionwritersguild.org/reference/silmsummaries/home.php

Lame image of Carcaroth: https://images.beastsofwar.com/2022/08/91082101-20220828151912_IMG_3158-01.jpeg

The Hunting of Carcaroth: https://www.muddycolors.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/justin-gerard-BL2017...

Danylo and Mc have a timely discussion on a movie that came out like a month ago. They discuss the differences between Frank Herbert’s novel Dune (1965), and the recent film Dune Part 2 (2024) by Denis Villeneuve, starring Timothée Chalamet and a very bald and very white Austin Butler. Does Space Elvis love knife fights? Yes, yes he does.

Dune
By Frank Herbert
Published in 1965 by Chilton Books.

*Spoilers: *
All of Dune, Dune Messiah, Dune Part 1 movie, Dune Part 2 movie
(We say at the beginning we’ll start spoiler-free, and then immed...

If you thought fantasy couldn’t get nerdier than the appendices of Lord of the Rings, let us introduce you to The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien, the "prequel" to Lord of the Rings. It is very cool. And beautiful. And also boring sometimes. Is it for everyone? No. Is it for anyone? Well…

The Silmarillion
By J.R.R. Tolkien. Edited by Christopher Tolkien
Published in 1955 by George Allen & Unwin.

*Spoilers: *
The Silmarillion
The Lord of Rings
The Hobbit

Links:
Chapter summaries: https://www.silmarillionwritersguild.org...

That’s right, the appendices of The Lord of the Rings have so much frickin’ nerd stuff we need a whole separate episode.

We’ve got some great stories like Helm Hammerhand beating everyone up, Aragorn’s dating history, and Sam getting elected mayor of the Shire every year until he dies.

The Return of the King
By J.R.R. Tolkien
Published in 1955 by George Allen & Unwin.

*Spoilers: *
All of The Lord of Rings

Links:
Summary of the appendices: https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Appendices

Tolkie...