Sometime in the first year of my review blog, I developed a checklist which I use when reviewing sequels. It helps me qualitatively describe how they are composed, and how they interact with the surrounding books in their respective series. More recently, I added a much shorter checklist for describing the first book in a series. Full Episode Text …

Greetings! Welcome to Books That Burn. I'm Robin, welcome to another book essay about something that was too big of a thought to fit into a normal review, specifically: Why Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong is not like The Hunger Games. Please feel free to send us suggestions for future essays. Before I get started, I'd like to thank our Patron who g…

Greetings! Welcome to Books That Burn. I'm Robin, and this is the first essay I've specifically written for the podcast, to be made available first to Patrons, then to the main feed and on Reviews That Burn. Please feel free to send us suggestions for future essays. Before I get started, I'd like to thank our Patron who gets a monthly shoutout, Cas…

*This essay contains moderate spoilers for the first sixteen October Daye books, major spoilers for SLEEP NO MORE and THE INNOCENT SLEEP, and minor spoilers for Babylon 5 (S3 E4 "Passing Through Gethsemane"). Link to the original essay. INTRO (00:36) When reading SLEEP NO MORE and THE INNOCENT SLEEP by Seanan McGuire (the newest October Daye books)…

To tide you over between regular episodes, Robin reads their blog post from April 2023. ----- This is a follow-up to my review of "Feed Them Silence" by Lee Mandelo, involving some thoughts that are too personal to make sense in the review as they swiftly veer away from the text specifically and instead into a broader meta-conversation of books lik…

To tide you over between regular episodes, Robin reads their blog post from July 2022 with thoughts on the book "Singularity". You can find the original post here. The spoiler-free book review is here.Books That Burn による

Please enjoy Robin reading their blog post with some thoughts on ensemble heist stories in fiction. If you'd prefer to read it instead, you can find it here. Refer below for books of the types discussed. ----- Unplanned: THE ART OF SAVING THE WORLD by Corinne Duyvis - Parallel worlds subversion of the "big damn hero" Technically this group is unpla…

This episode we’re discussing “The Ghost Bride” by Yangsze Choo, where a young woman is engaged to marry a ghost, and it turns out he's more of a meddler than she expected from the dead. PUBLISHER: HarperAudio YEAR: 2013 LENGTH: 368 pages (12 hours 7 minutes) AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy, Historical RECOMMENDED: Yes Topic 1: Murder. Begins at (1:35), …

This episode we’re discussing “War Girls” by Tochi Onyebuchi, a story of two sisters whose lives are ravaged by war. Topic 1: Dehumanization. Begins at (1:35), CW for ableism, colorism, colonization, child abuse, medical content, body horror, war, slavery, child death, death. Topic 2: Generational Trauma. Begins at (25:29), CW for PTSD, emotional a…

This episode we’re discussing BATTLE ROYALE by Koushun Takami. This is the second of two episodes, this one deals with two characters who were damaged in different ways before the story begins. PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster YEAR: 1999 LENGTH: 617 pages (19 hours 29 minutes) AGE: Adult GENRE: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Thriller RECOMMENDED: Highly To…

This episode we’re discussing BATTLE ROYALE by Koushun Takami. This is a two-part episode, in this first part we’re discussing students dealing with isolation and loss of control in the context of a deadly game. (Part Two will release on July 31st, 2023) PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster YEAR: 1999 LENGTH: 617 pages (19 hours 29 minutes) AGE: Adult GENRE…

This episode we’re discussing “A Strange and Stubborn Endurance” by Foz Meadows. We originally recorded this under the impression that it's a stand-alone book, but the sequel (All The Hidden Paths) has been announced for late 2023. PUBLISHER: Tor Books YEAR: 2022 LENGTH: 544 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Highly Topic 1: Social Isolat…

This episode we’re discussing “Ptolemy’s Gate” by Jonathan Stroud. Really, we end up in a thematic discussion of how the main trilogy develops concepts of colonization, classism, and torture across its entire run. PUBLISHER: Listening Library YEAR: 2005 LENGTH: 501 pages (15 hours 32 minutes) AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Highly Topi…

This month we’re discussing “Mexican Gothic” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. PUBLISHER: Del Rey YEAR: 2020 LENGTH: 320 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy, Historical, Horror RECOMMENDED: Highly Topic 1: Torture. Begins at (1:35), CW for torture, confinement. Topic 2: Incest. Begins at (11:38), CW for coercion, cannibalism, incest, death. Topic 3: Eugenics. B…

This month we’re discussing “The Grace of Kings” by Ken Liu, the first book of the Dandelion Dynasty. PUBLISHER: Saga Press YEAR: 2015 LENGTH: 640 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Highly Topic 1: Intimidation/Murder. Begins at (1:35), CW for poison, injury detail, torture, suicide, murder, animal death. Topic 2: Sexism. Begins at (18:25…

This episode we’re discussing “Hench” by Natalie Zina Walschots. It's a story of using spreadsheets to show that the destructive "heroes" are the real villains. PUBLISHER: William Morrow YEAR: 2020 LENGTH: 416 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Superheroes RECOMMENDED: Highly Topic 1: Murder. Begins at (1:30), CW for murder. Topic 2:…

This month we’re discussing “A Blade So Black” by L.L. McKinney, the first book in the NightmareVerse trilogy, retelling Alice in Wonderland with a Bi Black girl from Atlanta, Georgia. PUBLISHER: Imprint YEAR: 2018 LENGTH: 384 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Highly Topic 1: PTSD. Begins at (1:35), CW for racism, police brutality,…