Reign Of Books Podcast

Listen to Episode: I want to focus on Roland now. Many unanswered questions remain about this gunslinger and his mysterious past. The world has moved on, but this hard-as-nails cowboy continues to travel the long miles of its wastelands, in search of hope or answers of some sort. As iconic characters go, he ranks up … Continue reading REIGN Ep. 50 – Bunkers, Insane Trains and Death (The Wastelands pt2/finale, Dark Tower series book3)

Listen to Episode Roland has the toughest luck. He’s been chasing the Dark Tower for years, decades, centuries even? He’s had to suffer and endure seeing the collapse of his civilization, losing all his friends, and wandering the scorched Earth trying to find his path to the Dark Tower, which he is mysteriously drawn to. … Continue reading REIGN Ep. 49: Welcome to the Rest of Your Life (The Wastelands pt1; Dark Tower series book3)

Listen to Episode: This book is “Castaway” for the space age. It’s a story of struggle and survival on a hostile world that astronaut Mark Watney is forced to make his home. A spoiler free(ish) video review is here: Man vs. Mars | The Martian BOOK REVIEW  Some of my favorite parts (spoilers ahead): when Mark had to … Continue reading REIGN Ep. 48 – There’s Only So Much I Can Do (The Martian, part 2, finale)

Listen to Episode: This book is stunning. You read the first-hand account of astronaut Mark Watney, who is stranded on Mars alone with no means of communication with Earth or hope of escape. It would take years for a rescue mission to arrive. His survival instinct is extraordinary and he uses all his experience, intellect and training … Continue reading REIGN Ep. 47 – The MacGyver of Mars (The Martian pt1)

Listen to Episode:   The conclusion to the Great Hunt was impressive with its grand stage setting and gripping confrontations. The story feels urgent with the odds seemly stacked against our group, which now faces powerful ageless forces separately and on different fronts. Spoilers: My favorite part by far is the introduction of the marauder … Continue reading REIGN Ep. 35 – Confronting Evil Head On (The Great Hunt, WOT book 2, pt3)

Listen to Episode:   (Spoiler-light) The wielding of an uncontrollable power takes Rand down a dangerous path, where many will seek to either use or destroy him. The group of friends from the Two Rivers are forced to separate and each of their journeys is amazing. The hunt itself is wild and wondrous and Rand battles foes, other … Continue reading REIGN Ep. 34 – Let’s Just Survive This in One Piece (The Great Hunt, WOT book 2, pt2)

Listen to Episode: The Great Hunt, book two in the Hugo-nominated Wheel of Time series, picks up right where the first book left off. This presents a rich exploration of the characters’ conflicts and motivations that each must face in this next leg of the journey. There’s no fast forwarding of the narrative with convenient resolutions … Continue reading REIGN Ep. 33 – Get Your Hunt On (The Great Hunt, WOT book 2, pt1)

Listen to Episode:   My buddy Jon put the question out there: Should we even finish this book? I voted yes because 1- I thought, against all hope, it might get better and 2- we couldn’t legitimately warn people away from it if we didn’t finish it ourselves. And, quite honestly, as I read on, … Continue reading REIGN Ep. 32 – I Guessed the Ending, But Who Cares (Diablo, The Sin War Book1, pt2, finale)

Listen to Episode:   Uldyssian is the hero, I think, and his friends are trying to help him, we think. The women seemingly have nothing more to do than be mysterious or fawn over him. The story goes from point A to point B, introduces some characters who are quickly dispatched, our main character develops some … Continue reading REIGN Ep. 31 – Fantasy That Fizzles Bad (Diablo, The Sin War Book 1, pt1)

Listen to Episode:   The fate of life, free will, a higher level of existence and harmony with the universe is pared down to these two simple words: Choose Again. The finale to Dan Simmons’ science fiction masterwork is shocking, poignant and one of the most grippingly emotional human stories I have ever read. I felt a … Continue reading REIGN Ep. 30 – Choose Again (Rise of Endymion, pt3, finale)

Listen to Episode:   Our characters are perpetual nomads, refugees with no home, but they are guided by a strong sense of destiny that takes them across half the populated galaxy, again. The worlds are simply amazing and we are given this deep experience of what it’s like to be in these places, to feel … Continue reading REIGN Ep. 29 – A Lifetime of Adventure and Love (Rise of Endymion, pt2)

Listen to Episode:   This is the finale to the Hyperion series. It’s a bittersweet realization to see this epic saga end knowing that these characters will leave us forever. But it’s also an exciting prospect to see this masterwork wrapped up and how Simmons deals with some weighty and ambitious issues that he has … Continue reading REIGN Ep. 28 – Unexpected Path to Destiny (Rise of Endymion, pt1)

Listen to Episode: This is the conclusion to our 3-part book discussion on Endymion, the epic 3rd entry in Dan Simmons’s Hyperion Cantos. The journey in the book is quite simply stunning – the water world of Mare Infinitus had me in Jaws-panic-mode and the ice world of Sol Draconi Septem left me ready to take … Continue reading REIGN Ep. 27 – Planet Hopping is Hard Work (Endymion, pt3)

Listen to Episode:   What do you do when you’re outgunned, outnumbered, and have slim chance of escape? What we can say, without spoiling, is that Aenea, the time-traveling 12-year-old messiah, is quite the poker player. Listen to the REIGN spoilercast to find out how the ultimate game of space tag is played out. Endymion, … Continue reading REIGN of Books Ep. 26 – A Game of Space Cat and Mouse (Endymion, pt2)

Listen to Episode: Raul is a hero I can get behind. He lives a rugged life on Hyperion, never staying in one place too long and surviving how he can as a third-class citizen on his native world. He’s confident in his own abilities, but has no prospect of traveling the stars or joining the larger … Continue reading REIGN of Books Ep. 25 – In the Future, Everything Old is New Again (Endymion, pt1)

Listen to Episode:   Master Chief’s book debut is filled with action and intense confrontations, but the narrative only gets interesting when his comrades are battling in space. Master Chief is sidelined to procedural missions mostly on the ground that don’t place him in the hero role. But we have fun discussing the continuing military cliches … Continue reading REIGN of Books Ep. 24 – Master Chief Stumbles, Keyes Takes Center Stage (Halo – The Fall of Reach pt2)

Listen to Episode:   Halo, one of video game history’s defining science fiction war epics, comes to the written page. Can it muster the same emotional resonance that the gameplay inspired in a generation? Well, if you like your military cliches, you are in luck. Saddle up for super soldier training 101.    

Listen to Episode:   This is only the end of the beginning, and it’s an incredible beginning. We are rewarded with answers to what the Dark Tower is, but we are left with a grand epic stretched out before us. I for one will follow the gunslinger and find out if he can solve this mystery … Continue reading REIGN of Books Ep. 22 – The End of the Beginning (The Gunslinger pt2)

Listen to Episode: The Gunslinger is a fascinating spectacle – rich characters, bleak landscapes, unknown forces of evil, and the gunslinger surviving the wilderness to track down the man in black. There’s a lot to sink your teeth into, and this struggle between these two adversaries is deeper than I suspect.  

Listen to Episode   This book is a coming of age story – a young boy has unfathomable burdens placed upon him as he steers the course of worlds and stands up against a would-be tyrant. His bravery comes at a high cost and he is willing to sacrifice the rare gift of true love to save countless … Continue reading REIGN Ep. 20 – How Not to Build Planets (Myst – The Book of Atrus pt2)