Transcript
Speaker: What are you reading this autumn, and what happens when there is no sword to theft?
Speaker: to Mythic Mirror, in the podcast for lovers of myth and fantasy who want to live magical and fulfilling lives. I am your host, Mary Sikiho. I am your co-host, Carolina Carter. And today we're talking about Theft of Swords.
Speaker: So this is the first book that we are doing that has been a recommendation from a listener. Yay, thank you for recommending. Yay, so this is one that neither one of us have read before, and we're very excited to start. It's a trilogy that is part of a whole series, so it's like standalone but inside of an interwoven world.
Speaker: Yes, and I'm going to read the back because this is a spoiler-free episode, and I want you to know that we're not going to talk about anything that's not on the back. So I'm going read the back, and then you'll be like, okay, that's spoiler-free.
Speaker: Royce Melbourne, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles. Until they are hired to pilfer a famed sword, what appears to be a simple job finds them framed for the murder of a king and trapped in a conspiracy that uncovers a plot far greater than the mere overthrow of a tiny kingdom.
Speaker: Can a self-serving thief and an idealistic swordsman survive long enough to unravel the first part of an ancient mystery that has toppled kings and destroyed empires?
Speaker: And so begins the tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend. Well, Hidden talent.
Speaker: Who knew? Thank you.
Speaker: I'm going to have you read all my books out loud. I am going to read all your books. Oh, yes. Oh, maybe I'll have you read my book. You could be the narrator. Shut up.
Speaker: I would be honored. You to do it for free? Yeah. Okay, good. right, let's set the scene. We've got a fairly medieval feeling atmosphere. What I like about this book for Autumn is it's got sort of like a whodunit vibe. Yes. And it takes place in Autumn.
Speaker: So it's perfect. Perfect Autumn reading situation. um The thing I love most so far is that I have no idea what's going on or what's going to happen next. In a good way. In a good way. It's not confusing.
Speaker: But what it is, is as soon as you think you can see the path ahead, you can see the road that the story is going to take, suddenly... bit One of the characters does something. Like, wait, what? Now what's going to happen? Yeah.
Speaker: And even when you think they've given away the plot, it changes again. You're like, well, yeah I was wrong about that. So my misguided guesses and predictions are going to be even better this round. Yeah. So where do you think the story is going to go?
Speaker: Guess number one. Okay, here's guess number one. and These are like, I don't know. Overall plot, I have no idea. Yeah. Guess number one, I think that Royce is an elf. Hmm.
Speaker: I think he definitely has some kind of connection. Some way. Let's set the stage, because these people have not read. Oh, I know, but... So this is the hard thing. So we have read first seven chapters. Six half chapters. and a half chapters.
Speaker: there is already things that happen that... I can't tell you. are surprising. Yeah. Yes. So we don't want to tell you. So this is harder than usual to do a beginning episode. But here is our general cast of characters. We have two thieves, Royce and Hadrian.
Speaker: We are going to talk about them. We have a prince. His name is Alric. His sister, Arista. We can talk about her. These are just characters in a book. These are not giveaways. And we have a monk named Myron.
Speaker: So far. In this very beginning, who is your favorite?
Speaker: Oh, I mean, it's a toss-up between Royce and Hadrian. They they are they are the duo that you want. They are the Merry and Pippin given the main stage in a book. Like that banter and that one of my favorite things. So these two thieves, one of the things that they argue about and come back to is they're like, every time they make a big robbery,
Speaker: Mm-hmm. Theft. They want to go and do an honest business together, but they can't think of anything that they would both like. I actually highlighted a page because they mention this at the beginning of the book, and then it's not mentioned again, on page 81.
Speaker: eighty one They gotta to be as good. Hadrian tilted his head back to catch the full light of the sun on his face. Maybe we should be fishermen. Fisherman, Royce asked dubiously.
Speaker: It's pretty nice, isn't it? I never realized how much I liked the sound of water lapping against the boat before. I'm enjoying this. The buzzing of a dragonfly, the sight of a cat... Ah, see, I'm fired. The sight of the cat tails and the bank drifting lazily by.
Speaker: Fish don't just jump into the boat, you know. Royce pointed out, you have to cast nets, haul them in, gut the fish, cut off their heads and scale them. You don't just get to drift.
Speaker: Putting it that way makes it sound oddly more like work. Hadrian scooped a handful of water from the river and splashed it on his warm face. He ran wet fingers through his hair and sighed contentedly.
Speaker: pacific i just love I'm sure it'll come back again. It's like always trying to think of what they're going to Yeah. Yeah, because who wants to actually work? not That doesn't sound fun.
Speaker: i do I do enjoy their banter, and I enjoy... That they both feel like adults. Like, there's a moment when
Speaker: they have empathy that you know that they have because of experience. and And they don't need to even say anything to each other. It's like they just share a look and there's complete understanding for someone going through the first experience huge terrible tragedy of their life and and this other person a young person is an idiot an idiot oblivious to what's going on you know even a bit you know self-centered even and these two it just yeah it's just like this tiniest moment between the two of them they don't neither one says anything But you can feel the weight of their experience in just their shared look.
Speaker: Yeah, and you can kind of settle into the book in that way, whereas feel like a lot of fantasy is very young characters that are kind of whiny and that that kind of grate on your nerves sometimes. So it is like sort of settling in this strange way to read like grownups. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: um And then going back to the setting, this is... yeah it's It's a setting that I think has been made fun of a lot recently of a medieval Europe type feel.
Speaker: If you're tired of medieval Europe, read these five books or whatever. And I always... i feel like I'm never tired of a setting. I'm tired of writing that it might not be great. I'm tired of... ah stories that aren't unique or characters that aren't unique. But I think the setting, if done well, I can read hundreds of books in ah in a medieval Europe setting. Hundreds of books in a medieval Egypt setting. you know yeah It's all about the writing, the characters, and the world, even though the setting can feel a certain, you have a familiarity of, okay, these are, you know, we've got swords, daggers,
Speaker: Now we have ah you know the magic systems starting to appear. They are horses, carriages. That's the level of technology. I feel comfortable in this. There's some familiarity.
Speaker: But the uniqueness comes in in the rest of the way the world is and the history that you learn about yeah and the religion that they have. And all of that is totally unique. So it doesn't feel like a cookie cutter book in any way. And I think that's what people get sick of.
Speaker: Yeah, same with this book as with the Unicorn Hunters. I wasn't sure magic existed. And it's just being slowly hinted at and brought in that maybe it used to exist more, but it definitely still does a little.
Speaker: And then, you know, they introduced the religion. which is very interesting. We can go into that more later. um And then like at some point you hear them say the word wizard, and the but that there aren't wizards anymore. and just i love i love the pace at which I've been introduced to this world.
Speaker: So before we get into the religion of it own to the religion of it all, oh wait, first I get to say who my favorite character was. I'm so sorry. Is so far. Yes.
Speaker: And it might surprise you. It's the monk. Oh, that doesn't surprise me at all. And here's why. Because I think, so this monk, this is the first time he's left his monastery since he was four years old. He has no idea of the world outside except through his books.
Speaker: And what I thought was unique and has depth to it is the way you learn about how his life has been and and what, how he sees the world.
Speaker: and And it's, they deal with the idea of cloister in an actually very, when he's describing his life, he has so much love for it. And
Speaker: you don't feel at all claustrophobic. You understand why he hasn't left the monastery since he was four. He has had everything he wanted. and the way his brain works and the way his life has been, you can feel the deep satisfaction and fulfillment that he got from his life in the monastery.
Speaker: And then now he's out in the world and he doesn't have... Like, so often the character that is a little bit childlike,
Speaker: with wonder can can start to get a little annoying because it's like they, I don't know, sometimes it can be treated as almost just they're only there for comic relief. But with him, he's he's got the the depth and humanity and and he and the dichotomy of he knows so much of history and he's so much smarter than everyone else in certain ways. And then and he's not immature. And he's not immature. it hasn't been He just has this this childlike wonder. and and he And he so enjoys these experiences that you enjoy it through him. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. I have been very much enjoying his character. Yeah. All right. Now, before we jump into the rest, we are going to do a Discworld Delight.
Speaker: Here we go. Sorcery. Coin? Must be sorcery. Half a brick in a sock is always fashionable. Sorcery. Sorcery. Sorcery and... Sorcery. Mary?
Speaker: May I? Yes, you may. Could this be the book? Could this be the book? It is. Sorcery. is indeed sorcery. Alright, for this week...
Speaker: Maybe we should have Carolina read. Based on my last reading, um I think I'm um a one-shot wonder? A one-time wonder? What's that called? One-hit wonder. One-hit wonder. Thank you. ah You know you don't you can't remember because that's not what you are. I'm a shooting star.
Speaker: I just saw one the other night. Did you make a wish? No, I was too surprised. Because it was actually, like it was like sunset. It wasn't even nighttime yet.
Speaker: That's magical. i saw It was so bright that that's why I, yeah. Is that your spark of the week? Shoot. Probably. I totally forgot about you. That's pretty good. Do you know what's funny about you using a dollar bill as a bookmark? Is that it's cheaper than bookmarks?
Speaker: Yes. I thought that as I put it in.
Speaker: What was that all about? He was talking about the theater. said Maledict. What's that? An abomination unto Nuggin, of course, said the vampire. It'd take too long to explain, dear child.
Speaker: People pretending to be other people to tell a story in a huge room where the world is a different place. Other people sitting and watching them and eating chocolate. Very, very abominable.
Speaker: I would like to eat chocolates in a great big room where the world is a different place, mumbled Lofty, sadly.
Speaker: Can i talk about the religion for a little? Please. um they really lay it out for you, which I enjoy. And it seems like it's important. And so, first of all, we have Erebus, who is the father, the main god, the big god. And then he has four children, Feral, Drom, Marabor, and Muriel.
Speaker: Feral, and this is also how you're introduced to the idea of more magic in the world, because as they're describing the religion, you're understanding that it's interwoven with magic. So Feral... He created magic and elves.
Speaker: Drome created craftsmen and craftsmanship and dwarves. Marabor created man and Muriel created animal, birds and fish.
Speaker: Is this a bit sexist? Perhaps we're not going to get into that right now. She's like Mother Nature. Oh, I feel better already. Yeah. All right. Then we get into things that are going to make me feel worse already. Yeah. Yeah. It gets rough, this religion. But it's not. It's very Greek of them. it You know, that is what I was thinking. It did feel very Greek. So, unfortunately... Which is still rough.
Speaker: Erebus does get drunk and force himself on his daughter, Muriel. Yuck. And that results in the birth of Uberlin, who is darkness. Yes.
Speaker: Or who created darkness. Would you wonder how he had these children to begin with? Like who's their mom? I don't know. But here's the important part. Maybe we'll find out. Maybe that's your prediction.
Speaker: There's another goddess out there that has been erased. That would be cool. That would be cool. right. So then we have this other god, Uberlin of darkness. Yes.
Speaker: who's probably going to be very important later on, but mainly what we find out and with the religion is that Marabor sent down Nefron? Nefron?
Speaker: Novoron? Yeah, I was saying Novoron. Novoron, who is his son. incarnated as a man to help men because dwarves and elves were taking over. Oh, and then we find out Umberlin also created goblins in the darkness. Right. So Umberlin creates goblins and then that's shoving the dwarves up out of the earth because they're having to fight goblins. And also important, ah the three gods kill their father because of what he had done.
Speaker: But the rumor is he's not dead because God still died. He's wandering the earth. So so some people still believe he's alive. Some people don't. I think that the wizard is Erebus.
Speaker: Ooh. Wandering earth. Well, I told you my predictions are wrong. That doesn't keep me from having them. I love them. I loved every single one i should write these down so we can revisit them after we're done. Find out how wrong I was. We won't.
Speaker: So that creates our religion. So then the there's the older religion that only worships Marabor, and then there's the newer religion that worships Novoron as well as Marabor. Because Novoron united all of the kingdoms of man. This is important, so write this down. his into the Into an empire. And then was... Destroyed. Yes. So, the the Church of Nevron is looking for the heir to put the empire back together.
Speaker: So this is where the religion starts to affect the politics of the world, which I always think is cool. Yeah, yeah. Very cool. So we've interwoven religion, magic, and politics...
Speaker: into a murder mystery series, into a fantasy series that is set in the fall. So if you're not convinced, be convinced. Be convinced. And read along with us. yeah I don't... So do you think we're going to meet or find out who the heir is in this book? I know we will in the trilogy. Oh, no. It's Royce.
Speaker: Oh, you think it's Royce? Elf heir. He's an elf. And he's the he There's just... As you will see when you read, something very mysterious about Royce. There is. He's not quite human.
Speaker: Not at all. Yes. He can move very quietly. Very quickly. it can disappear into darkness. He is Uberlin!
Speaker: Wait, now he's the bad god? Well, he's not bad. He's just... He created goblins. Probably on accident.
Speaker: And are the goblins like the goblins in Terry Pratchett? Because then we can't. We can't assume any assume anything. Don't say it. what What was I going to say? I don't know, but I got nervous.
Speaker: I got very nervous. That's just my natural state. I wrote, who's lying? with Lying underlined twice and two question marks. That's true. In the beginning, already, we've had to wonder. We've been given multiple narratives about and we And unreliable narrators. Yeah.
Speaker: Also kind of a mystery situation. Yes, yes, yes. And dealing with some ancient history now coming into play. Yeah, which I also love.
Speaker: And I meant to say this earlier. apologize. I'll say it now. We have talked a lot about Royce. I deeply love Hadrian and want- want he wants so desperately to be good and he is very good.
Speaker: But it's funny because when he's trying to be good, he's usually making a mistake, but you watch him just be good all the time. and That he's a very good person. Yes. And even, and he's, he's living, you know, so to speak a moral occupation of thievery, suppose, I suppose. But when you're dealing with,
Speaker: a corrupt nobility that are all just steving from each other in power politics. It's like, might as well make some money off of these people. So when he finds, that is his Achilles heel, because when he finds something that seems like a worthy cause, he can't help himself because someone else, he's sick of just making money off of, no, he really wants to do something good.
Speaker: Yeah. So, it up. Read along. You have two weeks. Now, it is... Pick that book up again. She a thick boy. So we might... I think this could be, with this book here, could be the start of our one month.
Speaker: o So this would be our book for October. And if you're listening, dear reader, this book is at least two and a half inches. i that you read I thought you were going to say it like but four finger widths. It's a little over three finger widths.
Speaker: a Depending on your fingers. Is it four for you? I think so. Do I have fat fingers? No. You're also taller than me. but we don't What does that have to do with my fingers? It's about three and a half for me.
Speaker: Yeah, not quite four. well Well, now that we've discussed fingers. Yeah, speaking of, what's your spark of the week?
Speaker: I don't like that segue. Sorry. Let me try again. no Nope. All right. My spark of the week is, well, anytime I get to hear you perform live and see you perform live is always a lot of fun. You're going make me cry. Yeah.
Speaker: It was, it was, I got to watch her band yesterday, last night. And it was lovely. She's a great singer. You wouldn't know it. No, I'm kidding.
Speaker: If you liked hearing her narrate the back of the book, go search so the Sleepless Elite music. And hear sing. It's wonderful.
Speaker: And my okay second spark of the week is, um I think this is because i have been celebrating the Robins all year. And they've been my spark so many times. They have decided that their yearly fly south clan gathering that happens i don't is here. they We have more Robins than I've ever seen in my life.
Speaker: And they have been living at our house for this whole week. Every morning, I look outside with our little pond area. um it's It's not a real pond. It's like a stock pond.
Speaker: One beautiful. I'll make a pond. I'm anchoring. You are anchoring pond. Pond energy. I like it I think we have like 20 robins. Yeah, I saw them when I got here. that's It's impressive. It's an impressive robin situation. I've never seen so many. Anyway, so that's me nerding out on robins. It is great. My robins are great. So how about you? Okay. um I did have a show last night. And I would like to point out that this show was probably like an hour and 20 minutes away from where Mary lives. And I had invited her. And I did not expect her to become um to come because it was so far away and late and a school night. Wait, neither one of us are in school.
Speaker: Yeah, but it's still a school night. And then I just looked. I was on stage and I looked out. it sucked.
Speaker: I saw it in the audience and it just meant so much to me and I just felt very blessed and I you know, I had lovely friends and family show up and I also went to bed really late which is why I'm crying. This is what happens when I get over tired. I think I'm a little bit tired. I'm a little bit tired but it just meant so much to me and that's my spark.
Speaker: no That's nice. All right. Well, this is a short episode because we don't want to give anything away. Yeah, short and sweet. Short and sweet. Get you into it. Yeah, come read it with us.
Speaker: Have a happy October. Join our book club. Yeah. Oh, we do have an actual book club on hey Fable. The Fable app. Come join us over there.
Speaker: We're chatting about it. You can make comments on each chapter so that people... don't get spoilers. Yeah. So you can say whatever you want in the comment for that chapter.
Speaker: So come over and join us. It's pretty fun. And as always, we are so happy and grateful to be spiraling through this universe with all of you. It's not always easy, but no good story ever is.
