plot twists

Ender’s Game

Posted on November 11, 2013

Novel Ideas returns from a work related pseudo vacation hiatus with Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. If you use any form of media that is connected to the outside world, you’ve probably seen some trailers for the recently released movie. This book has actually been our list for a long time, but we’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to discuss it. Join us this week as we discuss, with the help of Special Guest Star Kevin Smith, this old favorite. In the the episode we talk about the Orson Scott Card controversy, spoilerific plot twists, master manipulators, and whether the ends justify the means. We also touch on how six year olds act most of the time, Yakety Sax, Independence Day, and creative ways of using the word “fart.”

The music bump is “Head Games” by Foreigner. I almost went with “Yakety Sax,” but decided that “Head Games” is actually hilarious if you imagine that Ender is singing it to either Colonel Graff or the Hive Queen, depending on the verse.

Ender’s Game – A Gold Plated Fart

Recommendations:

One of the best science fiction novels ever written with special sentimental value to all three of us. Definitely read it before you see the movie, which will undoubtedly not live up to this book.

Gabs: 9/10 Not quite as pants-peeingly good as reading it as a kid, but still very, very good.

Ben/Kevin: 11/10 OMFG

This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged A Trip to Epcot Center, abridged fantasy series, acceptance, basketball connections, bugger biology, bullying, censorship, child revolution, controversy, diagramming space battles, diversity, DO NOT SHIP, dystopia, economical writing, empathy, Ender's Game, ends justify the means, fart reviews, feminism, forgiveness, Hollywood, ID4 references, layers, master manipulators, movies of books, oops lol, Orson Scott Card, penis farts, plot twists, power of love, pressure, psychopathy, questions, six year olds, social conditioning, special guest, symbolism, the internet, Valentine's strength, Yakety Sax.

Inferno

Posted on August 15, 2013

The great Harry Poddercast Extravaganza continues with… Oh, it’s over? Right. In that case, Novel Ideas is back with a non-Potter podcast for the first time in several weeks with Inferno by Dan Brown, a thriller that involves Dante and lots of obscure art knowledge. This episode also launches a new theme month, Bestseller Month, where we examine books that have sold well and recently. We would like to offer a legitimate spoiler alert for this episode, as the book has several plot twists, and even we would be less interested in the story if we had known those twists in advance. If you’ve already read it, or aren’t planning on reading it soon, tune in (Like on a dial? Maybe I don’t understand the internet yet…) to hear us discuss the aforementioned plot twists, infodumps, overpopulation, and feminism. We also talk about unlikely character pairings, victorious villains, the existence of gay people, and the consequences of monologuing. In a very special turn, we also get to experience a couple of minutes of Gabs rage. Hooray!

The music bump is from Franz Liszt’s “Dante Symphony,” which is being performed during much of the climactic scene of this book.

Recommendations:

Gabs: 5/10 If you like thrillers, read it. If you like the stuff we like, skip it.

Ben: 4/10 Pretty dull for a thriller.

Plug Alert!

Check out Epic One, a collaborative fiction project involving Gabs Roman, half of Novel Ideas. The link will take you to the first chapter of an ongoing online e-book.

This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged awkward dialogue, bad arguments, boring thrills, communication, consequences of monologuing, feminism, Gabs rage, gay people exist, gender balance, genetic engineering, infodumps, is Robert Langdon gay?, overpopulation, passion without evidence, plot contrivances, plot twists, potential sequels, rape as characterization, Robert Langdon knows everything, Savage Love, spoiler alert, unlikely pairings, vagueness, victorious villain, villains with motivation.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Posted on July 1, 2013

The first of July is here; it’s time to kick off the Novel Ideas Harry Potter Extravaganza. We open, of course, with the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. In this episode we discuss child abuse, friendship, and standard juvenile/YA themes. We also cover untagonists, wizard racism, and possible benefits of having sly people on your side. Fan geeking is relatively low this week, though we do delve into reasons why Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff probably should be more competitive for the house cup and Ben’s irritation with the rule of quidditch.

The music bump is “Goin’ Back to Hogwarts” from A Very Potter Musical. The music and lyrics are by Darren Criss and A.J. Holmes.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Recommendations:

Read it! If you’ve managed to somehow avoid it this long, check it out. It will read a little kid-ish, but it’s fun and easy to read.

This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged alternate titles, broken riddle?, child abuse, classical racism, complex characters, courage, Dumbledore the jackass, family, friendship, Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, house politics, immortality, J.K. Rowling, magical systems, orphan tropes, philosopher's stone, plot twists, quidditch issues, real life Hogwarts, the plural form of cerberus, title protagonists, untagonist, uses for sly people, wizard ignorance, wizard racism, wizard-T-F.