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In 2013, Alex Shaw published a small novel called The Cartographer’s Handbook, the first in a series called The New Century Multiverse. The premise is alt history, where post-Civil War America is suddenly overcome with a plague of dangerous monsters that overwhelm the Reconstruction, and bring the nation to its knees. The series is not about its fall, however, but about the heroes that help bring it back from the brink, and step into a wider world that is not the one they knew. New mysteries to unlock, magics to discover, and worlds to explore. Ten years later, the New Century Multiverse is now thirteen books strong, with more on the way. It has had 2 major story arcs, an Avengers style coming together of the heroes of its various books, and multiple worlds and genres to explore. This is its first fan podcast. Through The Wind Door is a deep dive exploration of the novels and their corresponding audiodramas, along with interviews of the cast and creators. Accessible to new readers and long time fans, join Greg and Toby as they share thoughts about this engaging series.
Episodes
Sunday Jul 19, 2020
Sunday Jul 19, 2020
"... and what Lucy says in response to this isn't a solution. She doesn't say it is. But... it is something small. Achievable, and helpful. And it's that little glimpse of hope in the darkness that I not only like to hold onto... I need it."
The second half of Episode 7 ended up being much shorter than expected. Once more I used my editing shears liberally, and Toby contributed in a major way to say things more concisely, emotionally, honestly. But I think this one ends on the hope that Alex invests in his works, and moreover, we've got another batch of outtakes at the end for some laughs.
We talk about Doris Cooper, Katherine Holloway, and Joanna Grey. We've got some more surprise Elton John, discussion about why combining elements to create new stories is always helpful when done well, and narrative voice. Most of all, we talk about why a hat can be so important and hard hitting. As always, we bring the feels.
#BlackLivesMatter
#WrathMonth
"World on Fire" - Sarah McLahlan
"My Father's Gun - Elton John
The New Century Multiverse Website:
https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com
The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:
https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/
Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/
Intro is "The Talons of Adventure, The Antlers of Romance" by Doctor Turtle of the Free Music Archive
Outro is "Satellite Call" by Sara Bareilles
Monday Jul 13, 2020
Monday Jul 13, 2020
"They want to keep us chasing/their money and greed/but happiness/oh, I know is free/don't curse the darkness/just be a light/let it shine for the heartless/let it shine through the night." - Tash Neal
Welcome to a brand new episode for a brand new story! The next two episodes cover chapters 1 through 5 of Secret Rooms: Definitive Edition. Like Episode 6, I cut this one into two halves because of length, and also due to additional editing time. Between changing things due to sound issues, cleaning up some wordy asides or removing parts due to feeling like they were insensitive, this is likely the most editing I have done thus far. I hope you'll agree the end product is worth it.
Today we get into some of the fundamental themes that show up in both this book and New Century as a whole: the importance of names, familial relationships both good and bad, and the metaphor of how flawed systems crack more readily when faced with something it's not able to fight easily. We also talk about the role of distaster fiction as a form of escapism during a time of very real disaster.
Be prepared: there's more politics in the pipeline. It's hard not to talk about the real world stuff that comes up when discussing New Century. The topic is baked in, especially because of the way things were getting worse around us due to the election of Trump, and what has come about as a result. But we'll try to keep it light.
#BlackLivesMatter
#WrathMonth
Recommended links for fun and profit learning:
Ian Danskin - "The Artist is Absent:Davey Wreden and The Beginners Guide"
https://youtu.be/4N6y6LEwsKc
"Where Once Poe Walked" - by H.P. Lovecraft
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Where_Once_Poe_Walked
Lindsey Ellis - "Death of the Author"
https://youtu.be/MGn9x4-Y_7A
The New Century Multiverse Website:
https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com
The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:
https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/
Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/
Intro is "The Talons of Adventure, The Antlers of Romance" by Doctor Turtle of the Free Music Archive
Outro is "Can't Hold Me Down" by GriZ feat. Tash Neal
Monday Jul 06, 2020
Monday Jul 06, 2020
"I have faced my ghosts like Rebecca has faced hers, and I am no longer afraid of this story and the emotions it brings out for me."
Part 2 of our final discussion on Let Them Go focuses on the mythological, where were come back to the Maiden, Mother, Crone archetype, but also delve into ancient Fertile Crescent myths that have a special significance to one of our show hosts.
Our story has monsters and ghosts, but what happens if we consider the story as an allegory for apotheosis? Is Rebecca regaining her life and agency not unlike a goddess coming into her own? One thing is for certain: even after the conversation is done and recorded, sometimes new insights can be found afterwards, while editing a podcast all pretty for others to enjoy.
Make sure to listen to the end, as I included some hilarious outtakes that I decided didn't fit in with the conversation, but were too much fun to throw away! (I also apologize for any background noise that sounds like I keep bumping my microphone, I don't know what the noise comes from since it's a headset, and I haven't yet figured out if there is a way to remove it, since it doesn't show up as background noise.)
#BlackLivesMatter
#WrathMonth
Recommended links for fun and profit learning:
Dan Olsen - "Annihilation and Decoding Metaphor"
The courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi
http://jewishchristianlit.com/Texts/ANEmrg/Inanna&Dumuzi.html
The Mesopotamian Underworld
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Mesopotamian_underworld
Inanna's Descent
https://www.ancient.eu/article/215/inannas-descent-a-sumerian-tale-of-injustice/
Lindsey Ellis - "Is Titanic Good, Actually?"
The New Century Multiverse Website:
https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com
The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:
https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/
Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/
Intro is "Moonrise" by Chad Crouch of the Free Music Archive
Outro is "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" by Sarah Mclahlan
Monday Jun 29, 2020
Monday Jun 29, 2020
"It's a 21st century take on an era hundreds of years removed that isn't afraid of holding gothic up to the light."
Welcome to part one of our final episode on the New Century Multiverse story, Let Them Go. Even with thorough editing, this episode ended up very long, and after the experience with our introductory episode that covered chapters 1-5, I decided not to do that to you, or myself. So our final discussion is divided into two episodes, the next to be released the following Monday.
This go around, we reflect on the story through the lens of the gothic genre, which Toby and I boned up on prior to tackling this episode. We talk about the components of said genre, and where the story plays it straight, and where it necessarily, wonderfully diverges. We learn about the subgenre of the Female Gothic, and we have a lot of laughs along the way. One of the great things about finally talking about the story as a whole is nothing is held back, but we don't have to dive too deeply into heavy subjects: we already did most of that heavy lifting.
#BlackLivesMatter
#PrideMonth
Recommended links for fun and profit learning:
The New Century Multiverse Website:
https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com
The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:
https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/
Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/
Intro is "Moonrise" by Chad Crouch of the Free Music Archive
Outro is "Bird Set Free" by Sia
Monday Jun 15, 2020
Monday Jun 15, 2020
"It is one part staggered flashback, one part semi-Kuleshov effect, and one part vivid memory."
Welcome to the episode where we finally hit our stride. We've got a whole five chapters to cover, two of which are flashbacks, and the answers to questions the readers might not have known to ask are revealed. Agency, the head versus the heart, and overcoming deep trauma, it's all on the table. Be warned, the feels are strong with this episode, and there is so much to talk about that there will be an entire extra episode covering them and the book as a whole.
More than just taking about a book we love, we also take a moment to start unpacking what it means to be a fan of something in the age of author access, and how we do our best to review and analyze something in light of that.
Spoilers for chapters 13-17.
#BlackLivesMatter
#PrideMonth
The New Century Multiverse Website:
https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com
The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:
https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/
Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/
Intro is "Moonrise" by Chad Crouch
Outro is "Outro" by Evgeny Teilor
Used under Creative Commons Licence
Monday Jun 01, 2020
Monday Jun 01, 2020
"If a weapon could be said at all to be haunted, this weapon could easily qualify. Haunted by memory, if not by spirits."
If you need a mental break from everything that's going on, join Greg and Toby for further discussion on the book Let Them Go, a story that brings us heroes that do triumph over the dark and don't give in to despair. Me? I'm fighting my despair by putting the episode out on time.
This episode may include more edits than usual: there were several vocal distortions that I don't yet know how to clean up properly, and a bunch of rambling that I replaced with more succinct passages. There's a number of heavy subjects we discuss along the way, but also get into the symbolism of a shotgun, the power of emotions and logic, and how our heroine prepares herself for the final showdown. Episode covers Chapters 10-12.
Trigger warning: this episode also discusses physical and emotional abuse on a personal and societal level.
#BlackLivesMatter
The New Century Multiverse Website:
https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com
The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:
https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/
Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/
Intro is "Moonrise" by Chad Crouch
Outro is "Outro" by Evgeny Teilor
Used under Creative Commons Licence
Sunday May 17, 2020
Sunday May 17, 2020
"... because this story acts as the starting point for this whole series, it kind of has to convey the breakdown of everything."
Greg and Toby continue their analysis of Let Them Go, with the first four chapters of Part 2 of the novel. Here we do some more analysis of our heroes, discuss the importance of titles and how you meet or subvert expectations, the use of both diegetic sound and background music... and how in a horror narrative, it can always get worse before the end.
Spoilers for chapters 6-9. Potential spoilers for Harry Potter, Pitch Black, Aliens, and John Wick.
The New Century Multiverse Website:
https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com
The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:
https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/
Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/
Intro is "Moonrise" by Chad Crouch
Outro is "Outro" by Evgeny Teilor
Used under Creative Commons Licence
Thursday May 07, 2020
Thursday May 07, 2020
"In describing gods and monsters, we are describing our values."
Greg and Toby begin their deep dive into Let Them Go, the New Century Multiverse prequel published in 2018. Analysis includes a brief dip into the gothic genre, mythology archetypes, analysis of our primary characters, and much more. Spoilers for Prologue and chapters 1-5.
Trigger warning for new readers: the inciting incident of the story involves a brief depiction of suicide. This episode does not discuss this topic in depth, as the conversation was excised to be uploaded separately to be considerate to others.
The New Century Multiverse Website:
https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com
The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:
https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/
Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/
Intro is "Moonrise" by Chad Crouch
Outro is "Outro" by Evgeny Teilor
Used under Creative Commons Licence
Wednesday May 06, 2020
Wednesday May 06, 2020
This episode explains the impetus for Through The Wind Door, the history of hosts Greg and Toby with the New Century Multiverse, a brief explanation of the series, and what we hope to accomplish.
https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com
Intro is "Moonrise" by Chad Crouch
Outro is "Outro" by Evgeny Teilor
Used under Creative Commons Licence