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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
Jul 19, 2021
Jul 19, 2021
1 hr 1 min
This is going to be the last New's for a while, but I'm glad of it, because it means Alex is taking a break.
The only thing I have to say is that if this had to be the end of Phase Two, it was a hell of a note to go out on. We talk more about why this is the best homage to Back To The Future possible, discussions on wizards, and speculations for the future.
Stay tuned for outtakes at the end!
Live at Grillby's: https://youtu.be/9TwwiLAk4GM
What the Internet Did To Undertale: https://youtu.be/FFIs6LsV0a4
The New Century Multiverse Website:
https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com
Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/
Intro is "Humanity" by Scott Holmes of Free Music Archive
Outro is "Closing Time" by Semisonic
Jul 17, 2021
Jul 17, 2021
1 hr 15 min
Trigger Warning for discussion of both fictional and real world police violence.
Today we finish off thoughts on Chapter 9 and move well into 10 and 11. Our cast of topics:
- Speculation on the fact that Truth and Harry are twins
- Our thoughts on Agent Li as she is portrayed from Chapter 10 and 12
- Wondering about how certain choices were made to include historical characters like Annie even though the Wendigo outbreak would dramatically change her story
- Our thoughts on Raven, both his influences and his role in the story
- And a brief discussion on the police-led murder introduced in these chapters, and it's basis from the real world history taking place during writing
This means that technically, the episode(s?) to come will be primarily focused only on Chapter 12... or will they? The scope of our conversation when picking a range of chapters is often related, after all...
Spoilers for The Mummy (1999)
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 "One Person, Listening Now" by Doctor Turtle of FMA
Outro is "Human Beings" by Seal
Jul 11, 2021
Jul 11, 2021
49 min
Took longer than I wanted to get this out. But the main show always comes first!
As always, talking about too much detail spoils the story for the audience that has not read it! But today we dive into the discussion with even more gusto. Our love of this stories heroes and the bright and dark reflections of many familiar characters the heroes meet along the way. The ideosyncracies of telling a time travel narrative, the hardship placed on someone trying to navigate it and more. Plus, a special cameo.
Also... WWKHD? Kick ass, apparently.
EDIT: Apparently I picked the wrong version of the song that was referred to in the book, so I got the right one and reuploaded. It affects my stats, but TBH, I care less about those and more about getting this stuff out there and being true to my source. That said, if you downloaded the original, no need to redownload!
Talking Heads: Once In a Lifetime (Live) https://youtu.be/3XCp3ioDjwo
The New Century Multiverse Website:
https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com
Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/
Intro is "Humanity" by Scott Holmes of Free Music Archive
Outro is "Once In A Lifetime" by Talking Heads
Jul 10, 2021
Jul 10, 2021
1 hr 20 min
Today we begin to cover chapters 9-12 of Arlington. I say begin, because as always, our first entry always manages to focus mostly on the first chapter (though we do briefly discuss some elements of Chapter 10 as well, so, progress!) Today's topics include:
- The exploration of Frederick's absence
- Further discussion on hamartia
- Thomas being 'the angriest man [Sarah] has ever known'
- Discussion of the Arlington family, with specific focus on Truth and Thomas
At the end, instead of outtakes, we have a sober, unexpected conversation about Toby's relationship with his father, and how it culminated with his unexpectes passing nine years ago. Trigger Warning for frank discussions of familial loss and grief. But if you can hold a space for it, it's a touching stort that we even manage to relate back to New Century, and ponder its relevance for coming up at the time it did.
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 "One Person, Listening Now" by Doctor Turtle of FMA
Outro 1 is "Father and Daughter" by Paul Simon
Outro 2 is "Father to Son" by Phil Collins
Jul 4, 2021
Jul 4, 2021
56 min
Here it is, folks. Some juicy conversation on the New Century time travel story.
As always, I keep the show notes for New's light on details to avoid even more possible spoilers. I will note that something weird happened with this recording where popping noises seemed to affect the sound file in places. Given that we didn't have issues today, I am going to chalk it up to interference from the AC unit being on. I did my best to reduce the sound when the popping happens, so it's less grating at least.
As always, new New Century books often make us reflect on what came before, including our thoughts on what this story would be about based on what few things Alex said and what we knew about the story thus far. So this episode will have a lot of that, a prewritten thesis on BITAS as a whole from yours truly, and some gushing from Toby on the way it felt for him as he laid into the book at start. That's enough for one episode, so, do enjoy.
The New Century Multiverse Website:
https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com
Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/
Intro is "Humanity" by Scott Holmes of Free Music Archive
Outro is "Live To Tell" by Madonna
Jul 2, 2021
Jul 2, 2021
1 hr 1 sec
And here, the final episode on chapters 5-8. Thus far, most of our conversations seem to run long enough that there is enough material for three episodes. That does mean that it might take longer to get through a book if we keep doing three 45-55 min episodes instead of two episodes of around an hour and a half. But given the erratic nature of our recording, it works to have the content stretch. Today we cover:
- A brief exploration on British vs. American humor
- How Chapter 8 is divided - for us - between an entertaining portion and a heavier portion
- Analysis of Thomas's behavior under stress, and an unexpected conflict with his wife
- Our analysis and feelings about Colonel Tremaine
- And finally, a discussion on the naming conventions of Arlington's chapters.
This episode also contains outtakes and further conversation after the outro.
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 "One Person, Listening Now" by Doctor Turtle of FMA
Outro is "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke
Jun 25, 2021
Jun 25, 2021
55 min
As so often happens, the B episode is where we cover the most ground on our assigned chapters! (As a reminder, those include chapters 5-8) Today's topics include:
- A discussion on the real world Ulysses Grant as well as his incarnation in New Century
- Further analysis on Sarah Arlington as she interacts with Frank, General Curtis, and why she's the official Deputy Director of the NIA
- The differences in Frank's relationships with the Arlingtons
- The frustrating aspects of real world white supremacy and their role in New Century
- Discussion on the comedic and non-comedic aspects of Calvin Wilson, Jeremy Pines, and Donald McTavish
The quote history about Grant: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/02/18/barrel-of-whiskey/
More on Victoria Woodhull: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Woodhull
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 "One Person, Listening Now" by Doctor Turtle of FMA
Outro is "Rocky Mountain High" by John Denver
Jun 18, 2021
Jun 18, 2021
1 hr 7 min
Today, we begin our look into chapters 5-8, though focusing mostly on chapter 5 because of the deep dive it takes into Thomas and The Handbook once more. Our discussion includes:
- Our first introduction to Truth, and the many roles she holds in terms of connections, metaphors, and her position of authority
- The beginnings of our analysis of the novel from the perspective of literary tragedy, and a discussion on the nature of hamartia.
- Thomas's goals as regards the RSA and how the Handbook is a tool to enact them, as well as potential consequences of same
- And a discussion on the significance of positive and negative elements of Nostalgia.
OSP on Tragedy: https://youtu.be/TL4ti1EGNiw
OSP on Medea:
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 "One Person, Listening Now" by Doctor Turtle of FMA
Outro is "Shine a Little Light" by James Taylor
Jun 10, 2021
Jun 10, 2021
1 hr 3 min
This episode wraps up our discussion on Chapters 1-4 (though focusing mostly on chapters 3 and 4) and includes our thoughts on:
- The developing relationship between Frank and Thomas
- The new dynamic coming from Frank, Thomas, and Sarah all interacting together
- Learning more about Thomas as a father, rather than simply a leader or orator/writer
- What 'The Deputy Director' starts to reveal about Sarah as a character
- More discussions on communication, and musing on how what is revealed explicitly and implicitly about Thomas reflect on his interactions and the Handbook
Which isn't to say these topics won't get more play in future episodes. But every story has a beginning, and more conversations will be had as more is revealed.
The wall hanging referred to in Toby's room:
The video of Apple as shared in the outtakes:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1F8iRDmWipNBk7D4uhqoGIrH4V8K3uu-A/view?usp=sharing
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 "One Person, Listening Now" by Doctor Turtle of FMA
Outro is "If Everyone Cared" by Nickelback
Jun 3, 2021
Jun 3, 2021
53 min
Further insights as we delve into more parts of Chapters 1, 2 and 3. Today our topics include:
- The original opening lines of this novel
- Further discussion on the momentous pronouncement at the end of Chapter 1
- The new characters that Chapter 2 and 3 introduce, both historical and fictional
- How Frank uses his people skills to navigate through these new personalities
- A careful discussion about certain religious sects and the danger of lauding faith over logic
And furthermore, discussion on the dangers of this new world that come from within, rather from without, like the wendigo.
Chapter 2 is a breath of fresh air after the intensity of Chapter 1, and help set the stage for things to come in this book and beyond. It's one of my favorite parts of New Century to revisit, so we get into it with gusto.
On the Amish: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish
On the BLM protest by the 'Amish'. https://anabaptisthistorians.org/tag/black-lives-matter/
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 "One Person, Listening Now" by Doctor Turtle of FMA
Outro is "You Gotta Be" by Des'ree