Book Two: Chapter 21 to the End of Chapter 40 | The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

And the books keep coming. The Queens continue reading book 5, The Fires of Heaven, in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series, starting with a discussion on whether or not Queen Marissa is truly doing okay. (We think she's mostly fine.) Queen Tay questions whether or not we'll ever get the answer to a mystery that's been bugging her since book 3. Queen Marissa discusses some of Sigmund Freud's theories that are popping up here, there, and everywhere. And, as always, Queen Alix tries to join the discussion without giving away too much about the story. Expect your three queens to discuss the yummy and yucky fantasy food, the low bar of basic consent, the sexiest body part on men (the answer might surprise you!), and how to be a good friend. In other words, join along as the Queens of this podcast discuss and analyze Chapter 15 to the end of Chapter 28 of Book Five of The Wheel of Time, The Fires of Heaven, by Robert Jordan.

At the end of the podcast, the Queens play a returning game called "This or That." As usual, we finish with Tay and Marissa's character rankings from this section of The Wheel of Time.

Content Warnings:
We talk about the following in this podcast: 

• Misogyny
• Sexism
• Sexual Assault & Consent
• Emotional Abuse
• Physical Abuse
• Domestic Abuse

Expect spoilers up to the end of Chapter 28 of The Fires of Heaven, as well as The Shadow Rising, The Dragon Reborn, The Great Hunt, and The Eye of the World novels.

For those reading along with us, our next episode will come out on March 15, 2024, and will cover chapter 29 to the end of chapter 42 for The Fires of Heaven, the fifth installment in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series.

If you'd like to join our discord server, you can do so here. Find us on Instagram at @queensoffantasypod. Please also consider checking out our sister podcast, The Book Jar Pod. If you'd like to find a specific Queen online, please see:
Alix: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Taylor: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Marissa: Personal Instagram | The Book Jar Pod | StoryGraph | Crowned Heathens

Background music via https://www.FesliyanStud

Book five is officially underway! The Queens start book five, The Fires of Heaven, in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series, jumping right into the story with a trip to the Amyrlin Seat's office. Queen Tay reveals who she's been imagining Nynaeve as this entire time. Queen Marissa is tiring quickly of the misogynistic starts to the novels. And Queen Alix roots for Mat, in spite of him being blindfolded and throwing knives. As the characters move quickly into positions around the map, our Queens are left debating what happened to Nynaeve, what exactly is the age of Thom, and how long has balefire been a very, very, VERY big no. Oh, and Queen Alix, tries not to sing every song she knows while also biting her tongue to keep from spoiling everything that's coming up. In other words, join along as the Queens of this podcast discuss and analyze the Prologue to the end of Chapter 14 of Book Five of The Wheel of Time, The Fires of Heaven, by Robert Jordan.

At the end of the podcast, the Queens play a returning game called "What's the Vibe?" As usual, we finish with Tay and Marissa's character rankings from this section of The Wheel of Time.

Content Warnings:
We talk about the following in this podcast: 

• Misogyny
• Sexism

Expect spoilers up to the end of Chapter 14 of The Fires of Heaven, as well as The Shadow Rising, The Dragon Reborn, The Great Hunt, and The Eye of the World novels.

For those reading along with us, our next episode will come out on March 8, 2024, and will cover chapter 15 to the end of chapter 28 for The Fires of Heaven, the fifth installment in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series.

If you'd like to join our discord server, you can do so here. Find us on Instagram at @queensoffantasypod. Please also consider checking out our sister podcast, The Book Jar Pod. If you'd like to find a specific Queen online, please see:
Alix: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Taylor: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Marissa: Personal Instagram | The Book Jar Pod | StoryGraph | Crowned Heathens

Background music via https://www.FesliyanStud

Another book down. And only ten, no wait, eleven more to go! In this episode, the Queens finish off book four, The Shadow Rising, of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series and discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly. From the chilling moments in The White Tower to the long, laboured adventures in Eamon's Field, the Queens dive into this one head first. Queen Marissa confirms a theory of hers while throwing out several more. Queen Tay plays a rhyming game that ends in "vein," and also gets increasingly frustrated with every name in this series. And, as always, Queen Alix bites her tongue to keep from spilling all the secrets ever. Expect the Queens to discuss riding dresses, pronunciation, why Rand's a theatre major, and the location of the Forsaken. In other words, join along as the Queens of this podcast discuss and analyze Chapter 45 to the end of The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan.

At the end of the podcast, Queen Tay and Marissa share their reviews of the fourth book of The Wheel of Time. After, the Queens play a new game called "Aes Sedai or Lie." Queen Tay and Marissa attempt to tell the truth without revealing their full thoughts as Alix quizzes them. As usual, we finish with Tay and Marissa's character rankings from this section of The Wheel of Time.

Content Warnings:
We talk about the following in this podcast: 

• Violence against women
• Misogyny
• Sexism
• Domestic Abuse
• Emotional Abuse
• Toxic Relationships
• Death of Family Members

Expect spoilers up to the end of The Shadow Rising, as well as The Dragon Reborn, The Great Hunt, and The Eye of the World novels.

For those reading along with us, our next episode will come out on March 1, 2024, and will cover the prologue to the end of chapter 14 for The Fires of Heaven, the fifth installment in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series.

If you'd like to join our discord server, you can do so here. Find us on Instagram at @queensoffantasypod. Please also consider checking out our sister podcast, The Book Jar Pod. If you'd like to find a specific Queen online, please see:
Alix: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Taylor: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Marissa: Personal Instagram | The Book Jar Pod | StoryGraph | Crowned Heathens

Background music via https://www.FesliyanStud

Your Queens are back to present part three of Book Four, The Shadow Rising. Queens Tay and Marissa discuss Perrin and Faile's turbulent and almost-cute-until-its-not relationship, Aviendha's unique wingman-ing, and the most uncomfortable encounter between Elayne and Thom that involves way too much mustache grabbing. Oh, and Rand does stuff too. Probably. Tay reminds us of the Survivalist rule of threes, Alix avoids our eyes while she avoids giving any spoilers – and also learns something about a common saying. Marissa would love to have a little talk with Aviendha about which Pirates of the Caribbean character she finds most attractive. Oh, and we can't forget about Queen Marissa's best drunk Elayne impression. In other words, join along as the Queens of this podcast discuss and analyze Chapter 31 to the end of Chapter 44 of The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan.

At the end of the podcast, the Queens play a trivia game! Play along with us and let us know how you did on our discord server. As usual, we finish off with Tay and Marissa's character rankings from this section of The Wheel of Time.

Content Warnings:
We talk about the following in this podcast: 

• Violence against women
• Misogyny
• Sexism
• Domestic Abuse
• Emotional Abuse
• Toxic Relationships
• Death of Family Members

Expect spoilers up to the end of Chapter 44 for The Shadow Rising, as well as The Dragon Reborn, The Great Hunt, and The Eye of the World novels.

For those reading along with us, our next episode will come out on February 22, 2024, and will cover chapters 45 to the end of the novel for The Shadow Rising, the fourth installment in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series.

If you'd like to join our discord server, you can do so here. Find us on Instagram at @queensoffantasypod. Please also consider checking out our sister podcast, The Book Jar Pod. If you'd like to find a specific Queen online, please see:
Alix: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Taylor: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Marissa: Personal Instagram | The Book Jar Pod | StoryGraph | Crowned Heathens

Background music via https://www.FesliyanStudios

Please Note: We experienced some technical difficulties with Taylor's audio this week. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope you still enjoy this episode!

We're back with part two of book four – and our Queens have a lot to discuss. We've got biblical connections, rising tensions, more misogyny, and a growing plot, which, of course, means more theories from both Tay and Marissa. Oh, and what's that? A possible redemption for Rand? Could this be the end of the Rand slander? Between Marissa's ecclesiastical musings at the start to Taylor's eagerness to share exactly how hot Mat is on the cover of her book, anything can happen in this episode. You can expect Marissa to start taking bets on a new theory she's cooked up. Taylor is also confused at Rand's new and provocative form of CPR. Alix, as always, attempts to lead the other two Queens through the novel without spoiling the journey. And, all three Queens lament how awful Perrin and Faile are together, and how quickly Perrin is rushing to the bottom of our fave character lists. In short, join along as the Queens of this podcast discuss and analyze Chapter 16 to the end of Chapter 30 of The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan.
 
At the end of the podcast, the Queens also bring back a game you might recognize: It's Giving. And, of course, we finish off with Tay and Marissa's character rankings from this section of The Wheel of Time.

Content Warnings:
We talk about the following in this podcast: 

• Violence against women
• Misogyny
• Sexism
• Domestic Abuse
• Emotional Abuse
• Toxic Relationships
• Death of Family Members

Expect spoilers up to the end of Chapter 30 for The Shadow Rising, as well as The Dragon Reborn, The Great Hunt, and The Eye of the World novels.

For those reading along with us, our next episode will come out on February 15, 2024, and will cover chapters 31 to the end of chapter 44 for The Shadow Rising, the fourth installment in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series.

If you'd like to join our discord server, you can do so here. Find us on Instagram at @queensoffantasypod. Please also consider checking out our sister podcast, The Book Jar Pod. If you'd like to find a specific Queen online, please see:
Alix: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Taylor: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Marissa: Personal Instagram | The Book Jar Pod | StoryGraph | Crowned Heathens

Background music via https://www.FesliyanStudios

Book four has officially started... and the Queens are not particularly impressed. From checking out ankles and bosoms to declaring women obsessed with *checks notes* cleaning, dusting, and ruining men's days, The Shadow Rising embarks to stake its claim as the most misogynistic book in The Wheel of Time series. Beyond that, Alix attempts to share her love of Mat in a less-than-flattering section, Marissa discovers some ecclesiastical connections she wasn't expecting, and Taylor continues to connect the threads with a few more theories about our story. You can expect the Queens to discuss it all: the rising political tensions, the foreshadowed miscommunication trope, and the character growth and decline. In short, join along as the Queens of this podcast discuss and analyze Chapter 1 to the end of Chapter 15 of The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan. 

Content Warnings:
We talk about the following in this podcast: 

• Rape
• Sexual assault
• Violence against women
• Misogyny
• Sexism
• Racism

Expect spoilers up to the end of Chapter 15 for The Shadow Rising, as well as The Dragon Reborn, The Great Hunt, and The Eye of the World novels. There is also a small, world-building spoiler for Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen series.

For those reading along with us, our next episode will come out on February 8, 2024, and will cover chapters 16 to the end of chapter 30 for The Shadow Rising, the fourth installment in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series.

If you'd like to join our discord server, you can do so here. Find us on Instagram at @queensoffantasypod. Please also consider checking out our sister podcast, The Book Jar Pod. If you'd like to find a specific Queen online, please see:
Alix: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Taylor: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Marissa: Personal Instagram | The Book Jar Pod | StoryGraph | Crowned Heathens

Background music via https://www.FesliyanStudios

A new love story, a blacksmith working while the end of the world looms on, the Dragon reveals himself – finally – and Morraine deals with a cranky, wanky Perrin. The Queens track Egwene's sudden change of character, Mat's revelation in his lucky disposition, and Thom denies his feelings for his ex-flame. In this episode, Marissa and Tay discuss the growing misogyny in the novel while Alix tries to keep herself from revealing too much. In short, join along as the Queens of this podcast discuss and analyze Chapter 44 to the end of The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan.
 
At the end of the podcast, the Queens take on fan-casting the Wheel of Time series so far, as well as sharing their reviews and ratings on the novel. And, as always, they reveal their list of most fave to least fave characters. 

Expect spoilers from The Dragon Reborn, as well as The Great Hunt and The Eye of the World novel in their entirety.

For those reading along with us, our next episode will come out on February 1, 2024, and will cover chapters 1 to the end of chapter 14, The Shadow Rising.

If you'd like to join our discord server, you can do so here. Find us on Instagram at @queensoffantasypod. Please also consider checking out our sister podcast, The Book Jar Pod. If you'd like to find a specific Queen online, please see:
Alix: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Taylor: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Marissa: Personal Instagram | The Book Jar Pod | StoryGraph | Crowned Heathens

Background music via https://www.FesliyanStudios

The plot thickens as Rand goes a little mad in the next section of The Dragon Reborn. The Queens read along as the chip on Egwene's shoulder grows and listen as Mat discovers his luck – and his appetite – are both insatiable. Marissa points out some inaccuracies of removing a wax seal on a letter, Tay discusses her theories and careful notes on various worldbuilding elements, and Alix tries desperately to keep a straight face while the other two try to guess what might happen next. In short, join along as the Queens of this podcast discuss and analyze Chapter 23 to the end of Chapter 43 of The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan.

At the end of the podcast, the Queens also take an Ajah quiz to learn which Ajah they belong to, as well as recap their fave and not-so-fave characters so far. Please find the Ajah Quiz the Queens took right here.

Expect spoilers for the Prologue to the end of Chapter 43 from The Dragon Reborn, as well as The Great Hunt and The Eye of the World novel in their entirety.

For those reading along with us, our next episode will come out on January 21, 2024, and will cover chapter 44 to the end of book three, The Dragon Reborn.

If you'd like to join our discord server, you can do so here. Find us on Instagram at @queensoffantasypod. Please also consider checking out our sister podcast, The Book Jar Pod. If you'd like to find a specific Queen online, please see:
Alix: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Taylor: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Marissa: Personal Instagram | The Book Jar Pod | StoryGraph | Crowned Heathens

Background music via https://www.FesliyanStudios.com

A new year means a new Robert Jordan book. In this episode, our Queens delve into the third book of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series, The Dragon Reborn. Marissa and Tay attempt to keep up with the crew as they fight trollocs, blame Tinkers for their weapons, chase after ethereal (or real?) dogs, and enter a new city of *AHEM* interesting design. You can expect new theories, rankings, and takes on characters from both Marissa and Tay, while Alix attempts to keep her spoilers to herself. In other words, our three Queens summarize and analyze the Prologue to the end of Chapter 22 of The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan.

Expect spoilers for the Prologue to Chapter 22 from The Dragon Reborn, as well as The Great Hunt and The Eye of the World novel in their entirety.

For those reading along with us, our next episode will come out on January 11, 2024, and will cover chapter 22 to the end of chapter 43 of book three, The Dragon Reborn.

If you'd like to join our discord server, you can do so here. Find us on Instagram at @queensoffantasypod. Please also consider checking out our sister podcast, The Book Jar Pod. If you'd like to find a specific Queen online, please see:
Alix: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Taylor: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Marissa: Personal Instagram | The Book Jar Pod | StoryGraph | Crowned Heathens

Background music via https://www.FesliyanStudios.com

It's the final battle – for book two, and our Queens are ready to fight alongside, and against, some of the Wheel of Time characters. From ranting about Rand to providing life lessons on what not to say to your friends, Tay and Marissa share their thoughts on the newest developments in this high fantasy series. Tay connects some more prophesies together, Marissa delves into the growing misogyny in the world, and Alix attempts to convey her love for certain characters without spoiling the entire series. Expect some more Rand slander, more Nynaeve love, some new opinions on Mat, and the analysis of some great – and not-so-great – scenes from this novel. In other words, our three Queens summarize and analyze Chapter 41 to the end of Book Two: The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan.

At the end of the pod, Marissa and Tay share their reviews of books one and two. Then, to lighten the mood and enlighten each other, they assign Taylor Swift eras to each character – while Alix reminds them they don't need to fight about it. And, as always, the two end off with their lists of favourite to least favourite characters in the series.

Expect spoilers for The Great Hunt novel and The Eye of the World novel in their entirety. **There are also small spoilers for A Court of Mist and Fury & A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas**

For those reading along with us, our next episode will come out on January 1, 2024, and will cover the prologue to the end of chapter 22 of book three, The Dragon Reborn.

If you'd like to join our discord server, you can do so here. Find us on Instagram at @queensoffantasypod. Please also consider checking out our sister podcast, The Book Jar Pod. If you'd like to find a specific Queen online, please see:
Alix: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Taylor: Personal Instagram | StoryGraph
Marissa: Personal Instagram | The Book Jar Pod | StoryGraph | Crowned Heathens

Background music via https://www.FesliyanStudios.com