First Chapters

On this very special episode of First Chapters, Engineer Mike and Nina are joined in Gray Cat Studios by a very special guest, Dr. Richard Scott Nokes (aka Professor Awesome of Pop Medieval fame)! He…

Nina celebrates a milestone birthday, so Engineer Mike offers up Old Man's War by John Scalzi. Will she read it, or will she take offense?

Digressions: Cyberpunk 20-something, the ridiculously nam…

WHO LET THEY GOONS OUT THAT HOUSE? (Engineer Mike, that's who!) WHO OUT THERE TALKIN ALL THAT MOUTH? (That's Nina.) With many apologies to Beyonce, this week they're reading Piranesi, by Susanna Clar…

Engineer Mike convinces Nina to read a book by an author your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents all know. Will it swash her buckle, or walk her plank?

Digressions: Weeb shit, "suck my…

Timely! Engineer Mike and Nina talk about the book on which the hit Netflix show is based. It's a "whammer" of book, but how far did Nina get?

Digressions: throuples, teaching genital mutilation t…

In their most controversial episode yet, Engineer Mike and Nina debate the semantics of the word "chapter" with the book, Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge. Who is the author here, anyway?

Digres…

Is this the first time Nina's LOVED a book?

Digressions: Skarsgard (Mmm. Mmmhmmm), Scottish slang vs book slang, mouth breathing, the process of running a shady human farm, major body modificatio…

We're back with season two! Let's kick it off with a book by one of Engineer Mike's favorites. Do they have enough bandwidth to get through the first few chapters? TW: SA, animal abuse, and a spot on…

Nina and Engineer Mike put on their raincoats and invade a city somewhere in the former Soviet Block (they think) to solve a murder mystery. Can they get through the first chapter, or is this notorio…

Engineer Mike told Nina to read the wrong book! Can they roll with it, or will it blow up in their faces like a volcano?

Digressions: Engineer Mike's hatred of democracy, making (podcast) relation…

Engineer Mike complained enough and Nina finally picked up one of the most decorated books in SF history. TW: SA as a metaphor.

Digressions: turgidity, pronouncing titles correctly, being an assh…

Nina struggles through the prologue of a dense but beloved recommendation from Engineer Mike. Will she walk through the Gate or turn around and head north?

Digressions: Theoretical George R.R. Mar…

Engineer Mike and Nina are caught in a teenage love triangle on a remote planet. Will they survive the darkness?

Digressions: Eternal Youth, book awards vis-a-vis movie awards, more bad creative w…

Engineer Mike shoves Nina face-first into some delicious toxic masculinity with a Warhammer novel. Does it deserve the honor of a Chaplain or should it fall in battle?

Digressions: BookTok drama (…

In their inaugural episode, Engineer Mike challenges Nina to read the Samuel R. Delany SF epic. Will Nina agree with William Gibson or Harlan Ellison?

Digressions: abundant breast descriptions, le…