Episode #93 – Attack Sphinxes

Aug 03, 2023, 12:49 AM

Prophecy Radio episode #93 discusses City of the Plague God by Sarwat Chadda ahead of the sequel’s release, Fury of the Dragon Goddess before catching you up on all the latest Rick Riordan news, including what sort of Percy Jackson and the Olympians content we got from San Diego Comic-Con 2023. This week, we’re also talking about The Kane Chronicles: The Red Pyramid by tackling chapter 17, in which the Kanes end up in Paris and run into an old friend. New episodes of Prophecy Radio air weekly, and we keep our discussions PG-13.

News and Updates (00:02:32)

  • We’re kicking off this week’s news and updated by talking about SDCC.
  • We had some boots on the ground at the convention and got a peek at what the campers were handing out.
  • Next up, we talk in-depth about the new Percy Jackson and the Olympians character posters.
  • Oh yeah, and there was even a flash mob!
  • Don’t forget that Fury of the Dragon Goddess comes out on August 1!
  • Books of Wonder is hosting a virtual tour, and it’s gonna be awesome.
  • Read Riordan also posted an article about Lugal, the god of insanity.
  • On June 27, Rick wrote a blog post talking about the Chalice of the Gods book tour.
  • We go through all of the tour stops, plus the Boston Book Festival happening in October.
  • Can Rick talk about the show on tour?
  • We also think he’ll be talking about his next project.
  • Oh, and Karen will be at another stop!
  • We also discuss whether we’ll stop our The Red Pyramid discussion to talk about Chalice of the Gods.
  • Don’t forget to check out this Bookseller interview.
City of the Plague God by Sarwat Chadda (00:23:38)

  • Talking about this book has been a long time coming, and we’re so glad to finally discuss it on the podcast!
  • What’s this book about?
  • We talk about our overall feelings for the book and the writing.
  • It’s wild to think this was written before COVID.
  • But don’t worry, this book won’t remind you too much of the pandemic.
  • It’s well worth reading the Foreword, if only to see what it was like to have Rick as a teacher.
  • This book teaches us a lot about racism, being a hero, dealing with grief, and fighting for your home.
  • It seems only right to kick off the character section by talking about Sikander Aziz.
  • All work and no play makes Sik a tired boy.
  • There’s so much to love about Sik, but especially his compassion for other people.
  • We draw some parallels between Sik and Samirah/Magnus Chase.
  • Daoud seems only skin-deep at first glance, but we both loved him from the beginning.
  • We also loved Belet, who has a killer roundhouse kick.
  • She’s so intense, but her and Sik balance each other out perfectly.
  • SO. MANY. CATS.
  • Kasusu is an amazing sword, and it reminds us a lot of another magical weapon from one of Rick’s books.
  • What’s it like being both the goddess of love AND war?
  • Ishtar is both amazing and terrifying.
  • And then there’s Nergal.
  • Sure, he’s the antagonist in this book, but he’s also a necessary balance to the circle of life.
  • The spoiler section starts at 01:04:05.
  • If you’re used to handling New Yorkers in the morning, you can definitely take on a pack of demons.
  • SURPRISE, Sikander is immortal.
  • We’re a little smitten with Gilgamesh, not gonna lie.
  • How do you accidentally end up in the afterlife? By taking the wrong train, of course.
  • The scenes between Sik and Mo were incredible but also heartbreaking.
  • THE BAGHDAD SAUCE.
  • It wasn’t easy to get the flower that grants immortality, but they did it.
  • We learn something amazing about Mo and Daoud.
  • Nergal is defeated in the most spectacular way.
  • The end of the book gives us some interesting final moments between Sik and Daoud, his family, and even Belet.
  • We’re so happy City of the Plague God gets a sequel in Fury of the Dragon Goddess.
  • It’s fun to read the author’s note, and Sarwat has some wonderful things to tell us about this book and about Rick Riordan.
Kane Chronicles: The Red Pyramid discussion (01:35:18)

  • This week, we’re discussing The Red Pyramid chapter 17!
  • Carter becomes a chicken again, and we talk about what this dream could mean.
  • Carter gets in trouble with Zia, but it informs us a lot about her AND about him.
  • Gods, her story is tragic, and now we’re sad.
  • Did someone steal Zia’s memories?
  • It’s nice that Carter still remembers his mom.
  • Are Carter and Zia going on a date!?
  • Okay, it’s time to leave and go to…Paris!?
  • Thank the gods for Bast.
Feedback (01:54:08)

  • We got some wonderful mentions on Threads, and several people remind us how much they miss our old podcast, Book Hype.
  • Did you know you can leave reviews for podcasts on Audible!?
Thanks for listening, and tune in next time for episode 94, in which we’ll discuss Fury of the Dragon Goddess by Sarwat Chadda, before jumping into an interview with the man himself!

This episode’s hosts are: Karen Rought and Kristen Kranz.

Each episode, our Prophecy Radio hosts and their guests will keep you up to date on the latest information coming out of Camp Half-Blood, including upcoming books and adaptation news, discuss a topic of choice, and do a chapter by chapter reread of the Percy Jackson series.

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