Canonical Nonsense

Canonical Nonsense returns to Mercedes Lackey’s Joust series for a third and final time with Sanctuary. The story picks up just after the ending of Alta, as our heroes make a new life for themselves and their dragons in the ruins of the forgotten city of Sanctuary. Every book in this series has been a knockout, and Sanctuary is no exception. Join us for this electric conclusion.

This month on the pod, Jo and JoJo are reading their first listener suggested book with The Saint of Dragons by Jason Hightman. This is another retelling of the myth of Saint George and the Dragon. There are some really cool dragons in this one, so join the Jo’s as they discuss one more entry in nonsensical dragon canon.

Today on the pod, Jo and JoJo decided to do something a little different. Fourth Wing has good ideas and good bones, but falls flat in execution. After reading it, the Jo’s had so many ideas for how to fix it that they created a Google doc to flesh out a new plot. Half fanfic, half writing exercise, please enjoy today’s episode where your two favorite Jo’s discuss what they would have written if…

Today on the pod, we finish Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. When we left off, Violet had just bonded not one but two dragons! But becoming a dragon rider isn’t the finish line; it’s actually the start of a new journey with new allies and old enemies. We had a LOT of thoughts about this book. Slip into your flight leathers as we talk about face-touching, knife play, dragon kinks, and so much more.

Today, on the pod Jo and JoJo finally get around to reading the biggest dragon book in the world, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. The Jo’s are trying to bring a new lens to this well-worn path. People have talked about the sex, people have talked about the romance, people have talked about the pens, but the Jo’s are more interested in exploring how Fourth Wing falls into the nonsensical dragon…

This month, Jo and JoJo read one of the books that sparked Jo’s love of dragons. While she is now old enough to understand its flaws, this book still holds a special place in her heart. The Jos also discuss books made for children, the origin of dragons in different cultures, and how the most accurate part of the book was how dark academia can be.

In this episode, Jo and JoJo read their first sequel! Alta by Mercedes Lackey depicts our main character, formerly Vetch now Kiron, and his dragon, Avatre, as they return to their home country of Alta. However, all is not as it seems, and the utopia that Kiron has dreamt of starts to crumble as he and his new friends discover the secrets of the ruling class. In Alta, Lackey continues her allegory…

This month, Jo and JoJo were looking for fast and furious with dragons, but instead stumbled upon an underrated gem from a well known fantasy author, Mercedes Lackey. In Joust, Mercedes Lackey takes us to a desert land where two nations are engaged in an intractable war as one tries to colonize the other. Caught in the crosshairs of this conflict, a young serf named vetch attracts the attention…

Today on the podcast, the fighting continues in The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. Ead, Tané, Loth, and Niclays race toward a final fight with the Nameless One while being bombarded on all sides by the Damsels of the Orange Tree, the witch Kalyba, and some good old fashion pirates. Jo and JoJo also continue to spar over their feelings about the book. Come join us for the…

Today on the podcast, we find ourselves divided. This month’s book, The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, is a world divided by East and West. We find this discussion divided. . . into two separate podcast episodes. Parts 1-3 are discussed here, parts 4-6, in next month’s episode. And finally, we find our friendship divided, because, for the first time in this podcast’s history, Jo…

In this very special mini episode, Jo and JoJo go to the movies! But not a great and wonderful movie like How To Train Your Dragon (the animation). Instead, they went to see How To Train Your Dragon (the live action). Listen in as we discuss what worked and what did not in this remake of a remake.

This week, on a kid-friendly episode of Canonical Nonsense, we continue our exploration of the nonsensical dragon canon with How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. We explore the differences between the book and the film franchise it inspired. Join us as we delve into the silly, shouty, snotty Isle of Berk as Hiccup learns how to train his dragon, Toothless, “the hard way”.Special note:…

For this episode, Jo and JoJo take a close look at The Summer Dragon, by Todd Lockwood, and fall completely in love with the world of the Evertide. This book follows Maia, the daughter of a dragon breeder, as she battles wild dragons, zombie monstrosities, and a colonizing army set on taking away her home. With a narrative that melds DnD style action with the slice-of-life day-to-day of a dragon…

As we have said many times, this is a pro-horse girl podcast. This month’s episode is for all those special girls (and guys) out there. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman centers a plucky, talented, 16-year-old girl with a dangerous secret in a world where dragons can hide as humans. Join us as we explore the kingdom of Goredd and all its weird and wonderful inhabitants.

This month on the pod, Jo and JoJo read Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton (no relation). A book that can only be described as what if Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice had a baby with Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal, and that baby was a dragon. It was one of the more toe-curling books we’ve read and we can’t wait to tell you about it. Please listen for the trigger warnings at the beginning of the…

Today, Jo and JoJo read His Majesty’s Dragon, the first book in the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. It is an alternate history that asks the question: What if the Napoleonic wars had dragons? This episode was a joy to make and we hope it encourages you to pick up this series!

Jo and JoJo are flashing back to their childhood in the early 00s to read the famous story of a farm boy turned dragon rider, Eragon by Christopher Paolini. Eragon may not have been the book we remembered it to be, and that certainly was the case for Jo, but we still had a lot of fun talking about it. Whether you read the book 20 years ago, you’re reading it for the first time today, or you just…