Talk About Nothing | Featuring A.P. Canavan (A Critical Dragon)

[@ACriticalDragon]

Thanks Mike, I really enjoyed this. It was a lot of fun. You are a very kind and tolerant host who put up with my rambling with an exceptional level of good humour and tolerance. Have a fantastic weekend.

[@mikesbookreviews]

The pleasure, as always, was all on this end my friend. Thank you again for taking the time to talk with me. It was educational.

[@cipriansirbu3699]

I will give a thumb down to this video because AP doesn't like The Wheel of Time.😂😂😂 P.S. I'm kidding, I haven't read it yet.

[@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy]

Uh, oh. Mike triggered another Man of Steel rant!

[@mikesbookreviews]

He’s been chomping at the bit to do it since he found out I liked the movie. So I was going to let him.

[@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy]

@@mikesbookreviews 🤣🤣🤣

[@musicgenius1948]

Don’t stop doing these kinds of videos Mike! I love these!

[@mikesbookreviews]

I do not intend to. In fact, I want to do more of them. It helps cure that itch I have for my podcasting days.

[@musicgenius1948]

@@mikesbookreviews in general, I have no idea how popular podcasts still are especially with KZbin and other stuff around, but I still enjoy podcasts.

[@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy]

Buckle up and don your fire repellent gear! Professor Fireballs is in the house!

[@Paul_van_Doleweerd]

He's in the house for three freaking hours again, he's going to have to start paying rent! 😁

[@benjamincrowhurst5998]

It brings me such joy to imagine you chuckling at your keyboard as you composed this brilliant comment 😂

[@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy]

@@benjamincrowhurst5998 I was chuckling! Ha ha!

[@Paul_van_Doleweerd]

@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy You need to grow your mustache longer so you can twirl it. 🤭

[@mikesbookreviews]

😂

[@bigjayesmoke9038]

You guys have such a great dynamic together. Would love to see more of these.

[@ReallyGoodandKind]

THANK YOU AP! The WoT TV show needs to have scenes that last longer than 45 seconds. Like linger a bit.

[@ChristmasLore]

Feeling like I'm watching extended trailers....very disappointing.

[@spellboundbybooks49]

This is my favourite Talk About Nothing Episode so far! The discussions are so fascinating and I'm only halfway through. I'm pausing to make a cup of tea and then coming right back to it. Thanks for making my Sunday evening so enjoyable!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Glad you’re enjoying it!

[@spellboundbybooks49]

@@mikesbookreviews I did, thanks! It's nice to see people having fun discussing things, and I 100 percent agree that there is too much polarization these days. It's okay not to like the same things and have fun talking about it and not turning it into a who is right or wrong argument.

[@brettmurray2473]

Because all of the WoT zealots have come out of the woodwork lately I thought I was crazy for thinking eye of the world was mediocre at best. It was so refreshing to see someone tear it apart 😂 thank you Professor Fireballs!!!

[@mikesbookreviews]

It’s a great point.

[@dkmoon7543]

I agree with A.P about most missed thing from college days -- the many great people for deep discussions.

[@Johanna_reads]

Fantastic discussion! While I enjoy watching book discussions on your channel and A.P.'s, it's so fun just to have a casual-yet passionate-conversation about general SFF and book related topics.

[@JotaCool9]

I know that this has nothing to do with the video but I think we really need a why you should read Saga! I've been looking for a comic to read and everytime I hear you talk about Saga I want to pick it up. Keep up with the GREAT work Mike

[@IbbyMelbourne]

I could listen to Mike and AP talk for hours!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Boy have I got a show for you then.

[@IbbyMelbourne]

@@mikesbookreviews It's far from boring haha

[@JayKay-wi2wc]

I watched it all in one go, that's how good this was. Subscribed.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Welcome aboard! Hope you enjoy the rest of the content.

[@Paul_van_Doleweerd]

Can-a-van He's back on Once he's talking he's never done With a whick-whack snicker-snak He has a vorpal tongue Can-a-van goes chatting on..

[@pillarmusic1641]

Awesome Podcast, would be good to get more of these without video (in podcast form on Spotify). I could see you doing these once a week with many different fantasy fans

[@Yoda0VGs]

Not even 1 minute in and I know this is gnna be the best 3 hours of my day :)

[@mikesbookreviews]

Hope it lives up to expectations

[@Yoda0VGs]

@@mikesbookreviews lol I had fun listening. Might be fun making a Malazan wish list for yourself at some point :)

[@TheEternalElir]

I could listen to the two of you talk the whole day. Thanks for sharing this.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Thanks for watching!

[@saeedajaib]

I wont be able to watch it in one go. But watch it, i will!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Perfectly understandable

[@Paul_van_Doleweerd]

Nice, tuned in to the final hour with some love for Lukyanenko. Loved the films and the books, and the sixth one is coming soon, so talk to your personal santa AP. 😁

[@Mahalleinir]

Thank God I’m not the only one who did not struggle at all with Witcher’s timelines and actually liked it! Even as a WOT superfan, I can very much understand the gripes AP has. I’ve long believed that TEOTW is the weak link in the series and was never comfortable with the “homages”, but still love the world and have obsessed over it for years.

[@brechtgeers]

authors don't owe me the ending of a series, that's true; but it's common decency to do so anyway.

[@mikesbookreviews]

I think a decade plus wait is totally fair to criticize the author. I really don’t believe that makes anyone entitled.

[@robpaul7544]

That was three hours flying past - had a blast watching you guys. 😄 Was an eye-opener hearing AP say he can't read right to left for manga. And I'm with you on One Piece , Mike. Took one look at the art style and nope'd out.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Folks that grew up reading One Piece can’t understand that a 43 year old man just getting into manga, well…that might not be what he is looking for.

[@ZamWeazle]

Loved this guys! Hope you do more of them in future!👍

[@simonsuarez7561]

What a great guest to chat with. I really enjoyed the whole of the conversation. 👌

[@mikesbookreviews]

AP is an awesome guest.

[@theskyisteal8346]

Everyone complains about the cgi Green Lantern suit but no one seems to remember that the suits are canonically constructs anyways so they should be CGI. They just should be better CGI than we got.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Correct.

[@KalleVilenius]

There are worse ways to spend a Saturday.

[@mikesbookreviews]

🎄

[@ravenbellebooks5665]

Y'all have no idea how excited I was when I saw this video was three hours! I just sat here playing Skyrim and listening to the conversation - and loved every minute of it! A.P. mentioning Watership Down has me itching to reread it for the millionth time... I'll only be able to squeeze it in if I listen to it on audio, haha!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Water ship is brilliant. Everyone should read it at least twice.

[@DanielSClouser]

Well, googled Time's Arrow to see what it was about, and the only thing I learned--immediately, mind you--is almost certainly the one thing that A.P. didn't want to spoil.

[@April_Davis]

I finally had time to watch this. And I was thoroughly and genuinely entertained. Thanks! Great chat!

[@muppet1011]

Always happy to see a new video from you Mike.

[@mikesbookreviews]

😃

[@jordankenny3766]

I love these videos, can’t wait to get into this 😁.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Hope you enjoy!

[@rosinegrean]

This was nice, I listened to this in one go, while working. I hope to see more like this

[@pookypoo1169]

This was awesome! I love this guy's hot takes! It's nice to have people that go against the grain.

[@mikesbookreviews]

I always love folks who aren’t afraid to have an unpopular opinion.

[@markusbisma5015]

What a great Thanksgiving show from Mike and A.P.

[@Paul_van_Doleweerd]

Well, *American* Thanksgiving, late to the party as usual. 😜. 🇨🇦🇨🇦

[@mikesbookreviews]

Thanks for watching!

[@jeffhaubrich6121]

Holy crap, that went by super quick, awesome discussion guys!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Thanks for hanging with us!

[@jona2486]

Loved this video. Also, fellow Houstonian sweating it out in November over here. Represent!

[@KakashiHatake-ou7mp]

01:34:00 A.P, Mike if you both like these kind of creative representation of comics, would recommend Stand Still, Stay Silent. The way it handles People speaking multiple languages and people talking over each other was wonderful

[@Yuuzhanvon]

Awesome podcast. Thanks Mike

[@tannibal]

Love this video!! Can’t wait for the sequel!!!

[@Thorbearius]

This was great! Three hours just flew by :)

[@ernstbrehm1135]

A.P. is just Awesome!

[@mikesbookreviews]

He’s a great dude.

[@khod3337]

Great watch 👌😁

[@brianl6151]

AP needs to narrate books, his delivery is awesome :) Thanks Mike and AP

[@christopherdoolan925]

Three hours about nothing is kinda something.

[@derrisreaditbefore]

I appreciate your time guys, I enjoyed this a lot.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Thanks for watching!

[@TheBlueOwlX]

A year ago I started reading The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams. I stopped reading around page 300. It was so slow. Then I picked up Gardens of the Moon, and that was a blast. I’m going to pick Chair back up after I’ve finished Malazan: Book of the Fallen. All this to say: do not expect a fast paced book out of The Dragonbone Chair.

[@EricMcLuen]

Unfortunately I read them all and Otherlands as well. Not reading him again for similar reasons.

[@KakashiHatake-ou7mp]

45:00 I've had experiences where I've really loved a book and then I when I read another book which I felt was a far superior piece of work, I've come back to the earlier book and only find faults there! When I read it in isolation it was great. When I read it in comparison it was not! It's not fair to compare but we always do 😅

[@giannimanzano9266]

Great video. Wish I had the time to do this in 1 sitting but doing it in over 3 sittings will have to do. Keep up the great work.

[@ducky36F]

Deadhouse Gates is still my favourite Malazan book 😂

[@mikesbookreviews]

Flip a coin between that and Bonehunters for me.

[@unlimitedreads]

Great video, Mike - really enjoyed that, A.P. is quite entertaining 😊

[@mikesbookreviews]

He’s the best.

[@bryson2662]

kids not wanting to put up the xmas decorations? what?

[@mikesbookreviews]

They had to put their iPads down.

[@Paul_van_Doleweerd]

@@mikesbookreviews Change the password, easy peasy. 😁

[@IbbyMelbourne]

I know I'm wayy late, but Glorfindel should be a big character in the LotR Amazon show, since it's adapting the second age.

[@a.fleming4211]

Oh man. Cannot wait to get off of work so that I can enjoy all 3 hours of this.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Hope it is worth it!

[@a.fleming4211]

@@mikesbookreviews It most certainly was!

[@Paul_van_Doleweerd]

*1:47* Ellison is fantastic, arguably the best short story writer ever. There is a *massive* collection if you can find it, The Essential Ellison, and the great thing is you can read one in 10 or 15 minutes.

[@mikesbookreviews]

I read I Have No Mouth in one sitting. Fantastic stuff.

[@Paul_van_Doleweerd]

@@mikesbookreviews There is a really good documentary on him too, but it's late and I can't remember what it's called. 😐

[@gjermund6455]

Was only going to watch the 10 first minutes. Now I am 2 hours in :)

[@mikesbookreviews]

Ha ha we only planned to talk for just over an hour. So I get it.

[@christopherdoolan925]

Janny Wurts’s Daughter of the Empire is a great place to start. Strong female protagonist. Gambles with high stakes.

[@abnushagnasty805]

Hey congrats on getting over 60k subscribers! 👏

[@PnutButtaJllyMan]

I love the talk about nothing vids!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Happy to hear it!

[@liammulvaney3281]

General Zod hates Kal-El because his father infuses the genetics codex into his infant son, therefore, Zod cannot reestablish the Kryptonan population after Krypton explodes. He also hates Superman because it has taken him a long time to complete Zod's mission and that the Kryptons sided with Jor-El and imprisoned him in that black hole. He continues to hate Superman because he does not allow Zod and his followers to terraform earth. It's when Superman destroys the Kryptonian device that Zod goes bonkers and decides to destroy everything Superman loves.

[@EricMcLuen]

So AP likes big books and he cannot lie.... But a few comments about nothing. I read MST and don't really remember much of it either. Just the ending and throwing my book at the wall. I did have to chuckle at your comment on American comics and all the series referenced had British/Irish authors. Moore, Ennis, Gaiman... I actually do like the Lucifer series. It really has nothing do with the comics but is a good example of a completely different adaptation that still works. But agree movies have not been kind do DC characters. I had no idea Nightwatch were books too. I watched the movies and was a little lilost. Might have been a translation issue and not familiar with the text. I don't do audio books but if I did would love to listen to Gaiman doing his own.

[@andreamiller3578]

yes, Mike, you should read David Gemmell

[@KakashiHatake-ou7mp]

01:09:50 Mount Dhoom deserves an honourable mention 😅

[@SpartnMarine823]

I loved A.Ps thoughts on George Rr and Patrick Rothfuss

[@SpartnMarine823]

And I disagree with him too, Man of Steel was the best

[@tiananesbitt7156]

You and Jeff Goldblum. Perfect Saturday.

[@KakashiHatake-ou7mp]

02:01:55 And that's why one should never lend books 😂 Btw A.P. did you agree with the ending of Witcher? I feel like it would make a very good discussion video! :)

[@Rendref]

13th Floor is a great movie! Dark City was also great, but didn't age good for me in terms of visuals and how it tells the story.

[@d-light7915]

The night watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko is a kind of cool vampire series. made into movies too. Edit: Lol, an hour later and AP mentions it.

[@ZampanosCat]

@ACriticalDragon what was the name of the short book that you suggested to Mike towards the end of this video? Time's Error?

[@andreamiller3578]

Nooooo. I loved The Wizard. LOL. But I haven't rewatched it since I was 14, so ...... Yeah. I can't watch The A-Team anymore either. It was my favorite show when I was a child..

[@marcweber8509]

Learning to read from right to left at your age, A.P., that's how Ascension works ;D

[@mikesbookreviews]

💯

[@benjaminmolina3456]

Like two sages talking.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Maybe if you cloned AP. I feel so in over my head when he dives deep ha ha

[@shawngillogly6873]

A.P.: No. Not finishing a series does not mean they have to be miserable until I get that series. *But* Don't make me a promise, break the promise for something that was no fault of my own, and blame me for being disappointed about the broken promise. Or worse, treat me, the fan and paying customer, like dirt for caring about said product. And in both Rothfuss and Martin's cases, they've treated fans like garbage. So while I never blame an author for having a life, I will blame an author who treats me like less human. Also, now I will be that irate fan if you don't do a series on the Dresden Files, since you showed awareness of it. /jk And yes, Professor 🔥 Fireballs, as I said before, Glorfindel did not return from the Halls of Mandos, as an emissary of the Valar, the only Noldor to return to Middle Earth, to be stricken from history by a New Zealander who can't groom his beard!! (I also hate his assassination of Faramir.)

[@shawngillogly6873]

Also, I feel your pain on reading Manga. When I was a seminarian, I took my advanced Greek grammar at the same time I took basic Hebrew. Hint: Do not attempt this at home. Bad enough doing all the vocabulary memorization for 2 languages at once...I've managed that before and since...the syntax wasn't impossible, because I'd taken 2 years of Greek already. So I was really only learning Hebrew syntax. Which, given the NT authors were mostly Hebrew, was not completely foreign. But the sticker shock of going from reading conventionally in Greek to right to left, back to front, in Hebrew, destroyed me. To the point I had to retake Hebrew a year later because I learned *nothing* beyond the bare minimum to survive the class. And now I've shared my biggest academic failure with the internet. 🙃

[@TheHumbleRoots]

On a very short list Rothfuss is one of the greatest writers of this generation.

[@mikesbookreviews]

At this point it’s almost last generation.

[@TheHumbleRoots]

@@mikesbookreviews good point

[@GeekofMordor]

Keep podcasting it. Could listen to you ramble for hours 😂

[@Vinnie2501]

Times Arrow? On it

[@Rendref]

The way AP talks about Eye of the World being ripoff of LoTR reciting the event in that smiley poky fashion is exactly how I described Eye of the World since 2006 (which was the year I read it first time). Lol, it was funny back then I thought it is going to be the best book ever, but it was - unexpectedly for me at a time - a total ripoff of LoTR, and I already read Iron Tower ripoff of LoTR that year and hated it. Thankfully I decided to pickup The Great Hunt and it was so different. But anyway, I can listen to AP reciting those events forever, lol

[@cabrademora1]

:D

[@KakashiHatake-ou7mp]

11:22 Completely disagree with you on this one A.P. If an author has written a book which is part of a series, he has an obligation to finish the same within some reasonable time. They travel to places and say buy my book don't they? Do they ever sell a book saying, it's part of a trilogy but I don't think I'll ever finish it. How many folks would buy the books then? An author writing book one of a trilogy and never writing again is the equivalent of an Engineer taking money from you to lay the foundation of your house but then never finishing it. Technically speaking we got what we paid for, but we paid with the assumption that one day we will have the final product. A piece of the product is of no value to us. If Robin Hobb says she'll never write again that's completely acceptable since she has finished her story. But GRRM or Rothfuss saying they won't write anymore I feel is a disservice to all those who've read and supported their works.

[@DiomedesRangue]

You can choose to not engage with a series until it has wrapped up. There are certain authors that you can read new releases for and certain ones you can't. Brando sando is reliable, so he's on the trusted list.

[@Dude_on_a_Map]

What if writing isn’t an author sitting down at a table making up things from their imagination. What if it’s comparable to channeling something from place where imagination evolves? What if Patrick can no longer hear that story no matter how hard he tries?! The words will come when Ka allows.

[@KakashiHatake-ou7mp]

Choosing to wait is something we've learnt now. Many would have started reading asoiaf in 1995! 25 years on they would still not know the ending. Whenever a series is written, it's reasonable to expect that at some point of time it will be finished and people buy the books. If readers choose to wait till a series is finished then there would be no sales and the author would never finish it anyway. Sanderson is doing remarkably well and I hope he will continue to do so, but at one time even asoiaf was being published consistently. It's completely understandable if an Author has writer's block and is unable to write. But I don't think they've ever said that as a reason. GRRM in fact, has written a lot of things post Dance with Dragons.

[@mikesbookreviews]

This is certainly a sensitive topic that o see both sides on. I’ll never be “shut up and write” guy. And no, fans aren’t entitled to anything. But I do think you’re a dick if you’ve strung your fans along for that long and then get shitty if any ever ask about an update.

[@KakashiHatake-ou7mp]

@@mikesbookreviews I agree with you that "You write for me" is wrong. But I also advocate that "I owe you nothing" attitude from authors is also wrong. Readers would have invested time and money into a series and this support is what gives authors success. It's completely understandable if an author is unable to write. But to not write and act like readers don't matter or that they should not say anything doesn't make sense. I'm sure an author wouldn't like it if they DO put out a book finally and nobody shows up to buy it.

[@brianl6151]

Blasphemy Mike... The Wizard was and is great, next thing you will say Little Monsters or Saved by the Bell aren't incredible today.... lol

[@mikesbookreviews]

Oh they’re delightful(ly bad)

[@Rendref]

Is Indiana Jones trilogy good though? That second movie is completely boring and so much different from Raiders or Last Crusade, that to this day the only part of it that feels like Indiana Jones is the beginning. The boring dinner scenes that follow and even dungeon horror crawl after does not really strike my fancy, not when I was 9 not when I am 33

[@superbloodwolfmoon2597]

Mike, I have to answer your guest's questions about Man of Steel. First, he wonders about Zod's hate for Kal-El. It is made perfectly clear in the movie that Zod is a hardcore traditionalist. He believes in his planet's laws and traditions, and nothing else. The reason why he rebels against his planet's government is because they have stopped doing the things their ancestors did before (like the colonization of other planets), and this he thinks is the reason why Krypton is in such a weak state. Kal-El, because he is not made in the same way as other Kryptonians, would obviously be not acceptable for Zod. Kal-el for him is an abomination and should not be allowed to exist. That is why he is so emphatic when he says, "I will find him." Now the reason for Earth: It is explained in the film that Earth is one of the planets that are well suited for Kryptonians. That is the reason why they sent a colonization party there in the first place. The second reason is that Kal-el is there. Zod needs the codex in his body to to fulfill his plan of reviving the Kryptonian race. Now, when they got a sample of his blood (after taking him to their ship) they decide that they don't have a need for him anymore, and Zod quickly orders the release of the World Engine to start the terraforming process. Mike, all of these are in the film. if your guest would just watch the movie more carefully, he would know it. He doesn't even need to analyze the movie too deeply, he just needs to pay more attention.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Ha. I’ve been involved in many a debate regarding MoS. I love it. But understand why others don’t. I just get frustrated that it seems to get nitpicked to death while every other superhero movie from other distributors always get a pass.

[@profesortrip]

this is the most passive aggressive comment i've read in a long time. and it's about superman :D niceee

[@superbloodwolfmoon2597]

@@profesortrip I answered his criticisms directly but in a respectful manner. That's passive aggressive?

[@alexshapiro9841]

Yeah you don't owe anything to anyone as a writer, but this is why Tolkien will be remembered for a long time, and George R.R. Martin is already forgotten or remembered as an impotent writer