William and Jacob are finally ready to divulge The Secret of Secrets as they share their thoughts on the second half of Dan Brown's latest Robert Langdon thriller. Was it good? Did they love it? The answer to that might surprise you (it probably won't), but there are lots of laughs along the way.

Before they get there Jacob pushes back against the internet's knee-jerk reaction to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl (a no-skip album), and William gets ready for Halloween with spooky movie programming.

UPCOMING EPISODES:

• The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King: Chapters 1-60
• The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King: Chapter 61-End

Your hosts continue to test the limits of what can and can’t be the primary focus of this fantasy and science fiction podcast over the next two weeks as they discuss The Secret of Secrets, Dan Brown’s first Robert Langdon novel in eight years. That’s right, they’re running all over Prague with Robert Langdon (always both names) as he cracks head-scratching codes and uncovers the hidden mysteries of human consciousness in a thriller that may not be “scifi” but is definitely fiction that contains elements that can be described as science.

Before they get there, they catch up on Jacob’s idyllic weekend in the Catskills, dish on William’s ungrateful pool party guests, and plot their return to fantasy and science fiction novels later in October.

NEXT WEEK:

The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown: Chapter 72-End

Your hosts have been to hell and back with Alice Law and Peter Murdoch and are ready to give their final thoughts on Katabasis by R.F. Kuang. Did they love it? Yes. Did they understand it all? Probably not!

But first….Jacob updates William on his progress through the continually mid TV series Alien Earth. Then William admits that Jacob was right about 28 Years Later, and provides a shocking pronunciation of Puss In Boots 2.

NEXT WEEK:

The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown, Chapters 1-71

Jacob and William are back in hell, journeying with their dysfunctional duo Alice and Peter through the middle portion of R.F. Kuang's consistently-surprising Katabasis. But first Jacob shares a new Netflix anime rec (Frieren), and William questions what's going on with Pierce Brown's Hazard Bedlam scavenger hunt. Please note this episode also contains multiple Taylor Swift references.

NEXT WEEK: Katabasis by R.F. Kuang Chapter 21-End

Jacob and William are back from their one-week hiatus, refreshed and ready to revert to dividing books into multiple-week journeys. That's right, your hosts will be breaking each book into manageable weekly reading chunks again starting with Katabasis, the new dark academia fantasy novel by R.F. Kuang.

But first, Jacob shares an update from bookworld, freshly returned from an author event with Dan Brown to celebrate the release of his new book The Secret of Secrets (soon to be discussed on a podcast near you). And then it's down into the depths of hell—which looks a hell of a lot like a college campus—with the antiheroes of Katabasis. Your hosts are loving it, check out the episode schedule below if you want to read along!

UPCOMING EPISODES:

• 9/18: Katabasis Chapters 11-20
• 9/25: Katabasis Chapters 21-End

It's William's birthday on this week's DRAGONS DADDIES DEEP SPACE! Our Leo-Virgo cusp king unboxes the gifts Jacob sent him, and shares that he voluntarily watched the Warcraft movie (29% on Rotten Tomatoes).

Then it's time to discuss The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennet. Your hosts endeavor to spoil as little as possible while speaking for 40 minutes because–SPOILER ALERT for this DDDSpod ep–they LOVED this book, give it a resounding 5 stars, and want you to experience it for yourself.

NEXT WEEK (9/4) DDDS pod will be on a brief hiatus, before returning on the following Thursday (11th of September) with their first episode covering roughly half of Katabasis by R.F. Kuang.

A fly appears, a fly is killed, and another fly emerges.

Meanwhile... Jacob shares an important, and potentially live-saving public service announcement, which William one ups by sharing that he viewed a movie trailer. Next, your hosts share a programming update (spoiler alert: Infinite Silver is canonically unreadable). Then chests are bursting with extra terrestrials, eyes are bulging out of kitties, consciousnesses are transferring into hybrids, starships are crashing into buildings, and plots are getting riddled with holes as your hosts dive into the new FX on Hulu show ALIEN: EARTH. While they’re not sure how they feel about it–and aren’t getting that unique ALIEN feeling from it–they find plenty to chit and chat about.

NEXT WEEK’S EPISODE: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

Leaping lizards! William and Jacob are joined by Ryan Keely, co-host of D&D real-play podcast I Seduce the Dragon, to discuss Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block. This slim, punk-rock, found-family, manic-pixie L.A. fairytale is new to your hosts, but not to Ryan, who highlights her enduring love for the novel and Los Angeles, while reckoning with the cringe and elements of cultural appropriation.

UPCOMING EPISODES:

• 8/21: Alien Earth Episodes 1 & 2
• 8/28: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett