Thank you to our Patron One In A Thousand who requested this week's book! They wrote in to us earlier this year, saying:

"...At some point in your lives, you've probably experienced media that you felt was ALMOST really good, but for whatever reason it just wasn't, and media that was almost really good can be just as frustrating as outright bad media because you can see that it just needed a little bit of fixing. That's how I felt about The Third Force. It's a tie-in novel to an obscure Japanese multimedia franchise from the 90's called Gadget...Marc Laidlaw was given a lot of creative freedom to write his own interpretation of the story, including more worldbuilding and character development, to mixed results...Laidlaw has confirmed that several characters and plot points from this book went on to inspire elements of the Half-Life series, which he became the lead writer for a couple years after writing this...In a way, The Third Force is almost like a rough first draft for ideas that Laidlaw would execute in a better way later."

In addition to our usual barnyard language, today's episode includes discussion or mention of brainwashing, torture, murder, and general high mind loss.

It's winter up here in the northern hemisphere, so why not explore a fluffy memoir that flirts with self-help specifically for the season? Get a nice blanket and a stuffed creature, a hot beverage, maybe light a candle or incense or perhaps even a fire, and snuggle in. Take care of yourselves out there - make that doctor, dentist, therapist, etc. appt you've been avoiding!

In addition to our usual barnyard language, today's episode includes discussion or mention of injury, surgery, mental health struggles, and alternative treatments for health and wellness.

References & Resources:

• National Institute of Health - Help for Mental Illnesses
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Hotline: Chat Online for Free

Terry has been dead for a few years now, but it's clear that he controls Chris from beyond the grave with a Rada'Han because Chris begged Paris to read yet another Sword of Truth novel this year. The suffering is turned up to 11 as we're both crushed beneath a block of fantasy plot swiss cheese. Even though it's more holes than cheese-plot, it still hurts because the holes have spikes, in Goodkind fashion.

In addition to our usual barnyard language, today's episode includes discussion or mention of abuse, sexual assault/coercion, sex worker murder, slavery, and pandemics.

Other episodes in this series:

• Blood of the Fold (Sword of Truth #3) by Terry Goodkind (2020)
• Stone of Tears (Sword of Truth #2) by Terry Goodkind (2017)
• Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth #1) by Terry Goodkind (2015)
• Our commentary on the first season of the ABC adaptation of these books, the Legend of the Seeker, is is available on our Patreon