To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com

There is no hand holding for readers starting Gardens of the Moon – Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. A sink or swim fantasy novel that starts with a mage battle assaulting a floating continent. A rapidly expanding story, though which way is it expanding? Time will tell in this massive 10 book series.

Some of the books and authors discussed in this episode include:

• Gardens of the Moon – Malazan Book of the Fallen
• Deadhouse Gates – Malazan Book of the Fallen

Substack: https://substack.com/@alexanderwoolven

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRQzE_T2r6qPR_jbZNgZC1Q

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-novel-review-podcast/id1681724908

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uCgZyBj9T5uPQsfbqTUW5

Podbean: https://anovelreviewpodcast.podbean.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/novelreviewpod

Email: anovelreviewpodcast@gmail.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/anovelreviewpod/

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#BookPodcast, #BookTube, #BookLovers, #ReadingCommunity, #LiteraryPodcast, #BooksAndSociety, #ReadingForChange, #LiteratureLovers, #ReadersOfYouTube, #PodcastEpisode, #SeasonalContent, #ThoughtfulReading, #BookDiscussion, #CulturalConversation

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com

In this episode, I dive into Assassin’s Quest, the final novel in Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy, sharing my thoughts on its tone and payoff. While the journey has moments of depth and beauty, the tonal structure didn’t land for me, and the ending felt like it missed the satisfying conclusion I expected, leaving the trilogy’s resolution more muted than impactful.

Painting: Today I painted a Dragon

Some of the books and authors discussed in this episode include:

· Assassin’s Apprectice

· Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

· Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb

Substack: https://substack.com/@alexanderwoolven

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRQzE_T2r6qPR_jbZNgZC1Q

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-novel-review-podcast/id1681724908

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uCgZyBj9T5uPQsfbqTUW5

Podbean: https://anovelreviewpodcast.podbean.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/novelreviewpod

Email: anovelreviewpodcast@gmail.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/anovelreviewpod/

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#BookPodcast, #BookTube, #BookLovers, #ReadingCommunity, #LiteraryPodcast, #BooksAndSociety, #ReadingForChange, #LiteratureLovers, #ReadersOfYouTube, #PodcastEpisode, #SeasonalContent, #ThoughtfulReading, #BookDiscussion, #CulturalConversation

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com

On this episode of our book podcast, I explore Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, the Nobel Prize–winning author. Blending literary mystery, environmental themes, and dark humor, this discussion unpacks the novel’s eccentric narrator, animal rights philosophy, astrology and the haunting Polish landscape, trying to unravel why Tokarczuk’s unconventional thriller continues to fascinate readers worldwide.

Painting: Today I painted a deer

Some of the books and authors discussed in this episode include:

• Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

Substack: https://substack.com/@alexanderwoolven

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRQzE_T2r6qPR_jbZNgZC1Q

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-novel-review-podcast/id1681724908

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uCgZyBj9T5uPQsfbqTUW5

Podbean: https://anovelreviewpodcast.podbean.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/novelreviewpod

Email: anovelreviewpodcast@gmail.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/anovelreviewpod/

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#BookPodcast, #BookTube, #BookLovers, #ReadingCommunity, #LiteraryPodcast, #BooksAndSociety, #ReadingForChange, #LiteratureLovers, #ReadersOfYouTube, #PodcastEpisode, #SeasonalContent, #ThoughtfulReading, #BookDiscussion, #CulturalConversation

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com

Enter the chaotic court of the Six Duchies with Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb, where loyalty is lethal and magic always has a price. In this episode, I unpack Fitz’s disastrous diplomacy, as he navigates love against duty and one very inconvenient wolf bond. Expect political chaos, slow-burn heartbreak, and feelings sharper than a royal blade.

Painting: Today I painted Nighteyes

Some of the books and authors discussed in this episode include:

• Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

Substack: https://substack.com/@alexanderwoolven

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRQzE_T2r6qPR_jbZNgZC1Q

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-novel-review-podcast/id1681724908

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uCgZyBj9T5uPQsfbqTUW5

Podbean: https://anovelreviewpodcast.podbean.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/novelreviewpod

Email: anovelreviewpodcast@gmail.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/anovelreviewpod/

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#BookPodcast, #BookTube, #BookLovers, #ReadingCommunity, #LiteraryPodcast, #BooksAndSociety, #ReadingForChange, #LiteratureLovers, #ReadersOfYouTube, #PodcastEpisode, #SeasonalContent, #ThoughtfulReading, #BookDiscussion, #CulturalConversation

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com

Who gets to tell history? Just because we have a story doesn’t mean we have the truth. History is a woven tapestry of perspectives, one that grows richer and more honest the more voices we allow into it. Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn presents a narrative where side characters exist largely to serve Huck’s moral journey. In contrast, Percival Everett’s James reclaims the identity of one of those marginalised figures, shifting the perspective and challenging the reader to reconsider what was left unsaid. No longer a character in service of plot, James explores the duality of perception, the power of narrative voice, and the nature of silence, especially how history forgets those who did not speak, even when silence itself was an act of self-preservation. In this episode, I compare Huckleberry Finn and James to examine perspective, narrative authority, race, and the ways literature shapes our understanding of truth and history.

Painting: Today I painted Huck and James on a raft along the Mississippi

Some of the books and authors discussed in this episode include:

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• James by Percival Everett
• What is History by E.H. Carr
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Substack: https://substack.com/@alexanderwoolven

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRQzE_T2r6qPR_jbZNgZC1Q

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-novel-review-podcast/id1681724908

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uCgZyBj9T5uPQsfbqTUW5

Podbean: https://anovelreviewpodcast.podbean.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/novelreviewpod

Email: anovelreviewpodcast@gmail.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/anovelreviewpod/

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#BookPodcast, #BookTube, #BookLovers, #ReadingCommunity, #LiteraryPodcast, #BooksAndSociety, #ReadingForChange, #LiteratureLovers, #ReadersOfYouTube, #PodcastEpisode, #SeasonalContent, #ThoughtfulReading, #BookDiscussion, #CulturalConversation

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com

In this episode, I dive into Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb, exploring who FitzChivalry Farseer really is and whether he ever truly knows himself. From isolation and duty to identity and belonging, it is clear that Fitz uncertainty of himself allows others to take advantage and shape him as they see fit.

Painting: Today I painted a deer on a shield

Some of the books and authors discussed in this episode include:

• Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Substack: https://substack.com/@alexanderwoolven

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRQzE_T2r6qPR_jbZNgZC1Q

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-novel-review-podcast/id1681724908

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uCgZyBj9T5uPQsfbqTUW5

Podbean: https://anovelreviewpodcast.podbean.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/novelreviewpod

Email: anovelreviewpodcast@gmail.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/anovelreviewpod/

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#BookPodcast, #BookTube, #BookLovers, #ReadingCommunity, #LiteraryPodcast, #BooksAndSociety, #ReadingForChange, #LiteratureLovers, #ReadersOfYouTube, #PodcastEpisode, #SeasonalContent, #ThoughtfulReading, #BookDiscussion, #CulturalConversation

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com

Some stories don’t just trace characters arcs - they wrestle with human nature itself. In East of Eden, John Steinbeck explores the nature of good and evil, and the choices that define who we become. Set against the backdrop of the biblical story of Cain and Abel across generations, asking one powerful question: are we bound by our past, or do we have the freedom to choose our own path?

Painting: Today I painted a globe coming out of a book

Some of the books and authors discussed in this episode include:

• East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRQzE_T2r6qPR_jbZNgZC1Q

Substack: https://substack.com/@alexanderwoolven

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-novel-review-podcast/id1681724908

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uCgZyBj9T5uPQsfbqTUW5

Podbean: https://anovelreviewpodcast.podbean.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/anovelreviewpod/

Email: anovelreviewpodcast@gmail.com

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com

Substack link: Reflections on a world book tour https://alexanderwoolven.substack.com/p/reflections-on-a-world-book-tour

In 2025 for the podcast, I wanted to try something different to bring meaning to the podcast. Having grown up in a typical Anglo household, my upbringing was surrounded by the normality of Western books. This is in no way a criticism of something that couldn’t be helped, especially because those books are colourful, wonderful and the reason I fell in love with literature.

Painting: Today I painted a globe coming out of a book

Some of the books and authors discussed in this episode include:

• Italy
• The Moon and the Bonfires by Ceasare Pavese
• A Girl Returned by Donatella Di Pietratntonio
• Germany
• I Was There by Hans Peter Richter
• A Girl in Berlin by Anonymous
• Chile
• The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
• Space Invaders by Nona Fernandez
• Japan
• Days at the Morasaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagasawa
• Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
• Nigeria
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
• Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo
• Afghanistan
• The Kite Runner by Khaleed Hosseini
• The Patience Stone by Atiq Rahimi
• United States of America
• Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
• The Colour Purple by Alice Walker
• China
• Chronicle of a Blood Merchant by Yu Hua
• Naked Earth by Eileen Chang
• India
• The White Tiger by Avind Adiga
• The God of the Small Things by Arundhati Roy
• England
• Watership Down by Richard Adams
• The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
• The Netherlands
• The Assault by Harry Mulisch
• Midnight Blue by Simone Van Der Vlugt
• Australia
• Wake in Fright by Kenneth Cook
• My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin

Additional segments throughout the podcast include:

• Mantle Piece Moments
• What are you reading?
• On that Quote

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRQzE_T2r6qPR_jbZNgZC1Q

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-novel-review-podcast/id1681724908

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uCgZyBj9T5uPQsfbqTUW5

Podbean: https://anovelreviewpodcast.podbean.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/novelreviewpod

Email: anovelreviewpodcast@gmail.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/anovelreviewpod/

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