Prophecy Radio episode #83 discusses The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro, with both a spoiler-free and spoiler-filled section, as well as features an exclusive interview with the authors. We also discuss all the latest Riordanverse news, including Rick’s official blog for the TSATS book tour. This week, we’re skipping our The Red Pyramid chapter discussion in order to maximize our time with the new Nico di Angelo book! New episodes of Prophecy Radio air weekly, and we keep our discussions PG-13.
News and updates (00:03:45)
- Do you want us to read Chalice of the Gods chapter by chapter in September?
- First off, we shout-out a couple birthdays and anniversaries from this past week.
- The Cursed Carnival and Other Calamities is now in paperback (listen to Prophecy Radio episode #2 for our discussion).
- The Sun and the Star is a #1 NYT Bestseller!
- We do some cleanup following the Sun and the Star book tour, including this interview on Read Riordan.
- Rick also wrote a blog post on May 11 to talk about everything he experienced during the tour.
- Rick is already signing tip-ins for Chalice of the Gods, which doesn’t come out until September.
- Read Riordan has an excerpt for Last Canto of the Dead by Daniel José Older, out on May 16.
- If you need to refresh your memory on Ballad & Dagger, you can listen to Prophecy Radio episode #33.
- J.C. Cervantes has an adult romance, The Enchanted Hacienda coming out the same day!
- Be sure to enter Sarwat Chadda’s giveaway for Fury of the Dragon Goddess.
- We also talk about our own giveaway we’re doing for The Sun and the Star!
The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro (00:17:56)
- What is the book actually about?
- Go read the Sun and the Star book review that made mark Oshiro cry.
- Did we actually think it was Bob calling out to Nico?
- What did we think of Mr. D’s characterization in this book?
- Were we excited to see Rachel again?
- Getting to talk about Sally Jackson on Mother’s Day is next-level awesome.
- It was super interesting seeing Percy and Annabeth from Nico’s point of view.
- Nico and Will’s differing opinion of the Underworld was an obstacle, but not one they couldn’t overcome.
- Okay, so the Underworld is kind of scary, but it’s also beautiful and full of life.
- Everyone loves an opposites-attract story, but what’s that like in practice?
- Gorgyra’s chapters were, surprisingly, one of our favorite parts of the book.
- It was so great getting to see Solangelo from their POV.
- If you’ve ever experienced anxiety, depression, or PTSD, then the effects that Tartarus has on the demigods will feel very familiar to you.
- This book really tests Solangelo’s relationship, but they continuously choose each other throughout it, and that’s the most important part.
- The spoiler section starts at 00:59:21.
- We revisit the Mary Sue interview and get a little emotional about the title of the book.
- Persephone’s Garden was a really wonderful, surprising addition to this book.
- Is there any world in which Will doesn’t know “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” by Lil Nas X?
- It’s time to talk about all of the wonderful and terrifying monsters in this book.
- The troglodytes were total standouts, and we wouldn’t mind seeing them again.
- Menoetes is dating WHO!?!?
- Amphithemis was so interesting, especially because his character didn’t go in the direction we were especting.
- We discuss how the Aeternae ended up in this book and why they were the way they were.
- And here we thought Small Bob couldn’t be anymore amazing than he already was.
- Bob went through so, so much while he was down in Tartarus.
- On the count of three, repeat after me: KAREN WAS RIGHT.
- Nyx really was the perfect villain for this book, and we have a wonderful discussion about how important it is to choose happiness.
- Can you believe even Nemesis and Epiales rebelled against their mother?
- We discuss Nico and his Coco Puffs.
- Didn’t Bianca choose rebirth? What’s up with her still being in Elysium?
- Hades was actually being a great father in this book, and we’re all for it.
- That conversation between Piper and Nico at the end was SO IMPORTANT.
The Sun and the Star interview with Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro (01:59:13)
- You can also read an edited transcript of it at this link.
- Rick and Mark had so many nice things to say to each other, and it was so lovely to witness.
- It’s also amazing how much of a collaboration this story was, and we love it!
- Is there any chance that we could get more standalone novels in the future? (Karen has some ideas.)
- What did Mark and Rick learn from each other?
- Becky is a genius and she deserves ALL the credit.
- Oh, and we can thank Mark for Nico’s flashback.
- We find out the exact moment Mark decided to do the book.
- That final scene between Nico and Piper is so, so good.
Feedback (02:29:01)
- You can always leave comments for previous episodes!
- We love that a lot of older fans are finding our podcast.
- We’re still totally willing to do that doughnut episode.
- Who had the better arc, Nico or Lester?
- Would we want a Thalia standalone novel?
Thanks for listening, and tune in next time for episode 84, in which we’ll discuss Last Canto of the Dead by Daniel José Older.
This episode’s hosts are: Karen Rought and Kristen Kranz.
Each episode, our Prophecy Radio hosts and their guests will keep you up to date on the latest information coming out of Camp Half-Blood, including upcoming books and adaptation news, discuss a topic of choice, and do a chapter by chapter reread of the Percy Jackson series.
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