Beginnings - Part 1 (Secret Rooms)

"They want to keep us chasing/their money and greed/but happiness/oh, I know is free/don't curse the darkness/just be a light/let it shine for the heartless/let it shine through the night." - Tash Neal

Welcome to a brand new episode for a brand new story! The next two episodes cover chapters 1 through 5 of Secret Rooms: Definitive Edition. Like Episode 6, I cut this one into two halves because of length, and also due to additional editing time. Between changing things due to sound issues, cleaning up some wordy asides or removing parts due to feeling like they were insensitive, this is likely the most editing I have done thus far. I hope you'll agree the end product is worth it.

Today we get into some of the fundamental themes that show up in both this book and New Century as a whole: the importance of names, familial relationships both good and bad, and the metaphor of how flawed systems crack more readily when faced with something it's not able to fight easily. We also talk about the role of distaster fiction as a form of escapism during a time of very real disaster.

Be prepared: there's more politics in the pipeline. It's hard not to talk about the real world stuff that comes up when discussing New Century. The topic is baked in, especially because of the way things were getting worse around us due to the election of Trump, and what has come about as a result. But we'll try to keep it light.

#BlackLivesMatter
#WrathMonth

 

Recommended links for fun and profit learning:

Ian Danskin - "The Artist is Absent:Davey Wreden and The Beginners Guide"
https://youtu.be/4N6y6LEwsKc

"Where Once Poe Walked" - by H.P. Lovecraft
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Where_Once_Poe_Walked

Lindsey Ellis - "Death of the Author"
https://youtu.be/MGn9x4-Y_7A

 

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

 

Intro is "The Talons of Adventure, The Antlers of Romance" by Doctor Turtle of the Free Music Archive

Outro is "Can't Hold Me Down" by GriZ feat. Tash Neal