Episode #15 - Full Speed Ahead

Prophecy Radio: A Percy Jackson Podcast

Welcome to Prophecy Radio, a Percy Jackson podcast dedicated to all of Rick Riordan’s past, present, and future projects! Co-hosts Karen Rought and Kristen Kranz discuss the latest news in the Percy Jackson/Rick Riordan Presents fandom, then jump into the Dragon Pearl and the short story “The Initiation” by Yoon Ha Lee, as well as analyze chapters 7 and 8 of Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters. New episodes of Prophecy Radio will air weekly, and all ages are welcome to tune in.

News and Updates (00:02:12)

• Here’s to another socially distanced episode!
• Happy birthday, Magnus Chase!
• Becky says they’re working on stuff!
• Wouldn’t some official artwork from PJOTV be awesome?
• Karen was trying to be realistic, but Kristen just wants a greenlight.
• You can pre-order Reclaim the Stars right now! (CORRECTION: Karen was reading the list of RRP authors from A Universe of Wishes. The correct ones for Reclaim the Stars include J.C. Cervantes, Mark Oshiro, and Daniel José Older.)
• Karen will be doing a full review on Subjectify Media.

Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee (00:04:47)

• It was really nice to read Dragon Pearl and Tiger Honor back to back.
• Kristen mostly listened to Dragon Pearl on audiobook (narrated by Kim Mai Guest).
• Karen and Kristen had opposite problems when it came to name pronunciations!
• But pronunciation guides are a life saver and we love them.
• We have flashbacks to the Hermione debacle.
• This will be mostly spoiler-free until the end!
• Karen first fell in love with the idea of fox spirits thanks to Teen Wolf.
• Sci-fi meets folk lore/mythology is a really unique take.
• Kristen doesn’t read a lot of sci-fi, though she does enjoy the genre in film.
• Dragon Pearl felt a little more like YA to us than MG, but in a good way!
• Middle grade is NOT a dumbed down version of young adult fiction.
• Fox spirits have some awesome abilities. It’s really gotta come in handy!
• There are a lot of logistics when it comes to shapeshifting.
• (This is where we should’ve said, DON’T QUESTION THE SCIENCE.)
• Min is a troublemaker, but that’s why we love her.
• The Space Forces is a little like the Federation in Star Trek, and it’s amazing Min was able to sneak her way into the ranks!
• It’s a pretty big deal that it seems like Jun defected, and that’s why she wants to get to the bottom of what’s going on.
• Dragon Pearl and Daughter of the Deep had some similar vibes.
• *sings “Into the Unknown”*
• Poor Jang barely enjoyed his time in space.
• But let’s talk about spirits and how they interact with the world around them.
• There’s a lot of suspense and tension in this book, not least because Min is pretending to be another person!
• Min asks permission to take over Jang’s identity, and we really loved that.
• Let’s meet Sujin and Haneul! They’re pretty cool.
• Who wouldn’t want a magical spork that can summon snacks?
• It would be really cool to be a dragon spirit.
• Kristen is really down with the idea of being able to control the weather.
• Captain Hwan was a scary guy … or was he!?
• For the record, he does NOT have a tiger head (except in Karen’s imagination).
• We take a Kung Fu Panda break.
• This book was very queer friendly and we are HERE for it.
• The commonality of using pronouns in every day life was refreshing.
• It doesn’t make sense to have the entire universe at your fingertips and have everyone be straight.
• This book is SUCH a good introduction to LGBTQIA+ concepts for kids.
• Are foxes born non-binary?
• SPOILERS ARE INCOMING. You can skip to the chapter reviews section.
• Did we guess that Captain Hwan was the one behind everything?
• It may or may not have crossed our minds that Jun was evil BUT ONLY FOR A SECOND.
• Justice for Jun!
• The fact that Jun is sticking around made up for his death!
• At least Min and Jun can be together now.
• Together…FOREVER. It’s gonna get awkward.
• Their relationship is super strong and we love it.
• And that’s a great segue into the Cursed Carnival and Other Calamities short story “The Initiation” by Yoon Ha Lee.
• Min has a complex background, but her intelligence and resourcefulness is unparalleled.
• Let’s meet some new characters! Which ones were our favorites?
• Those initial tests are NO JOKE.
• We dive a little more deeply into the prejudice against foxes and ghosts.
• Yeah, we would DEFINITELY read more about this group of characters.

Chapter Reviews (00:58:53)

• Let’s get into Sea of Monsters chapter 7!
• This chapter was necessary to get from point A to point B, but it was still interesting!
• We’re glad Annabeth and Percy now have a common enemy.
• And a problem to solve!
• We should probably talk about Tantalus.
• …It does kind of make sense to give Clarisse the quest.
• Tantalus’ story is VERY scary.
• And now his punishment makes so much more sense.
• We love how Coke calms Percy’s brain down.
• How do these kids get their gold drachmas?
• What’s the exchange rate?
• We’ve been playing too many video games.
• Hermes is surprisingly approachable.
• That Eris reference was EPIC.
• Thank you, Hermes, for the internet.
• Flinstone vitamins FTW.
• We love a good itemized packing scene.
• Ancient History is kind of Ancient History for the demigods, too.
• Kristen can’t just pick a single line.
• Now it’s time for chapter 8!
• The hippocampi are SO COOL.
• And Tyson’s affection for them is adorable.
• We try to wrap our heads around Tyson’s timeline, but we need more information.
• Rainbow can’t climb ladders. :(
• Let’s talk about Grover.
• Prophecy Count: 8!
• It’s very important to have a timeline.
• This chapter was short but leaves on a huge cliffhanger!
• Karen ain’t afraid of no hellhound!
• It’s really cool that Perseus got a happy ending.
• Percy didn’t want to be rude to his dad.
• Stick around to hear the awesome feedback we got this week!

Thanks for listening, and be sure to tune in next time for episode 16, where we’ll discuss Tiger Honor by Yoon Ha Lee.

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.

Follow Us: Twitter // Instagram // Facebook // Tumblr

Listen and Subscribe: Audioboom // Apple // Spotify

Feel free to leave us your questions or comments through any of these mediums! You can also email us at [e-mail] or visit our homepage for archives and more information about our show.

Prophecy Radio is a Subjectify Media podcast production. Visit Subjectify Media for more shows, including Not Another Teen Wolf Podcast, ReWatchable, and Not About The Weather, and for all our latest articles about the stories we’re passionate about.