Animals!

You can access the TRANSCRIPT here

It's our favorite animals in Sci Fi and Fantasy! Brittney and Joshua share a beloved childhood book along with multitudes of animal facts while obsessing over jumping spiders.

Brittney's pick:
The Hidden by Melanie Golding (Goodreads) 

Joshua's pick:
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaicovsky (Goodreads)

Honorable Mentions:
City by Clifford Simak (Goodreads)
Isle of Dogs (2018) directed by Wes Anderson (IMDb)
Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton (Goodreads) - reviewed in our Apocalypse Reads episode
The Bees by Laline Paull (Goodreads) - reviewed in our Favorite books of 2022

Things we talk about:
Amazing Poisonous Animals by DK Eyewitness Junior (Goodreads)
Social Lives of Animals by Ashley Ward (Goodreads)
Blood Buddies featured on Radiolab podcast
Little Darlings by Melanie Golding (Goodreads)

Find us at:

Podcast Website: https://swordsstarships.buzzsprout.com
Instagram: Brittney and Joshua (@swordsnstarships) • Instagram photos and videos
Email: Starships@coosbaylibrary.org

Our Library's Facebook Page: Coos Bay Public Library | Facebook
Coos Bay Public Library's Instagram: CoosBayLibrary (@coosbaylibrary) • Instagram photos and videos

Transcript

Joshua

Hey, Brittney.

Brittney

Hey!

Joshua

Hey, everybody. We’re back. Can we tell people what happened? 

Brittney

So, this is going to sound odd. You have recently heard some recordings of us going, “Doo tee doo tee doo!” Well, this is our first recording since back …

Joshua

Since February.

Brittney

Since I was very sick for a week. My husband got sick. Joshua broke his ankle during Snow-mageddon.

Joshua

Yup.

Brittney

That was rough. I made him take a picture with me.

Joshua

It was a happy picture. We're like, we’re looking good.

Brittney

Yeah. You were laughing and I signed your cast. I didn’t really give you much of a choice. I was like, “Can I sign your cast?!”

Joshua

Just reminded me of the saying, “Laughing outside, crying inside.” Before we get back to it. Sorry, I’m squirreling again. I just finished the Mira episode and I just want to say ‘thank you’ to Mira of Sailor Selkie, over at the Compass Building.

Brittney

Isn’t that episode coming out after this one?

Joshua

But I can still thank them. She totally like helped us out. I really appreciate that. I'm sorry, I never got a chance to meet you. I sometimes I can.

Brittney

She's real cool.

Joshua

Yeah, she sounds great.

Brittney

So, if you don't know, the library recently did tattoos as a fundraiser. Mira works at Sailor Selkie. She's like the owner. And while she was tattooing, I went to her and was like, “do you want to do a mini-sode?” And she was like, “Okay.” She did awesome. She was so game for it. She was a little frightened, but I was like, “I can edit anything.” 

Joshua

That's right. And she got our ending perfect on the first go! So, like, I couldn't even do that. So, I'm just like you're superstar and you're cool ally too.  So, thank you for all you do.

Brittney

Yes. Thank you, Mira. You will hear her voice in a few episodes later.

Joshua

All right. So, hey, what are we talking about today?

Brittney

We’re talking about ANMOS.

Joshua

Anmos? Also known as Aminals. Also known as our friends who cannot talk or think properly.

Brittney

Unless they’re birds.

Joshua

Can they talk? Oh yeah, that’s right! Parrots. Sometimes huskies, too.

Brittney and Joshua

[talk in husky]

Brittney

Yes, today’s episode is all about ANIMALS! Love Animals. I used to have a poisonous animals book.

Joshua

Oh, my God. I used to have one too! Was it Eyewitness books?

Brittney

Probably. And I used to reread all the time. I love predators, poisonous animals. I was a punk since I was young.

Joshua

Absolutely. Absolutely. I imagine like a four-year-old Britney with a serious, like, scorpion tattoo. And she's like, I’m with the Stingin’ Ladies. She’s got her leather jacket.

Brittney

No, it wouldn’t have been stretchy enough. I was all about comfort.

Joshua

That's true.

Brittney

I’d have been in my total purple sweatsuit.

Joshua

Amen, with an embroidered tarantula on the front, although I don't think you like tarantulas.

Brittney

But they will put hairs into your eyes.

Joshua

They will, yes. That’s their defense mechanism.

Brittney

They get all mad at you and then [makes angry tarantula noises] and put hairs in your eyes. It’s like fiberglass.

Joshua

Yeah, because they don't like to buy it because that's what they used to hunt. Biting is a last resort.

Brittney

Just ask Joshua and I, we’ll tell you all about it. 

Joshua

We read the books. 

Brittney

We read ALL the books. At least the animal books.

Joshua

Amen. So, this episode is all about our favorite animal books and books about animals.

Brittney

Yes.

Joshua

I think we both picked like not the usual kind of fluffy, furry animals.

Brittney

Correct. It's hard because there are some books I might have done instead, but I’ve done them.

Joshua

That's the thing. I think we both read a lot of fantasy and Sci Fi with animals.

Brittney

Yeah, we love talking animals.

Joshua

So, my pick is Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Adrian T., you’re the man. I’m sorry if I got your name wrong.

Brittney

We get names wrong a lot on here.

Joshua

That's the only thing we’re consistent about: messing up your names.

Brittney

Oh, well, speaking of names, quick update. So, for our graphic novels episode, I did The Magic Fish. His name was Trung Nguyen. Somebody asked him, “How do you pronounce your name?” And he did like a whole little comic series and he was like, “Hey, you can pronounce it this way, but this is what I prefer. Or you could do it this way. It was so nice. He said you can say, “Trung.”

Joshua

Trung. That’s cool.

Brittney

He said that most people can’t pronounce his name because your mouth literally has not been formed to speak Vietnamese. Everybody, you should go follow him on Instagram @Trungles 

Joshua

And for amazing artwork too.

Brittney

So good!

Joshua

Totally! Thank you for that. So, a little thing about Adrian. Okay so when he was in university, he studied zoology and psychology, which makes sense. I bring this up because a couple of his books, his huge series are about arachnids and insects, intelligent arachnids, and insects. So, it makes sense.

Brittney

I don’t want intelligent spiders. I know you’re going to tell me about them.

Joshua

I used to think, “no.” But, just wait until you hear about them.

Brittney

Okay.

Joshua

He's also into tabletop roleplaying games.

Brittney

Oh, TTRPG!

Joshua

And he’s also into live action roleplaying games also called LARP.

Brittney

That’s like when you dress up, right?

Joshua

Yeah. It integrates cosplay and the game playing elements.

Brittney

Yes.

Joshua

So, about Children of Time. 

Brittney

Is it an old series?

Joshua

It came out in 2016.

Brittney

Oh, okay.

Joshua

Yeah. And I think it's like a trilogy. I don't know if he’s still writing books in it. The book opens with Dr. Avrana Kern. She's a kind of like a biologist geneticist, and she is really interested in uplifting aminals. Animals. I know how to say it right. Uplifting, are you familiar with that concept?

Brittney

[sings] You raise me uuuuup … Like she’s trying to spotlight on them?

Joshua

She is manipulating the genetic structure in order to make them intelligent.

Brittney

Oh, girl. Scary.

Joshua

It is. It is a frightening concept. It's an interesting idea. It's played around a lot in certain science fiction books.

Brittney

Because humans are trash.

Joshua

Well, that's kind of the. That’s her method of thinking. She's like, human beings are consuming, and they are violent, so therefore they're not really good inheritors of the galaxy. So, she really wants to create—mad scientist, totally. She wants to help create a society, a civilization of chimpanzees, that are without those hold ups.

Brittney

I wouldn’t have picked chimps.

Joshua

Right. I think that's kind of a bold choice for her, because chimpanzees, God love them, they tend to be on the ferocious side.

Brittney

No kidding! I think I've said this before, but my friend who was studying to be a zookeeper. She was like, “anybody who works with chimps is usually missing fingers.”

Joshua

Losing fingers, because they are …

Brittney

Why train chimps?

Joshua

Well, I think because … Okay, so she created this virus, this virus that kind of encourages evolution. So, the idea is, is that when this virus finds a host, it will kind of like manipulate genetic structure. So, within a few generations, the hosts will begin to form a society and hopefully, like within a generation, a primitive society that will continue to grow into a more modern society.

Brittney

Okay, shots fired, I'm going to say she's not a very smart scientist.

Joshua

Well, like I said, she's kind of a mad scientist. 

Brittney

She should have picked humpback whales. I'm telling you.

Joshua

I wonder if, like, it's because chimpanzees are so close to humankind that she knew that … I am just assuming what this fictional character is doing, that the virus would be more effective.

Brittney

No. I’m mad.

Joshua

Because of her idea is like the virus is going to select certain parts of the genetic structure that encourage social cohesion, less so much more violence and stuff like that. Like, it’ll cut those parts out.

Brittney

How come she didn't do that to humans?

Joshua

Humans are already here. I don’t know!

Brittney

I am so sorry. You tell me things from these books and I’m always like: Joshua, answer!

Joshua

I wish I knew.

Brittney

Please tell me the story. I’ll stop complaining.

Joshua

No, no, no! This is good.

Brittney

I’m mad that she didn't pick humpback whales. They are altruistic.

Joshua

As I was reading this, I was like, “I would not pick chimpanzees.”

Brittney

This is how you get a Planet of the Apes! They might eat our faces off.

Joshua

Well, there's a lot of people who do not agree with what our Dr. Avrana Kern is doing. On Earth, there is a movement, an anti-genetics movement, where others say, “No, do not uplift animals that’s bad!” But they enforce their paradigm in a way that's kind of like, you know, typical human. Let's blow it up.

So, Avrana Kern gets wind of this attack that’s impending, that’s coming to her own planet. She has terraformed a planet that she calls Kern's World.

Brittney

Oh, interesting. I didn't realize it was intergalactic.

Joshua

Yeah. Yeah. So human civilization is like a galaxy spanning. And she has her own little world where she's going to put some chimps on the planet and then infect them with the virus and everyone’s going to be happy.

Brittney

Little Okay, so it's kind of fun. It’s like a video game. A really unethical video game.

Joshua

Unfortunately, there's a missile coming her way and she's like, “Okay, I'm just going to start now. No more tests, no more of her beating around the bush. I'm just going to go forward with it.” And then she sends the monkeys, no, not monkeys, the apes out, and they kind of like get hit and they blow up in atmosphere and she's like, “curse you humanity!”

Brittney

Mah Chimps!

Joshua

So, she decides like, okay, maybe enough of the chimps survived, the virus, would find a host, and then they get to make their own planet. She goes into cryo-sleep to integrate her consciousness into the A.I. of the satellite in hopes of, kind of like, being the protective force around the planet.

Brittney

The mad scientist protective force. 

Joshua

On the planet’s surface, we have a little spider called portia labiata. It's commonly known as a white mustache jumping spider.

Brittney

Is this an actual spider.

Joshua

It's an actual spider that lives in, like, Southeast Asia. If you see them, they're kind of creepy, but if you look closely on their face, you know, we have a big giant spider eyes, but they have like this President Taft mustache.

Brittney

[in a gentlemen’s voice] “hello there.”

Joshua

Very dapper. So portia labiate is like going through the forest and she's like, “I’m a jumping spider! I see that branch and I’m going to go to it!” and she does. And then she, like, sees another spider. She's like, “Oh, a rival. I going to kill this one.” But then a new thought comes into her mind, “but wait! We could be friends!” and the other spider has the same thought, “Ha! We shall be friends!” 

The virus has found a host in this little spider.

Brittney

This is like kindergarten where we’re like, “Oh, we have the same Barbie lunchbox, we shall be friends!”

Joshua

Exactly! So, what follows is a story about these generations of spiders and the effects of the virus on them as they go from primitive beings to a fully functioning planetary civilization. And you get to experience their joys and sorrows. They find love and fight rivalries. They fight revolutions! It’s just so … I just love these little spiders so much because they're just so endearing, even though they look monstrous.

Joshua

But also, there's a parallel story. So as the spiders are growing up and they run the civilization, humankind has kind of collapsed in on itself. 

Brittney

Shocking.

Joshua

The war-like nature, and the consumptive nature of humanity has kind of overburdened it and the earth is completely decimated. And we follow the crew of the Gilgamesh who are like the last remnants of humanity.

Brittney

How do I know that name?

Joshua

It’s from a book about a hero who survived a flood, and he had a dog man best friend named Enkidu. It’s like an ancient story.

Brittney

I was like, “Is this from the Bible or is this a book?

Joshua

It’s pre-Bible, I think. It’s like one of the oldest stories in the world. 

Unfortunately, the last terraformed planet is Kern’s World, and they are heading straight for it.

Brittney

Oh, Crazy Scientist Lady. Is this also spider world? 

Joshua

This is also spider world, yes. 

Brittney

Those spiders are gonna mess you up.

Joshua

Well, you’ll have to read the book to find out.

Brittney

They’re going to go up your nostril because that’s what happens at night.

Joshua

Actually, they're kind of … I mean, they're not big. I imagine they're Jaeger-sized.

Brittney

Jaeger is my dog, for those of you who don’t know. He’s about 30 pounds.

Joshua

Can I just fangirl about portia labiata, the species of spider, as the reason why I loved this book?

Brittney

Right.

Joshua

So, they're so fascinating. They're small. They're small enough to fit on your pinky finger. They’re tiny little babies! They're so little! Their eyes can actually discern color. It's not like color like we see. It's kind of closer to what a dog sees, but still not as good as a dog. But still, the fact that they can differentiate color is amazing for an arachnid. They can’t do that. Their eyes suck.

Brittney

Well, because they're jumping spiders, they don't make webs. They chase down their prey. So, that kind of makes sense.

Joshua

And they're also really good at gauging distances. So, they have like a tele-photo …

Brittney

Well, that’s good because they have to jump.

Joshua

Exactly. They wouldn’t be a very good jumping spider if they missed the branch.

Brittney

Like a grasshopper splat on the ground.

Joshua

I meant to do that!

Brittney

It was on purpose.

Joshua

And they're really smart for arachnids. They are able to develop tactics for hunting different kinds of prey, like they are one of the few kinds of spiders actually hunt other spiders. It's very dangerous.

Brittney

Yeah, it is!

Joshua

So, like, they will encounter web-weaving spiders and also encounter other jumping spiders. So, they have different techniques that they have learned through practice and sometimes through instinct to catch this prey.

Brittney

Wow.

Joshua

Their hairy bodies are not just because they are cute and fuzzy. It's actually because how they communicate with each other. They use rhythm and percussion. So, like they see another spider they're gonna do their little [makes telegraph sounds]. 

Brittney

Is that like Morse code? 

Joshua

Kind of like Morse code but not the kind you can hear the kind you can feel. So, like, a person who is hearing impaired will still feel the music to their feet.

Brittney

I remember seeing a thing where they brought kids to a concert, and they gave them balloons so they could feel the music. That’s cool!

Joshua

Totally cool. So, like when the spiders are like courting each other or they're like past each other by, they're like, “Hey, I am a friend or I'm the food. Let's mate!” That kind of thing. They’ll do their little …

Brittney & Joshua

[make the ‘Shave and a Haircut’ tone]

Brittney

“Let’s Netflix and chill, what do you think?”

Joshua

Oh, my god! That’s exactly the tone.

Brittney

It's really fun seeing friendships between animals. And I know there's like a whole debate about is it for first survival or something else? But it's like, just let me have my niceness. 

Joshua

Of course, it’s a friendship in its own way.

Brittney

Yeah. Into the Rolling Deep? Is that Mira Grant?

Joshua

Yeah, Into the Drowning Deep.

Brittney

So, in that particular book, they have dolphins who are really smart. And it's so funny because one of them makes a comment to the other, “humans aren’t smart enough to understand our poetry. It’s just different.

Joshua

It's true. Sidetrack. I did see a comparison of a dolphin brain with a human brain. Again, this is on social media, so I don't know the veracity of this, but a dolphin brain is a lot wrinklier than a human brain. This makes me think, like, maybe they're smarter than us because they've got more wrinkles. And as we know, wrinkles mean smarts.

Brittney

If they had hands, they’d be unstoppable.

Joshua

So, if you can imagine all the cool aspects of this spider and how Adrian is able to weave that into a civilization that is so different from ours, but it's also like something that's like, “Wow, they're so cool.” I love them. That's my story.

Brittney

It sounds like if you liked this book you’d probably like The Bees by Laline Paull. I'm also starting to read a nonfiction book right now, and it's called The Social Lives of Animals by Ashley Ward. She’s a podcaster. And it's all the interesting relationships that animals help each other, so I'm sure I just.

Joshua

Sort of like interspecies relationships too.

Brittney

I think so, yeah. She started with bats, which I learned about. You know, they have blood buddies.

Joshua

What is that?

Brittney

Oh, sorry. So, Radiolab did an episode that's called Blood Buddies and vampire bats, if one doesn't get enough food … if they don't if they don't get food for, like three days, they'll starve. So, bats will feed each other. And they have, like, bat best friends. They kind of go to the same bat all the time and it's not an easy thing to do.

It’s not like they're related or they're mating, or anything like that. They’re blood buddies. They’re bat besties.

Joshua

Like their place in the cave, they’re flat mates, basically. And they’re like, “Hey, let's move in together. Let’s share rent together.”

Brittney

Yeah!

Joshua

Oh, my God I love bats so much!

Brittney

Even vampire bats, which are a little scary.

Joshua

I just imagine all the top hats and it's all good.

Brittney

I just love animals. So interesting.

Joshua

What you got?

Brittney

Mine is not as animal specific as yours. So, this book is called The Hidden. It's by Melanie Golding and I listened to it on Hoopla. We currently have one book in the library system, because I requested it. She also wrote Little Darlings and that one’s about changelings.

Joshua

Oh, okay!

Brittney

This one is about selkies! So, that’s where my animal thing comes in: Seals!

Joshua

SEALS? Fun!

Brittney

We’re not in the seal world all the time but we do see it here and there. Before we get into this, I'm going to spoil things because it is a thriller.

Joshua

Oh, yeah. Hard not to.

Brittney

I’m like, “hmmm, I’m going to spoil some stuff. I won't spoil all of it but I'm going to spoil some. Spoiler number one, yes, she is a selkie. Because for the first chunk you're not sure. So, because this is a thriller, there's a lot of different viewpoints. So, I am going to go through her character list really quick and then I'm going to tell you the first chunk. And that's how I’ll leave things, okay? 

There’s a little girl named Leoni. Beautiful name. The story starts with her wandering into a shop by herself and she's little. And so, you know, people are really concerned, like, “where's her parents?” You know, so they call the police. 

There's a lady named Ruby who ends up showing up to the shop saying, “I am Leoni’s mother.”

Joshua

Oh, I don't trust this person.

Brittney

She's not Leoni’s mother. She convinces the police she is, and she takes Leoni with her. 

There is Gregor. Gregor is discovered in his apartment, and he has been bludgeoned. He's not dead, but he has been bludgeoned. 

Joshua

That’s so scary.

Brittney

The detective who was working on this, it's all going to intertwine, the detective who's working on that case. Her name is Joanna. Joanna discovers Leoni, a little girl, is Gregor’s daughter. Now, Joanna is Ruby's mother!

Joshua

Get Out! Me went cross-eyed for a second, like what?

Brittney

Yeah, it’s all very intertwined. Well, Joanna realized Ruby is on the run with this little girl, and I don't know why. Because Ruby doesn't seem to be an evil person. She's like, “Why does Ruby have this little girl? I have no idea.” 

The last person I’ll introduce is Constance. She is Leona's mother. The actual mother. And she seems to be nowhere. They find videos of her walking towards the ocean, and that's all I know.

Joshua

So, she's like, I just walked out of the ocean and never came back.

Brittney

So, a lot of people are thinking she killed herself.

Joshua

Oh, yeah.

Brittney

So, this is where we start off like, why does Ruby have Leoni. Why is Gregor bludgeoned? Where did Constance go if not to the ocean? So, we start on this back and forth of time jumps of how did Ruby meet Gregor? How did Ruby meet Constance? So, it turns out Ruby is not living very far away from Gregor, and she thinks he’s kind of hot.

Joshua

With his black eyes and swollen head.

Brittney

Before he was. This was in the past. Ruby and Gregor end up kind of becoming friends. I don’t know if he says he’s married? He says, “I have a partner and she is unwell. Her name is Constance” And he talks about, “I have a daughter with her. I would appreciate if you could help take care of her sometimes if I need to go do something.”

Constance believes this story and it's not true. I can't trust her to be by herself. I have to give her medicine to keep her from harming herself and our daughter.

Brittney

Constance, when she finally gets alone with Ruby says, “I am a selkie. I am from the sea. Gregor has abducted me and is keeping me hostage. He has my sealskin.”

Joshua

I knew there was some sketchy going on. My spider senses went crazy because it sounds so sketchy.

Brittney

It sounds really sketchy. She's like he has my sealskin. I can't go back to the sea.

Joshua

See, that's why. Oh, yes. Okay. So, mythology wise, Selkies can remove their sealskin to walk around in mortal form, is this true?

Brittney

Yes, that's true. Yes.

Joshua

I feel that they have to do your bidding.

Brittney

If you steal it, they can't go back.

Joshua

That makes me so mad. I hate it when people do that.

Brittney

They say, “But, I want a selkie wife.”

Joshua

But why?

Brittney

Because typically, they’re very beautiful. And, in this one, the selkies have an aura slash charm.

Joshua

Ah, so they have glamour.

Brittney

Kinda.

Joshua

Still, that's not a reason to kidnap a lady.

Brittney

No. I think some dudes are hot and I’m not like, “Here’s the chloroform!” That’s not how it works. 

So, a lot of the story is trying to figure out is Gregor actually a bad guy or does he genuinely believe that causes is insane because she she's like, “I need to go back to the sea” or she’ll die. 

So, you're trying to figure out what is going on as Constance tricked Ruby? Is Gregor worse than he seems? and where does Leoni fit into all this? as is she is the daughter of a selkie. What does that mean for her?

Joshua

That’s cool. I get a really strong psychological horror vibe. Well, not horror, thriller vibes. Like you can't really trust people's intentions, so many unreliable narrators here. It's so exciting.

Brittney

Yes, it's very good. I think anybody who typically loves murder mystery thrillers would love this book. This is like a perfect handhold into like some light fantasy. Because it is kind of light in fantasy. It's more of a twist and turns and who can I trust and who's telling the truth?

Joshua

Oh my God. It’s so exciting.

Brittney

So, this is quite fun. You do not get to see the selkies a whole lot, but you hear about the conversation between them and what's going on in the selkies’ world. So that's kind of interesting. And I can't give any more away. I know it's kind of like a short explanation, but it's really good. I really want to read Melanie Golding's Little Darlings because that's changelings.

Yeah, I'm like, who likes changelings? This girl. So, this was a ton of fun and the cover is gorgeous.

Joshua

Hey, it’s a kelp forest.

Brittney

It’s a kelp forest. It’s very Pacific Northwest.

Joshua

Absolutely.

Brittney

But that's not where this takes place. I think this takes place in England.

Joshua

Probably. I'm sure they have kelp forests like this in England.

Brittney

No, it’s just Oregon. So, the cover is beautiful. I love selkie stories. As we did in … was it our graphic novels episode? Keltie the selkie?

Joshua

Oh, I think that was in our Pride episode 2022. Keltie the selkie, The Girl from The Sea

Brittney

The Girl from The Sea, thank you. Yeah, so this is Melanie Golding’s The Hidden.

Joshua

Yeah. So, if you are into mystery thrillers, this is the one to go to.

Brittney

This is the perfect handhold. Especially if you're like a fantasy sci fi lover and, like, your mom's a thriller lover. Exactly what happened to me. My mother loved this book, thought it was really good.

Joshua

Cool. Well, thanks Brittney, that was awesome. Well, that's the animals. Oh, I do have an honorable mention, a small one. Yeah. Okay, y'all, I don't really like classic science fiction. I find it crusty. I find it kind of outdated.

Brittney

Like older science fiction? Yeah.

Joshua

But I'm going to recommend this one, but with the caveat that the language in this is outdated. There's nothing intentionally misogynist about it. Unfortunately, books published in this time period kind of forget that women exist. I mean it's just a book of its time, but I think the subject is very interesting kind of topical right now, like kind of experiencing things expressed in this book.

It's called The City by Clifford Simak. It's a collection of short stories that are loosely connected, that talk about how humans are on the decline. They are leaving their cities, which is very interesting. This book was published in 1952, and it's kind of describing like the, you know, the work from home culture that came out of the pandemic. People are, you know, doing things from Zoom rather than meeting face-to-face. So fascinating. How did they know this? 

But what is replacing humanity are dogs.

Brittney

Oh, that’s way better.

Joshua

I know, right? Dogs are being uplifted, there’s that word again, to become intelligent. They are speaking. They are thinking. They're philosophizing animals and they are so much better at living life than humans are. 

But yeah, this is classic science fiction. It's a strange and interesting allegory about the death of humanity and the replacement of something better. 

Brittney

I love that.

Joshua

Yeah, it's also really short.

Brittney

Now I’m going to bring this up. If you love dogs, watch Isle of the Dogs.

Joshua

Oh, yes.

Brittney

It was really good. It's very bittersweet. But man, if you love dogs. It celebrates dogs. And it also talks about some of the hardships they have to go through. So, Isle of Dogs, really great. And since you did an honorable mention. I’ll just do a quick callback to The Bees by Laline Paull.

Joshua

We covered that in our Best of 2022 episode.

Brittney

I’m glad you remember.

Brittney

And then, Kira Jane Buxton’s ....

Joshua

Hollow Kingdom.

Brittney

Thank you.

Joshua

We did that for our Apocalypse Reads.

Brittney

Yes. And that book totally celebrates animals.

Joshua

Which is about ...

Brittney

The end of humanity!

Joshua

The end of humanity and a talking bird, a raven, called ST.

Brittney

So, those are my two callbacks.

Joshua

So, without further ado, you guys have a great day.

Brittney

And don't forget to watch it.

Joshua

Play what you want. 

Brittney and Joshua

and read what you want!

Brittney

Bye everybody.