Episode 43: Darren Shan's entire Cirque du Freak series

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Foolishly tacking another huge reading assignment, the Two Mikes read all twelve of Darren Shan's Cirque du Freak books. While no Harry Potter, we find much to like in the series and are even moved by it's clever and graceful ending.
It's Cocktail Time!

Spider Bite

1 shot vodka
1 shot crème de menthe (the clear kind, not the green kind)
1 shot crème de cassis
shake with ice and strain into a martini glass (chin-chin).

Closing music: " Soul Limbo" by Booker T. and the MG's from the Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration.

Episode 42: China Mièville's Perdido Street Station

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The Two Mikes tackle another doorstop of a book. Mike S. loves it all over, while Mike M.'s feelings are, shall we say, more nuanced. An unusually focused discussion of a rather meandering and sprawling book.



It's cocktail time!

Dreamshit

Two scoops of the best rocky road ice cream you can find
3 shots butterscotch schnapps
3 ice cubes

Blend it up. Drink it down. Rest uneasy.



closing music: "Dream Weaver," Gary Wright (too obvious?)

Episode 41: Poppy Z. Brite's Lost Souls

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Filling another hole in our Swiss-cheese knowledge of horror, we read our first Poppy Brite book. A quintessential Goth (as opposed to gothic) novel, we think we see what Ms. Brite's trying to do, and like a lot of what we see, but we kinda wish we'd read one of her later, more assured books.

It's cocktail time!

The Chartreuse Sazerac

Chill a small rocks glass. Place sugar cube in a shaker, and add 3–4 dashes Peychaud's bitters and 2 shots rye whiskey. Stir gently with ice.
Add a few drops of Chartreuse to the chilled glass and swing out, leaving the glass coated with the liqueur. Rub lemon peel around the rim of the glass. Strain contents of shaker into chilled glass and garnish with lemon peel. Enjoy the weird rosy burn of this classic New Orleans cocktail.

Episode 40: Kim Paffenroth's Dying to Live: An Novel of Life among the Undead

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For our fortieth(!) episode, the Mike's revisit the subgenre that launched this podcast: the zombie novel. This time we select, almost at random, one of Permuted Press's many undead offerings. Unconvinced by the novel's highmindedness, we try to say something nice, but perhaps end up saying nothing at all.


It's Cocktail Time.

High-falutin' Pruno

big tablespoon of mixed berries (frozen is okay)
shot of simple syrup
fresh mint
2 shots rye
orange bitters

Muddle berries, syrup, and mint in bottom of rocks glass. Pour in rye. Fill glass with ice. Top with a dash of bitters. For added authenticity, make a large batch in a toilet.

closing music: "Expialadocius" mashup found on the the interwebs