Episode #87 – Orange Is the New Evil

Prophecy Radio episode #87 discusses Last Canto of the Dead, the final book in Daniel José Older’s Outlaw Saints duology. Plus, we tackle all the latest Riordanverse news, including several new covers for upcoming Rick Riordan Presents books. Instead of our usual chapter discussion of The Red Pyramid, we had an enlightening chat with Daniel about developing this book, whether he’d ever revisit this world, and what’s coming next. New episodes of Prophecy Radio air weekly, and we keep our discussions PG-13.



News and updates (00:02:42)

Happy birthday to Charlie Bushnell, who turned 19 on June 17.
We totally forgot to mention the Winston Chu vs. the Wingmeisters cover reveal last week, so we made sure to talk about it this week.
There was also a SECOND cover reveal this week for It Waits in the Forest by Sarah Dass.
Read Riordan gave us the demigod’s guide to a successful Father’s Day.
If you’re going to the ALA conference in Chicago where Rick and Mark will be talking about The Sun and the Star, let us know!
Can you believe Percy Jackson and the Olympians has been on the NYT bestsellers list for 13 years?
Did you see our copy of TSATS with Alessia Trunfio’s cover?
Kristen gets to see the book for the first time in person, live on air!
Will you grab a copy of the Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief deluxe edition?
We discuss whether Rick will be signing copies of this one.

According to Becky, Rick is currently under contract for another book that has nothing to do with Irish mythology and is definitely not Chalice of the Gods.

Last Canto of the Dead by Daniel José Older (00:29:59)

Listen to Prophecy Radio episode #33 for a refresher on Ballad & Dagger and our first interview with Daniel.
What is this book about?
Read Karen’s Last Canto of the Dead book review.
This book kicks off with some serious chaos, but it also gives us a good overview of San Madrigal.
Did this book give off different vibes from the first one?
Is Tolo our…ideal book boyfriend?
But let’s not forget about Tams, who is also wonderful.
What was it like being inside Chela’s head this time around?

The spoiler section for Last Canto starts at 00:42:42.

What did we think about Mateo and Chela being separated for the majority of this book?
Sometimes you gotta draw a line in the sand and never, ever, ever cross it.
Mateo and his father have warring ideologies, and this thread throughout the book was one of the highlights for us.
When is the right time to forgive someone? When is the right time to forget what someone has done to you?
It was so powerful to see Mateo become such an effective leader in this book.
Surprise, surprise: Mimi Baracasa is still alive and has a very interesting army at her fingertips.
We are big, big fans of Odé Kan.
What was going on with those scars on Chela’s arms?
We’re not feeling great about the color orange all of a sudden.
How does all this immortality business work?
Would we read more books set in this world?

Interview with Daniel José Older (01:20:23)

Read along with our Daniel José Older interview on Subjectify Media.
Are there any reactions to this book that have stood our to him the most?
We also discuss the cover for Last Canto of the Dead and how it compares to the first.
Was the worldbuilding in this book easier since some of it had already been established in Ballad & Dagger?
We also talked about the process of coming up with the title.
What about keeping the momentum going between books, especially given they take place one second apart?
The spoiler section of our Daniel José Older interview starts at 01:35:03.
We want to know…how hard was it separating Mateo and Chela? What was it like finding Chela’s voice in this book?
Let’s talk about the political undertones of Last Canto.
As well as Mateo’s relationship with his father.
It’s time to talk about Odé Kan!
Would Daniel revisit the Outlaw Saints world again in the future?
And does he ever think about what Mateo and Chela have gotten up to since the end of the book?
We also once again talk about defining success for yourself as a creative person.
What else is Daniel working on right now?
Check out Daniel’s website and subscribe to his Substack.
After the interview, we discuss a few of Daniel’s answers.

Feedback (02:14:57)

@AMediaGuy19 wrote in to tell us he needs some Last Canto art of Chela and Mateo’s midnight meetings, and we couldn’t agree more!
Thanks for listening, and tune in next time for episode 88, in which we’ll do a Deep Dive on Bast, and then read The Red Pyramid chapter 12!



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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