Episode 56 - May The Fourth Be With You; Lessons from Star Wars

May 04, 2026 by Karlissa Koop in Thoughts on Fantasy

Do the ends justify the means? Jason walks us through three episodes from the animated Star Wars shows - one from The Clone Wars and two from Rebels - and the lessons they have taught him about how to approach podcasting better.

Read the blog version of this episode: http://www.book-bat.com/blog/2026/lessons-from-star-wars

If you enjoy Star Wars, you may want to listen to two of our previous episodes:

Perelandra and Star Wars: https://www.book-bat.com/podcast/2024/6/13/episode-31-perelandra-and-star-wars

Exploring The Bad Batch: https://www.book-bat.com/podcast/2024/7/25/episode-34-exploring-the-bad-batch

Learn more about Book-Bat and what we do: https://www.book-bat.com/about

Learn more about To Narnia and Beyond: https://www.book-bat.com/nonfiction

Episode 51 - And So What We Have Learned

December 18, 2025 by Karlissa Koop in Thoughts on Fantasy, Graphic Novels & Manga

Does K-Pop Demon Hunters contain the best villain song ever? Is writing for a particular audience important? Why would Karlissa call Spy x Family an allegory? Jason and Karlissa reflect on what they’ve learned about writing this year and discuss stories they’ve been enjoying.

Note: the director of K-Pop Demon Hunters is Maggie Kang (along with Chris Appelhans)

To all our listeners: Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and thank you for joining us for the third year of the Book-Bat podcast! Subscribe to the Book-Bat newsletter by visiting our website, book-bat.com, to get reminders of new episodes and updates on book releases!

Episode 49 - Rankings Part 3: Fantasy Animated Movies

October 16, 2025 by Karlissa Koop in Thoughts on Fantasy

In this three-part series, Jason and Karlissa J each give their top fives in fantasy: top 5 animated fantasy shows, top 5 fantasy novels, and top 5 animated fantasy movies!

It’s time for our top movie picks! Jason and Karlissa J each give their top 5 animated fantasy movies, reflect on when they first discovered these animated films, and explore what makes them stand out.

SPOILER ALERT: some of the dialogue runs into mild spoiler territory!

Do you agree with any of our picks? What are your favourite fantasy animated movies?

Episode 48 - Rankings Part 2: Fantasy Novels

September 18, 2025 by Karlissa Koop in Book Review, Thoughts on Fantasy

In this three-part series, Jason and Karlissa J each give their top fives in fantasy: top 5 animated fantasy shows, top 5 fantasy novels, and top 5 animated fantasy movies!

Here on the Book-Bat podcast, we talk about movies, shows, even video games - but of course, we also talk about books! In Part 2 of our Rankings series, Jason and Karlissa J each list five fantasy novels that stand out as exceptionally well-written and memorable.

Towards the end of the episode, Jason shifts the topic into exploring Karlissa’s book preferences and how she writes her stories.

Jason’s review for his favourite book!

What are your top five fantasy novels of all time? Do you agree with some of the picks on our lists? Let us know in the comments!

Episode 47 - Rankings Part 1: Animated Fantasy Shows

August 21, 2025 by Karlissa Koop in Thoughts on Fantasy

Here on the Book-Bat podcast, we regularly drop references to our favourite media and stories. Now, in this three-part series, Jason and Karlissa J each give their top fives in fantasy: top 5 animated fantasy shows, top 5 fantasy novels, and top 5 animated fantasy movies!

In Part 1, Jason and Karlissa J discuss the animated fantasy shows they love and what makes these shows stand out!

Episode 46 - The Dragon Prince Revisited

July 17, 2025 by Karlissa Koop in Thoughts on Fantasy

After all our early hyping of the animated show The Dragon Prince, we ceased to talk about it as its final seasons released. Let’s just say our thoughts have changed. We review the show, discussing the good and the bad, and comparing it to the show it was designed to resemble, Avatar: the Last Airbender.

SPOILER ALERT: this episode contains spoilers for the ending of both The Dragon Prince and Avatar: the Last Airbender. We begin the episode with a bit of spoiler-free territory, describing the show, it’s creation, and plot points covered in the first few episodes. Then, we discuss any potential content concerns for Christian viewers (6:33-10:10), and finally transition into our spoiler-heavy review (10:45+).

Episode 45 - War of the Rohirrim Review

June 19, 2025 by Karlissa Koop in Thoughts on Fantasy, Classic Novels & Authors

Last year, a Lord of the Rings movie was released that garnered little attention. We give our review of The War of the Rohirrim, along with thoughts on Tolkien-esque storytelling, Japanese perspective, spiritual themes in Tolkien’s books, and what people expect from tales about Middle Earth.

SPOILER ALERT: we give notice when we are about to discuss an event that happens later in the movie (starting 18:15), though we never give away the ending.

Note: Production companies included New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Animation, WingNut Films, Sola Entertainment, Domain Entertainment (II).

Join the Conversation!

Have you seen The War of the Rohirrim? What did you think of it?

Episode 44 - Reflections on Lilo & Stitch

May 15, 2025 by Karlissa Koop in Thoughts on Fantasy

With the release of Disney’s live-action remake on the horizon, Jason and Karlissa discuss what made 2002’s Lilo & Stitch among Disney’s best animated movies, diving into fun trivia about the art, voice acting, and storytelling.

This episode contains SPOILERS for the 2002 Lilo & Stitch!

Join the Conversation!

Are you more optimistic about the upcoming live-action Lilo & Stitch? Will you be watching it in theatres? Let us know in the comments!

Episode 41 - Superheroes, Comics, and Fantasy... oh my!

February 20, 2025 by Karlissa Koop in Thoughts on Fantasy, Fantastic Xenofiction, Graphic Novels & Manga

Time to nerd out! When is a superhero story not a superhero story? Jason is given the chance to gush about one of his favourite subjects as he and Karlissa J discuss movies, shows, comics, Batman, Spiderman, and even Shadow the Hedgehog.

Join the conversation!

What is your favourite superhero story? Let us know in the comments!

Episode 39 – The End… Why Does It Mean So Much?

November 20, 2024 by Karlissa Koop in Thoughts on Fantasy

Jason takes over to ask the question: why does the way a story ends matter so much to us? Are we being fair by judging the story by its ending? Or do we miss out on the journey by emphasizing the end? Karlissa and Jason give some insights into their own writing process, explore thoughts on genre, and reflect on what they read growing up.

Spoilers for Treasure Planet (Disney)!