E19 Blood Bound 11: Buzzkill in a Buzz Cut

Message us (questions, comments, topics? Let us know!) Uncle Mike's Book Club discusses chapter 14 of Blood Bound from the Mercy Thompson book series, by Patricia Briggs. Brittany is severely under-slept (and it shows) because there’s a brand new baby hiding out of camera view on her lap, and any RBF on her video is mostly a zombie-like trance. Recorded June 29, 2026. In this episode: \- Recap Guy references \- Soldier Field, where Stefan finally went in Chicago \- Vampire Justice, the new single from Stefan and Wulfe’s band, Stefan Wolf (Steppenwolf) \- Outfits that make Liberace look like he’s wearing Levi’s \- Littleton’s cosplay for NecronomiCon, named for the original book of the dead ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necronomicon ) \- Demon Riding Merit Badge in the Baphomet Scouts \- They mention Bridles and Britches, which has become the nickname for the Alpha and Omega book Dead Heat. (The joke was because Mercy was playing fetch with kids, and in Dead Heat a fetch is playing a kid.) \- Then that led to Kelly’s tangent about visiting the Tri-Cities and finding a similar store to Bridles and Britches there: Ranch and Home ( https://www.ranch-home.com/contact-us/kennewick/ ) \- Axe throwing is (or was, anyway) a business in the same center as Spudnuts and the bookstore that inspired Phin’s bookstore, where Patricia Briggs does a lot of book signing events locally. When we saw it, we kept wondering why we’ve never heard of the werewolves going axe throwing. \- Mercy’s plan for finding Andre is roaming the Tri-Cities as a coyote and sniffing everything. Great for playing fetch, terrible for finding a specific vampire. \- Adam and Mercy talk feelings, and what’s really bugging her is feeling controlled. More than a feeling ( https://www.songfacts.com/facts/boston/more-than-a-feeling ) \- Hold on loosely, but don’t let go ( https://www.songfacts.com/facts/38-special/hold-on-loosely ) \- Adam’s offer: it’s the Mercy Show. If she doesn’t ask him out, they don’t go out \- Samuel says his wolf wants her no matter what. Points for honesty, but not better. \- Vampires can hide their scent — Mercy knows that here, so why did she forget in Soul Taken, when Mercy panics that the Harvester must be Stefan because he could tell her not to smell him through their bond?? \- Walkers of old theorizing: how did this work before Western imperialism? How were there enough ghosts in one spot to attract attention? Wouldn’t smaller societies notice their people missing before the ghosts? What about nomadic groups? \- Mercy follows the ghosts to Wulfe’s secret lair, the Downward Spiral ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Downward\_Spiral ) \- Wulfe knows how to make a sorcerer and chooses not to. He’s not a fool — and that’s wisdom, not smarts. Wisdom is not bringing the Mogwai home in the first place \- Is Wulfe slow because of the time of day, or slow on purpose to wind her up? \- by Soul Taken he’s definitely a daywalker \- Eric’s joke about Wulfe moving slowly: Levodopa is a Parkinson’s medication and a less-well-known Parkinson’s symptom is slow movement. Should we cover the GraphicAudio versions ( https://www.graphicaudio.net/our-productions/series/k-r/mercy-thompson.html ) as we go? Send us your fan theories and feedback — all 2 of our fans. We are a fan-based Mercy Thompson Universe (AKA Mercy-verse) reread-along podcast. Spoiler policy: there are potential spoilers for every single book published in the Mercyverse: shorts, the Mercy Thompson book series, AND the Alpha and Omega book series (everything through Blind Date with a Werewolf, anyway). Links: \- Check out our “linktree” website: https://shewhowrenches.carrd.co \- Subscribe to the Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2566095 \- Follow on YouTube (including unedited livestream recordings \*many* Fridays at 11am Pacific, 2pm Eastern Time): https://youtube.com/@shewhowrenches?si=6qcLv2fWYvSJXQwf \- Follow and message us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/shewhowrenches.bsky.social Chapters: 00:00:00 Intro Song 00:01:06 Recap Guy 00:03:37 Mercy Decides to Hunt Andre 00:07:28 Mercy plays fetch with some kids 00:07:50 Kelly visits Mercy’s turf 00:09:37 Kelly's version of playing Fetch with kids 00:10:07 Back to Coyote Mercy Fetch with Kids 00:10:41 Adam picks up his pet Coyote to talk feelings 00:14:55 What movie does Mercy invite Adam to?? 00:16:54 Back to Mercy and Adam's new dating strategy 00:18:06 Does Mercy forget Vampires can hide their scent in Soul Taken? 00:19:52 Samuel hears everything Mercy and Adam said 00:21:08 Mercy meditates on ghosts 00:23:04 Musing on Walkers of Old 00:24:44 Mercy follows the ghosts 00:26:11 Mercy finds Wulfe's secret lair 00:30:53 Should we cover the Graphic Audio versions of Mercy Thompson? 00:31:27 Write to us! 00:33:14 Outtake: What's soldier's field?