Episodes

  • 46. Special: Lord of the Flies – Chapter 1

    This week we're giving Tolstoy a well earned rest - while he enjoys a Turkish pipe and a nice hot bath, we're diving head first into the blue, blood-warm waters of William Golding's Lord of the Flies.

    Lauded alongside War and Peace as one of the greatest books of all time, Lord of the Flies finally answers the age old question 'should society be exclusively run by small children?'

    A bunch of boys crash land on a desert island, within minutes they've founded a small democratic island nation. It's all going wizzoh, wizzard, perhaps even smashing - but are cool catchphrases, casual bullying, and a jolly good adventure enough to hold a society together?

    Oh, and there's an evil pig ghost thing that maybe wants them all dead.

    Let us know if you enjoy this special episode and if you'd like to hear more like it - tolstoy@wapin7.com or @wapin7podcast. Season 3 of War and Peace In Just 7 Years will be back on 13th May!

  • 45. Book 2 Catch-Up Quiz

    You've finished Book 2 of War and Peace! Take a bow. The crowd are chanting your name!

    "YOU ARE SO DIPLOMAT <YOUR NAME>!" They scream and cry.

    Flowers fall from the sky. You wipe a single tear from your cheek and take a triumphant bite of delicious ham.

    If you've been with us from the start, or are but a simple traveller on the literary podcast highway looking for a refresh of Book 2 of the greatest book ever, take a seat. Grab a pen, fluff a pillow and get ready to quiz.

    We've got questions about war, horses, distance, Smurfs, ham, ships and of course spiders. How many points can you get? There really is only one way to find out...

    Cue Game Show Music!

    Be sure to join us in two weeks (29th of April) for another special episode. We'll be back with Book 3 on the 13th of May.

    Let us know how you do! - email tolstoy@wapin7.com or follow us @wapin7podcast on Instagram

    0-10 = The Coward Zherkov
    11-20 = A Daring Dholokov
    21 - 30 = King or Queen of the Wattleshed
    30+ = Darren himself

  • 44. Liar, Liar, Naked Man By The Fire (Book 2 Finale)

    Hi Will,

    I've just been going through the official WAPIN7 End of Book Checklist, and I'm pleased to say today's episode really has got it all:

    ✅ Intense dramatic tension
    ✅ New horse x 1
    ✅ Andy Pandy mic droppin' all over the shop
    ✅ Incredible literary prose
    ✅ Multiple descriptions of HANDS
    ✅ Unbelievable displays of military incompetence
    ✅ Minor arguments about shoes and logs
    ✅ AT LEAST ONE naked man

    Anyway, just wanted to say it's been great to make this season with you - despite what everyone says about you you're actually a pretty OK guy. When you next speak to the audience can you tell them how awesome and great they are, and also mention that Season 3 will start on the 13th of May with a couple of SPECIAL episodes in the gap, make it sound really exciting and mysterious (because it is).

    You're so diplomat!
    Steve

  • 43. Suddenly!

    Suddenly

    Adverb

    quickly and without warning; unexpectedly

    Will was perfectly summarising a chapter of War and Peace when suddenly Steve interjected and told him off for saying “‘suddenly” too much. Will, like the hapless General, turned purple with rage and was about to defend his honour when SUDDENLY -

    Be honest, you’re extremely intrigued to find out what happens next.

  • 42. It Has Continued!

    Goodbye, Darren, my old friend
    You were a horsey to the end
    You softly galloped on your sweet hooves
    The bravest friend that we could ever lose
    I have a vision, of you nibbling on some hay
    In the sky
    Within the barn of silence

    In restless dreams you trot alone
    Narrow fields of mud and stone
    'Neath the halo of Rostov's lamp
    You turned your collar to the Smurfs and ham
    When your eyes were stabbed by the flash of a cannon's light
    That split the night
    And shook the barn of silence

    And in the naked light you saw
    Ten thousand horses, maybe more
    Horses talking without speaking
    Horses hearing without listening
    Horses writing songs that voices never share
    No one dared
    Disturb the barn of silence

    "Hruff," said you, "You do not know
    Silence like hay only grows
    Hear my words that I might teach you
    Take my hooves that I might reach you."
    But his words like silent raindrops fell
    And echoed in the barn of silence

    And the horses bowed and prayed
    To the Smurf based god they made
    And the Papa wrote out his warning
    In the words that he was forming
    And the sign said, "The words of the horses
    Are written on the wattle's walls
    And palace halls
    And whispered in the barn of silence."

  • 41. It Has Begun!

    You'd be forgiven for thinking the beginning of the book was the beginning - oh how naive you are! 41 chapters in and now it's really time to get things started.

    The horses are primed, the ham supplies are looking good and the cannon balls have been mopped to perfection.

    One thing we hadn't thought of was the requirement of an extremely well dressed Accountant...

    Now that he's here, calculator in hand, there's really only one thing left to say -

    It

    Has

    Begun!

    Show notes

    Julia's incredible drawing of Veras allegedly spider filled mouthThank you to Julia (@julia.g_rockwell) for braving the trials of time travel to send us this truly masterful image of Vera’s spider filled mouth. For legal reasons we absolutely must point out that we cannot confirm or deny whether Vera’s mouth is actually filled with spiders, but if it turns out it is, this is surely what it would look like. Thank you again Julia, hopefully it goes without saying that we absolutely love getting drawings like these, even if they will haunt our dreams until the end of time.

    As ever Julia's drawing takes its place along side the other works of art on the walls of Tolstoy's Hall of Fame.

  • 40. Climbing The Success Pyramid

    Do you want to be SUCCESSFUL?

    Do you want to be IMPRESSIVE, FAMOUS and ATTRACTIVE?

    Do you want to be heroically KILLED BY GRAPE SHOT?

    If the answer to any of these questions is 'YES I DO', 'PERHAPS' or 'NOT REALLY' then WAPIN7's Climbing The Success Pyramid is the hot new motivational book for YOU.

    Learn why the most successful people only ever wear denim, how epigrams can make you look smart, and how your pre-existing connections, influence and money can get you what you want.

    Don't wait - listen to this week's episode now and climb the pyramid today.

  • 39. War OR Peace?

    You know the saying, "War and Peace go together like birds of a feather".

    Birds have lots of feathers, you see, and a bird would not actually be legally called a bird if it had no feathers... Which is a lot like war and peace when you think about it. I mean, when you really think about it.

    Can you ever truly have peace without having some war? Does war inevitably always lead to peace? Is there a bird that exists in the wild without feathers, and if so, will it declare an unstoppable war?!

    We, like the Russian Generals, have absolutely no idea.

    *No birds were harmed (or even mentioned) in this episode.

  • 38. We’re Totally Macked!

    Andy Pandy, aged 20¼
    Tuesday 19th November, 1805
    Bilibin's house, Brunn, Austria

    Dear Diary,

    I'M SO EXCITED I CAN BARELY SLEEP! Tomorrow I'm going to see the Emperor (finally!) and I'm going to tell him all about my amazing victory! I've brushed my whole uniform so I'll look 'totally on fleek as heck' (that's one of my fresh new epigrams I'm trying to coin haha).

    Bilibin is a really cool guy actually, he's the head of a gang here 'Les Nótres' - they sound a bit scary. They're having a gang brunch tomorrow, so hopefully I can impress them with the cool sayings I've been working on.

    I WANT TO BE FAMOUS! Why don't people see that I'm really, really good at being in the army and doing war stuff. One day I'll be the most famous war hero in the whole world, then they'll see!

    Night night, diary xx

  • 37. Wrinkle In The Plan

    We've all seen The Mighty Ducks or that film with the bobsleighs or that one with all the karate kicking...

    You know how it goes. Just as it looks like you'll never be able to bobsleigh really well, or do the best karate kick at the karate kick competition, a montage sequence begins to play. Eye of Tiger is turned up to 10 and then, without warning, your team of ducks perform the best karate kick the world has ever seen!

    As your team of super ducks triumphantly raise you into the air, you excitedly await the certain adulation of your Emperor and King...

    The Emperor's gone home. The King is busy checking his Insta.

    Why does no one care?

    Time to find out.