Bookburners is an original Realm fantasy serialized fiction and audio drama created by Max Gladstone, written by Max Gladstone, Margaret Dunlap, Mur Lafferty, Amal El-Mohtar, Andrea Phillips, and Brian Francis Slattery, narrated by Xe Sands, and cover art is made by Jeffrey Veregge and Pea the Feary. It was released on January 31, 2017. It has 5 seasons and 58 episodes. It is the first and currently the longest Serial Box Original ever.
Synopsis[]
A black-ops team, backed by the Vatican, hunts down dangerous books to prevent the apocalypse.
Official synopsis
Premise[]
In this serial, magic is trapped in ancient texts and artifacts, and Team Three (or Bookburners as they are commonly known), a group of five diverse and skilled people try to survive to fight back. Sal Brooks, a detective, is a survivor who joins the Vatican-backed black-ops anti-magic squad—Team Three of the Societas Librorum Occultorum, and together, they try to survive against against the magical apocalypse, hence why they are often called the "Bookburners".
Characters[]
- Detective Sally Books - a detective
- Liam - a computer geek
- Grace - a fighter
- Asanti - a researcher
- Father Menchú - a priest and leader
Episodes[]
Season 1[]
| # | Title | Reading length | Listening length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Badge, Book, and Candle | 48 minutes | 78 minutes |
|
Detective Sal Brooks investigates an unusual robbery, and discovers that magic is real—and hungry. | |||
| 2 | Anywhere But Here | 55 minutes | 83 minutes |
|
Welcome to the Bookburners, Sal. Hope you survive the experience. | |||
| 3 | Fair Weather | 51 minutes | 72 minutes |
|
When a magical book wreaks havoc on a luxury yacht, little is as it seems on the high seas. | |||
| 4 | A Sorcerer's Apprentice | 51 minutes | 71 minutes |
|
Good intentions in Glasgow lead to disastrous results. | |||
| 5 | The Market Arcanum | 52 minutes | 75 minutes |
|
The first rule of the Market is you do not talk about the Market. | |||
| 6 | Big Sky | 53 minutes | 74 minutes |
|
Weather Alert: Tornado eating titans on the loose in Oklahoma. | |||
| 7 | Now and Then | 51 minutes | 78 minutes |
|
Grace’s adventures in Shanghai come to light. | |||
| 8 | Under My Skin | 50 minutes | 70 minutes |
|
When it comes to tattoos in the City of Sin, what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas. | |||
| 9 | Ancient Wonders | 47 minutes | 71 minutes |
|
With the enemy always two steps ahead, Sal and Team Three seek new answers from an old Oracle. | |||
| 10 | Shore Leave | 48 minutes | 69 minutes |
|
Grace gets a day off and time threatens to swallow Rome. | |||
| 11 | Codex Umbra | 51 minutes | 79 minutes |
|
The team faces off against Mr. Norse in a battle of otherworldly proportions. | |||
| 12 | Puppets | 48 minutes | 70 minutes |
|
Attacks come from all sides in the scramble for the Codex Umbra. | |||
| 13 | Keeping Friends Close | 41 minutes | 58 minutes |
|
Will Team Three splinter under the pressure of Sal's possession? | |||
| 14 | An Excellent Day for an Exorcism | 41 minutes | 60 minutes |
|
Will Team Two have to kill Sal in order to save her? | |||
| 15 | Things Lost | 47 minutes | 65 minutes |
|
A desperate Sal and Team Three must break into the Black Archives. | |||
| 16 | Siege | 46 minutes | 68 minutes |
|
It all comes down to this. | |||
Season 2[]
| # (total) | # (in season) | Title | Reading length | Listening length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 1 | Creepy Town | 50 minutes | 73 minutes |
|
Sal and Team Three hit the ground running. | ||||
| 18 | 2 | Webs | 51 minutes | 75 minutes |
|
Through a door and down the rabbit hole. | ||||
| 19 | 3 | Mistakes Were Made | 47 minutes | 76 minutes |
|
Asanti attends a conference. Nothing goes wrong. Honest. | ||||
| 20 | 4 | Ghosts | 50 minutes | 70 minutes |
|
Strange times on the Silk Road. | ||||
| 21 | 5 | Debtor's Prison | 51 minutes | 71 minutes |
|
A Bookburner always pays her debts. | ||||
| 22 | 6 | Incognita | 48 minutes | 71 minutes |
|
Liam and Grace meet old faces in New Shanghai. | ||||
| 23 | 7 | Fire and Ice | 53 minutes | 78 minutes |
|
Hot action in cold Canada. | ||||
| 24 | 8 | Present Infinity | 49 minutes | 69 minutes |
|
Lost and found. | ||||
| 25 | 9 | The Village | 50 minutes | 71 minutes |
|
Liam faces his past. | ||||
| 26 | 10 | One With the World | 50 minutes | 68 minutes |
|
The Network makes its move. | ||||
| 27 | 11 | Shock and Awe | 54 minutes | 77 minutes |
|
The Bookburners face their worst nightmares. | ||||
| 28 | 12 | Coming Home | 53 minutes | 72 minutes |
|
Team Three goes on the offensive. | ||||
| 29 | 13 | The End of the Day | 51 minutes | 73 minutes |
|
Asanti goes on trial. | ||||
Season 3[]
| # (total) | # (in season) | Title | Reading length | Listening length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 1 | Bubbles of Earth | 54 minutes | 83 minutes |
|
Danger in the Lascaux caves. | ||||
| 31 | 2 | Faces of the Beast | 50 minutes | 73 minutes |
|
Magic, magic, everywhere. | ||||
| 32 | 3 | Hard Bargain | 44 minutes | 67 minutes |
|
The past is never far away. | ||||
| 33 | 4 | All in a Day's Work | 43 minutes | 65 minutes |
|
Some creatures just don’t know when to stop. | ||||
| 34 | 5 | Time Capsule | 48 minutes | 68 minutes |
|
A family trip to the museum goes awry. | ||||
| 35 | 6 | Oracle Bones | 54 minutes | 84 minutes |
|
Grace revisits her past. | ||||
| 36 | 7 | Cracks in the World | 51 minutes | 72 minutes |
|
A trip down memory lane. | ||||
| 37 | 8 | Making Amends | 37 minutes | 55 minutes |
|
Liam makes amends. | ||||
| 38 | 9 | Homecoming | 46 minutes | 70 minutes |
|
The team tries to get ahead of the game. | ||||
| 39 | 10 | Into the Woods | 47 minutes | 70 minutes |
|
A walk in the woods. | ||||
| 40 | 11 | Crossing Over | 43 minutes | 62 minutes |
|
Hannah takes action. | ||||
| 41 | 12 | Broken Vessels | 43 minutes | 72 minutes |
|
A river of magic. | ||||
| 42 | 13 | Live in London | 55 minutes | 84 minutes |
|
All hands on deck. | ||||
Season 4[]
| # (total) | # (in season) | Title | Reading length | Listening length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | 1 | Body Problems | 52 minutes | 83 minutes |
|
The team receives a mysterious invitation from the Maitresse. | ||||
| 44 | 2 | The Blood-Dimmed Tide | 47 minutes | 73 minutes |
|
A surprise inheritance keeps the Bookburners guessing. | ||||
| 45 | 3 | Alexander Norse | 42 minutes | 64 minutes |
|
On the trail of a murderer, the team races to stop him from killing again. | ||||
| 46 | 4 | Man About Town | 52 minutes | 78 minutes |
|
With their previous mission rendered impossible by the battle in London, the Bookburners search for a new purpose. | ||||
| 47 | 5 | Hell Gate Bridge | 43 minutes | 74 minutes |
|
A fresh murder brings Sal back to her old stomping grounds. | ||||
| 48 | 6 | O'er the Deep Blue Sea | 48 minutes | 72 minutes |
|
The search for a storied magical artifact lands the Bookburners in a race against time. | ||||
| 49 | 7 | Wax | 49 minutes | 74 minutes |
|
Grace faces an old enemy as the team prepares for an onslaught of magic. | ||||
| 50 | 8 | A Message Across Worlds | 45 minutes | 73 minutes |
|
The Bookburners return to the scene of an old failure . . . and try their best not to repeat their previous mistakes. | ||||
| 51 | 9 | Eating Words | 46 minutes | 75 minutes |
|
Despite their separation from the Church, the Bookburners rush to defend the Vatican when news of an impending attack arrives. | ||||
| 52 | 10 | The End of the Beginning | 56 minutes | 90 minutes |
|
The Engströms’ final play for power has deadly consequences. | ||||
Season 5[]
| # (total) | # (in season) | Title | Reading length | Listening length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | 1 | Lights Out | 36 minutes | 59 minutes |
|
They’re here to dismantle the world. | ||||
| 54 | 2 | The Fall of Rome | 50 minutes | 84 minutes |
|
The team escapes Rome. | ||||
| 55 | 3 | Ouroboros Interrupted | 42 minutes | 63 minutes |
|
The team returns to Iceland. | ||||
| 56 | 4 | The End of Time | 45 minutes | 73 minutes |
|
The team is in crisis. | ||||
| 57 | 5 | All the Way Down | 46 minutes | 73 minutes |
|
They arrive at the gate. | ||||
| 58 | 6 | The End of the Beginning | 55 minutes | 89 minutes |
|
It’s all over. | ||||