About this episode

Chuck Wendig discusses his latest book 'The Calamities' and the influence of demonology on his writing.

Wendig is here!! The man my wife refers to as “Chuck Apples” (as opposed to “Chuck Fight Club) is back to talk about his most fun, yet nastiest book to date. The Calamities is what would happen if The Godfather had cenobites, if Logan Roy had made a pact with monsters, it prompts me to ask the questions “who’s your favourite demon Chuck?”   That kinda book.   Chuck tells us how the study of demonology has underpinned almost his entire writing career. We discuss the increasingly tight links between his novels, the influence of D&D structure, and the challenge of making the reader care about some of the worst-behaved characters in the world.   And I drop the C-bomb for the first time on air. That damn baby deserves it.     Enjoy!   Other books mentioned: Staircase in the Woods (2024), by Chuck Wendig Daytide (2026), by Chris Panatier The Three Body Problem (2008), by Cixin Liu Books of Blood (1984-88), by Clive Barker Cabal (1988), by Clive Barker Pandemonium: A Visual History of Demonology (2021), by Ed Simon Blacktail (2026), by Scott Hawkins   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch…

People in this episode

Host: Neil McRobert

Guest: Chuck Wendig

Topics covered

• demonology
• writing
• character development
• horror literature
• D&D influence

Keywords

• Chuck Wendig
• The Calamities
• demonology
• horror
• character development
• D&D

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Calamities, Staircase in the Woods, Daytide, The Three Body Problem, Books of Blood, Cabal, Pandemonium: A Visual History of Demonology, Blacktail

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