Podcast
Compass & Codex
Hosted by Reed Sterling · EN
Adventure history and adventure science — fiction stories for boys.
Compass & Codex is a serialized storytelling podcast for boys ages 8–14 and the families who read with them. Every episode is a chapter of an ongoing story: fire ant scouts, Roman legions, pirates, and more — told with real biology, real history, and real stakes.
We explore the unknown, every time.
Current series:
- Colony in Danger (fire ant adventure fiction)
- Eagle's Edge (Roman historical fiction).
New chapters every week.
Subscribe and start from Chapter 1.
Hosted by Reed Sterling.
For fans of Watership Down, Redwall, the Warriors series, Empires of the Undergrowth, and anyone who wants adventure fiction that respects the reader.
60episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Iron Rail & Ruin: CH 3 | A Syndicate Man Walks Into Gunnar's Workshop | Steam Train Adventure Audiobook
May 2200:54:19Tap to summarizeGunnar Harlan is deep in a watchmaker's repair when two visitors arrive who have no business in Harrow Gulch. The Syndicate has found him.The well-dressed man is everything Gunnar's workshop is not: polished, measured, designed to impress. His guard stands near the exit. His offer is precise. He speaks the way men speak when they expect to be obeyed. Gunnar takes in every detail — the gold watch chain at 32-degree incidence, the left-hand tremor on the guard, the gap between what the man says and what he means. The Syndicate wants something from Gunnar Harlan. Whatever it is, the answer will cost him either way.Iron Rail & Ruin is a steampunk adventure for boys ages 8–14 — set in Montana, 1882. New chapters weekly. Narrated by Reed Sterling.For fans of steam engines, frontier history, and adventure fiction that respects the reader.🎧 All episodes: https://compassandcodex.buzzsprout.com/📱 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBW5Z1VJRtjtf23nnptGwRAIn this Iron Rail & Ruin chapter, Gunnar is finishing a watchmaker's gear assembly when the Syndicate representative arrives. The workshop is ordered precision — seventeen clocks, tools ranked by use frequency, every surface maintained. The visitor is the opposite: performance and control. Gunnar processes the encounter numerically — posture angles, vocal frequencies, micro-expressions cataloged to the millisecond. This homeschool audiobook episode explores Gunnar's particular way of seeing the world, and the moment when Harrow Gulch's corruption comes directly to his door.What would you do if the most dangerous organization in the territory showed up at your workshop?Send us Fan MailI am the author of young adult serialized fiction books, including:- Brickhaven: A Bricks Fan Fiction Adventure- Colony In Danger: A Fire Ant Adventure- Eagle's Edge: A Story of Rome, Gaul and the Making of a Soldier- Treasure Island: A Classic Adaptation- Iron Rails & Ruin: A Novel of Steam, Sorcery and the Lawless Montana Territory📚 All five books -- including Brickhaven Book 1 -- are now available on Amazon: https://us.amazon.com/stores/Reed-Sterling/author/B0H2ZM86WQ📖 Wanna check out all five series for yourself? Get all five Chapter 1s free: https://compass-codex.kit.com/middle-school-reader-groupThank you for listening! This is Reed Sterling. Remember: Never stop exploring unknown worlds.
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Eagle's Edge: CH 3 | Roman Recruit Bleeds Through 20 Miles of March | Roman Adventure Boys 8-14
May 2100:31:53Tap to summarizeThe Roman legion moves out before dawn. By midday, Marcus's sandals are soaked through with blood.A full-day forced march north from Genava tests every recruit in the century. Marcus counts his steps when the pain becomes too much to think through — and loses count when blisters burst through both feet and blood starts soaking his foot wraps. At the midday halt, Lucius treats his wounds with tallow and fresh linen while telling stories of his mother's kitchen on the Aventine — honeyed sesame bread, red lentil stew, the smell of a stone oven before dawn. It sounds ridiculous as a survival strategy. It works. When the march resumes and the pain returns worse than before, Marcus disappears into his father's workshop and walks twenty miles through a memory. At the end of the day: the first view of the Helvetii forest, and camp built on the edge of Gallic wilderness.Eagle's Edge is a Roman historical fiction series for boys 8–14 and reluctant readers. Every detail of legion life is historically accurate. Narrated by Reed Sterling.For fans of Total War: Rome, Kings and Generals, and Roman military history told as a story.🎧 All Compass & Codex episodes: https://compassandcodex.buzzsprout.com/📱 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBW5Z1VJRtjtf23nnptGwRAThis Eagle's Edge chapter covers the Roman forced march — the military technique that allowed Caesar's legions to cover terrain no other army of the ancient world could match. The caligae (military sandals with hobnailed soles) wore through recruit feet on their first long march; this was not fiction but documented history. Lucius's mother's kitchen is the chapter's emotional center, a deliberate contrast to the brutality of the march that also reveals Roman daily life on the Aventine Hill. The episode ends at the edge of Gallic territory — the first real suggestion of what the war ahead will look like. This Roman adventure audiobook for boys makes every march feel real.What story would you tell yourself to walk twenty miles on bleeding feet?Send us Fan MailI am the author of young adult serialized fiction books, including:- Brickhaven: A Bricks Fan Fiction Adventure- Colony In Danger: A Fire Ant Adventure- Eagle's Edge: A Story of Rome, Gaul and the Making of a Soldier- Treasure Island: A Classic Adaptation- Iron Rails & Ruin: A Novel of Steam, Sorcery and the Lawless Montana Territory📚 All five books -- including Brickhaven Book 1 -- are now available on Amazon: https://us.amazon.com/stores/Reed-Sterling/author/B0H2ZM86WQ📖 Wanna check out all five series for yourself? Get all five Chapter 1s free: https://compass-codex.kit.com/middle-school-reader-groupThank you for listening! This is Reed Sterling. Remember: Never stop exploring unknown worlds.
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Treasure Island: CH 3 | The Map to 700,000 Pounds of Buried Treasure | Boys Adventure 8-14
May 2000:28:41Tap to summarizePirate adventure audiobook for boys ages 8-14 — Treasure Island, Chapter 3.Jim Hawkins hands a dead pirate’s secret to Dr. Livesey — and Captain Flint’s greatest treasure unfolds on the doctor’s desk. The map shows an island, three red crosses in ink, and a notation beside the largest: “Bulk of treasure here.” Seven hundred thousand pounds. Squire Trelawney immediately begins planning an expedition: a schooner, a trusted crew, and Jim as cabin boy. Dr. Livesey warns about secrecy and danger. Jim says yes anyway. And that night, lying awake in a stranger’s guest room, he realizes his old life is already over.Treasure Island is Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic pirate adventure, adapted for boys 8–14. Every chapter picks up exactly where the previous one ended.Perfect for boys 8–14, reluctant readers, and homeschool read-alouds.For fans of pirate stories, buried treasure, and classic adventure fiction brought to life.New chapters every Wednesday. Follow Treasure Island wherever you listen and never miss a chapter!📖 Get Treasure Island Book 1 FREE: [BOOKFUNNEL LINK — add when live]📚 Buy the full ebook: [AMAZON KDP LINK — add when live]🎧 All Compass & Codex episodes: https://compassandcodex.buzzsprout.com/📱 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBW5Z1VJRtjtf23nnptGwRASend us Fan MailI am the author of young adult serialized fiction books, including:- Brickhaven: A Bricks Fan Fiction Adventure- Colony In Danger: A Fire Ant Adventure- Eagle's Edge: A Story of Rome, Gaul and the Making of a Soldier- Treasure Island: A Classic Adaptation- Iron Rails & Ruin: A Novel of Steam, Sorcery and the Lawless Montana Territory📚 All five books -- including Brickhaven Book 1 -- are now available on Amazon: https://us.amazon.com/stores/Reed-Sterling/author/B0H2ZM86WQ📖 Wanna check out all five series for yourself? Get all five Chapter 1s free: https://compass-codex.kit.com/middle-school-reader-groupThank you for listening! This is Reed Sterling. Remember: Never stop exploring unknown worlds.
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Colony in Danger: CH 11 | Every Path Is Owned by a Spider | Reluctant Reader Audiobook
May 1900:19:24Tap to summarizeFire ant adventure audiobook series for boys ages 8-14 — Colony in Danger, Chapter 11.A jumping spider controls every path through this section of the meadow. Cinder Marlowe and his crew face three encounters with Moss Wren — each one more revealing than the last. The spider knows things no one should know: the pill bugs aren’t acting alone, and whatever is guiding them is very old. He can’t eat the crew (they’re poisonous, it turns out), but he wants something. In exchange for silk bracelets granting safe passage, Cinder promises to map the pill bug nest and report back. The debt is real — and they’re all wearing it on their wrists.Colony in Danger is a serialized fire ant adventure for boys ages 8–14. Every chapter picks up exactly where the previous one ended. The biology is accurate. The stakes are real.Perfect for boys 8–14, reluctant readers, and homeschool read-alouds.For fans of Watership Down, the Warriors series, AntsCanada, and Empires of the Undergrowth.New chapters every Tuesday. Follow Colony in Danger wherever you listen and never miss one.📖 Get Colony in Danger Book 1 FREE: [BOOKFUNNEL LINK — add when live]📚 Buy the full ebook: [AMAZON KDP LINK — add when live]🎧 All Compass & Codex episodes: https://compassandcodex.buzzsprout.com/📱 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBW5Z1VJRtjtf23nnptGwRASend us Fan MailI am the author of young adult serialized fiction books, including:- Brickhaven: A Bricks Fan Fiction Adventure- Colony In Danger: A Fire Ant Adventure- Eagle's Edge: A Story of Rome, Gaul and the Making of a Soldier- Treasure Island: A Classic Adaptation- Iron Rails & Ruin: A Novel of Steam, Sorcery and the Lawless Montana Territory📚 All five books -- including Brickhaven Book 1 -- are now available on Amazon: https://us.amazon.com/stores/Reed-Sterling/author/B0H2ZM86WQ📖 Wanna check out all five series for yourself? Get all five Chapter 1s free: https://compass-codex.kit.com/middle-school-reader-groupThank you for listening! This is Reed Sterling. Remember: Never stop exploring unknown worlds.
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Brickhaven: CH 3 | The Scout Who Believed the Builder | Boys Adventure 8-14
May 1800:30:11Tap to summarizeMax has been exiled from his own creation...and one small scout is waiting for him on the other side of the gate.Pip is a former member of Brickhaven's scout division. He left when Krag started making midnight deliveries to the eastern hills, and he has been watching from outside ever since. His hidden shelter is covered wall-to-wall with three years of documentation: guard rotations, delivery schedules, and a correlation chart that reveals the truth. Krag is not protecting Brickhaven from the Destroyer. He is feeding it — every nine days, on schedule, with precision. And at the end of this chapter, the Destroyer starts moving again.Brickhaven is a LEGO adventure story for boys 8–14, reluctant readers, and families who want action and adventure fiction. Narrated by Reed Sterling.For fans of LEGO Ninjago, LEGO Monkie Kid, and action adventure fiction for boys.🎧 All Compass & Codex episodes: https://compassandcodex.buzzsprout.com/📱 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBW5Z1VJRtjtf23nnptGwRAMax has been exiled from Brickhaven and stands alone in the open plain outside the east gate — the same gate he built with his own hands. In this Brickhaven chapter, he meets Pip, the one scout who never stopped believing the Builder existed. Inside Pip's carefully constructed shelter, the full scale of Krag's deception becomes clear: three years of documented evidence showing the Destroyer is being maintained, not defeated. Max now has one ally, a safe base, and a clear enemy — and the night delivery is tonight. This adventure audiobook episode for boys explores themes of loyalty, systematic thinking, and what it means to fight back against a system you helped create.Have you ever created something that turned against you? What would you do to fix it?Send us Fan MailRemember: Never stop exploring unknown worlds!
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Iron Rails & Ruin: CH 2 | Gunnar Finds His Father's Seat Before He Knows It | Steampunk Adventure Boys 8-14
May 1500:36:39Tap to summarizeThe Millston run is over. Gunnar Harlan is back at Mrs. Okafor's boarding house before the rest of the town wakes up — and some things about the house feel like they were waiting for him.Mrs. Okafor has run this boarding house for thirty years. She knew Emmet Harlan when he was young — same window seat, same black coffee, same refusal to explain why he took the night runs nobody else would. She never presses. But she notices everything. In this chapter, Gunnar pieces together who his father was through the small, precise details of the woman who fed him for fifteen years.Iron Rails & Ruin is a steampunk adventure for boys ages 8–14 — set in Montana, 1882, where Gunnar Harlan runs the Widow-Maker through Syndicate territory one chapter at a time. New chapters weekly. Narrated by Reed Sterling.For fans of steam engines, frontier history, and adventure fiction that respects the reader.🎧 All episodes: https://compassandcodex.buzzsprout.com/📱 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBW5Z1VJRtjtf23nnptGwRAIn this Iron Rails & Ruin episode, Gunnar returns to Mrs. Okafor's boarding house after the dangerous Millston run, slipping through the building by feel in the dark — every creak, every tilt, every stair measured by instinct. Over black coffee in the east window, Mrs. Okafor begins to share what she knew of Emmet Harlan: that he sat in the same spot, drank the same drink, and always said the Millston runs were more complicated than they should be. This homeschool audiobook episode draws on real 1880s Montana railroad culture, boarding house life, and the role of women in frontier communities.What did Gunnar's father know — and why was he the one who always took the dangerous runs?Send us Fan MailRemember: Never stop exploring unknown worlds!
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Eagle's Edge: CH 2 | Roman Recruit Carries 90 Pounds — Then the Centurion Tests Him | Roman History Audiobook
May 1400:34:29Tap to summarizeA Roman legionary carries forty-five pounds of armor — and then they make him run.At dawn, Marcus receives his full kit from the quartermaster: lorica hamata chainmail, scutum shield, two pila, gladius, belt, cloak, cooking pot, and water skin. Forty-five pounds, distributed across every joint. He barely makes it to formation without collapsing. Then comes the training obstacle course — walls to climb, logs to carry, ditches to cross — and Marcus fails publicly in the mud while Decimus Varro, a rival recruit from a wealthy family, watches with amusement. It takes Centurion Nerva stopping the entire course and stepping in personally to teach Marcus the real lesson: in the legion, you move before you think. Marcus scales the wall on his next attempt.Eagle's Edge is a Roman historical fiction series for boys 8–14 and reluctant readers. Every detail of legion life is historically accurate. Narrated by Reed Sterling.For fans of Total War: Rome, Kings and Generals, and anyone who wants Roman history told as a story.🎧 All Compass & Codex episodes: https://compassandcodex.buzzsprout.com/📱 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBW5Z1VJRtjtf23nnptGwRAIn this Eagle's Edge chapter, the famous nickname "Marius's Mules" comes to life — the term Romans used for legionaries who carried their entire kit on a forced march. Every piece of equipment Marcus receives is historically accurate, from the lorica hamata's 45-pound weight to the two-pilum standard issue. The training obstacle course was a real part of Roman military preparation. The character of Centurion Nerva represents the disciplina — the Roman military concept of obedience so ingrained it precedes conscious thought — that turned conscript recruits into one of history's most effective fighting forces. This Roman history audiobook for boys makes every fact feel like a scene.Could you carry forty-five pounds for a full day, every day, for twenty-five years?Send us Fan MailRemember: Never stop exploring unknown worlds!
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Treasure Island: CH 2 | Black Dog Arrives — Then Blind Pew Brings the Black Spot | Pirate Adventure Boys 8-14
May 1300:33:49Tap to summarizeThe pirates have found Billy Bones — and now everything Jim Hawkins knew about his quiet life at the inn is over.A thin, knife-like man named Black Dog arrives at the Admiral Benbow asking for Billy. The visit ends in a cutlass fight, a stroke, and Billy collapsed on his bedroom floor. That same evening, a blind man named Pew taps through the fog toward the inn and presses a black spot into Billy's palm — a pirate's death sentence. Billy dies on the spot. Jim and his mother take only what Billy owes them from his sea chest. But at the very bottom of that chest, Jim finds an oilskin packet sealed with black wax — and the pirates ransacking the inn are looking for exactly that.Treasure Island is Robert Louis Stevenson's classic pirate adventure, adapted for a new generation of boys 8–14. Narrated by Reed Sterling.For fans of pirate stories, sea adventures, and classic literature brought to life.🎧 All Compass & Codex episodes: https://compassandcodex.buzzsprout.com/📱 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBW5Z1VJRtjtf23nnptGwRAIn this Treasure Island chapter, the threat Billy Bones spent weeks fearing finally arrives — twice in one day. The confrontation with Black Dog establishes what kind of man Billy was and what kind of world Jim has stumbled into. Blind Pew's arrival through the evening fog is one of the most terrifying scenes in classic adventure literature, rendered here in full detail. Jim escapes into the night with a small oilskin packet pressed against his chest — one that pirates are willing to tear apart an inn to find. This pirate audiobook for boys stays faithful to Stevenson's original while making every scene land at full intensity.New chapters weekly!Send us Fan MailRemember: Never stop exploring unknown worlds!
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Colony in Danger: CH 10 - Ant Scouts Trapped | Can a Caterpillar Break Them Out? | Ant Audiobook Boys 8-14
May 1200:30:39Tap to summarizeFour fire ant scouts are locked in a jar with no way out. A strange caterpillar arrives with a deal — and the entire wild world hangs on it.Cinder, Blaze, Thistle, and Silas are prisoners in a cracked clay jar deep inside the beetle camp. Escape comes from the last place they expect: Miri Solace, a brightly colored caterpillar who slides through the glass with a proposition. Help her collect three rare leaves — red-veined, yellow-spotted, purple-curled — from dangerous territory, and she'll buy their freedom. But in the west, where the purple leaves grow, Cinder finds something else: a fresh pill bug shell. The enemy is closer than anyone knew.Colony in Danger is a serialized fire ant adventure for boys ages 8–14 and homeschool families. Biology is accurate. Stakes are real.For fans of Watership Down, the Warriors series, and Empires of the Undergrowth.📖 Buy Colony in Danger Part 1 audiobook: https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details?id=AQAAAEDanHPcuM📱 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBW5Z1VJRtjtf23nnptGwRA 📧 Free Ant Codex field reports: https://compass-codex.kit.com/ant-codex-subscribe🎧 All episodes: https://compassandcodex.buzzsprout.com/Cinder Marlowe and his crew thought the beetle camp was as bad as things could get — until Miri Solace appeared on the glass of their jar and offered them a way out. In this Colony in Danger chapter, the scouts scatter across hostile territory to collect three types of rare leaves for Miri's cocoon, each one guarded by a different danger. When Cinder reaches the purple leaf patch, he finds a molted pill bug shell — the enemy has been here recently. This homeschool audiobook episode explores real caterpillar metamorphosis, territorial insect behavior, and how butterfly larvae use chemical mimicry to survive.Who is Miri Solace, really — and what does a caterpillar want from a fire ant scout? Would you have taken her deal?Send us Fan MailRemember: Never stop exploring unknown worlds!
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Brickhaven: CH 2 | Max Is Taken Prisoner In The Town He Built | LEGO Adventure Audiobook for Boys
May 1100:29:26Tap to summarizeMax knows this LEGO town better than anyone alive. He built every brick, designed every guard, placed every lamp and fountain. But when he's escorted through the gates of Brickhaven under armed escort, the citizens look away and Krag — the champion Max designed himself — calls him confused, or dangerous.Max gets to see his creation alive for the first time at ground level: the bakery with real bread, the fountain with actual flowing water, the clocktower actually ticking. And then he's exiled through the east gate with nothing.New to Brickhaven? Start at Chapter 1...Brickhaven is a LEGO adventure story for boys 8–14. 00:00:00 — Max arrives at the gates of his own town — and the guards don't know him00:00:30 — Chapter 2: The Gates of Brickhaven00:08:15 — Escorted through Brickhaven as a prisoner — his own citizens won't look at him00:18:15 — Face to face with Crag — the champion Max built to protect the town00:28:45 — Expelled beyond the walls — into the Destroyer's territory00:29:00 — CH 3 — What Comes NextNew chapters weekly. Narrated by Reed Sterling.Send us Fan MailRemember: Never stop exploring unknown worlds!
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