It Could Happen Here: CZM Book Club – The Barrow Will Send What it May, Chapter Three

Date: March 23, 2025
Podcast: It Could Happen Here (Cool Zone Media / iHeartPodcasts)

Overview

This episode is part of the CZM Book Club, where the hosts read and discuss The Barrow Will Send What it May, the second novel in the Danielle Cain series. In this session, the group delves into Chapter Three, blending a read-aloud session, literary analysis, and irreverent banter. The central theme is the group's investigation into a magical mystery circling around the peculiar town of Pendleton, Montana, as the protagonists follow leads involving resurrection, local punks, and potentially dangerous magic.

Key Discussion Points & Episode Breakdown

Book Club Vibes & Setting the Scene

• The hosts set a casual, welcoming tone, riffing on the idea that “you don’t have to do the reading” because the narrator does it for you (03:20).
  • “The only book club that you don’t have to do the reading for because I do the reading for you.” – Main Narrator (03:20)
• Light-hearted sword talk and lore about John Brown’s era, relating to weapon-collecting book clubbers (03:44–05:15).

Chapter Three Recap – Magic, Mornings, and Community

• The narrator launches into Chapter Three, placing listeners inside the perspective of the protagonist, who wakes up with Brynn—setting an intimate and atmospheric start (06:00).
• Breakfast scene: Plans are laid out among the group—Vulture and Thursday taking the Bookmobile to Glacier, Doomsday and Vasilis researching at the library, while the narrator, Brynn, and Heather head into town (06:00–07:30).

Small-Town Dynamics & Punk Librarians

• The characters traverse Pendleton on bikes, reflecting on local attitudes: the town tolerates its punks, especially as they run the library, but there's still a sense of outsider-ness and marginalization (07:35–09:00).
  • “This town actually likes its punks?” (08:21)
  • “We run the library. Vasilis and Asola are from here... People don’t really understand us, but they also don’t really mind that they don’t, if that makes sense.” (08:27)

The “Zombie’s Doorstep”: Meeting Asola

• Arriving at Asola’s cottage, the protagonists confront the legendary “zombie” herself. The real Asola is tough, tattooed, and wields a claw hammer in each hand, humorously subverting expectations (14:54).
  • “I don’t know why I expected her to look like a zombie... Asola didn’t look like a zombie. She looked instead like. Well, one of us.” (15:03)
• Tense exchange: Asola warns them away, stressing the dangers of magic and the entity known as Barrow.
  • “If I tell you where to look next, I am guessing you’ll die. Magic is too fucked up to be safe at all for anyone hunting down madmen with access to it. That’s worse. You really, really should just skip town and never look back.” – Asola (16:36)
• Asola directs them (reluctantly) toward Sebastian Miller, “Gertrude’s ex-husband. He runs the gift shop on the east edge of town. With the dinosaurs” (17:24).

Breaking, Entering, and Dinosaur Hijinks

• The group plans a stealth mission to Miller’s dino-adorned gift shop (18:37).
• They encounter a massive, crumbling brontosaurus statue, leading to a spirited debate about dinosaur taxonomy (brontosaurus vs. apatosaurus vs. Pluto as a planet), mixed with personal anecdotes about lost childhood knowledge and questionable high school teachers (22:17–23:54).
  • “I feel strongly this way about Brontosauruses because it’s one of the dinosaurs that I used to know. All of the dinosaurs, Margaret. When I was like a little 6 year old, I had an 800 page dinosaur encyclopedia.” – Co-host 1 (22:17)
• Brynn makes a daring leap from the brontosaurus to a window, showcasing her punk cat burglar skills, much to the crew’s amazement (24:47).

Searching Sebastian’s Haunt

• Inside, they find nothing immediately incriminating—mundane décor, nostalgic photos, a big TV, hunting rifle, and not even one hidden note (30:12–31:40).
• Ethical musings: The narrator debates the morality of pinching a souvenir shot glass “from a bad man” (30:12).
  • “That was terrible logic. That was state logic. A man wasn’t guilty just because he was being investigated. I put the shot glass back. I am pretty sure 18 year old me would have laughed at 28 year old me, but 18 year old me was kind of an asshole, so I didn’t really hold myself responsible to her.” (30:22)
• The search intensifies as they break into the office, then stumble upon an ominous hallway with Greek lettering carved above a door: “tapota zontana den parasai” (34:00).
  • The hosts and characters puzzle out the likely meaning and the emotional subtleties of Heather’s romantic history with Vasilis.
  • “I just learned how to sound [Greek] out a couple years ago. Vasilis is Greek. I think I was trying to impress him.” – Heather (34:15)

Magic, Danger, and Cliffhanger

• Opening the mysterious basement door, Heather is struck by a magical ward—green fire envelopes her arm, triggering panic and pain.
  • “This time my perception of time slowed down. I saw her hand move and green light rippled out across something, like someone had strung an invisible window screen across the doorway. Her whole arm pierced that veil, and she screamed.” (36:45)
• The narrator manages to pull Heather back, barely, as the chapter ends with her unconscious and the group deeply shaken.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Book Clubs:
  “The only book club that you don’t have to do the reading for because I do the reading for you…this is well in line with normal book club behavior, I think.” – Main Narrator (03:20)

• On Outsider Punk Culture:
  “People don’t really understand us, but they also don’t really mind that they don’t, if that makes sense.” – Heather (?) (08:27)

• On Magic and Danger:
  “Magic is too fucked up to be safe at all for anyone hunting down madmen with access to it. That’s worse. You really, really should just skip town and never look back.” – Asola (16:36)

• On Morality and Aging:
  “That was state logic. A man wasn’t guilty just because he was being investigated. I put the shot glass back. I am pretty sure 18 year old me would have laughed at 28 year old me, but 18 year old me was kind of an asshole, so I didn’t really hold myself responsible to her.” – Main Narrator (30:22)

• On Nostalgia for Child Genius:
  “I can name like four dinosaurs today. It’s like all the Latin I learned, it’s just gone. You know, as a teenager I was translating the fucking Aeneid into English and I have like four words now.” – Co-host 1 (22:34)

• On Magical Consequences:
  “Her whole arm pierced that veil, and she screamed…she fell on top of me. She stopped screaming. If she was breathing, it was too faint to hear.” – Main Narrator (36:45)

Episode Structure & Key Timestamps

• 03:20 — Book club camaraderie banter
• 06:00 — Reading of Chapter Three begins; morning, planning
• 07:35 — Biking through town and small-town dynamics
• 14:54 — Confrontation with Asola
• 17:24 — Lead on Sebastian Miller, the dinosaur gift shop
• 22:17 — Dinosaur debate and lost youth tangents
• 24:47 — Brynn’s bold break-in via brontosaurus
• 30:12 — Search inside gift shop; moral reflections
• 34:00 — Discovery of Greek-lettered door, emotional beat
• 36:45 — Magical trap springs; cliffhanger moment
• 38:46 — End-of-chapter reactions and outro

Tone and Style

The episode moves seamlessly between pulp fiction adventure, earnest social reflection, and characteristic irreverence. The hosts’ mix of comedic digression (dinosaurs, nostalgic teacher tales) and heartfelt thoughtfulness (“that was state logic… 18-year-old me was kind of an asshole”) keeps the tone lively and accessible while discussing heavy themes—community, marginalization, morality, and danger.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This episode is a lively, engaging installment in the Danielle Cain series book club, blending plot-driven mystery, character introspection, and the book club’s trademark blend of humor and authenticity. It's perfect for fans of fantasy, found family, and punk DIY culture who appreciate deep dives into both story and social dynamics. The cliffhanger ending, with a magical ward gone wrong, promises high stakes and further misadventures next week.