Alba Salix by Eli McIlveen & Sean Howard

Farloria’s Royal Physician has her work cut out for her. As head witch and the only regular staff member at the new House of Healing, Alba’s got an endless lineup of patients and a bickering King and Queen to please.

Fortunately, help is on the way. Unfortunately, that help is from Magnus, a troublesome young ex‐monk and aspiring surgeon, and Holly, an accident‐prone fairy herbalist.

Why the hell isn’t this show more popular?

A lot of times, comedy can be very hit or miss for me. If my sense of humor doesn’t align with the writer’s, many of the jokes can fall flat. Alba Salix was an absolute riot, and full of heart to boot.

Alba Salix is the royal physician, and she’s totally not evil (though she does like keeping her options open). Whether you’ve come down with a bad case of snakes for hair or need help stopping a demonic pyramid scheme, she’s the woman to call.

The first episode is a little rough around the edges, spending most of its time setting up the characters. Alba is assisted by Holly—a forest fairy with a heart of gold and talent for making things worse—and Magnus—an overenthusiastic acolyte of the martial Dragon Mount Monastery assigned to help Alba as community service. Each of them has enough personality for several characters, though they don’t come into their own until the second episode. 

The jokes in this show poke fun at classic fairy tales and modern-day situations in equal measure. One episode might have the characters encountering cute woodland critters who hold a grudge if you don’t sing for them, and the next might feature a medieval homeowners associations.

My only complaint about Alba Salix is that it was too short. The six episodes were over in a couple hours and left me wanting more. Thankfully, Season 2 has begun! There’s also the lovely Axe and the Crown spinoff show with 12 current episodes, or the actual-play RPG podcast Other Bothers.

Try Alba Salix If You Like:

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Alba Salix is a free comedic fantasy audio drama. Find out more at albasalix.com or listen to the short trailer now:

Author: Travis

Lover of all things fantasy, science fiction, and generally geeky. Forever at war with an endless TBR and loving every moment. Host of the Fantasy Inn podcast.

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