The Once and Future Nerd is an independently-produced audio drama that’s been running since September 2013. It’s often compared to classic epic fantasy like Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, though it brings in elements of portal and comedic fantasy as well.
The story begins with three high school students stuck in detention. There’s Billy, the Jock; Nelson, the Nerd; and Jen, the Cheerleader. These recognizable archetypes serve to ground us when they’re magically transported to Iorden, a fantastical realm full of orcs, elves, and forest sprites. Veteran fantasy fans will find Iorden comfortably familiar, though surprising depth and complexity is revealed about both the characters and world over the course of the story.
I should note that The Once and Future Nerd starts out a little rough. The characters initially feel a bit like caricatures, and the dialogue doesn’t flow naturally until a few episodes in. The friendly forest sprite narrator has an exaggerated echo effect on their voice, and takes a while to find a balance between humorous commentary and staying out of the way of the story. But, and I can’t stress this enough, all of these issues disappear fairly early on. I couldn’t tell you exactly when, but I quickly found myself falling in love with every aspect of this audio drama.
After finding themselves in Iorden, the three teens are brought before the king. The queen and her newborn child have recently perished, and the kingdom is under intense pressure from internal politics and an approaching army of orcs. Only a prophetic dream from a royal councilor and Nelson’s necklace featuring a 20-sided gaming dice save the kids from imprisonment or death. They’re sent off on a mission for the king, during which they hope to find a way home.
There are so many things that make TOAFN stand out. The sound design is immersive and features original music, and the voice actors quickly come into their own and deliver stellar performances. Voice actress and singer Anya Gibian in particular steals the show, voicing multiple distinct characters and performing actual historical folk songs that have been reworked to fit the world of Iorden.
TOAFN also excels at examining heavy real-world issues through the lens of fantasy. Much of Billy’s arc involves him moving past the toxic masculinity forced upon him by his father. Racism is a central theme in the series, explored in how the elite elves treat Iorden and how Iorden treats the orcs. There’s a great conversation in the second “book” of the series where Nelson, a black teen from Philadelphia, has to explain’s Earth’s prejudices toward race to Mia, a black woman from Iorden. TOAFN handles all of this with a deft hand, never talking down to its audience and focusing on raising questions rather than answering them.
Despite the show’s title implying Nelson might be the hero of the story, Jen seems to have the most direct impact on the plot. And all the while, she’s slowly learning that she doesn’t have to hide her personality and intelligence from the world. In fact, most of the more powerful characters in TOAFN—both good, evil, and everything between—are women. There’s even a lesbian relationship that’s not sexualized and has a fighting chance to end happily.
Other than the incredible cast of characters, the main thing that made me fall in love with TOAFN was its ability to put an unexpected twist on classic fantasy. The elves are possibly my favorite portrayal of elves in any medium, ever. Instead of drawing on the common depiction inspired by Tolkien, these elves are modeled after Old Southern Money from the antebellum South. They’re orgy-loving, human-colonizing, orc-enslaving assholes, and completely unrepentant about it.
TOAFN embraces comedy elements, as well. Fans of Nicholas Eames’ Kings of the Wyld or Orconomics by Zachary Pike will recognize the one-two punch of absurdist hilarity that pulls at your heartstrings. From the Nice Guy wizard who turned himself into a lich to make his crush pay attention to him to AN ACTUAL SEALION attempting to have an overly civilized discussion, there’s a lot that will make you laugh. And if you find yourself examining some real-world issues a bit more critically once the laughter subsides… Well, isn’t that part of the power of comedy?
I could go on and on about this incredible audio drama, but I’ll leave you with this: The Once and Future Nerd is about the power of stories. Stories define a people’s perception of other cultures, inspire bold action through prophecy, and pass on history for future generations.
Nelson said it best:
Stories matter.
You wanna understand people, understand their stories. You wanna change people, change their stories. People are the stories they tell.
Power is who gets to tell the stories.
If you like stories with humor, heart, and epic adventure, The Once and Future Nerd may be just what you’ve been looking for.
The Once and Future Nerd is a free character-driven epic fantasy audio drama available through iTunes or wherever you find podcasts. Check out its website for more information or listen to this short trailer now:
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