When you rule the world of powder mages you can do what you want. Brian McClellan wields his powder for good. In addition to delivering us the complete Powder Mage trilogy with the third book The Autumn Republic, Brian is going to bring us a second trilogy in the same universe, all while growing his own spaghetti sauce and keeping bees. Impressive. Most impressive.
Veronica REALLY wanted to make the title of this episode "Tom Merritt is a sexist pig." But Tom doesn't need that kind of grief. And besides he has promised to read even more female SciFi/Fantasy authors going forward. But if you want to hear Veronica giggle at the notion-- as well as defend our book pick, Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer, and wax eloquent about the need for varied perspectives in literature-- then fire up this episode!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Boddington's Pub Ale
Veronica: Some kind of white wine
QUICK BURNS
Nominate Your Favorite Works And People For The 2015 Hugo Awards
Nokomis.FL noted "George RR Martin’s The Winds of Winter: no plans for publication in 2015 " Trike wasn't sure this was really news and Robert wrote: "given that 'Winds of Winter' won't be published in 2015, it's almost certain that the TV show will finish before the books are published. "
Michele and Dara:
"J. Michael Straczynski Will Adapt Kim Stanley Robinson’s Red Mars for Spike TV""
Dara: More books into tv series! Endemol studios has acquired the rights to Lauren Beuke's Broken Monsters
"Ben: After their popular special issues and Kickstarter campaign last year Women destroy Science Fiction (and fantasy and horror too) - Lightspeed are doing a similar thing with Queers Destroy.... Which can be backed on Kickstarter at the moment.
Robyn: I'm late to the game (and apologies if this has been mentioned before), but I just realised that The Guardian is doing a monthly round-up of SFF - January's is here. Fun way to find out about new books.
Also take a look at John DeNardo's SF Signal's 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy and Horror Books to Look Forward to in 2015 (Part 2)
BARE YOUR SWORD
Louie: Who are your top 5 most read authors?
Tom:
1-Philip K. Dick 30
2-William Shakespeare 18
3-Stephen King 14
4-Evelyn Waugh 11
4-Douglas Adams 11
4-Neal Stephenson 11
7-Hunter S. Thompson 10
8-Frank Herbert 9
8-Douglas Coupland 9
Veronica:
1-Charlaine Harris 14
2- Laurie R. King 13
2-Robin Hobb 13
4-Tad Williams 12
4-Jim Butcher 12
6-Orson Scott Card 9
7-Jacqueline Carey 7
7-Gail Carriger 7
7-Kevin Hearne 7
7-J.K. Rowling 7"
A Rant about a Particular Aspect of eBooks
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
Jeff VanderMeer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Annihilation review – 'You'll find yourself afraid to turn the page' | Books | The Guardian
Finally, a novel about weird science that's genuinely weird
ADDENDUMS
Support our show on Patreon
You can also support the show by buying books through our links! Find links to the books we talk about and some of our favorites at swordandlaser.com/picks
We welcome back the amazing Myke Cole to talk about how he finds time to write great books, fight crime, and decorate his apartment with even more books. We also pressure him into a startling revelation about unicorns. And of course, talk to him about his new book, Gemini Cell: A Shadow Ops Novel which is out now!
We wrap up The Sparrow. We loved it and it made us sad. We're also blown away at the quality of books being made into TV shows. Well, only a pilot and a trailer but so far so good. But should you risk reading a book and seeing a movie or TV show too? Maybe not!
Download direct here!
Watch the Google Hangout!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Jameson's Select Reserve Black Barrel
Veronica: Hendricks Gin
QUICK BURNS
Yento: New trailer for The Expanse. I'm trying so hard not to get too excited about it because syfy but this looks like it could be pretty good.
Louie: First look at The Man in the High Castle adaptation. (Israel also alerted us)
Dara: SyFy is really into adapting books. Now they're turning Robert Charles Wilson's Spin into a miniseries.
Warren: Screenwriter Zak Penn, who's written the Ready Player One adaptation, has revealed that Ernest Cline is currently working on a second novel.
David: "Gollancz have acquired the English translation and publication rights to three further Witcher books by Polish fantasy author Andrzej Sapkowski." via The Wertzone
BARE YOUR SWORD
Steve: How to dislodge the movie from the book?
Jonathon: Big, Long Series to Fill Gap Left By WoT
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Next month's pick: Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (We'll formally kick off next episode)
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
TS: Disappointed With The Ending (full spoilers)
ADDENDUMS
We have a new producer! Hi Jacob!
Author and robotics engineer Daniel H. Wilson chats with us about his new story/app called Mayday: Deep Space about a person trapped on a ship full of monsters. Only you can help him survive! But of course we have to ask Daniel when the robots will rise up and kill us all.
Well we're here to kick off the new year AND celebrate our 200th episode so we gathered drinks and cheer and your favorite books of 2014 as well as our own and a few others. You'll never guess which one everybody picked! That's not true. You'll totally guess. You probably already guessed. But listen to the show anyway, OK. For us?
Download directly here!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Mimosa with Veuve Clicquot
Veronica: Bulleit Rye
QUICK BURNS
Mark Zuckerberg started a book club on Facebook because books are good
Rob and Chakara: TWO new Mistborn novels by Brandon Sanderson will be released in late 2015 and early 2016!
Nick: A Library In Your Pocket: How Having an E-reader Has Changed My Reading Habits
BARE YOUR SWORD
Your best of 2014
The Best Science Fiction And Fantasy Books Of 2014
Top 5 Sci-Fi Books of 2014 - OMNI Reboot
The Martian by Andy Weir
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
I want to have dinner with Anne and George!
Final thoughts on The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
ADDENDUMS
Support our show on Patreon
You can also support the show by buying books through our links! Find upcoming and past new releases at swordandlaser.com/calendar
This week we almost wrap up The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, discuss the intricacies of eBook DRM and try to decide just how high a price our integrity would fetch. We also wonder the same about Neal Stephenson and Steven Hawking. Join us, won't you?
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Forgotten Fire 1871
Veronica: Greyhound
QUICK BURNS
Tamahome: Gotta love the NPR filter tool for the best books of 2014. Hat tip to Jenny.
Shad: Interesting ruling on DRM. It might not hold up on appeal, but it would be great if stripping DRM to make a backup of books you bought stopped being illegal
Related thread by Eric
Daniel: Something I've noticed in my own personal tastes. All the best new books I've been reading have been firmly in the fantasy genre. For my sci-fi fix I've definitly been in comics and manga.
Sci-Fi Author Neal Stephenson Joins Mystery Startup Magic Leap as ‘Chief Futurist’
BARE YOUR SWORD
Scott: 2014 Book Themes?
Alex: Reading in 2015
Andy: If you were able to take Veronica and Tom on an adventure (think RPG), what would their roles be?
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Next Month's Book Pick Poll
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
ADDENDUMS
Support our show on Patreon
You can also support the show by buying books through our links! Find upcoming and past new releases at swordandlaser.com/calendar
This week we're busy. We congratulate the winners of several year-end awards. We kick off our December book pick, The Night Circus, a beautiful novel by Erin Morgenstern. And we dive into some of the most wretched and hated terms and phrases in the professions of authorship. Mary Sue is under siege!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Red Trolley Ale
Veronica: Red Branch Hard Apple & Honey Cider
Casey: What are YOU drinking?
QUICK BURNS
Tamahome: The Goodreads choice awards are in
Sky: Audible's best of 2014 released. Sanderson managed to win out over UF/Paranormal :)
Dara: SyFy has cast the leads for The Magicians series. Jason Ralph will play Quentin Coldwater and Sosie Bacon (daughter of Kevin Bacon) will play Alice.
Nick pointed out the successful test flight of the unmanned Orion space capsule.
Nick: Christopher Nolan rumored to be offered Ready Player One to direct
Fiona: The BBC adapted Good Omens as a 6 part audioplay. First part will air on Radio 4 on Monday 22nd December. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman have cameo appearances!
Tamahome: What James Cameron says you'll do when you see the Avatar sequels. NSFW.http://boingboing.net/2014/11/26/james-cameron-on-avatar-sequel.html
PICKS
Andrew picked: The City and the City by China Mieville
BARE YOUR SWORD
Louie: Terms authors are tired of hearing: "Infodump," "Mary Sue," "Hard SF," "Dystopian."
What are some terms that you are tired of hearing/reading?
Marion: What Is The Strangest or Most Unique SF/Fantasy Novel That You Have Ever Read?
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Kick off: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Erin Morgenstern on The Night Circus - YouTube
the night circus | erin morgenstern
Erin Morgenstern - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ADDENDUMS
Support our show on Patreon
You can also support the show by buying books through our links! Find upcoming and past new releases at swordandlaser.com/calendar
We sing the praises of Ursula K. Leguin, marvel at the casting of HBO's Westworld, announce our December book pick and wrap up Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick. Also, Veronica admits she would eat people.
Ed. note: I would eat people -V
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Milk (of human kindness)
Veronica: Tullamore Dew
QUICK BURNS
Sandra: Philip K. Dick's Short Story ‘The Crawlers’ Is Getting A Big Screen Adaptation
David: Ursula K. Le Guin accepts the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters at the 65th National Book Awards on November 19, 2014.
terpkristin: The follow-up to Brandon Sanderson's first "Legion" novella (novelette? short story? something?) came out 11/24! It will be free from Audible for the first month, based on his blog post.
Kvon: Pat Rothfuss' Worldbuilders is once again running an sff lottery and auction to benefit Heifer Intl.
David: Wesley Chu re-signs with Angry Robot Books
Michele and Rob: Amazon and Hachette have reached an agreement
Bookshelf: Next year HBO will have a new series.West world- With Anthony Hopkins- an adaptation of Michael Crichton's 1973 novel of the same name.
PICKS
The Secret Root by D.S. Cahr suggested by Ira.
Next time we'll discuss The City and the City by China Mieville suggested by Andrew. Post your thoughts to the thread and we'll discuss more about them next time!
Find more upcoming releases at swordandlaser.com/calendar
BARE YOUR SWORD
Marion: What is the one book or series you would give away to someone who is reading SF/Fantasy for the first time?
Rob Secundus: Monstrously Long Audiobook Recs
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Next month's pick: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Wrap up: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
Drew: The Toad
Jay: Is everyone a vegetarian or is meat only for the richest people?
John: I find it interesting how Dick describes casual lack of empathy.
ADDENDUMS
Support our show on Patreon
We have some awesome World Fantasy winners to talk about, some exciting casting news for The Magicians and The Expanse, but it really gets interesting when our “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” check-in turns into an ethics of meat-eating discussion.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Talisker
Veronica: Glenmorangie
QUICK BURNS
Dara: Jonathan Nolan (Interstellar) will adapt Asimov's Foundation trilogy for HBO.
Terpkristin: The 2014 World Fantasy Award winners were announced, you can read the list here. Best novel went to A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar. I think we should think about reading it sometime soon as a sword pick. :) Saladin Ahmed agrees.
Sandra: Syfy's adaptation of the 'The Magicians' series has cast Eliot, Penny and Julia's roles
Rob: Scribd is adding audio books to it's monthly subscription service.
Louie: Deadline reports more ""The Expanse"" casting
PICKS
Book Discussion: The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Leguin suggested by Carrie Smith.
Next time we'll discuss The Secret Root by D.S. Cahr suggested by Ira. Post your thoughts to the thread and we'll discuss more about them next time!
Find more upcoming releases at swordandlaser.com/calendar
BARE YOUR SWORD
What hard science fiction do you like?
Looking For Psychological Horror Recommendations
LOCAL MEETUPS
Terpkristin: MD/DC/NoVa: Looking for more members
Stephen: Orange County: Nov. 24th 6:30 pm or so, at Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Josh: The next San Francisco S&L meetup is Monday, Nov 24 from 6pm - 8pm at Borderlands Books!
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Check in on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
Bookshelf: The one thing missing in both the book and movie is the coffee.
They got the cigarettes but no coffee. (There should be at least one Night Hawks at the Diner kind of scene).
Jay: So... Why can't empathy be programmed?
ADDENDUMS
Support our show at Patreon.com/swordandlaser
It's a jam-packed episode this week with great news for Ann Leckie and Andy Weir, our wrap-up of Alif the Unseen, kickoff of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and the determination that it's OK to hate the book I love.
Download episode here or in the embed below!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Coffee. We’re both drinking coffee because we did this show in the morning.
QUICK BURNS
Sandra: Ann Leckie announced on her website that her novel Ancillary Justice has been optioned for television by Fox Television Studios
Tamahome: G. Willow Wilson takes over (all female) X-men after her successful Ms. Marvel stint
Joe Informatico: The already stellar cast of The Martian adaptation gains Chiwetel Ejiofor, officially making it the greatest film in the annals of celluloid.
Nick: The Hemingwrite
PICKS
Book Discussion: The Many-Coloured Land by Julian May suggested by Ralff Windwalker
Next time we'll discuss The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Leguin suggested by Carrie Smith. Post your thoughts to the thread and we'll discuss more about them next time!
Find more upcoming releases at swordandlaser.com/calendar
BARE YOUR SWORD
Will: Amazon wants your vote on which books to publish. Amazon introduces the Kindle Scout program
Trike: Counting With Covers!
Nick: I tell the previous story as a metaphor(is that the right word?) for the times when a book is really really loved and popular and you read it and don't like it but feel something must be wrong with you because you don't get it.
Dara: I recently finished reading Nexus and Crux by Ramez Naam.
David: eBook-only series
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Kickoff: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
Wrapup: Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
ADDENDUMS
Support our show on Patreon
We had a lovely time chatting with author Delilah S. Dawson about her struggles with Ikea furniture, brilliance on Twitter and the coining of Whimsydark. There's also a fair amount about blud and humans.
In Neil Gaiman’s new book, The Sleeper and the Spindle, Sleeping Beauty gets woken by a Queen’s kiss. And there’s pictures so it did happen. Fictionally speaking. We also discuss The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan, and find out people are pleasantly surprised by the techno-thrilling coming of age fantasy that is Alif the Unseen.
QUICK BURNS
Neil Gaiman's upcoming children's book, The Sleeper and the Spindle
Winners of the 2014 Aurora Awards for best Canadian SciFi
Mark wrote: "In partnership with Ideate Media, IDW Publishing is proud to announce that Dirk Gently will be appearing in his first-ever comic-book series in 2015, helping to prove the interconnectedness of all things, the precept by which Dirk Gently, Douglas Adams’ beloved fictional “holistic detective” lives. Written by Chris Ryall with art by Tony Akins. A cover for issue #1 is by Chew co-creator Rob Guillory."
PICKS
Book Discussion: The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan suggested by Vaughn.
Next time we'll discuss The Many-Coloured Land by Julian May suggested by Ralff Windwalker. Post your thoughts to the thread and we'll discuss more about them next time!
Find more upcoming releases at swordandlaser.com/calendar
BARE YOUR SWORD
Best use of Time Travel in a novel?
It's the end of the world as we know it
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
AtU: Religion in AtU - Net Positive or Negative by Hack
AtU: The character of Vikram (spoilers) by Joanna
AtU: Finished and Pleasantly Surprised? by Buzz
ADDENDUMS
Support our show on Patreon
Robert Jackson Bennett joins us on the show this week to talk about his new book, City of Stairs!
Download link here, or watch the video!
The city of Bulikov once wielded the powers of the gods to conquer the world, enslaving and brutalizing millions—until its divine protectors were killed. Now Bulikov has become just another colonial outpost of the world’s new geopolitical power, but the surreal landscape of the city itself—first shaped, now shattered, by the thousands of miracles its guardians once worked upon it—stands as a constant, haunting reminder of its former supremacy.
Into this broken city steps Shara Thivani. Officially, the unassuming young woman is just another junior diplomat sent by Bulikov’s oppressors. Unofficially, she is one of her country’s most accomplished spies, dispatched to catch a murderer. But as Shara pursues the killer, she starts to suspect that the beings who ruled this terrible place may not be as dead as they seem—and that Bulikov’s cruel reign may not yet be over.
We also take questions from you, the audience, and ask him what the heck was going on with the video below:
From excitement about a new book in the Old Man's War series, to a rising demand for SciFi, things are looking up on the laser side. We also find out that Tom doesn't use a Kindle and Veronica's opinion on spiders.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Yorkshire Gold Tea
Veronica: Hendricks Gin and Tonic
QUICK BURNS
Joanna: Next Old Man's War book from John Scalzi announced.
The End of All Things
SporadicReviews: Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy optioned for TV!
Joe Informatico: FOX has committed to a put pilot* for a TV series based on the DC Comics (former Vertigo imprint) version of Lucifer, Lord of Hell. Lucifer first appeared in the Neil Gaiman-written Sandman comics before later featuring in his own Vertigo series.
*I had to look this up. Apparently a ""put pilot"" means the network/channel agrees to air the pilot with substantial financial penalties to the development studio if they back out. This is generally a sure sign the network will pick up the pilot.
SporadicReviews pointed out Pyr books in a blog post wrote: "We’ve recently heard from independent booksellers that their customers are hungry for science fiction again, despite the predominance of fantasy over these last several years.
Paul: New Kindle Voyage looks cool.
PICKS
ShadowShow by Brad Strickland
Book Discussion:
Next time we'll discuss The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan Post your thoughts to the thread and we'll discuss more about them next time!
Find more upcoming releases at swordandlaser.com/calendar
BARE YOUR SWORD
Good books that are driven distinctly by outstanding dialogue?
What's with the giant spiders?
Peter V. Brett Calls Out DC Comics on Sexism
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Kick Off Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
S&L Podcast - #112 - Interview with G. Willow Wilson! — Sword & Laser
Wrap-Up
Stories of Your Life and others by Ted Chiang
SoYLaO: The Common Thread of the Stories (Mild Spoilers) - Carolina
ADDENDUMS
Support our show on Patreon
We chat with Timothy Zahn about his new book Soulminder. What happens when you can store a person's life essence separate from their body? And yes, we get in a little talk about Star Wars and the prospects for Grand Admiral Thrawn and Jaina Solo too.
We dig into the first four stories from Ted Chiang's Stories of Your Life and Others, and boy do we learn a lot about ourselves and others. Plus you'll want to take your vitamins since Margaret Atwood's latest novel won't be available to read for 100 years and we explore the idea of regaining your literary virginity.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Lipton Diet Citrus Green Tea
Veronica: B12 in water
QUICK BURNS
From Sandra: Legendary TV has acquired the rights to John Scalzi’s novel “Lock In” to adapt into a pilot for a potential series.
Legendary TV Buys John Scalzi Novel ‘Lock In’
From Joe Informatico: The Man in the High Castle TV series has cast its lead actress. Alexa Davalos, of Angel and Chronicles of Riddick fame, will play Juliana.
Also from Sandra the newshound! - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s 1990 novel Good Omens is to be adapted for Radio 4 by Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy director Dirk Maggs.
Margaret Atwood is writing a new book, but you won't be able to read it this century. She will be storing her next novel for 100 years in a library in Norway as part of a project organized by Scottish artist Katie Paterson.
PICKS
For the next six weeks we'll be highlighting picks from supporters of our Kickstarter. Look for threads to be posted in the Goodreads Group once every two weeks. We'll collect your thoughts and comments on the books then toss one around on each show until we've covered all six. These aren't official book club picks, just a way to expose folks to a few more options for things to read. We'd especially love to hear from folks who've already read these!
Our first pick comes from Jonathan Strickland. Post your thoughts to the thread and we'll discuss more about them next time
Book Discussion: ShadowShow by Brad Strickland
BARE YOUR SWORD
What do you want to see in the store?! Also, we have a store!
Litterarius Virginitas – what?
For the love of Stanislaw Lem
---
Hey guys! I'm a fan of your work and I recently subscribed to the podcast. I was wondering if you have already read ""The Commonwealth Saga"" by Peter F. Hamilton. I found it to be a great read (or listen, since I consumed it through Audible).
The whole universe it portrays is fascinating and I found myself devouring all 5 books as fast as I could. The last three books ("The Void Trilogy") combine sci-fi and fantasy in a great way and I think you will enjoy it.
Thanks and keep up what you're doing with S&L and your other projects because they are great.
Rodrigo
---
I'm writing to plug an anthology that I helped put together along with the rest of my Clarion Workshop class (UCSD 2012). We released it yesterday, we worked hard on it, and we're proud of it. It has 17 stories, one from nearly every person in my class, and they run the gamut from dark to light, satire to serious, sf to horror to fantasy. Several of the authors are award-winners, including Sam J. Miller, who won this year's Shirley Jackson Award for his story ""57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides."" Our Week 1 teacher Jeffrey Ford graciously provided the foreword.
It's a diverse tome that was more than a little inspired by the success you guys had with the S&L Antho. We're trying to do our own little Humble-Bundle-style, pay-as-you-can thing with this. 100% of the net proceeds are going to the Clarion Foundation to support future workshops. There's more info at http://awkwardrobots.org.
Luke Pebler
---
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
For next month: Veronica started a thread to brainstorm
Stories of Your Life and others by Ted Chiang
We talk with Naomi Novik, fanfic writer, Ruby on Rails coder and author of the Temeraire series, from DragonCon 2014 in Atlanta! Then, we wrap up Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Dos Perros
Veronica: Blackstone Pumpkin Ale
Naomi: Hap and Harry's Original Tennessee Ale
Thanks to Les for bringing us the beer!
Blood of Tyrants came out in mass market paperback July 29 and look for Uprooted coming June 30, 2015.
ADDENDUMS
We time travel and wrap up The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Next time we'll kick off Stories of Your Life and others by Ted Chiang
And check out our new STORE!
We congratulate all the winners of the Hugos and chat with Aidan Moher about how he took home the best fanzine Hugo for A Dribble of Ink. Veronica milks him for info on how to win, and then we learn a way you can help more people become better writers and win more Hugos!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Third Shift Amber Lager
Veronica: Hell or High Watermelon
QUICK BURNS
Louie: Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice (Orbit) took the top prize of Best Novel. No surprise there. I believe Veronica called this result, months ago. What do you think about the other winners? How many of the nominees have you read?
Best Related Work: We Have Always Fought: Challenging the Women, Cattle and Slaves Narrative by Kameron Hurley (A Dribble of Ink) and Best Fanzine: A Dribble of Ink edited by Aidan Moher
Alain: The class of 2012 Clarion writers work shop is raising money for the non-profit Clarion Foundation. The Clarion workshop is a six week course/session where aspiring writers who want to write Science Fiction and Fantasy can hone and improve their craft. Many now famous writers in the field have attended here is a far from exhaustive list. Anyway the class of 2012 have put together an anthology to raise funds. It's a name your price kinda of thing for .99 cents upwards. Luke R. Pebler who appears in the S&L anthology has a story in here as well as 16 other writers. A very cheap way to check out some up and coming writers.
Paul: July is biggest comic month in history making $53 million and the number one selling comic? Rocket Racoon #1. Rack up another one for the "Unknown Property" of Guardians of the Galaxy. P.S. Groot debuted in November 1960 in Tales to Astonish #13. Years Before Spider-Man, The X-Men or every one of the Avengers except for the original Captain America series (March 1941). Just For Posterity Ronan The Accuser (August 1967). The Original far future Guardians of the Galaxy which was a completely different team (January 1969). Adam Warlock (The already announced GotG 2? :) (April 1972) Drax (1973) Gamora (1975) Star Lord and Rocket Racoon both (1976)
terpkristin: Jennifer Lee, who co-wrote Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen, has been tapped to work on the screenplay for a live-action version of A Wrinkle in Time. I loved loved loved loved this book when I was a kid and am cautiously optimistic about this project...
George R.R. Martin Says Game of Thrones Readers Have Already Predicted the Series Ending
Syfy's Childhood's End Adaptation Gets Closer and Closer to Happening
PICKS
Lindsay writes: Prior to reading The Name of the Wind, I read: Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis: Picked it up after listening to an interview with the author on the Skiffy and Fanty show and it was excellent YA Fantasy. Every time the main character blinks his perspective switches to a girl in a secondary fantasy world.
August 26 - The Broken Eye (Lightbringer) by Brent Weeks and Echopraxia by Peter watts (continuing on from Blindsight) Lock in by John Scalzi
September 2 - Sleeping Late on Judgement Day (Bobby Dollar) by Tad Williams
Find more upcoming releases at swordandlaser.com/calendar
BARE YOUR SWORD
Sword and Laser do #LonCon3 ! @swordandlaser http://t.co/ahzB5y3SXf
@swordandlaser Just got this. Looks like a fantastic lineup. http://t.co/V2Bg71q3qJ
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Next Month's book pick! Stories of Your Life and others by Ted Chiang
This month's Pick:
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
The always important casting thread
Theories from: The Re-Readers' Thread posted by Jack
ADDENDUMS
Sign up for the newsletter to enter to win a copy of Half a King by Joe Abercrombie! See form on the right-hand nav on the website here!
Almost every book is becoming a TV show or movie. Also we tell you how to be a part of a living creation of Alice in Wonderland and we kick off Patrick Rothfuss’s Name of the Wind.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Smithwick's Irish Ale
Veronica: 21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon
QUICK BURNS
ALAIN writes: Ghost Brigades part of the John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War Series is going to air on SyFy. If they keep the tone of the novels it should be pretty cool. It's nice to see the SyFy channel air more Science Fiction and Fantasy. The irony is it took other cable channels to show them that the genre is viable if done properly. Scalzi has a self-interview about the news.
Dara: A Dragonriders of Pern movie is totally happening. Probably. Maybe.
Michele: So this might make Tom happy, or not ;) Amazon Studios picks up The Man in the High Castle.
Rob: Syfy will be adapting the magicians. That's right, not HBO, not showtime, not AMC. Syfy. Hurray?
Nokomis.FL: Starz is previewing the first episode of Ron Moore's depiction of Diana Gabaldon's 'Outlander' on their website. You don't need to be a subscriber, but you do need to be in the US.
Ben: Jonathan Pryce and Alexander Siddig (among others) have been cast for Season 5 of Game of Thrones. No sign yet of Victarion Greyjoy and unfortunately it doesn't look good for fans of Arianne Martell, so let's all revisit her picture from the Fantasy Flight Games board game and pretend.
Aubrey: There's a Kickstarter for temporary literary tattoos. "Litographs Tattoos: Wearable Tributes to Iconic Books" - I like the designs and they have a tattoo chain idea for the first 2500 pledgers to get a tattoo with a quote from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" so the whole book would be ""worn"" by all the backers. Pretty nifty idea, I think.
Sony stops selling ereaders
PICKS
Kaleb: Deadly Class by Rick Remender has to be the most dark and twisted comic I've ever read! Anyone who reads this comment, I highly recommend you read it.
Half A King by Joe Abercrombie just arrived at my library! I'm excited to read my first book by Abercrombie.
Out today August 5th! The Magician's Land: A Novel by Lev Grossman, Severed Souls by Terry Goodkind, The Widow’s House (The Dagger and the Coin) by Daniel Abraham
NEXT Week: August 12: Fool's Assassin (Realm of the Elderlings: Fitz and the Fool Trilogy) by Robin Hobb
Find more upcoming releases at swordandlaser.com/calendar
BARE YOUR SWORD
Thane: Author or Book-Related Dreams?
Dave: SDCC Epic Fantasy panel: Putting the Epic in Epic Fantasy
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
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