S&L Podcast - #387 - The Nanobots Are Coming?

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The first rule of Short Story Club, SFF with a smile, and how to get the most out of Black Leopard, Red Wolf.

Download directly here!

QUICK BURNS

Mark: Coming September 2020

Andy Serkis records audiobook of The Hobbit for HarperCollins

gollum!

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Tamahome: ❤️Fall in Love With Kiki's Delivery Service All Over Again With This New Translation of the Original Novel

Kiki's Delivery Service is a classic Miyazaki anime. She's a young witch that delivers bread. I didn't even know there was a book. I knew Howl's Moving Castle was a book. Maybe you can pick the book soon as a change of pace. Does this mean there's a Totoro novel? It might be written in an indecipherable Totoro language. 🧹

—-

Conal: Release date is set for Ready Player Two. November 24.

—

Now that post about Ready Player Two came with a suggestion of watching the movie version virtually and virtually cuddling which led Trike to say no thanks even to virtual cuddles, no touching please, which led Mark to post a picture of a finger touching a picture of a tricycle which led to:

Trike: : puts killer nanobots in mail to Mark ::
:: sends them COD for extra-added evil :Mark: Trike's nanobots haven't arrived yet so I can still post a quick burn about a murderbot.

—-


The Murderbot Diaries short story Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory by Martha Wells which was offered to people who preordered Network Effect, will be available through Short Story Club https://www.shortstory.club/

It's a book club for short stories. You RSVP, read a short story, and join a live discussion with the author on Zoom.

Live Q&A with Martha Wells On Murderbot July 21 at 5:30PM PST / 8:30PM EST

If you press the RSVP button on the website, it will take you to an eventbrite page where you can either get a free ticket or make a donation to a charity.

UPDATE: There seems to be a limit on the number of tickets that will be available so, sign up early, if this interests you.

UPDATE 2: I signed up and the link to download the short story is for Hugh Howey's Wool instead of Ms. Wells' short story! I contacted the organizers asking for help. Trike must have misaddressed his nanobots.

UPDATE 3: The short story club folks sent out the correct download link right away. The postman has come and gone today, still no nanobots, but the murderbot is squared away.

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Dominik wrote: "Storybundle just dropped their third World SF Bundle. Either four books for five dollars or ten for fifteen, and some of them look pretty interesting."

John Added: One of the books at the lower tier is In the Vanishers’ Palace by Aliette de Bodard which is worth the price of the bundle alone...
—-

Shad: Brandon Sanderson just posted on twitter that the final draft of Rhythm of War is complete.

BARE YOUR SWORD

Craig Albuck
@Devolark
Hey @swordandlaser nice interview with LE Modesitt Jr. Have you read the Recluce saga? A fantastic series. maybe put The Magic of Recluce as a fantasy pick??

—

Funny SFF Stuff

How many S&L books had you read this year before they were announced? 2020 edition

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

Book Briefing

Subreddit with rereads and chapter summaries (You need to scroll to find them)

So, is BLRW Horror?

If you lemmed, here is another challenge

COMING UP!

Questions for Sam Maggs 7/22

Questions for Dennis E. Taylor 7/29

ADDENDUMS

Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons. Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser

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

S&L Podcast - #386 - Interview with L. E. Modesitt Jr

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We talk with L. E. Modesitt Jr, the bestselling author of two science fiction series and four fantasy series, who has published more than seventy novels. His latest book, Quantum Shadows is described as blending science fiction, myth, and legend in an adventure that pits old gods and new against one another in a far-future world.

Download directly here!

S&L Podcast - #385 - What do you mean HORROR?

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We address the harassment accusations against authors, discover that the July pick could be classified as horror (to Veronica's horror), and have a whole lot of good TV coming based on a whole lot of good books.

Download directly here!

QUICK BURNS

Mark: 2020 Locus Award winners have been selected:
Horror: Black Leopard, Red Wolf
First Novel: Gideon the Ninth
Novella: This Is How You Lose the Time War

Mark: The annual Arthur C. Clarke Award is given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year.

The shortlist for the 2020 (34th) Clarke Award is out.

- The City in the Middle of the Night  - Charlie Jane Anders
- The Light Brigade - Kameron Hurley
- A Memory Called Empire - Arkady Martine
- The Old Drift - Namwali Serpell
- Cage of Souls - Adrian Tchaikovsky
- The Last Astronaut - David Wellington

Jan: This time the trailer for the adaptation of Brave New World on Peacock (Hi Tom!).

The series will debut with the launch of peacock in the US on July 15. There is little information at the moment when and where Peacock's original programming will be available to audiences outside the US.

Netflix's second season of The Witcher is returning to production with an announcement on Twitter, apparently written as a poem by the character Jakier:

I’m dusting off my lute and quill,
I have some news, some mead to spill:
After all the months we’ve been apart
It’s time for production to restart.
The Witcher and his bard – who’s flawless,
Will reunite on set 17 August.
— The Witcher (@witchernetflix) June 22, 2020

James: Apple has released a first Teaser for the 2021 "Foundation" streaming series with Jared Harris as Hari Seldon.

Iain: Inconceivable....

Watch the Celebrity-Filled Fan-Film Version of The Princess Bride on Quibi:


Netflix has released a trailer for "Cursed" their adaptation of the book written by Thomas Wheeler and illustrated by Frank Miller reinterpreting the Arthurian Legend from the point of view of the Lady of the Lake.
The series drops on July 17 on Netflix.

Mark: Mandalorian art books, youth novels, adult novels, and comics are coming!
First adult novel coming Dec 2020 is Sparrow (is this really the title?) with absolutely no details right at this moment except it's about the Mandalorian and will be written by Adam Christopher."

BARE YOUR SWORD

Beth Mitcham @MitchamBeth
A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE, Arkady Martine. This stays with you after you put it down. It's about patriotism and envy of magnificent foreigners and the difference between memory and identity. A little bit of love. And lust. And loss. @swordandlaser

Drake Tungsten @turtleismytotem
@swordandlaser Listening to episode 20 and @Veronica mentions how she can't remember which Dresden Files books she read. I have the same problem. I've read about six books in the series, but I don't have a clear memory of any of them.

NEW POD! This week on Episode 4 of Dune Pod we are honored to be joined by @swordandlaser co-host @Veronica to talk about Denis Villeneuve’s 2016 meditation on pre-destination, Arrival. Warning: We also briefly cover Jeremy Renner’s music.

@tamahome02000
@swordandlaser I don't think Veronica will like Black Leopard, Red Wolf.

JULY PICK

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

Book Briefing

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

S&L Podcast - #384 - Teenaged Wiccan

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Tom starts throwing money at Becky Chambers and Veronica defends her rose quartz. Plus, new Star Wars short stories coming and lots of great tie-in novels up for Scribe awards! Also our first impressions of A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Nothing
Veronica: I Ate a Watermelon!

QUICK BURNS

Tamahome: Excerpt from A Memory Called Empire sequel

Julie: The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, the fourth book in Becky Chambers’ Wayfarer series is set to come out in February

Kev: Celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back - here's the author list for the new From A Certain Point of View anthology set during and around the movie. The first FACPOV set during A New Hope was fun.

Mark: The 2020 Scribe Award nominees have been announced by the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers. Sword and laser titles abound.
Winners will be announced on July 15

Tamahome: Max Brooks' (World War Z) new bigfoot novel Devolution is being adapted for the big screen:

BARE YOUR SWORD

Amy @SuthinBelle
@Veronica @swordandlaser you and @acedtect were wondering what author was from Russia - Isaac Asimov (Foundation). BTW, the author from South Africa is actually Tolkien and the author from India is TH White (Once and Future King). Long and lasting impact from British Colonialism.”

Drake Tungsten @turtleismytotem
@swordandlaser Are there any plans to have videos of episodes like you used to?

John Taloni:
Just for the fun of it, a full-length "Staba O'Riley" aka "Teenage Wiccans."
Arty intro...Pete Townshend's guitar blends in...Keith Moon's drums hit...John Entwhistle's subtle bass...and then, Roger Daltrey!


Hang out after school
Crystals sure look cool
I get the quartz into my jewel'ry
I don't need a stone
To groove the Crone
But they sure as heck look pretty, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

Don't scry
The evil eye
It's only teenage Wiccans

Sisters say the spell
The bond we feel will swell
Chant in a circle
Until the night grows colder
The crystals make the Witch
But I will cut a bitch
You try to take 'em, I'll stab you in the shoulder

Teenage Wiccans
It's only teenage Wiccans
Teenage Wiccans
Oh yeah, teenage Wiccans
They're all Wiccans!

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Keep an eye on the Patreon and Goodreads for the July Pick

JUNE PICK
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

MCE: Find your Teixcalaanli name


ADDENDUMS

Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons. Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser

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

S&L Podcast - #383 - TerpTalk

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Congrats to the Locus Nominees and Nebula winners! We’ve read a bunch of those but there are some great new picks to be discovered too. Everybody wins! Plus long-time Sword and Laser listener TerpKristin joins us to wrap up Magician: Apprentice.

Download directly here!

QUICK BURNS

Geoff: 2019 Nebula winners announced! Here’s the official post.
A Song for a New Day wins for best novel, which surprises me based on "buzz", but I haven't read it yet so I'll take it on faith that it is worthy. Looking forward to reading it!
S&L pick This Is How You Lose the Time War wins for Novella.

Mark:
2020 Locus Award finalists announced

Stephen: New Virtual Con, this time put on by Tor.com and Den of Geek
Info and dates here
Christopher Paolini & Brandon Sanderson June 11th
Neil Gaiman & V.E. Schwab June 12th
June 13 and June 14 all sorts of stuff
You need to register to get an invite to the event.

BARE YOUR SWORD

Thanks to Dave Packard the OC S&L we had a lockdown version of the monthly meetup via Zoom, attended by Dave, Stephen Richter, Andrew Cator, Christina and myself.

We spent about 10 minutes discussing Magician: Apprentice then over an hour talking about Star Trek, Star Wars, various books and comics we're reading, TV shows we're watching and I forget what else.

A good time was had by all.

Gary Fisher

—-

Beth Mitcham @MitchamBeth
MAGICIAN: APPRENTICE, Raymond E. Feist. A great time-travel book. I mean, there's no time-travel in it, but while reading it I am magically a kid again, reading fat fantasy books by the bucketful. Hindsight makes it pleasantly predictable.

Kelly Sedinger @Jaquandor
Listening to a @swordandlaser discussion on the DUNE books and which ones to read and which to skip, I'm reminded of a wonderful turn of phrase by @BluejoWalton, who referred to the later novels as "homeopathically good".

Kenley Neufeld @kenleyneufeld
A gentle tale of humans, elves, dwarves, and even a dragon. Fun and light w/out the dark heaviness that pervades fantasy. More than one boys journey into manhood caused by war. Surprised to not hear from our protagonist in the last 85-pgs. Magician: Apprentice for @swordandlaser

Amy @SuthinBelle
@swordandlaser I posted on Goodreads but wanted to let you know about the new data viz on book picks I made

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

JUNE PICK

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

Full wrap up with Terpkristin joining us! Yay!

Magician: Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist

ADDENDUMS

Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons. Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser

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

S&L Podcast - #382 - Great Movie, I Hate It

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We're beefing up our reading lists with Japanese and British award lists. Also it's fun to see what critically-acclaimed movies are hated by the authors whose books they are based on. Plus, we preview our June pick and have a few thoughts on the May pick!

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Water

QUICK BURNS

John (Taloni): Gail Carriger's latest, Defy or Defend Defy is now out. This book is the second in the "Delightfully Deadly" series and follows Dimity from the Finishing School books in her later adventures.

Richard: "The Science Fiction Fan Groups’ Association of Nippon (SFFAN) has announced the finalists for the 2020 Seiun Awards (the Japanese equivalent of the Hugo Awards), honoring the best original and translated works published last year in Japan.

Seth: Book Riot picks 15 great Science Fiction podcasts, and guess who made the list? Yep, Sword and Laser - here's the rest:

Mark: Miss Reading in Public? Bring the Sounds of the Library to Your Home. The New York Public Library has compiled an album of noises we miss—including the sound of the library itself

Erskine: Neil Gaiman just announced the first 3 graphic novels of Sandman will be released July 15 as an audiobook on Audible. I, for one, cannot wait, as I love this series. Richard added: So excited for this as well. The cast looks amazing! Michael Sheen as Lucifer. Riz Ahmed as The Corinthian. James McAvoy as Dream.

Mark: Murderbot will be back in 2021! Announcement and cover reveal for Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

Jan: Tor.com reports that the British Science Fiction Association has announced the winners of the BSFA Awards for works published in 2019.

Jan: JK Rowling has announced the release of a new children's novel "The Ickabog"


BARE YOUR SWORD

Dear Tom and Veronica,

I always enjoy your author interviews, I'll have to put Veronica Roth's Chosen Ones on my to read pile. I never really noticed character's named Veronica until you two mentioned, you don't see them much. In the past few weeks I've come across two. The ""Untamed Beauty"" on The Lost World TV show from 90s (streaming on Amazon Prime) is named Veronica and the main character looking for love in Dark Angel: The Ascent (Full Moon Entertainment) is also named Veronica.

Also, if you need a laugh, Kill The Farm Boy by Kevin Hearne & Delilah Dawson is a fun read spoofing quest novels. If Mel Brooks directed a fractured fairy tail episode.

Best,
David

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Responses about good adaptations authors hated!

Jan: I think the best known example for an adaptation not liked by the author but in general considered very good is probably ""The Shining"". Stephen Kings hates the Stanley Kubrick movie because the shift of theme and message, but is in general considered a masterpiece...

Oh and the other big example is of course Disney's "Mary Poppins"" which was very much disliked by PL Travers

—-

Trike: Authors hating good movies made from their books is actually quite common. I’m sure there are dozens of examples. A few off the top of my head:

Roald Dahl HATED Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Winston Groom likewise despises Forrest Gump.

Ken Kesey hated One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

E.B. White (and his wife) hated Charlotte’s Web.

And a special bonus just for Veronica: Stanislaw Lem hated *both* versions of Solaris. 😆

—-

John Taloni: Arthur Clarke was pretty displeased with how 2001 turned out. Michael Moorcock has a an article that includes a pretty lengthy discussion of that.

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

BRIEF discussion today. Full wrap up next episode with Terpkristin joining us! Yay!
Magician: Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist

ADDENDUMS

Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons. Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser

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

S&L Podcast - #381 - Happ-E-Anding?

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We're going to get some good Discworld TV! We talk about why sometimes you don't want to read old stuff, and whether you're someone who likes depressing consequences or happily ever after stories. All that and our first non-spoiler impressions of Magician: Apprentice.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: La Croix Peach-Pear

Veronica: Water

QUICK BURNS

Richard and Jan: The Wertzone writes "New DISCWORLD TV adaptations announced, unrelated to THE WATCH

In a press release on Discworld.com it was announced that "Narrativia, the independent production company launched by Sir Terry Pratchett in 2012, strikes [a] new development deal with Motive Pictures and Endeavor Content to create truly authentic Discworld screen adaptations."

It was not announced which books will be adapted first, but the deal is according to the press release for tv shows rather than movies.

The stressing of the "authenticity" of the planned shows in the announcement may reassure those Pratchett fans who are upset that the other Discworld series "The Watch" (which is currently in production at BBC America) is apparently diverging quite a bit from the source material - at least judging from the details released so far.

—-

Stephen: The winner of SPFBO 5 (self-published fantasy blog-off) is The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang. I personally had it as a six way tie. but I did not have an official vote.

Check out a panel from QuanranCon2020 of the authors who participated in this years SPFBO contest, it will make your day!!

If you are one of those who want to read more Self Published books but do not know where to start? This contest is one of the best way to achieve that goal. I have now ten new authors to keep track of.
—-

Jan: HBO has released a first Teaser-Trailer for Lovecraft Country, their adaptation of the novel by Mark Ruff.

The show from executive producers Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams, and showrunner Misha Green (Underground) will debut in August on HBO Max.

—-

Jan: Starting from May 5 WizardingWorld.com is releasing each week a chapter of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" narrated by celebrities like Stephen Fry, David Beckham, Dakota Fanning, Claudia Kim, Noma Dumezweni, and Eddie Redmayne.

The first chapter read by Daniel Radcliffe has already been released. Videos are available on the site, but there is also an audio-only version released on Spotify.

—-

Tamahome: Game of Thrones' Mountain just set a world record for brute strength:

—-

BARE YOUR SWORD

Kelly Sedinger @Jaquandor
Hey @acedtect and @Veronica, just listened to your discussion of epistolary novels (I'm always a few episodes behind), and let me plug Nick Bantock's GRIFFIN AND SABINE books! They're epistolary but also gorgeous art books, and you get to pull the letters from their envelopes!

—-

Hi Veronica and Tom,

I'm an avid podcast listener (and Patreon supporter!), though I'm not on Goodreads. I was just watching a press briefing given the Maine governor, Janet Mills, and was surprised to hear her quoting Veronica Roth! Since you recently interviewed her, I thought you might also be interested. This was not a forum where I expected to hear her name. I googled the quote and it seems to be from Allegiant. In the video of the briefing linked here, the part with the quote is at 55:25.

Thanks for a great podcast; I look forward to every episode and have discovered many books (and other things) through the pod. Like many people, I LOVED Gideon the Ninth, though I never would have read it unprompted. I had seen it on Audible before it was a pick and was totally disinterested. Meanwhile, I devoured it and immediately recommended it to all kinds of people.

I hope you are both healthy and well!

All the Best,

Robert Sheckler

—-

That curve's not flat!

HEA vs Depressing Consequences


BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Magician: Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist

ADDENDUMS

Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons. Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser

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

S&L Podcast - #380 - The One Where Veronica Forgets

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We invited Andrew Heaton, Host of Alienating the Audience, to join us! Oh Dune… is there any wrong way to enjoy you? Possibly yes. We also wrap up How to Lose the Time War.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Lagavulin 16

Veronica: Four Point KSA

Andrew: Vita Coco Coconut Water

QUICK BURNS

Jan - Vanity Fair has released a first look at Denis Villeneuve's (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049) movie adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune with Timothée Chalamet (Little Women) as Paul Atreides.

In addition to some set photos the article reports that the novel will be split into two movies and of course focus on Paul's story, but will also expand the role of Paul's mother, Lady Jessica, played by Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation) and in general feature female characters more prominently.

The planned release date in the US is December 18, 2020

—-

Mark - You can now download the first act of Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir in your preferred ebook format

The article says that release day is 2 Jun 2020 contradicting earlier notices about a delay, so I dunno!

Edit: Amazon still says release day us 4 Aug 2020 which was the delayed date.

Another edit: Act One is Free

Yet another edit: if you're counting, this is the fourth edit since the original post. One edit didn't get an edit tag

—-

Jan - Tor.com has revealed the title of a new solar-punk novella series by Becky Chambers (The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet).

According to Tor "Monk & Robot" is about "Sibling Dex, a tea monk, who travels the land meeting villagers and townspeople. They tell Dex their woes while Dex brews them tea, custom-blended to their individual needs and personalities. But when Dex meets Mosscap one day, their life is turned upside-down. Mosscap is a robot (and everyone knows that robots are a myth from the dim and distant past, and never actually existed), and it wants to know “What does humanity need?” Cue: the most delightful road trip you could wish for!"

The first book "Psalm for the Wild-Built" will be published in May 2021.

—-

Mark - A new online SF anthology about people remotely exploring the world...

Avatars Inc edited by Ann VanderMeer

Includes short stories by James S.A. Corey, Ken Liu, Sarah Pinsker, Aliette de Bodard and others. You can read the stories online or download EPUB or PDF of the full anthology.

Authors can submit a short story for a chance to win a new iMac Pro and other gadgets.

—-

Conal - For those interested, Dennis E. Taylor announced the Audible release date for the new Bobiverse book today...

@Dennis_E_Taylor
The release date for Heaven's River on Audible has been set for September 24th. Stephen - There are two Virtual Cons coming up that might be of interest.
QuaranCon2020 April 24-28

MaydayCon May 16

—-

Jenny: I just saw a new book by Katherine Addison (Goblin Emperor!) is coming out in June and it sounds intriguing but entirely different from the world of her previous novel. I know many of us were hoping for more in that world and maybe that will still happen someday.

Copied from publisher blurb:

"Katherine Addison, author of The Goblin Emperor, returns with a fantasy novel of alternate 1880s London, where killers stalk the night and the ultimate power is naming.

This is not the story you think it is. These are not the characters you think they are. This is not the book you are expecting.

In an alternate 1880s London, angels inhabit every public building, and vampires and werewolves walk the streets with human beings under a well-regulated truce. A fantastic utopia, except for a few things: Angels can Fall, and that Fall is like a nuclear bomb in both the physical and metaphysical worlds. And human beings remain human, with all their kindness and greed and passions and murderous intent.

Jack the Ripper stalks the streets of this London too. But this London has an Angel. The Angel of the Crows."

BARE YOUR SWORD

Feedback from the audienceSteve Mary
@SteveMary23
This is How You Lose the Time War is a must-read! I'm not sure if it was a poetry book or sci-fi set in a dreamlike universe that words could barely grasp. Probably both. Thank you
@swordandlaser and thank you March Madness voters for this pick! Go for Hugo Awards!

Have you been reading more books in quarantine or less?

Only a bit of Dune

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Next month pick: Magician: Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist

WRAP UP

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Did I win the Time War? Or did I lose it?

Red v Blue

This is Why I Love the Time War

ADDENDUMS

Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons. Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser

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

S&L Podcast - #379 - Interview with Veronica Roth

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Veronica Roth is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Divergent series, the Carve the Mark duology, The End and Other Beginnings collection of short fiction, and most recently her newest novel, Chosen Ones. We talk to her about the new novel, and what it’s like doing a virtual book tour!

Download directly here!

saveindiebookstores.com

Veronica Roth Books

Veronica Roth on Instagram

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 http://swordandlaser.com/picks.

S&L Podcast - #378 - Ointment for Your Brain

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The Hugo Nominees are in! And we've read some fo them! Also, the Nebula Nominees are in and we've read some of them too! And we have thoughts on the beauty of this month's pick, This is How You Lose the Time War.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Bubly - Blackberry flavor
Veronica: Haus

QUICK BURNS

Mark: 2020 Hugo nominees announced.

2020 Nebula Nomineees (virtual presentation coming May 30)

Jan: Tor.com reports that a new novel from Andy Weir (The Martian) is set to be released spring next year. "Project Hail Mary" is a twisty story about a lone astronaut on a spaceship tasked with saving Earth. Also, MGM is in exclusive negotiation to adapt the novel as a movie with Ryan Gosling attached to produce and play the astronaut.

Kenley: A new activity for while in quarantine. Join your favorite authors on Zoom where you can have spirited discussions from the privacy of our own quarantined space! With the Quarantine Book Club.
So far in the scifi/fantasy realm, they've had Cory Doctorow (April 1). Up next in our categories is Tim Maughan, author of Infinite Detail on April 9 and Madeline Ashby, author of reV on April 15.
Looks like the series is happening almost every day. The cost is $5 or free if you can't afford even that low price.

Mark: Divergent Author Veronica Roth Sells Film Rights to Upcoming Adult Novel Chosen Ones

Jan: This has to be my favorite themed award I never heard of!

Tor.com reports that the winners of the 2019 Kitschies have been announced! Apparently the Kitschies are "the annual tentacle-themed prize for works containing elements of the 'speculative and fantastic'.

The winner of the "Red Tentacle"" for Best Novel is The Fire Starters by Jan Carson (who is apparently a woman),
the winner of the ""Golden Tentacle"" for Best Debut is Jelly by Clare Rees, and
the winner of the ""Inky Tentacle"" for Best Cover Art is The Memory Police designed by Tyler Comrie

Unfortunately though, none of the winners seem to actually contain any tentacle based narrative (although, do jellyfish have tentacles?).

BARE YOUR SWORD

"Light book selections"

Dear Veronica & Tom,

I took advantage of the Uncanny Collections special on Brain McClellan's website. They’re short novels but easy and a lot of fun urban fantasy.

Also when I need a break from Sci-Fi and Fantasy novel like after a Wheel of Time novel, I reach for a Stephanie Plum novel (there around 25 of them). Light novels about bounty hunter, who has terrible luck in her field. The nice part is they don't need to be read in order. I recommend starting with book 6, since that is when the character of Bob the dog shows up.

Good luck with all the craziness out there.

David

—

Genesee Rickel @gmrickel
Finally finished February’s @swordandlaser pick. THE LIGHTNING BRIGADE: a tough read during COVID, relentlessly gritty & dark, excellent social commentary, a mindfuck of a timeline that requires your attention, and it all ends with a bang (or a blink :wink:). So awesome! :star: :star: :star: :star:

Beth Mitcham @MitchamBeth
@swordandlaser I read this one ahead of you!"
THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR, Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone. Two trained operatives from opposing sides suddenly (slowly) and desperately discover emotions and each other and try to rewrite the world with love language. Language is power.

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Hugo nominee: This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Duel Authorship

Poetry or Novel or Novel in Poem Form?

S&L Podcast - #377 - How to Hopefully WIN the Time War

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Worldcon goes virtual and we totally get it, Tom has a new book out, ways to support your independent bookstore, we kick off our April pick, and FINALLY give our last thoughts on The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley.

Download directly here.

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: His own ennui

Veronica: "In the Pines, Under the Palms" from True Laurel in SF

QUICK BURNS

Rob: WorldCon goes virtual

Rob: The trailer for Jim Butcher's 16th Dresden Files book: Peace Talks dropped today. But in bigger news i09 has announced that not only is Peace Talks coming out this year, but the 17th book called Battle Ground will be coming out later this year on September 29th

Anne: Jo Walton writes about books in which no bad things happen, maybe somewhat direly needed right now.

Mark: Trigor by Tom Merritt (Pilot X series) is now out

Sheila Jean: MacMillian Abandons Library eBook Embargo

Trike: How To Support Your Independent Bookstore Through Coronavirus And Beyond

The Internet Archive has created a National Emergency Library of 1.4 million digital books that will suspend the normal waitlists for ebook lending until June 30.

BARE YOUR SWORD

Jude Sturman @TechNTools
Spending some time leaving 5 star reviews for my favorite podcasts! @TWiT ⁦@avexcel⁩ ⁦@hdtvpodcast⁩ ⁦@dailytechnewssh⁩⁦@swordandlaserGenesee Rickel @gmrickel

@swordandlaser This is an unusual time so I have an unusual ask. Could we, as much as possible, announce book picks 2 months ahead of time? Library waits on digital copies are growing w/ libraries being closed, and finances are tight so folks may not be able to buy books anymore.Zach Sears @zsears

@swordandlaser @Veronica :notes: SHOW YOUR SHELVES :notes: Too much Frozen 2 for me.

Congrats to our winners for our Instagram contest "Share your Shelves!" @iamcoz randomly takes home the top prize (the Harrow the Ninth arc), while @violettwilight, @talking_leaves_reader, and @skywa1ker11069 were each able to select a book from Lem’s Library.

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

FINAL THOUGHTS ON The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley

The Ending (HUGE SPOILERS)

The Logic of Time Travel (With Graphs!)

ADDENDUMS

Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons. Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser

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

S&L Podcast - #376 - The Corona Light Brigade

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We’ve got our first impressions of the new Star Wars: High Republic books, some great new award-winning picks, and our first impressions of The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Corona

Veronica: Sleep Tests

QUICK BURNS

March tournament down to the final four

Jan: Well, let's welcome back the Star Wars Expanded Universe 2.0?
LucasFilms has announced its next big cross-medium publishing campaign: Star Wars: The High Republic.
According to the press release "Lucasfilm will launch an epic new era of Star Wars storytelling that will be explored through multiple voices in adult and young adult novels, children’s books, and comics from a variety of publishers" starting in August 2020.
On StarWars.com the High Republic is described as "an era when the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order are at their zenith, about 200 years before the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace."
The project is supposed to cover a more optimistic time and in a video in the article some of the creators described the tone as "Jedi Knights of the Round Table" or "Jedi Texas Rangers".

Jan: According to The Hollywood Reporter Ava DuVernay and Victoria Mahoney (second unit director for The Rise of Skywalker) are producing Octavia E. Butler's sci-fi novel 'Dawn' as TV Series for Amazon. Mahoney will also serve as writer and director on this script to series project. Sooooo... let's wait and see if "Dawn" will in the end ... see the light of day (pun absolutely intended)

TRP: An early Happy 42nd Birthday to the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy.
The the first episode of the radio series was broadcast on 8th March 1978

Kurt: I just found a new upcoming novel called Trigor by an author named Tom Merritt available as an ARC on NetGalley. Maybe you've heard of him :). Congrats on the upcoming release of book 2 in the Pilot X series.

Tamahome: Altered Carbon anime movie coming from Netflix March 15th

Buzz: Audible will create the exclusive audio version of Neil Gaiman's 'The Sandman'

Mark: The 2020 Audie Awards were announced March 2.
Science Fiction winner was Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin read by Jason Isaacs
Fantasy winner was The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow read by January LaVoy

Jan: The Lambda Literary Awards have announced their 2020 Finalists. The "Lammys" are honoring achievements in LGBTQ literature published in 2019 and the finalists in the Science Fiction and Fantasy category are:
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
The Deep by Rivers Solomon, Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes
False Bingo: Stories by Jac Jemc
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
The Rampant by Julie C. Day
A Spectral Hue by Craig Laurance Gidney
Stories to Sing in the Dark by Matthew Bright
Wake, Siren: Ovid Resung by Nina MacLaughlin
The finalists in the other categories can be found here

Dominik: The newest Humble Bundle just dropped, and it happens to include an anthology of short stories by this month's pick's author (for lack of a more elegant turn of phrase), Kameron Hurley. Plus a ton of other nice-looking SF/F books, so that's pretty neat.

BARE YOUR SWORD

Feedback from the audienceBenedict @ForeverBen85
@swordandlaser Got an Instagram account? Would be cool if you both had access to same account uploading pictures of things you’re reading/podcast set ups in each of your houses etc

We did it! Follow us here.

Buzz Park @buzzpark
@swordandlaser GTN review: 16 Snarky Goth sword-fighting necromancers in space on a deadly video game-like quest to achieve immortality & unlimited magical power. Only together can they achieve success. But they all have conflicting agendas & many of them are not who they seem...

Kenley Neufeld @kenleyneufeld
The Earth is run by corporations with three human classes. Deets is a soldier who experiences the war differently then others as they battle the Martians. Power. Freedom. Friendship. Surprises are in store.
Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley

Erik Redin @ErikRedin
Really loved this month's @swordandlaser pick, THE LIGHT BRIGADE by @KameronHurley. It's not for the squeamish, but if you like MEMENTO-ish puzzle stories, military sci-fi, and/or well written time travel, it's a great read.

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley

S&L Podcast - #375 - 16 Books Enter, One Becomes Pick

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We unveil the 16 books we'll be pitting against each other in our quite Mad March tournament of polls. We also chat about the Nebula nominees, introduce our March pick, and give our final thoughts on Gideon the Ninth.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: San Pellegrino
Veronica: Waterloooooo

March madness UNVEILING
Sword
- The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
- The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

- The Land: Founding by Aleron Kong
- Rivers of London/Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

- The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
- The Bloodprint by Ausma Zehanat Khan

- The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter
- The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow


Laser
- A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
- Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor

- Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Callahan's Crosstime Saloon by Spider Robinson

- This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone
- The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz

- All Systems Red by Martha Wells
- The Female Man by Joanna Russ


QUICK BURNS

Mark: Nebula Award nominees announced.

For best Novel:

Marque of Caine by Charles E. Gannon
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker"

Jan: The LA Times has announced its nominees for their first Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculative Fiction, sponsored by Ray Bradbury Literary Works. It is part of the 40th annual Los Angeles Times Book Prizes.

The inaugural nominees are
Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
Song for the Unraveling of the World by Brian Evenson
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell"

AD BREAK
Sponsored by Uncanny Collateral, book one of Valkyrie Collections by Brian McClellan.

Fast-paced urban fantasy series about a collection agent who works for the supernatural underworld of Cleveland, Ohio.

Modern-day slave Alek Fitz collects debts owed to demons, Haitian lao, vampires, and a diverse rolodex of other clients. Uncanny Collateral kicks off with a visit from Death, the Great Constant Himself, who needs a job done quickly and quietly. Aided by his best friend Maggie, a jinn who shares Alek's slavery, Alek sets off on what quickly turns into something more than a simple odd job. As the stakes escalate, Alek must use all his wiles and brawn to set things right in Death's realm.

Book Two, Blood Tally, finds Alek working for a cantankerous old-world vampire with more secrets than he lets on. It released in mid-February.

Brian is a friend of the show, please support his work!
Sword and Laser listeners can get 10% off signed copies of the Uncanny Collateral hardcover by using the code SL2020 at checkout on Brian's website store.



BARE YOUR SWORD

MLISsa! @Chaos_Librarian
@swordandlaser Hello! I love your podcast and this seems relevant to what you do, so I thought that I’d share!

Richard Marpole @RMarpole
@swordandlaser the Jim Butcher series about Romans in a Fantasy world is Furies of Calderon!
(You probably looked it up already.)"



BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Next Month!
The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley

Wrap Up
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Book briefing

GtN: write a better blurb challenge

GtN: Harrow is a bae & other thoughts

GtN: Which House are you in?

S&L Podcast - #374 - Chaotic Neutral

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We need your book nominations for our totally “mad” March tournament. Of books! Also we’re psyched Locke and Key is on Netflix, the new Naomi Novik series, and our first non-spoilery thoughts on Gideon the Ninth.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Cranberry Juice

Veronica: Lime Waterloo

QUICK BURNS

It's time for a March that might be considered a bit mad. In honor fo the sport almost none of us follow, we do a tournament of half fantasy and half science fiction books with votes every week in March. until one book emerges.... the choice for April! So we need your nominations! Between now and February 22 get on the goodreads thread and let us know what books you think should be in the tourney. Veronica and Tom will make the final decision based ons asense of balance and such but we need your ideas so get nominating!

Lauren: I loved this interview that Gizmodo did with Andrzej Sapkowski about The Witcher - it was so refreshingly direct and honest that I laughed out loud several times:

Silvana: The 2019 Locus Recommended Reading List is out! https://locusmag.com/2020/02/2019-loc...
Sad that Tiamat's Wrath is not included in the SF category.
The list has been quite useful (at least for me so far) to find recommended works for the Hugo ballot, especially for novelettes and short stories.

Jan: There's a very cute article over at Tor.com:
British Police Seek “Rightful Owner” of The One Ring

Joanna: New book by Naomi Novik comes out in October. A Deadly Education is a first volume in an epic new trilogy that publisher Del Rey calls “a twisted, super dark, super modern, female-led Harry Potter.”

Tamahome: Locke and Key is out on Netflix! Where did I put my head key?

Shad: Stormlight Archive #4 now has an official title, the Rhythm of War. Again, the title comes from an book that exists in the Stormlight Archive world, but this one is from a non human author.

BARE YOUR SWORD

Drew @fudderduds
Shoutout to @swordandlaser especially @acedtect for reminding me The Magicians season 4 was on Netflix.

Vanessa @van_hessa
En esta ocasión, mis #podcasts recomendados son @cruising_tom y @swordandlaser

Beth Mitcham @MitchamBeth
IN THE COMPANY OF OTHERS, Julie Czerneda. Interesting. None of the pieces worked (pacing, romance, etc.) but I was left with a sense of satisfaction and thoughts of ethics, humanity, and sacrifice. The whole was complete. @swordandlaser

Beth Mitcham @MitchamBeth
THE POPPY WAR, R.F. Kuang. Hard to read. The vivid depiction of war shows how hate begets hate, violence creates violence, and children learn to destroy the best of themselves. Tragic and page-turning. @swordandlaser

Tamahome @tamahome02000
.@swordandlaser Is Veronica a "chaotic good" bookmarker? https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/21149637-how-do-you-keep-your-place-in-a-book

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Book briefing

ADDENDUMS

Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons. Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser

ou 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

S&L Podcast - #373 - Generation Sword & laser

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We’ve got picks from librarians and the public domain! Plus we’re excited for Gideon the Ninth and we have our final thoughts on the January pick, In the Company of Others.

Direct download here!

QUICK BURNS

Trike:
Some SFF books entering the public domain this year:

The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany
The Land That Time Forgot and Tarzan and the Ant Men by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Dream by H.G. Wells
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
Doctor Dolittle's Circus by Hugh Lofting
The Dream Coach by Anne Parrish

Tamahome: Netflix making a Witcher anime film

From NotDara (aka Jan): At Sundance premiered (another) movie re-imagining Peter Pan - this time with Alice in Wonderland thrown in for good measure: Come Away

Directed by Brenda Chapman (The Prince of Egypt, Brave) Angelina Jolie and David Oyelowo play the parents of siblings Alice, Peter and David who imagine grand adventures playing in the woods outside their country home in Victorian-esque England until...

A trailer can be found here

Reviews seem to be mixed so far but the people involved (including Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Michael Cain) make me interested despite the idea not being exactly new anymore.

Seth: The librarians made their 2019 genre book picks. Here's the full "Reading List:"

That list includes runners-up and read-alikes for the winners from all genres.

In sci-fi they picked: A Memory called Empire by Akady Martine
In fantasy they picked: Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

BARE YOUR SWORD

Tamahome: .@swordandlaser "read all the hugo nom's" solution @readingenvy

Benedict says: Why oh why can’t we just have a weekly S&L? I can’t wait so long between each episode. Maybe it’s their voices... Hey Tom, set up a group chat once a week. Me, you and Belmont. We can just kick it? @swordandlaser :joy: #BooksYo

Hello to @alterjess, @LinzDreams, and @BookishRabbit0 for letting Cat Valente know you all found out about her books through Sword and Laser! So happy you're enjoying her work!


BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

February Pick
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Book briefing

FINAL THOUGHTS
In the Company of Others by Julie E. Czerneda

S&L Podcast - #372 - Hmmm... hmmm.

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We’ve got Hugo nominations open! And a new Heinlein novel. I mean “new” to everybody but him, we guess. Plus, we kick off In the Company of Others by Julie E. Czerneda.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Chamisul Soju

Veronica: 2 month old Yellow Tail Chardonnay

QUICK BURNS

terpkristin: Hugo nominations are open. I created a thread, but here's the key info: "The deadline for nominations is 13 March 2020 at 11:59pm Pacific Daylight Time (2:59 am Eastern Daylight Time, 06:59 Irish time, and 8:59 pm 14 March 2020 New Zealand time). Although members of Dublin 2019 can nominate, only members of CoNZealand will be eligible to vote on the final ballot and choose the winners of the 2020 Hugo, Lodestar and Astounding Awards and the 1945 Retro Hugo Awards."

Jan: I don't know if this is something for the Quick Burns, but I found this story - that's more about the business side of being an author - quite interesting...

Soooo, Andy Weir revealed in a refreshingly open and honest post on Faceboook that since January 1, 2020 the available audiobook for The Martian isn't read by R.C. Bray anymore but Wil Wheaton. The reason is that the old contract with the previous publisher Podium Publishing expired and Audible made a better offer for the audiobook rights, so Andy sold the rights to them. And Audible and Podium sadly didn't reach an agreement on the price of the existing recording, so Audible re-recorded it with Wil. So sadly the old version seems to have vanished, but we do have a new one that's hopefully just as good! (Although I still seem to be able to listen to the old version in my Audible library)

Tamahome: Locke & Key Netflix trailer!

John (Taloni) Two new book releases:

* Invisible Library series book 6, "The Secret Chapter," by Genevieve Cogman.

* Wayward Children Series Book 5, Come Tumbling Down, by Seanan McGuire

TRP: Over several weeks last summer I would cycle home through Trinity Church Square in Southwark, noticing that they were filming something set in the 19th Century.I just discovered that this was filming for the upcoming Joss Whedon TV series The Nevers It is about a group of Victorian women in London with special powers.

Jan: Hulu has ordered an adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti Series. The adaptation will be co-written by Okorafor herself alongside Stacy Osei-Kuffour from the Watchmen series.

Jan: The 2020 Philip K. Dick Award Nominees have been announced.

Louie: There is a "new" Robert A. Heinlein novel coming out, March 24, 2020.
The Pursuit of the Pankera: A Parallel Novel About Parallel Universes

BARE YOUR SWORD

HOGFATHER, Terry Pratchett. The master of “tell all the truth but tell it slant” has DEATH explore the true meaning of a holiday and the importance of fantasy and belief. Also, everything is better with giant flying hogs. @swordandlaser

@swordandlaser Happy New Year. Thank you for another year of Lord & Swasery Goodness.

From Rob: Here's the final summary from the S&L World Builders group:
We had a total of 26 people who donated via our team, 4 anonymously.
We totaled $4,263.10 in member donations, plus another $1,212.60 in matching donations for a grand total of $5,475.70!

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

In the Company of Others by Julie E. Czerneda

Book briefig

S&L Podcast - #371 - Science Fungus

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Veronica explains the awesome piece in the New York Times about Ken Liu, we're excited for The Witcher, we announce the January book will be In the Company of Others by Julie Czerneda, and we wrap up The Hogfather by Terry Pratchett. Plus, we put the “fun” in Science Fungus.

Download directly here.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Ramen
Veronica: Manhattan

QUICK BURNS

Kenley: Great piece in today's NYT Magazine on Chinese SciFi focusing on an "interview" with translator Ken Liu.

Iain: From Tor: SFWA Names Lois McMaster Bujold Science Fiction Grandmaster

Shad: Volume four of the Stormlight Archive is now available for preorder with a release date of 11/17/2020. I'm not sure how firm that date is. Edit: It has been confirmed that 11/17/2020 is the release date:

Jan: Deadline reports that Game of Thrones' showrunners David Benioff & D.B. Weiss are set to produce a movie inspired by Hans Rodionoff’s graphic novel Lovecraft at Warner Bros.

Robin: (on New Witcher trailer) I've never posted here before and I hope I'm doing this in the right spot but um, there's this on Tor.Com I watched it and it was amazing. Now I want to watch the show.

Mark: Cover reveal for the followup to Sam Sykes' Seven Blades in Black Ten Arrows of Iron

terpkristin: Jim Butcher’s Peace Talks will be published on July 14, 2020. This will also be the 20th anniversary of The Dresden Files.

BARE YOUR SWORD

Benedict says: My current “to be read” list under my bed :man-shrugging: @swordandlaser #bookworm #swordbeatslaserunfortunately

Steve says: À chacun ses contes de Noël...
#nowreading Père Porcher, Terry Pratchett. Avec @swordandlaser

RobZak a.k.a. Roberator says: Super proud of @swordandlaser members who have joined together to donate just under $5000 on our @worldbuilders team page. It's not too late to join us.

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Next month (year!) - In the Company of Others by Julie E. Czerneda
Book briefing

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

HF: Favourite Quotes

HF: What are your other favorite versions of Death/ Grim Reaper?

ADDENDUMS

Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons. Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser

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

S&L Podcast - #370 - Death Is Her Favorite Character

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Got reader’s block? We've got some tips to get you out of it. Is there too much SFF out there now? And why Death is Veronica's favorite character. We kick off Hogfather and give our final thoughts on Snow Queen!

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: San Pellegrino

Veronica: Pinot Grigio

QUICK BURNS

Iain: Rough draft of chapter 1 from book 4 of Brandon Sanderson's Starlight Archive is available, details from Tor

John (Taloni): DC Fontana has died, aged 80, after a short unnamed illness. Some of her vast legion of accomplishments are in the article linked. She wrote my favorite Six Million Dollar Man episode, the alien-rescue story "Straight on 'Til Morning.”

Mark: Michael Moorcock’s Elric Saga Optioned for TV

Alex: New book by Jeff Vandermeer out soon: Dead Astronauts -- Dead Astronauts” is set in a post-climate-change-apocalypse future, though exactly when and where we are remains artfully hazy. The unnamed Company, like a malignant tumor, has spread across and corrupted not only the surrounding City but branching timelines, alternate versions of the world. Chen, Moss and Grayson, the titular dead astronauts, have journeyed across these multiple versions, dying over and over, in order to “destroy the Company and save the future. Some future.

BARE YOUR SWORD

How to Recover From Reader’s Block

We're no longer the audience?

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Book for December

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

Book briefing

The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge

TSQ: How are people liking it?

Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons. Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser

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

S&L Podcast - #369 - Jeffety Jeff Jeffers of Planet Jeff

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How we’re feeling about the Snow Queen, and where it’s world-building might have drawn from. Plus two alternative pronunciation guides for the character names. Plus, a treasure trove of awesome articles about SciFi-type things!

Download directly here.

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Lemon Water

Veronica: Lagunitas Super Cluster Ale

QUICK BURNS

Tamahome:

Huh. N.K. Jemisin is writing a Green Lantern murder mystery comic book

Mark: The Future Issue of New York Magazine is out.

With articles like:

In 2029, It’ll Be Harder to Write Science Fiction Because We’ll Be Living It and

The Weirdness Is Coming: A glimpse of the near future as seen through the recent past.

Mark: The Disappearance of John M. Ford

My introduction to Ford's work was through his Star Trek novels. I didn't know much about him, but I'd like to read more of his work.

Dara: William Gibson's The Peripheral is getting the small-screen treatment. Amazon has given a series order for the TV adaptation.

Via Variety:

The one-hour drama hails from writer, executive producer, and showrunner Scott B. Smith. Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy will also executive produce under their Kilter Films banner, with the pair having signed a massive overall deal at Amazon earlier this year. Vincenzo Natali will direct and executive produce, with Athena Wickham of Kilter Films and Steven Hoban also executive producing. Amazon and Warner Bros. Television will produce.

The series centers on Flynne Fisher, a woman trying to hold together the pieces of her broken family in a forgotten corner of tomorrow’s America. Flynne is smart, ambitious, and doomed. She has no future. Until the future comes calling for her

Dara: The Guardian has a feature on the behind-the-scenes action of recording an audiobook.

Trike: Even though it hasn’t started filming yet, Amazon has already renewed their Lord of the Rings series for a second season.

Mark: It's Worldcon time again.

Supporting memberships are $75 NZD ($48 USD)

Mark: All the freelance writers who worked on Barnes & Noble blogs, including the SF&F blog, have been let go

BARE YOUR SWORD

@swordandlaser I'm going to complete my challenge! I know there is a 52 challenge but for 2020 I think I'm going to double up and go for 24. Do you both set your own reading challenges and do you (you must) factor in S&L picks? #readingcommunity #BelmontandtheMerritt

Always great when the fabulous @swordandlaser folks are heard on other podcasts I like. Great job, @acedtect on the most recent @ReadingGPodcast.

Hey @SamSykesSwears I was listening to your interview on @swordandlaser

You said that you love fight scenes but you're getting bored of explicit violence.

Why not write a sword and sorcery story where all the fight scenes are replaced with non-lethal dance-fights?

Hi guys, you did it...

So. Voices out of my computer made me do it (sounded suspiciously like yours...); I re-read the complete Dresden Files within 2 weeks. 'Twas fun. And necessary. If and when the new volume arrives next year, I'll be able to enjoy it. Otherwise, in all probability, I wouldn't have the foggiest what he's writing about.

Greetings,

Marc Fabian,
Cologne, Germany

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge

TSQ: Colonialism

TSQ: Pronunciation guide

ADDENDUMS

Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons. Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser

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

S&L Podcast - #368 - But is it Art?

/

So many awards! You have no excuse for not finding something awesome and new to read right now. Not that you ever do with us on the job, we hope. Also, our first impressions on reading The Snow Queen.

Download directly here.

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Newcastle Brown Ale

Veronica: Old Potrero

QUICK BURNS

Credit to Ruth but written by Tom: HBO Max will feature a series set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones, called House of the Dragon, telling the story of the Targaryens from George R. R. Martin's book Fire and Blood. It skips piloting and got a 10 episode order. GoT Battle of the Bastards director Miguel Sapochnik will co-showrun with Ryan Condal.

HBO canceled plans for the Game of Thrones prequel series sometimes referred to as The Long Night, being run by Jane Goldman and starring Naomi Watts"

Dara: The 2019 Nommo Awards were announced in Lagos, Nigeria. "The Nommo Awards recognize works of speculative fiction by Africans, defined as 'science fiction, fantasy, stories of magic and traditional belief, alternative histories, horror and strange stuff that might not fit in anywhere else.'" Via Tor, the winner is Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi. The full list can be viewed on Tor's website. Looks like a good list for future picks.

Dara: Brian McClellan will be writing a new epic fantasy series for Tor Books. In the Shadow of Lightning is set to be released in the spring of 2022.

Mark: World Fantasy Award winners were announced today.

Best Novel awarded to Witchmark by C.L. Polk

Mark: Barnes & Noble will cheerfully sell you ALL THE WINNING BOOKS!

A Roundup of 2019’s Major Science Fiction & Fantasy Award Winners"

Shawn D Whale:

Rebecca Roanhorse, of S&L awesomeness, is a part of the Star Wars universe. Her novel “Resistance Reborn”, is the prequel to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. "

Matt: Entertainment Weekly has a first look at the next Lady Astronaut novel from Mary Robinette Kowal - The Relentless Moon

Mark: I'm sure some S&L folks are familiar with this resource but it's new to me, and perhaps to others here.

SFFaudio has a public domain PDF page. The SFFaudio team has scanned thousands of SF&F short stories, novellas, and novels whose copyright has expired. If you're looking for older stuff to read, check it out."

BARE YOUR SWORD

A sample of a short story I wrote and narrated, WHITE FLAME. Published in the @swordandlaser anthology (2014). It was a great honor to be a part of such a great book. #voiceover #audiobook #narration

The @swordandlaser podcast mentioned Paranoid Android, so I listened to it again for the first time in years. I never realized what a tremendous debt Radiohead owed to David Bowie.

2019 Goodreads awards, who did you vote for?

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge

ADDENDUMS

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