S&L Podcast - #439 - And the Rest is History

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So many awards! We learn about a novelization of an unpublished Alien 3 script by William Gibson. We take a brief trip back to episode 1. And we share the books we picked to read this month in honor of Jenny.

Download directly here!

QUICK BURNS

Jan: As The Hollywood Reporter writes, there is a Jon Snow Sequel Series in Development at HBO with Kit Harrington attached to reprise his role as Jon Snow.

Jan: Penguin Random House has announced a new imprint, Random House Worlds, "dedicated entirely to licensed book publishing.’

Jan: Goodreads has releases their list of the most popular books of 2022 (so far). In Science Fictios and Fantasy the TOP 5 are:

Mark: The 2022 Scribe Awards nominees have been announced. Winners will be announced at the award ceremony at San Diego Comic-Con Friday July 22.

Jan: The Lambda Literary Foundation has announced the winners for the Annual Lambda Literary Awards, celebrating “the best lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender books.”

Jan: Nominees for the first Utopia Awards, presented in association with the Climate Fiction Conference (CliFiCon22), to be held online October 1, 2022, have been announced.

Tamahome: Harlan Ellison's last edgy anthology to be published posthumously next year with the help of J. Michael Straczynski. I actually saw this in Wikipedia.

Jan: Netflix has released a first clip for 'First Kill' "an adaptation of the short story by V. E. Schwab about a sapphic teenage vampire-monster hunter romance"

Jan: Netflix has released a first teaser trailer for their upcoming Paul Feig movie "The School for Good and Evil" based on the series by Soman Chainani and set to premiere in September.

Joanna: Samuel Delany’s new book This Short Day of Frost and Sun (according to author it is "fantasy, in the manner of G. K. Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday") will be serialized in The Georgia Review starting from the Summer 2022 issue.

BARE YOUR SWORD

Fun time comparisons:

Jan: original Star Wars is way closer to the outbreak of World War II than it is to today

Tassie Dave: Cleopatra lived closer in time to the building of the Sydney Opera House, than she did to the building of the Pyramids of Giza

Paul: The amount of time between the first Stegosaurus and the last Tyrannosaurus is roughly the same as the amount of time between the last Tyrannosaurus and NOW!"

Good evening,

I am presently reading the oldest books on the podcast. I was hoping to listen to those old shows. I have discovered that you’ve posed all the old shows on sound cloud. My question is, are the first few shows available somewhere that I haven’t looked? Thanks for any help or guidance you can provide.

Jason

Here’s episode one on Archive.org.

Beth Mitcham

MACHINEHOOD, S.B. Divya. Great big and small-scale questions -- ideas about humanity's future and societal change, peeks at future kitchen technology and virtual school. Characters worry about world destruction and spousal discord.

Kenley Neufeld

A place we may become. Or are? Familiar, and yet not. To lie is to be jailed. A story of a speculator. Those who uncover the lies. A death that leads us on a journey. Fun play with words. A “cop” drama. Golden State by @benhwinters - book #3 for June ⁦

Kenley Neufeld

If, Then by Kate Hope Day. Book #1 for June

@swordandlaser pick. It was quick & easy read. Shifting through the multi-verse. Gives us pause on what could have been; what might have been. Choices we make. Mostly traditional fiction with some genre mixed into the story. I liked it!"

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Veronica - Nona the Ninth

Tom - Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

Next Month

Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik

Amazon link

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 - #438 - New Ruth Rising

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It's award season! We have Nebulas, we have Mythopoeics, we have Nommos. We also have some nice reviews of the show, and we wrap up our thoughts on Machinehood by S.B. Divya. It made us think!

Download directly here!

QUICK BURNS

Mark: SFWA Announces the Winners of the 57th Annual Nebula Awards

Seth: The 2022 shortlist for the Mythopoeic fantasy awards features familiar names from previous Sword and Laser picks

Jan: The African Speculative Fiction Society has announced the shortlist for the Nommo Awards 2022, recognizing works of speculative fiction by African writers.

Jan: The winners of the 2022 Kurd Lasswitz Prize for the best German science fiction works and translations have been announced.

Deanna: Barnes and Noble is hosting a virtual event on July 27, 2022 featuring Zoraida Cordova discussing The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina with Rebecca Roanhorse. Tickets are free :)


BARE YOUR SWORD

Joseph Was the wine La Vieille Ferme? We used to serve that at the theater I volunteer at; we always just called it "chicken red" or "chicken white" so as not to have to try to pronounce La Vieille Ferme.

Five Book Podcasts I Absolutely Love

What It's Like To Read Brandon Sanderson

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

In honor of Jenny Colvin we're asking everyone to read as many books as they want this month and review them.

Tom: Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

Veronica: Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

WRAP UP

Machinehood by S.B. Divya

Amazon Link

Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth

I’m only just up to chapter 6, so my views may change, but right now, I’m surprised at the talk of Machinehood being concept over characters, because I’m really loving the characters I’ve met so far. Perhaps there is some wish fulfilment in how driven Welga seems, in that she is very much my opposite. I want to keep reading this book for her, concepts be damned! But that’s the thing about reading - we all get something different. :)

A little too close (Ruth follows up)

Okra (spoilers for the end)

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 - #437 - Jenny Was a Friend of Mine

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The hope of science fiction spurred by a science museum, Dracula by email, why it's called a tetralogy and our non-spoilery thoughts on Machinehood, and our goodbyes to friend of the show, Jenny Colvin.

Download directly here!

Many of you know, but some of you may not that Jenny Colvin, host of Reading Envy, member of Sword and LAser's community and so much more passed away unexpectedly last week. We'll be posting some of your memories of her on our website in the show notes for this episode and stick around after the music ends for this episode to hear us share our memories.

So who needs a drink?

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Terra

Veronica: The rooster rosé

QUICK BURNS

Mark: 2022 Locus Awards Top Ten Finalists announced.

Seth: The British Science Museum is opening a cool-looking exhibit called Science Fiction:
And as part of the exhibit's opening in October, they're sponsoring a sci-fi writing competition

Ruth: The Dracula Daily newsletter

Oaken: C.J. Cherryh is on the mend

terpkristin: Chicon 8, the next Worldcon, is hosting, with some bookstores, local events to talk about books.

Ruth: Tor dot com publishing have released a free sampler of their 2022 debuts, you can download it in various formats

Paul: Polygon released their favourite 2022 SFF books so far

BARE YOUR SWORD

Jamie: My podcast player was acting up, so I managed to listen to this today. And since they (to my surprise) read out a post of mine and asked for references, well, that's a fair response, so:

US English
UK English

The reason why "quadrology" is considered... well, "nonstandard" is probably more accurate than to say it's simply "wrong"... is that the -logy ending is Greek so, ideally, it goes with the Greek word for "four" - and "quad-" is Latin. There are some words that break this rule ("television" is probably the best known) but there are fewer than you might think.

@anne_korfmacher
for some reason the episode index on the S& L website doesn't load on my end anymore. Any ideas why? The overview is super helpful and I would love to continue using it!

You're right, it's broken! We didn't do anything, so maybe something on Squarespace changed! We'll look into it!

@jfdubeau, regarding figuring out the mystery too early or getting spoilers:
I think there's a sweet spot. You want to figure it out juuuust before the reveal. Like half a chapter or a couple of paragraphs. That way you feel clever for figuring it out, but not like the mystery is too shallow.

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION - CHECK IN

Machinehood by S.B. Divya

Amazon Link

When good science makes bad fiction

I think the book is awesome

.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/

REMEMBERING JENNY "READING ENVY" COLVIN

"It's a sad day in our Furman library world. Our colleague, Jenny Colvin passed away last night at the age of 43. She was the fastest reader I know, read anything, had a podcast Reading Envy and a baking blog JennyBakes. She cared a lot about a lot of things, but mostly in trying to make things better."

Rob: Jenny was one of the first members of S&L that I talked with. She was recruiting reviewers for SFFAudio and I did those for a few years under her coordination. After that dried up, I didn't talk to her as often but she would always chime in from time to time with some good comments on S&L despite getting busy with her own blog and podcast: I'm really sorry to hear of her passing.

Tassie Dave: That is very sad news. Jenny was a valued member with great insights and a voracious appetite for books. She was a guest host twice, on Shows 408 and 409 last year while Veronica was on maternity leave She will be missed.

John (Nevets): As usual in these sort of situations, I want to say something, but don't know what. I do know that her insightful and unique takes on the books she enjoyed so much will be very much missed. I truly enjoyed, and looked forward to her comments. It almost didn't feel like a group read was done until she had weighed in with a poignant take. I also thought it appropriate to link to her comments on the passing of another of our members Joanna 5 years ago.

elizabeth: To echo John (Nevets), I want to say something, but I don't really know what. I've had Jenny as a friend on Goodreads for years, and while I didn't interact with her a ton, she was probably one of the people that I relied on the most for reviews and recommendations. I just knew if Jenny thought a book was special, I would too. I'm so incredibly saddened by her passing and will miss her presence in the book world immensely. She was much too young.

John Taloni: A huge loss. I found her posts insightful and always enjoyed when she responded to one of mine. The world is a little darker now.

John Nevets also had a great idea about how we could honor Jenny: I have an idea regarding a possible way the book club could memorialize Jenny’s passing. I’m by no means sure it is a good idea, I just had it, and am posting it here to start a discussion about it. When Joanna died 5 years ago Tom and Veronica chose to read one of her unread books in her Goodreads list. I thought this was a great and wholly appropriate way of remembering her. And each time I see “The Hum and Shiver” in my audible account I think of her. Jenny was such a prolific reader that this doesn’t seem quite right, and also may be a more difficult task. My suggestion instead is for one month not have a traditional book pick, but instead have each of us read as many different books as we can ( even if that is just one), and then write a Goodreads review of them. Possibly mentioning it is posted in her memory. I know many are very good about writing reviews anyway, but many of us aren’t, and I thought this would be a unique way of sharing much of what she enjoyed.

If you want to help support charities that Jenny cared about deeply, here are some links provided by her husband, Nathaniel:

FRIENDS OF THE FURMAN LIBRARIES

GREENVILLE ANIMAL CARE

S&L Podcast - #436 - It's About the Howdunnit

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Is a mystery ruined if you guess the perpetrator too early? We say maybe not! Plus good news from Peter V. Brett and more radical transparency from Veronica.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Cherry Coke Zero

Veronica: Rosé

QUICK BURNS

Jan: From LocusMag

The winner of the 2022 Ray Bradbury Prize is "Spirits Abroad" by Zen Chowas.

Ian (RebelGeek) A new anthology including a new Dresden Files story is out now!

Jan: HBO has dropped a trailer and announced the premiere date for Stephen Moffat’s adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger’s novel "The Time Traveller's Wife"

TRP: The twelfth book in the Thraxas series by Martin Scott (aka Martin Millar) has bben released

Jan: K.W. Colyard from Bookriot has released a list of their "best fantasy books you’ve never heard of

BARE YOUR SWORD

Tassie Dave "With the discussion of the excellent comedy series "Our Flag Means Death", I was surprised Veronica and/or Tom never mentioned the only cast member who has been interviewed on "Sword and Laser" Wee John Feeney (AKA Kristian Nairn) or as we all know him "Hodor""

Jamie: Pedant that I am, it's going to bug me if I don't point out that the correct word for a set of four books is "tetralogy" not "quadrilogy". (Heh... my spellchecker did *not* like me typing that second word!) Although ""quartet"" is a perfectly valid alternative and probably more common

Peter V. Brett Hold onto your butts

Thanks Craig Albuck @Devolark and @terpkristin for the tip on Twitter!

Beth Mitcham - @MitchamBeth

A MASTER OF DJINN, P. Djèlí Clark. I see what you did with that title! A fun genre-savvy adventure that has swashbuckling action, a rookie sidekick, a dash of romance, and a mystery base. All flavors work together like a gumbo. #Hugo2022

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

KICKOFF

Machinehood by S.B. Divya

Amazon Link

WRAP UP

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

Amazon

Whodunnit

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

Review us on iTunes!

feedback@swordandlaser.com

swordandlaser.com

We are on Instagram and Twitter! @swordandlaser

goodreads.com

S&L Podcast - #435 - Cultural Appreciation

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The Hugo finalists are out? Already? Already! A banned beer. And our initial non-spoiler impressions of Master of Djinn.

Download directly here!

QUICK BURNS

Mark: Hugo 2022 finalists announced.

Mark: Joel Edgerton to Star in Series Adaptation of Blake Crouch’s ‘Dark Matter’ at Apple

Mark: Emily St. John Mandel and HBO MAX in the news

Mark: New from Flying Dog Brewery in Maryland, 451 Juicy IPA

Martin: Guy Gavriel Kay has a new book due on 17 May 2022 - All the Seas of the World

Jackie: The Ignyte Awards Committee Is thrilled to announce the finalists for the 2022 Igynte Awards

BARE YOUR SWORD

Why did you tantalize us with a WorldCon in Iceland, Mary Robinette??

@swordandlaser and @markmtz Because I am an author and tell lies for a living and for fun."

Anyone Recommend any good SFF Novels about pirates?

What are some good DRM-free ebook stores?

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

Amazon link

AMoD: cultural appropriation

AMoD: Setting

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 - #434 - Are Sequel Prequels Equal?

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A whole bundle of good stories, telling tales from the point of view of villains, and we kick off our reading of A Master of Djinn by P. Djèli Clark.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: St. Francis Cabernet

Veronica: Peach Waterloo

QUICK BURNS

"Paul: Prolific author of weird SFF stories, Lavie Tidhar has curated a bundle of ten SF books from around the world as part of Story Bundle's "2022 world Sci-Fi bundle"

Serendi: Brandon Sanderson has backed (nearly all) publishing Kickstarters (over 300) that were on Kickstarter the day he and his team did it.

Jan: If you need a shorter list of recommendations than usual (including a S&L pick), here's: John Scalzi's 6 favorite works with science fiction themes

Jan: Tor.com has a number of recommendations for South Asian Sience Fiction and Fantasy from Vandana Singh, Anil Menon, Manjula Padmanabhan and more

Lauren: This episode from the podcast Imaginary Worlds dropped recently and contains a really fascinating discussion of Ukrainian speculative fiction

Mark: ‘The Southern Vampire Mysteries’ Author Charlaine Harris Launches First Podcast With Realm

Mark: Comic Adaptation of Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Calculating Stars

Seth: Happy library week to all librarians (especially school librarians) who are on the front lines of this fight"

BARE YOUR SWORD

Paul: Thanks for reading my comments! You've shared a couple of my posts now, and it really makes me smile!

Anyways, Re: Lion King:

My understanding is that Lion King was a retelling of Hamlet. Vengeful brother secretly murders the King, and usurps the throne. Son leaves the palace to try to find himself, comes back to avenge father, restore the throne and redeem the kingdom. There's even the presence of the dead king's ghost. So yeah, pretty royalist, but because it's a Shakespearean story that was written to appeal to kings.

That said, I agree that from a modern perspective, Scar gives more resources to the underclass by taking from the ruling class. But then lions need more food than hyenas, and also Scar's ruling style seemed to involve over-hunting antelopes, so maybe antelopes preferred Mufasa's rule, though they probably weren't fans of either ruler. The politics get pretty complicated when you have to eat some of your constituents. #Zazu2024

Mark @swordandlaser Were you ""rikrolsoned"" by @MaryRobinette?"

@KenFromChicago

What if the great stories we know were told from the VILLAIN's point of view? 🤔

@Orlando86454878

I fell in love with the master of djinn it was such an easy read the heroines are awesome I plan to read a dead djinn in Cairo by P. Djeli Clark."

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

On Amazon

The prequel novellas

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 - #433 - Slow Burns

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We discuss our March Madness winner, salute Martha Wells, and wrap up our copious thoughts about Pandora's Star. Are you in with the motiles?

Download directly here!

QUICK BURNS

WE HAVE A WINNER. A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark outvoted Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky 59.3% to 40.7%. And congrats to "Joyce usually picks badly" who won the bracket predictions with a score of 22, just edging out someone who did not title their brackets by one point. Once again thanks to Roberator for keeping everyone up to date on the progress throughout the tourney! And remember the real winner is our reading lists

Paul: Regarding the 2021 Nebula Awards Finalists
Here's a Quote from the official website:
Author Martha Wells graciously declined her nomination as a novella finalist this year for Fugitive Telemetry: Murderbot Diaries, Book 6, published by Tordotcom. Wells felt that the Murderbot Diaries series has already received incredible praise from her industry peers and wanted to open the floor to highlight other works within the community.

Jan: Esquire has released their list of the best 50 fantasy novels of all time.
And their list of the 50 best science fiction novels of all time!

Jan: The Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) has announced the winners for the 2022 Romantic Novel Awards

Jan: The SFWA, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America is changing its name to The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association.

Jan: The Tolkien Estate has added lots of new unpublished art by JRR Tolkien to their recently launched website archive creating "a lush painting of Middle Earth.

BARE YOUR SWORD

Brian posted this in Quick Burns but it's not news. However it is funny.
"Vaguely fantasy (of a sort) related that seemed worth sharing.
From twitter: Kane 謝凱堯 @kane
The Lion King is about the brutal counter-coup of a monarchy to restore primogeniture after it was deposed by a popular leader supported by oppressed minorities forced to live in the Elephant Graveyard ghetto. If you supported Simba and thought Scar was a villain you are a pawn of royalist propaganda and lèse-majesté"

Trike has a dissertation on the linguistic history of crow and rooster available in the goodreads thread

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Next episode we will kick off A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

WRAP UP

Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton

PS: I’m really enjoying it

From HarryB on Discord:
Since I chimed in earlier on the "ick factor" let me give it another try (I'm more than half way now). Yeah, I get it, future society, sexual liberation, near immortality releases old boundaries, ok. It's not so much the presence of such stuff, it's ubiquitous in many genres, although yeah, some of the age differences are a bit skeevy, but it's not so much that as Hamilton's writing and the attitude it projects, intentionally or not -- I feel like he's leering every time he presents sexual content. Take this random passage description of a woman from page 395 "She had a very short leather skit and a white blouse with a low cut front showing off a huge cleavage." I mean can't you just hear that last phase spoken in a Homer Simpson voice (in the same tone Homer describes donuts)? I mean, I'd expect that from some 50s Jim Thompson paperback junk spy novel or such, but it feels out of place here. There's just something about his way of writing. Look, it's not a big deal I think, even I question my own take on it, I'm enjoying the book, the world building, and so

onCham1nade on Discord:
The way I’ve been explaining it to myself is: it’s like eating homemade chocolate chip walnut cookies, only the home chef cracked their own walnuts and some of the shells got in the cookies. So if you can eat around the bits of shell, the cookie itself is delicious.

I love the detective elements, the espionage elements, and quite a lot of the alien elements. And I’m intrigued by his exploration of what effect regeneration capability would have on a society. I’m not sure his understanding of sociology and human communities is strong enough to make it a believable picture, but there’s definitely some good questions and ideas in there

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 - #432 - Does the Crow Rooster?

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We have thoughts about why a rooster crows. Plus all the Nebula news and more awards. And we dig into our non-spoilery thoughts on Pandora’s Star.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: San Pellegrino (But someday Star Trek wines)

Veronica: Tepache cocktail

QUICK BURNS

March Madness continues! Head to Sword and Laser click on the March Madness section to see the brackets and then click on the link to the polls to vote on which books will advance to the next round. Thanks again to Rob who calculated all the stats for the first two rounds and makes it easy to find the polls! who do you think has the upper page in this competition?

Jan:
The 2021 Nebula Awards Finalists have been announced.

Jan: Locus Magazine reports that the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America have announced that the 2022 Nebula Awards will be entirely virtual.

Mark: The 2022 Audie Awards were handed out.

Paul: Brandon Sanderson's Kickstarter campaign broke Kickstarter's record for most money raised in a 24-hour period.

Joanna: Shortlist for British Science Fiction Association Awards had been announced:
There is a Peter F. Hamilton book in there, but the short one.

BARE YOUR SWORD

Madness of Another Kind

TT Linse
Great first sci-fi for kids! Per what you were saying on @swordandlaser The Aliens Are Coming by Colin McNaughton is so wonderful. My kids, at 15, and I still quote this book and think of it fondly!!

@MitchamBeth
Oct 4, 2021
THE EMPRESS OF SALT AND FORTUNE, Nghi Vo. The story is about a story collector hearing a story. So it's about who writes history, and why they chose that way to tell the story, and how the pieces come together. #Hugos2021 #novella@MitchamBeth


Reread for @swordandlaser. This time I watched the storyteller watching the collector to see what was understood, not only the what but the why. And I liked how the collector was willing to admit when they didn't understand it all. Also there was a cool bird.I listened to the "How I Built Goodreads" interview on NPR earlier. Very interesting. I like the conclusion that the site came out better because it was more of a passion project. -- Drake Tungsten

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton

The prologue

Influences

The Book's Pacing: Is it Slow For You, Too?

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

Review us on iTunes!feedback@swordandlaser.com

swordandlaser.com

S&L Podcast - #431 - A Peach Blossom of a Novella

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A mad, mad March has arrived! Every year in March we run a tournament to determine the April book pick. And like some actual sporting tournaments, we often have to begin that March tournament in February. So it's underway! If you're unfamiliar, it works like this: There are 16 books, divided into a Sword group and Laser group. Though, each group has one "Wild Card" book that's kind of a cross-genre selection. There are now 8 polls up pitting two books against each other. After the week is over, we will take the winner of each poll and match it up against the winner of another poll. So next week we would have 4 polls. And the week after that two polls. And in the final week the last two remaining books go head-to-head in a poll to become the April book pick.

It's all for fun and often we use the tourney entrants to give us ideas for future picks as well. If nothing else, the 16 books competing are great potential adds to your TBR list!

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: St. Francis 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon

Veronica: GunBun 2021 Sauvignon Blanc

QUICK BURNS

"HOW I BUILT THIS WITH GUY RAZ Goodreads: Otis and Elizabeth Chandler"

March madness polls

Tournament

Mark: LA Times Book Prize finalists announced today.

Trike: Vanity Fair has the first look at Amazon’s Lord of the Rings.

Terpkristin: Mary Robinette Kowal won the Skylark Award from The New England Science Fiction Association, an award given to people for significant contributions to Science Fiction.

Mark: Shooting for HBO MAX series House of the Dragon has wrapped.

Mark: Ok, this isn't news either but it's a handy list of all 42 Philip K. Dick Award winners and links to get a copy if you need to.

Kristy H: This will be awesome if it eventuates: A Riftwar Cycle Series Is Once Again in Development.

CountZeroOr: So, in addition to the GraphicAudio adaptation of the first Vampire Hunter D novel, Audible has a more conventional audiobook of Vampire Hunter D alongside it

BARE YOUR SWORD

Hi there, Love love love your show for years :) Met million years ago. Anyhoo.. I have been working at Logi and Blue for quite a few years and wanted to drop some quick tips, New blue microphone is side address , not top address so if you speak into front vs top it will sound way better. It is a confusing shape and everyone does it. Also.. if you download the GHUB software..I know it can be a tiny pain to download and install extra software but you can use all kinds of great live filters with it .. like a gate / EQ / compressor etc.. also if you have a Nvidia video card it will give even more features for you like room echo noise or ai noise suppression. Thank you for all the great videos and book recommendations .. you keep me reading and audio booking !!! -- Doug

Jerry Perez over on Twitter points us to a TikTok video made by author Samantha Shannon, who wrote The Priory of the Orange Tree (which Veronica loved), where she says that she's just finished her next novel, set in the same world, and it's even LONGER! https://twitter.com/raging3vil/status/1494656238352805888

This isn't really a Bare Your Sword, but I want Tom to explain why he's famous on K-Pop Twitter.


BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

KICK OFF

Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton https://bookshop.org/a/56085/9780345479211

WRAP UP

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo.

On Amazon

A double-header from Eric, who really loved the book:

Awesome Pick! (full spoilers within!)

Other SFF Stories with Similar jobs (some spoilers inevitable)

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 - #430 - What's Your Fantasy Flavor Profile

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What flavor of fantasy do you like? We discuss that and more in kicking off Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo. Also, nominations are open for our March tournament!

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Port

Veronica: Bev Gris


QUICK BURNS

March Madness nominations are open!

You can nominate books in our Goodreads thread until 8 PM eastern on Monday February 21st.

The complete guide is in the thread by our amazing moderator Rob but here's the top line

One nomination per person, Has to be sci-fi or fantasy that we haven't read and Tom and Veronica will choose 8 sci-fi and 8 fantasy. We will use the nominations as suggestions but have the final say on what goes in the tourney.

Then starting February 23rd there will be a series of polls pitting one book against another for you to vote on. The winner of each poll will advance to the next week where it will face a new book. The fourth and final week will start March 16th with the surviving fantasy book against the surviving sci-fi book. The winner of that last poll becomes the April book pick!"

Anne: The Recommended Reading List of Locus Mag for 2021 is up

Jan: According to Deadline newly formed Six Studios has acquired the rights to the first six books in Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts’ Riftwar Cycle which includes previous Sword & Laser pick "Magician".

Mark: We read The Rook by Daniel O'Malley back in 2016. O'Malley followed that up with Stiletto and coming October 2022, a third Chequay Files novel, Blitz.

Iain: An explanation as to why the Locked Tomb trilogy is now going to be four books (although reading the reason implies there may be a fifth).

Jan: If you want to lem something, you can check out "My Year of Reading Lemmishly", a way, WAY too long article about the works of Stanislav Lem over at the London Book Review. Is it any good? Probably, but I can't say, I didn't finish it...

Brian - Artist uses AI to perfectly fake 70s science fiction pulp covers – artwork and titles

Mark: The Walter Day Collection of Science Fiction Historical Trading Cards"

BARE YOUR SWORD

Chris on Facebook:
Hi guys! Just wanted to make a comment on your upcoming book Pandora star by Peter F Hamilton, this book is one of my most favourite books. Just wondered have you guys considered listening to it on audio generation is fantastic it’s narrated by John Lee who does an absolute fantastic job. Considering how many different characters they are in this he is very good at voices and makes each character very distinct also I was just wondering whether you are going to read the follow-up book Judas unchained don’t want to spoil anything but this book very much finishes in a cliffhanger. If you’re anything like me you immediately want to start the next book looking forward to your views on it when it in March."

"Hi,
Thanks again for reminding me about the TOR.com 2021 e-book collection, with everything going on, I almost forgot about it.
Also for introducing me to the Reading Glasses Podcast, I've really been enjoying their book lite review, very helpful.

Thanks

David"

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

CHECK IN

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo. (thanks Seth!!!)

Book briefing

The Chosen and the Beautiful

The Cleric (some early chapter spoilers)

How far does SFF stretch

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 - #429 - Pivot to Therapy

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We have a rousing discussion of redemption in Light from Uncommon Stars, get way too many awesome items for our to be read lists from the ALA, and discuss pivoting the show to include TV shows (and maybe therapy?).

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Terra Beer

Veronica: Fort Point

QUICK BURNS

terpkristin: Just got an email from Chicago Worldcon that Hugo nominations are open now! Maybe nominate your favorite sword-y and laser-y podcast.

to which Mark added: In 2021, S&L had 24 nominations for Best Fancast. Of the six podcasts that made the 2021 Hugo ballot, 28 nominations was enough to make the cut, and three of the podcasts were within 10 nominations of S&L. So, it would just take a few more people, and maybe a reminder to V and T to nominate themselves too. ;-)

Trike: Amazon just announced the title of their LOTR prequel series.

It’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

It premieres on Amazon Prime on September 2nd

Jan: Deadline reports that Parasite director Bong Joon Ho is in talks to write and direct an untitled film based on Edward Ashton’s upcoming novel Mickey7 for Warner Bros

Jan: The adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi's ""Children of Blood and Bone"" has moved from Lucasfilm to Paramount.

grkpektis: Stephen King announces a new book called Fairy Tale about a kid from the real world going to a fantasy world. I’m calling it now the kid is going to be evil.

Genesee: The American Library Association (ALA) had their annual awards ceremony

BARE YOUR SWORD

@MitchamBeth

LIGHT FROM UNCOMMON STARS, Ryka Aoki. This book is a call to action -- I want to eat great food, listen to great music but also practice compassion and forgive mistakes. Finding true love might be in there somewhere as well.


@scalzi

Not gonna lie, I'm excited too


@ryka_aoki

I posted a reply tweet in German, but my German is so rusty and bad I deleted it. ;) Anyway, thank you so much for the mention, @swordandlaser! (and hi and super congratulations, @scalzi!)"

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

KICK OFF

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo. (thanks Seth!!!)

Amazon link

Book briefing


WRAP UP

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

Amazon link

"Dwango — 01/24/2022

Finished it! Liked her descriptions of food, violin culture, and making donuts. It was somewhat an orderly stream of thought with each small break of space between text and the occasional chapter break. Liked it and got a bit hungry."


"HarryB — 01/25/2022

I had read this not too long after it came out, admittedly starting from some dark place, it became incredibly positive and I even found myself chuckling out loud when I read it (it's ok, only the cat was listening). I certainly respect this author for somehow pulling off a mashup of fantasy, science fiction, humor, donuts, and music, not 'pulling it off somehow' but succeeding incredibly well, bravo!"

"Gillian — Yesterday at 9:35 AM

Finished last night. Really loved it."

"BethMitcham — 01/21/2022

I finished the book and enjoyed it a lot. One gap I noticed was the oldest son gets short shrift. He never gets unfrozen. Was killing the earthlings really that much worse than trying to murder Shirley? "

LFUS: Why I Didn’t Like This Book (SPOILERS)

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 - #428 - Ein kleiner Nachtmarkt

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We are excited about a possible new Scalzi TV show, Twitter summaries of great books, and our first non-spoilery thoughts on Light from Uncommon Stars.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Wang black sesame and bean soy drink

Veronica: Sfizio


QUICK BURNS

John: Fonda Lee has announced the release date of a new novella in The Green Bone Saga series. There is a special print edition on offer that can be found at subterraneanpress.com

Jan: Tor.com reports that David Naimon’s Between the Covers Podcast hast started a new series called "Crafting With Ursula"

Jan: Mel Burke at Polygon has released their list of most anticipated science fiction and fantasy books for 2022

Ziggy: #TheKaijuPreservationSociety by @scalzi has been optioned for television to Fox Entertainment!! AHHHHHHH, WE ARE SO EXCITED 🎉🎉🎉

Jan: The 2022 Philip K. Dick Award finalists have been announced.

Seth: My favorite currently-running fantasy series is getting a new entry. Nghi Vo and Tor announce Into the Riverlands, a Singing Hills cycle novella. Coming out this fall.


BARE YOUR SWORD

"Beth Mitcham @MitchamBeth Jan 10 THE INHERITANCE OF ORQUIDEA DIVINA, Zoraida Córdova. I loved the language in this book which moved between richly lush and sharply modern. Like sinking into a bubbly warm bath and having toddler bath toys occasionally pop up to the surface."

"Brian @brivolbm7q Jan 9 @acedtect heard your description of SGV food on the last @swordandlase episode. Have you checked out blossom market hall yet? Kinda quasi 626 night market but permanent spot."

"Kenley Neufeld @kenleyneufeld Jan 9 Sweet story of suffering, love and joy. Friendships, trust, family. Of growing up. Throw in a spacecraft, aliens and a demon and we have a nice mix of sci-fi and fantasy. Definitely a good way to start my 2022 reading. Thanks @swordandlaser and more importantly @ryka_aoki"

What was your favourite S&L read of 2021?


BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

CHECK-IN

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

LFUS: An interesting mashup of genres

LFUS: Just give me music and food and I'm fine

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 - #427 - Dead Family Trees

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Congrats Murderbot! In congratulations, we will let you watch your dramas unbothered by human emotions. We wonder some about Chengdu. And we not only kick off our January pick, but wrap up our December one too!

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: St. Francis Anthem

Veronica: Apothic Red

QUICK BURNS

Mark: 2021 Murderbot Hugo Awards

Silvana: Complete list of 2021 Hugo Award, Astounding and Lodestar winners

Ruth: Chengdu, China has been selected as the host city for the 81st WorldCon in 2023

Jan: Goodreads has published their readers' most anticipated books of 2022. In the Science Fiction & Fantasy category we have.

And KristyH tipped us off to one from TOR

John: Last year I was introduced to the Book Riot reading log

BARE YOUR SWORD

Drake Tungsten

@turtleismytotem

Found 10 books on my @goodreads list via NPR's book section. Found 16 of my books via

@swordandlaser Book Club.

—-

Beth Mitcham

@MitchamBeth

AURORA RISING, Alastair Reynolds. I liked the mix of comfortable tropes (he mentors the unwanted gems of the service! evil AIs!) and Cool SF ideas (the Clockmaker, the Glitter band). I hope a future book features the pigmen.

@swordandlaser

—-

I learned about The StoryGraph from the host of another podcast

Justine (AuroraLee in all the places)"

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

QUICK KICK OFF

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki (Amazon link)

Book Briefing

WRAP UP

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

TIoOD: Would it be better if it was linear?

TIoOD: Audiobook

TIoOD: Have you seen the movie Encanto?

S&L Podcast - #426 - Pillow Friends

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End of year book lists for days! Who can take on Arthur C. Clarke and pillow friends?

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Egg Nog
Veronica: Water

QUICK BURNS

Ruth: The Goodreads Choice winners have been announced!

Jan: Lithub has released their list of best reviewed Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror books of 2021. The site pulled reviews from more than 150 sources to get to their list.

Paul: The New York Times has its list of Best SFF of the year, as curated by Amal El-Mohtar (co-author of How to Lose the Time War among other things).

Zomino: End of the year lists keep coming (Best Scifi of 2021 from Polygon)

There were also book lists from The Guardian UK, several based on Reddit mentions

RMutt1917 and Louie - Denis Villeneuve is set to adapt the Arthur C. Clarke classic, Rendezvous with Rama, with Morgan Freeman as a producer, who previously held the rights to the novel.

Mark: Tor.com announced the table-of-contents for Some of the Best from Tor.com 2021.

Mark: The Sunday Morning Transport is a newsletter that will begin publishing weekly speculative short fiction in January 2022.

BARE YOUR SWORD

Rob: “Thanks to 34 donors, we've had our best year yet. Not only did we break our previous high of 30 donors, but we also broke our previous donation amount by just over $450 for a grand total of $6,203!
Thanks again to everyone who donated to our team."

Tamahome
Idea for a future show title: Pillow Friends

@markmtz
steampunk and synthwave computer created art. I have no idea what these images are based on, but they're kind of interesting; from http://womba.art"

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

elianara — 12/12/2021
Started reading it, or really listening to the audiobook. If someone else has problems following along with all the members of the family, I found the family tree on the author's website "

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 - #425 - Literary Mosaic

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We wrap up our last thoughts on Aurora Rising by Alistair Reynolds and kick off the new read, The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Korean Food

Veronica: GunBun Chardonay

Worldbuilders is live! it runs until December 14th.

Rob created a team page for Sword & Laser:

Worldbuilders is a geeky, book-centered charity working to build a better world!

Please help us support Worldbuilders & Heifer International by making a donation through our page. The process is fast, easy and secure. Thanks so much for your support... and please don't forget to send this page to any friends you think might be interested in donating!"

QUICK BURNS

Tamahome: Amazon has a wheel of Time guide in case you're lost

Mark: Here's an interesting new graphic novel The History of Science Fiction: A Graphic Novel Adventure by Xavier Dollo with art by Djibril Morissette-Phan

Trike: The Barnes & Noble Speculative Fiction Book of the Year is Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune, the author of The House in the Cerulean Sea.

Jan: Ridley Scott has revealed that both an Alien and a Blade Runner live action series are in the works.

Mark: The audiobook of Aftermath by LeVar Burton, read by the author, has been nominated for a Grammy: Best Spoken Word Album (Category #58)

Have any other SF&F tales have been nominated for a Grammy?

Seth: Best-of lists are starting to be thick on the ground, but I thought this one was worth linking here. Picked by notable authors (Lavie Tidhar and Silvia Moreno-Garcia) and including some books I hadn't heard of before.

Buzz

Leviathan Falls, the 9th and final novel in The Expanse just dropped!!

(Running and jumping around the house with my arms flapping over my head and a crazed look on my face while shouting 'woo hoo!!'...)

Mark

Jade Legacy, the 3rd and final novel in the Green Bone Saga just dropped!!

See previous post for "running jumping flapping crazed shouting"

BARE YOUR SWORD

@hmmeade: @ReadingGPodcast is a great one for book lovers. And @swordandlaser is a great sci/fi/fantasy book podcast. @metamilkpod is a wonderful "life's big questions" kind of podcast. @officeladiespod is fun if you are a "Office" fan.

@tt_linse @swordandlaser I've loved you for a long time, but now I'm totally invested and it's torture between episodes! You're toying with me! "

Ruth: I love the verbal picture of me as the leader of a plucky band of rebels, going against the tyranny of the official October book pick! Also, I love the concept of a “300-page novella.” Kind of like a three-course snack, or a forty-mile marathon. That’s Tad Williams for you I guess" "Jenny: I think in the past when an alt-pick has been unofficial it was referred to as a "rogue read." So Ruth is the ROGUE leader of a plucky band of rebels, obviously."

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Kick Off

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

WRAP UP

Aurora Rising/The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds

HarryB in Discord: I've been reading Revelation Space all out of order, but I still love it all. I am one of those people who don't mind reading things out of order, and for many books, (no criticism here) the genre is predictable enough that I can understand what's going on (Reynolds, less so, but not less enjoyable - I revel in all his inventions). I had read the sequel to Aurora Rising, Elysium Fire, back in 2019. I'm not sure I've even got the feeling of "oh now I understand" feeling after reading Aurora Rising / The Prefect -- it's all such a crazy quilt you just flow with it. I wonder if anyone else has been reading out of order, and what's your experience. Chasm City has been on my TBR list, but I'm wondering if I should listen to one of those Internet 'reading order' lists?

Tamahome: Reynolds himself says the books are a "mosaic" not a "series".

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 - #424 - Prefect's Progress

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We have pumpkin spiked lattes and cheese. In fact one cheesy book literally molds. Plus we check in with a non-spoilery discussion of Aurora Rising/The Prefect by Alistair Reynolds.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Rebel Hard Pumpkin Spice Latte

Veronica: Gunbun Zinfandel

"Mark: Ok, our hosts have a ""What are we drinking segment?"" in the podcast so this news item is fair game, right? Limited edition vodka, coming November 18. Your choice of Arby's Crinkle Fry or Arby's Curly Fry flavor. Will go well with a nice fantasy pick for December."

QUICK BURNS

Jan: The winners of the 2021 World Fantasy Awards have been announced

Jan: Bookpage's best Science Fiction & Fantasy books of 2021 are

Minsta: A special for the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary (movies) will be coming to HBO Max on 1/1/22

And Tamahome tipped us off to a Hogwarts Tournament of Roses game show coming November 28th hosted by Helen Mirren on TBS and Cartoon Network

Gristle McNerd: There's going to be new audiobooks of the Discworld novels, featuring big fancy famous people as the narrators

Jan: Philip K. Dick's novel Vulcan’s Hammer is getting adapted as a movie. Director Francis Lawrence (Hunger Games, I am Legend) is attached.

Aethon: The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America has named Mercedes Lackey as the 38th Damon Knight Grand Master.

AndrewP: Tad Williams is back on form. On his website he announced that the third volume of his second Osten Ard trilogy is so massive that it will have to be split and published as two books:) And more

Jan: Shazad Latif (Star Trek: Discovery, Penny Dreadful) has been cast as Captain Nemo in the upcoming Disney+ series "Nemo"

Richard: Taika Waititi… is planning to co-write and direct an adaption of the graphic novel The Incal by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Mœbius.

Tamahome: This is a test trailer for an animated version of The Incal that unfortunately never happened.

BARE YOUR SWORD

Mark: There is a Kraft singles book titled ""20 Slices"" by Ben Denzer. It was acquired by the University of Michigan Art, Architecture & Engineering Library for one of their Special Collections. The book is kept in a controlled environment, but alas, mold has set in.

Jan: I assume there won't be a youtube video this time [ed. Ep 423]? Not a problem, just wondering...

Unofficial October alt-read: Mexican Gothic

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Non-spoilery Check In

Aurora Rising/The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds

Book briefing

AR: What does Dreyfus look like to you?

AR: Being thrown into the deep end...

—-

maljking — 11/15/2021

Seems like a lot of people are really loving this book and the universe it’s set in. Add me to that list. Alistair Reynolds has long been on my TBR but I’ve never really looked into what he’s written, and I’m trying to keep it that way until I’m finished this book.

Can see myself adding whatever else he’s done to my pile."

—-

"Finished the audiobook last night on the ride home, I think I had a few hours to spare before the auto return to the library. I both remembered and misrememberd parts of the story from when I originally read it. I did still like it on this reread, it is a good story, and I can see why he made a sequel. Even after rereading this I'm surprised with the rename, but it may make more sense to the series. I was actually surprised he didn't call them the Clockmaker Chronicles, I liked the alliteration.

Tamahome —

Aurora Ascending?

Gristle McNerd —

Dreyfus Dramas

Tamahome —

Sparver’s Speculations

ttlinse —

Dreyfus's Dreadfuls?

Tamahome —

Dreyfus’s Denouement

Deseao —

Prefect's Progress

Tamahome —

Jane's Pain

Deseao —

Do Supreme Prefects NOT Dream Of Electric Scarab Implants?"

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 - #423 - Shrike Stans

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We talk a little about cheese, a lot about wine, and too much about the Shrike. Plus lots of good Dune news, and we kick off our read of an Alastair Reynolds novel that may be called The Prefect or Aurora Rising depending on where you buy it.

Download directly here!

WHAT CHEESE ARE WE EATING?

Tom: St. Francis Old Vines Zinfandel

Veronica: Gundlach Bunschu Gewürztraminer

QUICK BURNS

Mark: Legendary Comics is kickstarting the official Dune graphic novel adaptation.

Mark: Up for auction later this month: Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune

Mark: Season 2 of Orphan Black: The Next Chapter dropped Friday Oct 29.

Trike: Barnes & Noble book of the year finalists:

Trike: The Witcher, season 2, December 17, Netflix.

Jan: There's a full trailer now for the Wheel of Time series on Amazon Prime Video

Jan: A trailer for the adaptation of the novel "Station Eleven"" has been released: Station Eleven"

Mark: Hyperion by Dan Simmons, which was previously in development as a tv series, now being developed for film by Bradley Cooper

BARE YOUR SWORD

Veronica Belmont @Veronica That feeling when you're reading a review of a book and it includes a verb that you made up one time. cc: @swordandlaser https://t.co/cmePfd6I0h"

Trike: 17 Indigenous Science Fiction And Fantasy Books To Read This Month

Elizabeth @veronica here is a BYS: The number of people watching Riverside is awesome, thanks for doing live vid recordings of the podcast in the middle of the day in Australia!"

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

KICKOFF

Aurora Rising/The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds

Book briefing

AR: curated glossary

S&L Podcast - #422 - Horror is Like Cheese

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Veronica and Tom discover why horror is like cheese. Plus the reason a German book is being made into an English TV show by Germans. And our spoilery final thoughts on NOS4A2 by Joe Hill!

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: San Pellegrino

Veronica: Fort Point Animal

QUICK BURNS

Trike: The Expanse, s6 (final season) teaser, December 10, Amazon Prime.

Jan: German TV Broadcaster ZDF adapts the domestic 2004 hit science fiction novel The Swarm by author Frank Schätzing in English for international audiences

Mark: In a followup discussion to last year's Post Apocalyptic Present, the Supreme Laser joins Blanca López, Ian Tregillis, Lonnie Nadler, Mark Russell, and Paul Constant in a discussion about Post Apocalyptic Past, hosted by Dan Campos.

Cammy: The Star Trek novelverse is coming to an end with a trilogy of books

Seth: Lit Hub picks the 25 most iconic book covers ever, and quite a few SFF covers make the list.

BARE YOUR SWORD
@MitchamBeth
NOS4A2, Joe Hill. Wimpy me is proud of making it through this book, although I read a lot of it peering through my fingers. Kid danger is kryptonite for me, and this ride was fueled by it. Hill knows how to get pages turned.


@tamahome02000
Charlie Manx from Nos4as2 is obviously patterned after Mr. Burns from The Simpsons.


@nicolaspratt
NOS4A2 is great, really dark and disturbing. From my
@goodreads review, “The idea that ‘we live in two worlds... the real world... [and] the world of thought’ is the powerful and thought-provoking theme of Hill's book.”

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

NOS4A2 by Joe HIll

Not Just Horror - Also Urban Fantasy

From Tamahome on Discord: "Here Is Every Stephen King Reference Joe Hill Included In 'NOS4A2'" (also a thread from Buzz in Goodreads)

NOS4A2: An unexpected gut-punch (SPOILERS)

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 - #421 - N0T4U2?

/

Some things aren't for everybody, like our current read NOS4A2, or the new Game of Thrones trailer. But don't worry, there are plenty of other great things to read like the British Fantasy Award winners and more!

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: St. Francis Cabernet

Veronica: Woodford Reserve

QUICK BURNS

Buzz: the Leviathan Falls: Expanse, Book 9 release date has been pushed back 2 weeks (again) from Nov 16th to Nov 30th (and December 2 in the UK) 😭😭😭

Jan: The British Fantasy Awards have been announced

Jan: Laura Jean McKay has been announced as the winner of the 2021 Arthur C. Clarke Award for her novel The Animals in That Country"

Jan: From Locus Mag: A Thousand Li: The Second Sect"" by Tao Wong is one of the five titles on the 2021 Kindle Storyteller Award shortlist

Trike: Never Fear, Here Are 63 New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books to Ease You Into Spooky Season

BARE YOUR SWORD

Jan -- Mini Rant: I don't like (audio)books adopting the covers of movies.

Eric -- Not to argue with Tom too much, but the idea of the Saxons invading and driving out the Celts is out of favor now with archeologists. DNA testing is debunking the hypothesis.

The new idea is that a small number of Saxons and related peopled moved to Britain an the locals adopted Saxon ways.

Tamahome -- I wonder if Veronica makes her own kombucha.

Trike --

Re: wine —

I’m not an oenophile and the only wine I’ve ever actually liked was a white merlot (not a typo). But, one of the things I’ve picked up over the years is that this stuff about “white goes with fish” and “red goes with meat” and “MD 20/20 goes with meth” is that all of that is nonsense that’s a result of some petty palace politics back in the day.

Like the dumb “never split an infinitive”, this is not a real rule. So don’t feel bad about your wine preferences. Just because some old French guy got in a fight with some old British guy and they picked sides shouldn’t dictate your choices.

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

NOS4A2 by Joe HIll

House of the Dragon trailer

S&L Podcast - #420 - Spoopy Spoilers

/

Lots of award winners to beef up your To Be Read lists, plus our assumptions about Murderbot, what makes a spoiler a spoiler, and we wrap up our final thoughts on Terra Nullius.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Rosé

Veronica: Rosé

QUICK BURNS

Ruth A book shortage is upon us!!

Trike: 26 New Science Fiction And Fantasy Books To Read This Fall

Jan: FIYAH magazine has announced this year's Ignyte Awards winners

Mark: A first edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, uncut in original boards, sold at auction for USD 1,170,000 at Christie's. Could it be the S&L bump? ;-P

Terpkristin: Dragon Con 2021 is over, which means that the winners have been announced for their annual awards.

Seth: Sword and Laser pick Piranesi wins the 2021 Women's Prize for fiction

BARE YOUR SWORD

Jerry Perez @raging3vil
Oh dang! @swordandlaser

Tamahome @tamahome02000
@swordandlaser The new hit music video about the Murderbot sweeping the nation

Is There a Perfect Shape for Books?

Other Worlds You Love and/or Hate

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

NEXT MONTH

NOS4A2 by Joe HIll

WRAP UP

Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman

BIG SPOILER WARNING

Does anyone else prefer to go in totally cold?

TN: Wait, what? (Spoilers - do not read until at least chapter 10 if you don’t want to be spoiled (but still use tags y’all))

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