S&L Podcast - #481 - Big Trouble in Little Worldcon

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Surprise, there's a problem with hosting the Hugos in China. Plus: Keanu Reeves is co-writing with China Mieville, we kick off our February read, The Shadow of the Gods. And our spoilery thoughts on The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Pork chop, beans and rice

Veronica: Protein shakes

QUICK BURNS

Seth: Full trailer for 3 Body Problem captures epic scope of Liu Cixin’s novel

Jan: Tor Publishing is rebranding it's online news and editorial presence. Online Magazine Tor.com will become Reactor (Reactormag.com).

Mark: 2024 Philip K. Dick Award Nominees Announced

Seth: Next move for Keanu Reeves? Writing a sci-fi novel with China Mieville apparently

Jan: LocusMan reports that Journalism professor Shen Yang won the Chinese Jiangsu Youth Popular Science Science Fiction Competition with his novel "Land of Memories", which was reportedly generated by AI and then edited by Shen Yang.

Jan: Author Rie Kudan has won Japan's Akutagawa Prize with a Science Fiction Novel that was partly generated by AI. She explained that she estimates about 5 percent of the book quotes sentences generated by ChatGPT.

Mark: 2023 Hugo Award nominating and final ballot stats published.

Sword & Laser is on the list of fancast nominees (see page 34) but didn't get enough nominations to crack the top six.

Jan added "Interestingly, Babel by RF Kuang was ruled ineligible and that seems very strange considering how praised that book has been."

And Joanna noted There is a slightly enlightening discussion at File770

And Paul added "Not only was Babel excluded from eligibility from the Hugos, but so was Xiran Jay Zhao, author of the Iron Widow, fan writer Paul Weimer, and episodes of The Sandman TV series according to:

Xiran's twitter feed also shares some of the discourse concerned members of the SFF community have shared with Dave McCarty, the administrator for the last Hugo's":

There's also discussion of this in the Discord as well"

BARE YOUR SWORD

"Hi Tom and Veronica!

I recently listened to episode #480 after noticing a bunch of people clicking over to Hardcover in our analytics. I just wanted to reach out and say thank you for the mention and for trying out Hardcover!

We're still a relatively small book tracking site, having just launched in October 2023 after 2 years building and iterating. We just recently hit 5,000 members and feel like we're just getting started. We're an open book on our numbers and stats, so if you have any questions about anything, let me know.

If you have any feedback on Hardcover or wishlist items for a book website in general, I'd love to hear your thoughts or jump on a chat.

This is Hardcover's first mention on a podcast, and for that I'm super grateful and excited. 🙌

Thanks again,

Adam"

Stephen: "I really really really wanted Murderbot to employ the animation that is used in some of Netflix's Love Death and Robots episodes. Watch S3 " In Vaulted Halls Entombed " and imagine Murderbot being presented in that way. Also since Muderbot keep the faceplate down around humans, is this not going to be like Mandalorian situation."

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

KICK OFF

Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

Amazon Link

WRAP UP (SPOILERS)

January Book Pick

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

- Amazon link

What was the Shining mechanic?

What are we nomming?

It could be, it might be, it is! A home run! Holy Cow Lauren Beukes!!

"Tassie Dave

After finishing the book last night, I decided to try the AppleTV adaptation.

To say it is based on the book is an understatement. I only watched the first episode, but it is a very loose adaptation, so far.

Great cast, but very different from what I pictured from the book.

Elisabeth Moss is about 15 years older than the Kirby in the book.

Dan is only slightly older than Kirby. It won't be creepy when he falls for her. 😉

There seems to be weird reality shifts occurring in Kirby's life (Not in the book)

Kirby Mazrachi is not her real name in the show, it is a chosen name. She already works for the newspaper. Dan's not a sports reporter.

I'm not sure I will continue, but it is a lot different."

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 - #480 - What You Can Do With Mickey Mouse

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Alternatives to Goodreads, and one of them is Amazon. Which owns Goodreads. What you can and can't do with Mickey Mouse. The "Who should play Murderbot" discussion continues. Typical human and augmented human stuff! Plus why Veronica should read this month's book pick.

Download directly here!


WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Shrimp Tacos
Veronica: Mac and Cheese Burger

QUICK BURNS

Dwango —
Not sure what this means for Goodreads, but Amazon, it's owner, appears to be making a competitor to Goodreads based on its Amazon reviews.

Mark was inspired to mention Hardcover "Like Goodreads, you can keep track of, and review what you read. I imported my books from Goodreads without any issues.”

The Hardcover developers compare themselves to Goodreads.

Tamahome: Disney's Steamboat Willie and Plane Crazy enter the public domain making one version of Mickey Mouse copyright free

Jan: In totally shocking news, fan fiction author Demetrious Polychron lost against the Tolkien estate and Amazon after he failed in his copyright lawsuit against the "Rings of Power" and now has to destroy all copes of his own "The Fellowships of the King" and pay USD 134,000 in lawyer's fees...

Jan: John (Taloni)
Not to worry! LOTR becomes public domain in 2044. So in 20 years he can recoup his costs.


BARE YOUR SWORD

Feedback from the audienceIain: I am pretty sure the discussion on Murderbot casting was not complaining about having a good looking actor. Rather the choice of which good looking actor. Could have cast Elliot Page and still have unreasonably attractive with a very different effective

John (Taloni) The discussion of Clay as the center of the band despite being an unspectacular if solid fighter - the "rhythm guitarist" of the group - reminded me of Gail Carriger's latest, the Tinkered Starsong trilogy. It's about band formation and growth among a group of aliens with a few humans. The group gravitates around one member as its "Sun," without which they can't function. He's otherwise a Low Cantor, essentially the rhythm guitarist of such a band.

Tassie Dave: Nicholas Eames has already answered the question of which part of a band they represent.
The main five who make up Saga are loosely based on the players in a 'classic' rock band. Gabe is the charismatic lead singer, Ganelon the highly-skilled 'axe-man' (lead guitar), Matrick as the drummer (he wields a pair of knives, after all) and Moog as the zany keyboard player. Which leaves, of course, Clay Cooper, as the quiet, often-overlooked bass player without whom the whole band would fall apart

Regarding your last episode, my friend Melissa found Veronica saying "Alexander Skarsgard" near the end (around 1:13:00) of episode 9 of Vaginal Fantasy.
According to her, that's the earliest mention of him on VF by Veronica. It's dated September 2012.
Yeah, my two friends and I have way too much time on our hands. (LOL)
-Drake Tungston

2023 5-star reads

3 Random (Calvey)
Former president Obama always releases his books of the year. Totally bummed there is no Fourth Wing. It may be the only list w/o it!

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

January Book Pick
The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
- Amazon link
January Book Pick

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
feedback@swordandlaser.com
swordandlaser.com

We are on Instagram, X and Mastodon @swordandlaser

S&L Podcast - #479 - Where Have All The Beef Suits Gone?

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Are there too many Nat 20s in Kings of the Wyld, our stance on Skarsgard as Murderbot, and we introduce the January pick (which has a lot of triggers).

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Peppermint bark, peppermint almonds, peppermint popcorn, gingerbread people

Veronica: bublé water

QUICK BURNS

Ruth and Tom: Murderbot is coming to Apple TV:

Mark noted that Martha Wells interviews Murderbot in the newest F(r)icton magazine! Reading requires purchase of a subscription or the individual issue."

Seth: Tor has released their best of the year list.

Seth: David Drake died this week.

Seth: The folks behind The Witcher and Wheel of Time adaptations have picked the Otherland series by author Tad Williams for the miniseries treatment"

Roberator: The Good Omens series was renewed for a third and final season:

BARE YOUR SWORD

Oaken: Regarding the Ray Bradbury/Kurt Vonnegut discussion

Ruth: Thanks for the shoutout to my article about Shadow and Bone!

You prompted me to have a couple of mini mince pies with my morning cup of tea. Mince pies are a seasonal staple over here, you can hardly avoid them from mid-November on. For extra indulgence, try one with a dollop of cream.

I should mention that, while mince pies don’t contain meat, they’re not always vegetarian- the filling sometimes contains beef suet.

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

January Book Pick

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

- Amazon link

WRAP UP

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

- Amazon Link

Book briefing

Spotify playlist

Perezge73

As a D&D player I loved Moog’s obsession with the Owlbear. I’ve never got to include one of those in any of my adventures. Even while watching the D&D movie, I thought about Moog when the Owlbear came out and I said to myself “That one’s for you buddy,”"

Aaron Bell

There was a mention on GR of 2 other books about ragtag bands of misfits with very similar cover designs to KotW, which sent me looking for fan art of the characters."

Here is a moody one of Larkspur that feels like it could be just out of frame on the cover.

And these are kind of fun. Personally I think Moog is the best here.

Apparently, I should have started here, seems like this is the master collection

Decado

Everything in this book seems so random. The author has a lot of cool ideas that he's throwing at the wall but it doesn't ever really form into a cohesive thing. This goes for the plot too, it's just random thing followed by random thing.

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 - #478 - Without A Lick of Condensation

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All the end of year book picks are out with lots of great titles to add to your own list! Did Vonnegut think he was a genre writer? And our non-spoilery thoughts about Kings of the Wyld.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Chicken Tacos
Veronica: Mince Pies

QUICK BURNS

Mark: Darcie Little Badger has written a prequel to Elatsoe, Sheine Lende, coming April 2024

Chris K: AudioFile Magazine has posted their best of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror audiobooks of 2023

Tamahome: Yes, the Finder scifi series was dramatized by Graphicaudio. You may find it at your library. We read the first book

Oaken: It is that time of year! Time has published their list of must-read books from 2023.

Jan: The Guardian has also picked their "Five of the best science fiction and fantasy books of 2023"

Decado and Jan: The Winners of the goodreads choice awards have been announced

Mark: Here's a year-end list for the eyes from LitHub: The 138 Best Book Covers of 2023

Tamahome: Another list to talk about: Lauren Beukes & Daniel Suarez have new ones. (Did I dream we read Beukes?)

CountZeroOr: More speculative fiction Light Novels getting audiobooks - this time a series of alternative universe sequels to Neon Genesis Evangelion, read by the (original) English dub voice for the character of Asuka

BARE YOUR SWORD

Iain:

Regarding gender presentation I was deeply disturbed by the male narrator of the Murderbot books when I listened to the audio books.

In text our favourite SecUnit presents as feminine to me. The narrator still sounds wrong.

John (Nevets)

I also read through book 4 (or maybe 5) before listening to 6, and I always had seen SecUnit as male from the beginning. But in thinking back, I don't know I had any reason to assume that. And I do think Murderbot does express some very protective maternal instincts, while still caring and doing it's job."

Ruth: I’m disappointed but not surprised that Shadow and Bone is getting cancelled. I actually wrote an article about the series and its approach to adaptation for Interstellar Flight Press:

John (Taloni) Ah, Vonnegut. If you ask me he is, in fact, a highfalutin' snooty guy. His books make fun of many situations, but I always got the impression he was laughing at SF fans and not with us.

Meanwhile Bradbury brings in literature, history, philosophy, you name it, and does so with ornate, flowery language - and does so without a lick of condescension. He is One Of Us.

Iain: Nah. Vonnegut feels misanthropic to me. It feels more like a laugh or scream situation. She is making fun of the idea of destiny. Not surprising after living through the Dresden fire bombing and other events he live through

Oaken: I don't think he was critical of science fiction, quite the opposite. At the end of his life he was bitter and angry that the ""literary fiction"" types didn't take him seriously precisely because he wrote science fiction.

He [biographer Charles Shields] describes Vonnegut asking him to look up his name in a dictionary (it was not there) and then look up Jack Kerouac (it was there). ""How about that?"" Vonnegut then states with a frown.

It is back to the literary fiction/genre discussion though. Clearly he thought of himself as a writer of literary fiction, and thought nothing wrong with writing literary SF. I don't know his thoughts on non-literary/plot-driven writing in general though"

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames.

- Amazon Link

Book briefing

Spotify playlist

Who is your favourite Ragtag Band of Misfits from Fantasy books?

What are you nomming with your ears?

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 - #477 - I Said What I Said, She Said

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Veronica now knows how to catch up on Old Man's War. Should good books not be SciFi? Is "they said" saying too much? He “sucked his teeth” is not enough! We kick off Kings of the Wyld and wrap up Mimicking of Known Successes.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Eggplant Caponata with sausage

Veronica: Energy balls!

QUICK BURNS

Not Licorice and Seth: Shadow and Bone author Leigh Bardugo shared that she was “heartbroken and deeply disappointed” about the cancellation. She penned a note on Instagram that confirmed there would be no season 3, nor a Six of Crows spin-off, ending the “Grishaverse” on Netflix.

Roberator: John Scalzi announced 2 new books out in 2025 on his blog, including Old Man's War #7:

TRP: Jill Bearup, actor-combatant and YouTuber, developed a series of "Fantasy Heroine" YouTube Shorts , where an Author and her novel's Protagonist disagree about the way the story is going.
Jill Bearup has written a novel based on this series, called Just Stab Me Now.
It will be published in February 2024 and is available for pre-order on various sites.
As of today Just Stab Me Now is number 5 on the Barnes and Noble top 100 books chart

Jan: Neil Gaiman was recently guest on the scriptnotes podcast.

Jan: According to Deadline Amazon MGM has ordered a pilot with Joseph Fiennes based on the ‘Charlie Bone’ YA Fantasy Novels by Jenny Nimmo

Jan: The Imaginary Worlds podcast had a nice episode recently about Hindu Fantasy

Kev: Humble Bundle has 21 Scalzi novels for $18 or pay what you want. (Ends around December 14)

Jan: From NPR: Irish writer Paul Lynch won the Booker Prize for fiction for his dystopian novel "Prophet Song" about a woman's struggle to protect her family in an Ireland collapsing into totalitarianism and war.

mantissa: NPR has the books we love list. One can filter on speculative fiction

BARE YOUR SWORD

Seth: Liked the episode. And I even liked the book pick (even if the book wasn't my favorite) since I wouldn't have picked it for myself, and that's half of the point of being in a book club.Jan: Regarding the flowery language: I always found it interesting that it is recommended in English to always (or at least most of the time) use "said" in order not to draw attention to the word, while in German it seems the opposite. At least, in school, kids were always downgraded for "repetitious language" if they used "said" twice in a row, so we were always encouraged to find synonyms...

I don't know if that's an English vs German thing though, or a professional writing vs school teachings thing. How is it in different languages?

Tassie Dave: I don't mind the author using "said" repeatedly in text, but I do find it annoying in audio, he effused.

The brain does seem to skip over it when reading, but it just seems to stand out when listening, he uttered.

I'd rather the narrator distinguish between the voices, and also have a different tone for inner thought and vocal dialogue than repeated say "said", he expressedSteve: I haven't listened to the podcast yet, so I'm missing some context, however when I was at school in the UK a *cough* few decades ago, we were very much told to avoid repeated use of "said"Oaken: Oaken looked up. “It is easy to convey who is talking without even using the a verb like said.”

“I disagree,” said the man in the jaunty hat.

Oaken looked at him askance, “Well then you are wrong.”

Seth: There was some interesting talk about this last time they interviewed Bobiverse author Dennis E. Taylor (at least I think I remember there was). He was saying he even tried to write a different version for the audiobook author that left out repetitious "saids" to make it less jarring. I think he concluded it was too cumbersome to pull off, but it's interesting.

Certainly, when listening, I'd rather just have the narrator do a different voice and tone to denote each character than for them to read all the "saids." Like Tassie Dave, when I'm reading I don't really care. I'm much more likely to be thrown out of a narrative by "she expostulated" than even 50 "she saids" in a row.

Iain: For the record real bread does not have sugar in it (which then kicked off a debate about whether that's true)

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Kick Off

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames.

- Amazon Link

Book briefing

Spotify playlist

Wrap Up

Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older.

- Amazon Link

Gristle McNerd
I was reminded of the ruthless lady's guide to wizardry, in that it was a detective story in a genre setting, that was clearly mostly there as a backdrop for the romance. I liked it okay, it was a fun little diversion, but not exactly a masterpiece

3 Random (Calvey)
I liked the book but it’s not a great book. It was short, but I like the idea of the Holmes story and the coziness. Jupiter was kind of a fun place to tell a story, but I had a hard time with the platforms and understanding them or visualizing them. I think also being a Novella there wasn’t enough development, I’m curious to see what the next book will do.
I think it was nice palate cleansing morsel after The Library at Mount Char.

Iain Bertram
I loved this book. 📕
The world building was to support the story. In some SF the story comes second which is not the case here.
The settings makes everyone a climate refugee. Conflict between those who want to go home and those who want to build a new life. These underlying themes are obviously important to the author.

John Taloni
I'm amused that one of the selling points of this book is "what if Holmes and Watson were gay?" And I'm like, "how many times did Holmes tell Watson, "bring your service revolver." A CODE PHRASE IF EVER I SAW ONE! 🙂

Tassie Dave
I ended up really liking this book. ⭐⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Had to laugh when Pleiti objected to being called the C-word 😁 As a socialist, I'd be appalled too 😉 I did find the narrator's pronunciation of certain words a bit grating though. August, which is used many times, (for a description of a person) is not pronounced the same as the 8th month 🤨 There were certain other words, that I can't remember, that also sounded off. I would read the sequels.

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 - #476 - Don't Get Your Atmoscarf In A Bunch

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We're huge fans of mushrooms! Fourth Wing is EVERYWHERE. And remember, the very aspects of a novel you might not fancy could be the same ones that captivate someone else.

Download directly here

WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Mushroom gnocchi

Veronica: Cauliflower tacos

QUICK BURNS

Tamahome: Nominees are out for the Godoreads awards

Seth: Here's Amazon's best of 2023.

HarryB: The New York Times today (11/7) published a profile of "Fourth Wing" author Rebecca Yarros

Fourth Wing printing errors.

Liqorice: In other news, George really is working on The Winds of Winter.

Stephen: The Cover reveal for the first book from a new trilogy from the duo that make up James S.A. Corey, coming in August 2024.

Stephen & Tamahome: The Finalist for SPFBO 9 or Spiff-Bo for those in the know, have been chosen

BARE YOUR SWORD

Terpkristin: The violence in The Library at Mount Char had me nope out of it, but I was glad you guys talked about it, even if it seemed that there was less conversation than usual on the book. I was interested in the story but just couldn't stomach the violence

Drake Tungsten

@turtleismytotem

I miss the days when wacky moments could be found by listening to older episodes. Everything's so perfect now. No more mentions of ants, consuming authors, or Cthulhu. Sigh...

Tamahome: Holy shoot, Trike makes it to 10,000 comments on the Sword and Laser Goodreads group. Following in #2 and #3 are Rob and me. I thought I'd pull a Jan and fill in a quick burn.

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older

- Amazon Link

Does the sci-fi add anything?

Scones and Laksa

The writing style is perhaps more ornate and stilted than would be my ideal preference, she expostulated

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 - #475 - Father Knows Best

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Awards season is here! We're celebrating deserving winners and discussing potential TV and movie adaptations of our favorite books. This November, we're diving into a novel about trains on Jupiter and concluding our October discussion on Father’s “5D chess.”

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Pizza Flavored Mac and Cheese

Veronica: Tiny Halloween cupcakes!

QUICK BURNS

John: Hugo award 2023 winners

Kev: Just saw that Seattle won the bid to host Worldcon in 2025. Our supreme overlords should make an appearance.

-- And Mark noted that the Wiki is now updated

terpkristin and Frazzld: Ignyte Awards being announced too

Jan: From Locus Mag: The 2023 Utopia Award Winner for best Utopian Novel is "The World We Make" by N. K. Jemisin

From Locus Mag: The World Fantasy Awards winners for works published in 2022 have been announced.

The winners for the 2022 Sidewise Awards for Alternate History have been announced.

Arboreality by Rebecca Campbell is the winner of the second Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction.

Trike: Beacon 23, MGM+, November 12. Based on the Hugh Howey book, Beacon 23. Howey wrote Wool Omnibus, adapted for Apple TV as Silo.

Jan: The Guardian has an article on how the "British Library celebrates the surging popularity of fantasy fiction" in their exhibition "Fantasy: Realms of Imagination" which runs at the British Library until 25 February

Jan: from Tor.com : Comic book writer Van Jensen's debut novel, Godfall, is only coming out November 1st, but the story, "which centers around a small town where a three-mile-tall alien crash lands" has already been picked up by Ron Howard’s production company for adaptation as a movie.

JasonReads and CountZeroOr: Good news for Veronica, Fourth Wing and the rest of The Empyrean series has been optioned by Amazon and Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society for development into a Prime TV series by MGM, with Rebecca Yarros serving as an executive producer.

Jan: And the follow up novel "Iron Flame" is going to be released November 7 already!

Jan: r/fantasy has voted on their annual list of best self published fantasy.

Mark: Murderbot returns! Read the first chapter of System Collapse by Martha Wells Book is out November 14

BARE YOUR SWORD

"terpkrisitn: I never asked to keep my tonsils when they took them out, but I have kept the screw they took out of my ankle (only one of 5 taken out so far) and 2 sets of posterior spinal hardware. Turns out human hardware is more expensive than space hardware!"

"John (Nevets) Like Kristin I had a bad ankle injury, and without prompting they gave me the hardware that was used. This was actually fairly extensive, and some of it a bit exotic. Part of it was a couple of long rods and a bunch of hardware used as an external fixator between the back of my foot up to the top of my tibia. Another part was a chunk of titanium plate that was meant to be used as an internal fixator. At some point I think I may try and make something with the titanium, but not sure what yet.But I don't think I've kept any of the body parts that I grew that have been removed. Nor do I think I ever will, that just seems a bit weirder for some reason."

"I wear a FLorida Panthers or Chicago Cubs hat, when hiding at grocery store. I don’t know who I would put on my hat. (As a 55 yr old GenX woman part of me wants to put Dick)

Tom wearing a hat that says “Book”

Becky Chambers! Martha Wells. Though again I think last names work better here too. What a first world problem. Still as long as it can be Blue….Happy Monday - gifted article "

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

November Kick Off

Mimicking of Known Successes Book by Malka Older.

- Amazon Link

WRAP UP

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

- 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 - #474 - The Vibe-rary at Mt. Char

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Best books of the year? Already? How Veronica got her k-wires out. And our non-spoilery thoughts on Library at Mount Char.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Orange Chicken, brown rice, spicy fish cake, gai lan

Veronica: Pumpkin spice syrup

QUICK BURNS

Chris K: Apparently it is not too early for best of the year lists to start appearing. Here are the Barnes & Noble Best Books of the Year 2023 lists for fantasy and science fiction. (via Locus)

Brian: Casey Handmer dropped the latest installation in his ""Mars Trilogy Technical Commentary"" (on the Kim Stanley Robinson series).

Jan: From Locus Mag: The 2023 Utopia Award Winner for best Utopian Novel is "The World We Make" by N. K. Jemisin

Liqorice Margaret Atwood comments on the current state of AI and its threat to writers.

BARE YOUR SWORD

terpkristin: I'm glad your K-wires are out! Did you save them? Sorry it was uncomfortable/painful. I've found most things are as I get older, certainly nothing like it was when I was in my 20's.

I haven't really made much progress in China Mountain Zhang. I find it easy to put down. But I enjoyed y'alls thoughts on it. It made me want to read it more. Too bad it's not backlit.

Thanks for keeping going with the show. One of the things I look forward to every other week (sometimes more!). I really enjoyed the interview with Felicia Day, too (though I was traveling when it came out and didn't easily get to post about it)."

William

Looking forward to listening. I don't yet know the source of the episode title, but I actually used that phrase to describe myself years ago after being asked to categorize an entire library of books. I was seeing codes when I closed my eyes.

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

- Amazon Link

TLAMC: Book Vibes

"Decado: There’s a real lack of description in this book I’m finding. I have no idea what anyone looks like, what their surroundings look like, etc. I don’t feel any sort of grounding in this world. This is the same problem I had with Gideon the Ninth that made me lem it.

I tend to lean in the direction of liking things to be over-descriptive. I’m also reading Ninth House right now and I love the lush descriptions in that book."

"tilltab

How strange - I seem to be finding the book very visual and easy to picture - likewise for Gideon. I guess it’s just that the way things are described here matches the way I ‘see’ things."

eytanz: It mostly reminded me of Gideon the nineth in that the mismatch between the writing tone and events was the hardest thing to get used to

"tilltab

I’m loving it so far, so maybe I should check out House of Leaves! I love it when stories unfold like this, with you slowly learning about what is happening and why. I was gripped from the very start, and love the way I care about Carolyn, even though it’s clear from the get go she’d done, and will do, some incredibly shady things."

"Gristle McNerd

With all the grimdark and the vaguely 20th century American setting, I'm getting Stephen King vibes, which is not my favorite thing. So I'm a bit lukewarm on this so far, though it is also kind of intriguing"

"DasGerm

It's giving me American Gods vibes, which is a good thing. It also reminds me a little bit of The Breakfast Club, but that may just be the main character's ""wardrobe"" and some of the personalities represented."

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 - #473 - Dewey Decimated

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Veronica's state of K-wires, the most highly-rated books in the world, we kick off our read of The Library of Mount Char, and wrap up China Mountain Zhang.

Download directly here!


WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Three-cheese frittata

Veronica: Switched to red box wine from rosé for winter!

QUICK BURNS

Jan: WordFinderX has an interesting article about the best rated books for each country on Goodreads.

Tamahøme: Kindle mobi support ending in November but not epub.

John Taloni —

Dennis E. Taylor tweets:

I am authorized to make the following statement:

"The Bobiverse Series has been optioned to Lord Miller Prods/Universal."

Also: Woo hoo!"

Scott - Hugh Howey's OTHER upcoming series has a new home

BARE YOUR SWORD

terpkristin: In weird parallelism, many years ago I broke the 5th metacarpal of my dominant hand and had two K-wires in it for a good bit. But I apparently pulled one of the K-wires out on my own because when they went to pull both out, they found one wasn't there anymore. Oops! I hope your hand heals well, V! And your foot! (I also had ankle surgery 3.5 months ago and am still kind of hobbly).

Sean Lookielook Sandulak: Does this make me Felicia's agent or a Sword and Laser producer?

"Please do more author interviews. The episode with Felicia Day was AWESOME! One of my favorite episodes! Or just have more of your podcast friends on.

Your patron (which means you have to do it =P)

-Andrew"

CoyoteBrown: libraries don’t need to let you take the book home to be considered a library.

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

KICK OFF

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

- Amazon Link

WRAP UP

China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh

Amazon

CMZ: 1992 called and wants your International Relations Book Back

CMZ: waiting for that sun over the horizon

S&L Podcast - #472 - Felicia Day Opens Her Third Eye

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We talk to Felica Day about her new Audible Original Third Eye, and how her own struggles led to her story about a chosen one who fails. Plus, we talk about the importance of doing what you love and learning to leave your past behind (and why she's eating ground turkey a lot).

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Moon Cakes

Veronica: Szechuan

Felicia: Ground turkey w/ spinach and rice

Interview

Third Eye by Felica Day

Once upon a time, in the magical land of San Francisco, there lived a not-so-ordinary girl named Laurel Pettigrew. She was supposed to be the Chosen One. The plan was simple: She would vanquish the great evil Tybus in an epic battle. But destiny had other ideas, and Laurel's performance in the whole heroics department was a colossal flop.

Felicia Day’s Fantasy Comedy ‘Third Eye,’ Featuring Neil Gaiman, Coming to Audible This Fall

Coming October 5th

S&L Podcast - #471 - PSL: Pumpkin Sword and Laser

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Guess what? The new Bobiverse is coming, and we would love to have your emails! Plus, we've got some super cool thoughts (no spoilers, promise) on China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh. But you don't have to take my blurb for it!

Download directly here!


WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Braised pork, black beans and potato over brown rice

Veronica: PSL

QUICK BURNS

Decado: George R. R. Martin joined the Authors Guild suit against OpenAI for using copyrighted works in training algorithms.

John (Taloni) Gail Carriger has announced that Dome 6, the concluding book in the Tinkered Starsong trilogy, will be out October 1.

Ruth: The British Fantasy Awards have been announced at a star-studded ceremony in Britain’s second city, Birmingham!

Jan: Tor.com has released their summer short fiction bundle

Christos: Audible is working on a Buffy audio drama with most of the cast returning taking place 10 years after finale.

Oaken: On why you shouldn't bother reading the blurbs on books when making your selection

Trike: Dennis E. Taylor announced he’s finished the final edits on Bobiverse book 5, to be titled Not Till We Are Lost

Mark & kenley: Vexing mystery solved: The illustrator for the Dell paperback edition of A Wrinkle in Time has been found!

Liqorice & Spells: Aussie girl experiences spontaneous cranial explosion at the news of a S&L wiki.

BARE YOUR SWORD

EMAIL US feedback@swordandlaser.com

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh

Amazon

What are we nomming in a China-dominated Communinist America?

Is it a dystopia? Cautionary tale? Be careful what you wish for?

S&L Podcast - #470 - Hammfisted

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The last new Terry Pratchett stories, the rise of nonsense literature, a brief intro to our September pick China Mountain Zhang, and final thoughts on Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Truffle Mac and Cheese

Veronica: Prosecco

QUICK BURNS

Francis x: The collection, titled A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories, will be published on 5th October 2023. This collection will be the final ever ‘new’ writing to be published

Jan: Ars Technica has a new article on "The strange, secretive world of North Korean science fiction"

Jan: Tor.com has a long article on the History of Dragons in Western Literature

Kevin: I'm halfway through Babel by R. F. Kuang and it is amazing. This lead me to learning more about Ms. Kuang and found this little blurb for her upcoming book "Katabasis" on Wikipedia, "Kuang reported that while working on her doctoral degree at Yale, she is also working on her sixth novel, a fantasy about two magical PhD students as they travel to Hell "to rescue the soul of their advisers so that they can write their job recommendation letters". In an interview with The Guardian, Kuang calls the project "nonsense literature"." CANNOT WAIT!
Mark: First-year Yale students warned about dark academia on arrival!

BARE YOUR SWORD

Jan:

Sorry that the Bramble was too sweet! Not a ChatGPT recipe though, it's my own spin on the classic Bramble. Maybe my blackberries are tarter than normal - or maybe I am just very, very sweet *g*

I think you could try it without any simple syrup if it's too sweet for you :-)

—-

Tassie Dave: S&L is almost 16 years old. (not 15)

I doubt you can get it there, but the best fish is Blue Eye Trevalla with Barramundi a close 2nd.

Trike wrote: "Good Omens season 2 is better than season 1, and I am unanimous in this. Because it’s 90% focused on Crowley and Aziraphale."

I agree. It is called out by the coffee shop owner, that they are like an old married couple. They are a delight in their scenes together.

Too much Hamm though. He is well-named. I am not a fan of his hammy acting style. 😕 I know I'm in the minority

—-

Hi Veronica!
yours is the email I have but if you could pass along a message to Tom, if he ever wants to get together and talk Kpop, I am so DOWN.
It's totally my secondary geekdom these days and no one ever wants to talk 2nd or 3rd gen with me.
Excited to learn about your Canadian relocation, hope it's going okay up there.
All the best,
Gail

—-

Tom, Veronica,

I'm probably the hundredth to mention this, but the lack of Mahi-Mahi on non-Hawaiian menus might also be influenced by confusion over the name.

When I was growing up I think Mahi-Mahi was nearly always listed on (Bahamian/Floridian) menus as Dolphin or sometimes Dolphinfish. More recently there has been a shift to calling it by its Hawaiian name (Mahi-Mahi) to avoid confusion with the marine mammals and to make it sound more exotic for the tourists. Wikipedia suggests that it's sometimes called Dorado although that same is shared with another golden fish.

As its range includes the Atlantic and Mediterranean I don't think there's any particular reason it would be listed as Mahi-Mahi by restaurants with English menus unless that restaurant has ties to Hawaii or is going out of their way to avoid conjuring thoughts of Flipper.

Thanks for so many wonderful episodes over the years. I hope there's many more to come.

Best regards,
Alan


BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Kick Off

China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh

Amazon

Katie: Don't forget to place requests with your library! If your library doesn't have it, most will have a form on the website, sometimes in Libby they use the tag "notify me" as a request or just talk to your librarian. They will often add a book to the collection if it seems there is enough interest.

Wrap Up

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Amazon link

nightstorm: I finished this a few days ago, and I have to admit that I skimmed many of the middle chapters with lengthy explanations and focused mainly on the dialogue and murder investigation. This book was a mixed bag for me. There were some very memorable and evocative scenes, but I also felt like they were hit or miss. I wasn't a huge fan of Alex as a character, I know a big point of the book was her rough edges and headstrong actions, but it got a bit stomach training at times. I would have loved to see more of Dawes! I also thought the setting and plot used many familiar tropes, but maybe I just read too much fantasy!
Overall, maybe an average score? Didn't hate it, didn't love it, but there are several scenes that will stick with me for better or for worse...

Tassie Dave: I loved this book. ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Alex is a great kick-ass character. Multi-layered and more complex than she seems at first. I went straight into Hell Bent.

Pat: I didn’t dislike this book, but I didn’t love it either. I enjoyed the flashbacks and character development, but couldn’t find myself all that invested in the mystery. The ending felt kind of predictable. I agree that I would like to see more Dawes, and I would enjoy seeing Alex and Darlington actually working together once she rescues him, but maybe not enough to read the sequel.

Pilchie: I liked that the answer to the whodunit was: Everyone! Also, it was clear early on that Belbalm was way too sus to not be involved somehow.

jasonb: I enjoyed this pick. And the ending was kind of obvious. I was already betting that Belbam was involved I just didn't realize how she was involved.

And that none of the characters knew she was from the very beginning.

John (Taloni): Apparently I am the only one who didn't think the ending was obvious. For my money the author stuck the landing like a gold-medal-winning Olympic gymnast.
Maybe it was the air of easy condescension from

Belbam, offering up a job and tutoring, then inviting Alex to a party OF COURSE to work because Alex knows her place, right?Iain: This book isn’t Dark Academia. It is Noir Mystical Academia.
If it was Dark Academia Dawes would be the main character and we would spend more time on research and with academics


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 - #469 - Venomous Breaded Hairtail Sucker

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Veronica has been in Canada for a year, and the best book in Canada is about Marie Antoinette. Tom ate some breaded hairtail and is excited about Gail Carriger's K-pop post. Plus, we announce the September book and give a few non-spoilery thoughts about Ninth House.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Breaded hairtail and brown rice

Veronica: Fresh Blackberry Bramble

QUICK BURNS

KitsuneHeart. The Hugo voter's packet is out. Supposedly.

Jan: From The Guardian: The winner of the Arthur C Clarke award for science fiction is "Venomous Lumpsucker" by Ned Beauman.

Jan: From Locusmag: The 2023 Aurora Awards winners for works done by Canadians have been announced and Best Novel goes to "The Embroidered Book" by Kate Heartfield.

John: The writers strike claims a victim. :-( The second season of The Peripheral starring Chloë Grace Moretz was picked up for a second series by Amazon but looks to be cancelled.

Christos: Brandon Sanderson is letting other authors write novels taking place in his Cosmere universe. The first writer to take up this task is Dan Wells which makes me very excited because I loved his novel "I am not a Serial Killer and the sequels". Recently they did a podcast together discussing the Dan Wells novel, he said this will introduce a new planet and a new horse like race

Mark: from Gail Carriger 10 Great Kpop Singers & Why They’re Inspiring

BARE YOUR SWORD

terpkristin: Avgolemono soup is not typically heavy and with the lemon, can be very bright. I love it any time of year.

Ruth: To answer V’s question, I’d say that the ur-text of dark academia is The Secret History by Donna Tartt. For those unfamiliar with this book, it’s a thriller, published in 1992 and set at an exclusive New England liberal arts college. The plot and themes are a bit like The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, with a posh academic setting.

The Harry Potter books (and movies) really helped to popularise the dark academia vibe and general aesthetic, although the actual stories are a bit more Chosen One! Prophecy! Power of Friendship! than the whole privilege-hungry-morally-compromised-covering-up-murder thriller thing The Secret History has going on.

Another psychological thriller with a dark academia vibe is Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris, this one set at a British grammar school.

It’s hard to pin down exactly what makes a book “dark academia” other than general vibes but I’d say that The Magicians by Lev Grossman definitely qualifies. It has that whole secretive world/arcane college thing going on, with some people given the keys to the kingdom and others left outside in the mundane world.

Some more recent books that I think qualify as dark academia include: A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik, The Betrayals by Bridget Collins, Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang as previously mentioned, and probably a bunch of others that I can’t think of right now. One I have sitting on my TBR shelf is Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs, although I obviously haven’t read it yet so I can’t vouch for it.

Perhaps others have some suggestions too? I love dark academia so I’m always happy to hear about more books!"

—-


Paul

Thank you Tom for reading my very bad joke which I stole from a very bad Canadian comedy show from the 90s. Thank you Veronica for not calling BS on the lead football right away. I love telling absurd lies to Americans to see what I can get away with. I can't help it. I once convinced someone in Kansas that global warming was causing a housing crisis because our igloos were melting.

Also thank you to everyone (especially the Ruths) for this thread. I laughed to tears listening to the podcast, and now laughed to tears again.

Also, I thought only one of the Ruths was British and that I got you two confused, so thanks for the clarification!

—-

Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth

Haha! Not only are we both Brits, but we live near enough now for the odd meet up now and then, which is always a treat. :D


BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Announce

China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh

Amazon

Check In

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Amazon

John (Taloni)'s take on Bardugo

S&L Podcast - #468 - Go Tweed Lions!

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Veronica curses the Lions and eats SO many blackberries. Also, our non-spoilery thoughts on Ninth House and Ivy League schools.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Burrito Bowl

Veronica: Halloumi With Corn, Cherry Tomatoes and Basil

QUICK BURNS

Ruth - The shortlists for the British Fantasy Awards have been announced

CountZeroOr: File 770 has posted the winners of the 2023 Seiun Awards (the Japanese equivalent of the Hugos).

Jan: For a magical Summer the Portalist has published an article on their favorite Magic Systems in SFF from Assassin's Apprentice over The Mask of Mirrors to The Black Prism

Mark : The Big 5 remain the Big 5 for now. Paramount Agrees to Sell Simon & Schuster to KKR, a Private Equity Firm

Mark: Uncanny Magazine's Year 10: A Decade of Delightful Defiance Kickstarter, now concluded, passed $55,000, activating a Scalzi stretch goal.

BARE YOUR SWORD

Chris K - Ran across this listicle on tor.com this morning:
21 Thoughts (Not Rules) About Reading Habits

Iain: I just saw a post that Mick Jagger was interested in performing at SF convention in the sixties but was turned down because he was a ruffian. That would have been an interesting filk moment

—-

Veronica’s ChatGPT Rolling Stones Filk
(Verse 1)
Well, I was warp-speed ridin' in my starship tonight,
On a cosmic journey, yeah, outta sight.
Got my phaser on stun and my tricorder by my side,
Explorin' strange new worlds, with the stars as my guide.

(Chorus)
Hey, it's a space-time shuffle, baby, don't you know,
We're rockin' through the galaxies, puttin' on a show.
Aliens and wormholes, they're part of the scene,
In this interstellar boogie, we're the spacefaring dream.

(Verse 2)
Met a green-skinned beauty on a distant moon,
She said, "Beam me up, Scotty, let's leave this cocoon."
We danced on the asteroids, kissed on a comet's tail,
In this cosmic ballet, love's never gonna fail.

(Chorus)
Hey, it's a space-time shuffle, baby, don't you know,
We're rockin' through the galaxies, puttin' on a show.
Black holes and nebulae, they're part of the scene,
In this interstellar boogie, we're the spacefaring dream.

(Bridge)
Got a replicator jammin', synthesizin' some brew,
And the holodeck's jumpin' with fantasies come true.
So raise up your tranya, let the good times roll,
In this sci-fi groove, baby, we're in full control.

(Verse 3)
Blastin' through asteroid belts, like a wild shooting star,
Captain at the helm, we're explorin' afar.
We're seekers of knowledge, adventurers bold,
In the final frontier, where stories are told.

(Chorus)
Hey, it's a space-time shuffle, baby, don't you know,
We're rockin' through the galaxies, puttin' on a show.
Phasers and starships, they're part of the scene,
In this interstellar boogie, we're the spacefaring dream.

(Outro)
So let's raise up our glasses, to the cosmos we toast,
In this filk rock anthem, we're the ultimate host.
From the Alpha to Delta Quadrants, we'll sail and we'll roam,
In this universe of wonder, filk's our celestial home.

—-

Paul: I love that Tom follows the CFL (at least enough to know the BC Lions are doing well), but to say it's the NFL for Canada does miss a few fun details that Canadians love to tout as reasons the CFL is tougher than the NFL:
1. The field is 110 yards instead of 100 yards (they could have just made it 100 metres, but that would make too much sense)
2. The teams have 3 downs instead of 4 to move up 10 yards
3. The ball is made of lead.
Note: These facts may not all be true.

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

NH: What are we nomming in Supernatural New England?

NH: putting the darkness into dark academia

NH: East Coast Snobbery: Thoroughly, Depressingly, 100% Accurate

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 - #467 - It Was Good Filk

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We get to the bottom of why it's called Fahrenheit 4-5-1 and which songs get stuck in our heads when we hear “Aes Sedai.” We finish up our thoughts on Planetfall by Emma Newman and kick off Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.

Download directly here.

WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Beef Curry

Veronica: Blackberries

QUICK BURNS

Geoff: The World Fantasy Award 2023 nominees have been announced!

Seth: You may never guess which SFF author made Bustle.com's list of ten slutty books to read before summer ends

BARE YOUR SWORD

"Katie - I have never in my life heard anyone call the book Fahrenheit four-five-one. Listening to this episode is the first time I've encountered it that way!

So now I'm googling around for an answer.

First I found a random forum where someone mentions that Ray himself says it that way in an interview.

And this article has a video clip of Ray Bradbury talking about why he wrote the book and at the very end he says it that way.

So I guess the answer is ""because the author says it that way"" but that doesn't answer the question of: But why does HE say it that way?

However, I learned something new today. Thanks!"

Tamahome: It sounds more like a police car.

Malcolm: In Australia we pronounce it Celcius 2-3-2

—-

"TRP: I'm probably the only one but everytime someone mentions Wheel Of Time's Aes Sedai, I start to sing the chorus from Simon and Garfunkel's The Boxer, under my breath.

Aes Sedai

Aes Sedai-dai-dai-dai-dai

Aes Sedai

Aes Sedai-dai-dai-dai-dai, dai-dai-Aes Sedai"

Katie hears Amy Grant's El Shaddai and Malcolm hears Too Shy by Kajagogo

Charles: Following with the cookie theme, my daughter works at a cookie shop in Orlando called Gideons Bakehouse. They're a gothic décor store with wonder cookies the size of your head (half pound). Every time we're in Orlando visiting our daughter we have to stop by there and pick up some cookies. One cookie last us two or three days (we cut it up like a pizza). They're sinfully good. Unfortunately they don't ship their desserts.

—-

"I have always said four hundred and fifty one because of the preceding Fahrenheit.

Though little side story about this discussion

My username is racer951y the 951 comes from a Porsche internal code number for the 944 Turbo.

So in the age of streamers reading my name out.... the 951 is usually saide as nine five one but it is supposed to be said nine fifty-one (and the base car is nine forty four).

Those numbers get even better in German. haha

racer951y"

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

KICK OFF

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

--Amazon Link

LAST THOUGHTS (spoilery)

Planetfall by Emma Newman

Amazon link

PF: The Sir Mix-A-Lot Sung Soo filk

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 - #446 - Spoon & Ladle

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The Hugos are out! The Hugos are out! Huge cookies are out! TRIKE READS READER'S DIGEST? Plus, the varied emotions caused by Planetfall.

Download directly here!


WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Broccoli Alfredo Pasta
Veronica: Air fried food!

QUICK BURNS

rogo and John let us know: The Hugo Awards finalists have been announced.

Mark: A little more on the Hugo finalists...

terpkristin - Related to the Hugos, it looks like voting is open for those who are members or supporting members

And CountZeroOr notes that S. B. Divya has declined her Hugo Award nominations

Pilchie The Wheel of Time Is Getting an Animated Prequel Film Called The White Tower

terpkristin - Big news for Nnedi Okorafor this week. It's finally been announced that she sold a novel called "THE AFRICANFUTURIST" to HarperCollins/William Morrow

Mark: The International Association of Media Tie-in Writers announced nominees for the Scribe Awards for superior works published in 2022

Seth: Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower is becoming an opera

Kristy The short-list for the Ursula K. Le Guin prize has been announced.

Trike: Reader’s Digest has a list of the 100 best books of all time, and lots of SFF books are included, even among the top ten.

Scott - Rory August’s book ‘The Last Gifts of the Universe’ won the second annual Self-Published Science Fiction competition.

The competition was originally conceptualized by Hugh Howey and self-pubbed author Duncan Swan"

BARE YOUR SWORDterpkristin:

I’m only in the first part where Tom talks about his cookie, which OBVIOUSLY gives another good “in”. There’s a place in northern Virginia called Midnight Treats that makes big cookies that are REALLY good. At most, I can eat like half of one at once.

John (Taloni) writes:

Ah, that was cool getting mentioned on the podcast. But! If it happens again, I request my full name be used:

Johnny Johnny Bo Bonnie, Banana Fannah Fo Fonnie, Me My Mo Monnie, Taloni!

What are we nomming when we land on another world?

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Planetfall by Emma Newman

Amazon link

A conversation about directed evolution and its portrayal in Planetfall devolves into a conversation about how cute pugs are. This is Sword and Laser at its best

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 - #465 - Skirting on the Edge of Danger

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Some of our favorite authors are giving away free short stories and winning Locus Awards. What the best book club pick we ever made was. Why books that make you uncomfortable are important to read. And our last thoughts on Fourth Wing.

Download directly here!


WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Levains Cookie

Veronica: Bask Rosé

QUICK BURNS

Chris K. 2023 Locus Award Winners were announced

Spells: First teaser for the Netflix version of Three-Body Problem, series starting January 2024.

Elizabeth: Amazon Original Stories is publishing six short stories by some big names including James S.A. Corey, Veronica Roth, Rebecca Roanhorse, Ann Leckie, Nnedi Okorafor, and John Scalzi. They will be available to Amazon Prime and Kindle Unlimited subscribers as part of their subscriptions, and available to purchase on Kindle and Audible for everyone else. Available June 27 2023.

Here's Scalzi's announcement for it.

Trike: A book collecting Iain M. Banks’ drawings for The Culture series will be published November 7th. I had no idea this was a thing he did. I love these behind-the-scenes worldbuilding books"

Jan: From LocusMag:

The 2022 Kitschies winners have been announced, the prize for “the year’s most progressive, intelligent and entertaining fiction that contain elements of the speculative or fantastic""

The Red Tentacle for the Best Novel went to "The Last Blade Priest" by W.P. Wiles and The Golden Tentacle for Best Debut Novel went to ""Our Wives Under the Sea"" by Julia Armfield."

terpkristin and Zomino : Felicia Day apparently has a new Audible Original coming out that is apparently like a comedic ode to fantasy. It’ll be narrated by Neil Gaiman. Guess I’ll be checking that out

Mer: The US Library of Congress announced the speakers at this year's National Book Festival in the District of Columbia. This year there's John Scalzi and the Umbrella Academy's Elliot Page with his memoir. All talks will be recorded and posted to the Library's digital collection for on-demand access

Tamahome: An article about Samuel Delaney in the New Yorker let slip this little tidbit " while Neil Gaiman, who is adapting Delany’s classic space adventure “Nova” (1968) as a series for Amazon"

BARE YOUR SWORD

"ohn (Taloni) So much Good News! We need a new name for good-news Tom.

Should it be:

* Gospel Tom (spreader of the Good News)

* Good Omens Tom: The Nice and Accurate Podcasteries of Thomas Merritt, Host.

Or....? Suggest below.

John (Nevets)

It's got Merritt!

And yes Tom would hate saying it, and Veronica would laugh/ groan a lot."

Best and worst club pick

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

KICK OFF

Planetfall by Emma Newman

Amazon link

FINAL WRAP UP

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Amazon link

Representation & Disability

Fist-icuffs!

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

feedback@swordandlaser.com

swordandlaser.com

We are on Instagram and Twitter! @swordandlaser

goodreads.com

S&L Podcast - #464 - Awesome Bundle

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So much good news! Telltale Games is making a game based on The Expanse! Season 2 trailer for Good Omens!Humble Bundle has Mercedes Lackey books. And we think it should stop being humble and admit it's awesome! Plus we check in on Fourth Wing. Turns out more people like it than you think.

Download directly here.

WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Yakisoba

Veronica: Watermelon Cocktail

QUICK BURNS

Jan: Telltale Games is releasing an adventure game based on The Expanse by James SA Corey. The first episode will drop July 27th with further episodes being released every two weeks.

Spells: Good Omens S2 Trailer is out and it's adorable

RobertS: The Olympian Affair, the long-awaited follow-up to Jim Butcher's The Aeronaut's Windlass, releases November 7, 2023.

Mark: Jim Butcher has partnered with artist Tyler Walpole for limited-edition prints of each Dresden book, starting with Storm Front. Prints will be signed by both Jim and Tyler.

Kristy: This is specific to Australia, Aurealis Awards 2022 winners announced

Gristle McNerd: Humble Book Bundle: Mercedes Lackey: Valdemar and Beyond by DAW

Mark: The first Adrian Tchaikovsky story I read was "Precious Little Things" published at Tor.com. The short story was accompanied by artwork of a puppet commissioned by the publisher. Now the artist is putting the puppet up for sale.

Here's a link to the short story which is a prequel to a novella "Made Things" also published by Tor.com Both are good reads!

BARE YOUR SWORD

TRP:

In Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels there is a wizard called Ponder Stibbons who designs an Ant computer called Hex.

Hex was shown in the TV adaptation of the Hogfather (2006) and it sported the label ""Anthill Inside

Ruth:

On a non-fisting note, I would like to say that I have met Adrian Tchaikovsky at a few conventions and, while he looks kind of intimidating (especially when he’s wielding a sword) he’s actually a lovely guy. "

This article, by Adrian himself, has a picture of Adrian Tchaikovsky smiling. For Veronica whose observation about him always looking serious, made me laugh :-)

Thanks to Kevin S who bought a t-shirt from the store!

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Amazon link

What are we nomming for Fourth Wing?

FW: New/Young Adult Female-led Fantasy Bingo Card

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 - #463 - OK Ant Computer

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Are lengthy books inherently inferior? Tom and Veronica ignite a clash of generations! Furthermore, we delve into the captivating world of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros and conclude the enthralling journey of Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Tacos

Veronica: This Instagram pasta

QUICK BURNS

Chris K: Andy Serkis is narrating an unabridged edition of The Silmarillion. Due out in June.

RobertS: New Kingkiller novella focusing on Bast coming out in November 2023!

Roberator: Wheel of Time - Season 2 starts 9/1

"Stepehen:

SPFBO 9 update. Submissions have ended, it took all of 40 minutes to reach the 300 books cutoff. 121 books were submitted in the first 3 minutes. You can read about it here with a really cool graph to illustrate the growing popularity of the contest among Self Publishing authors."

Joe Sherry: Finalists for the Ignyte Award were announced today - a bunch of fabulous works on the ballot and congrats to everyone (and Nerds of a Feather is a finalist for the Critics Award, which is super exciting for me!)

Trike: The Ant-Man autobiography (as seen in various Marvel movies and TV series) is now a real book. 😆

Paul Rudd book advert: “How’s that for meta?”

"Mark: Joe Abercrombie says "Now no one get too excited because take it from a man hurt often in the past, there is always plenty of shit that can go wrong..."

Rebecca Ferguson In Talks For Skydance Revenge Pic ‘Best Served Cold’; ‘Deadpool’s Tim Miller Directing"

"Mark: Greg Van Eekhout teased a new story this summer in the California Bones universe, titled "The Wolf & The Manticore.”

This might be a longer version of "The Wolf and the Manticore", a short story by Van Eekhout, which was published in The Book of Magic, edited by Gardner Dozois

"Agnes works at the La Brea Tar Pits helping the Kingdom of Southern California make magical munitions, but she’s secretly spying for the Northern Californians. Unfortunately, someone has figured this out."

ttlinse

Ann Leckie and Adrian Tchaikovsky on how SF writers build alien minds June 21"

BARE YOUR SWORD

"Paul was among many people disappointed with us: "A S&L pick got social-media famous! This is How You Lose the Time War becoming a Best-selling book because some Twitter account that combines a Trigun character with a Monty Python reference told people to. So wild! Eat your heart out, Colleen Hoover 😆.

I checked and there's a big hold list on it at my library now. About time a quality SF book gets a chance to shine!

I read the interview with Amal El-Mohtar linked in the Quick Burns and found it so fascinating!"

The Long & Short Of It (Long books v. Short ones)

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Book Kick Off

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Amazon link

WRAP UP

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky https://bookshop.org/a/56085/9780316452502

Amazon

CoT: References To Other Works

CoT: The Ending (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 - #462 - $5 FOR SCI-ANTS!

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Foundation is coming back to Apple TV, why Silo is great, you should not eat a bear, and what makes a great alien.


WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

Tom: Pot Stickers and noodles

Veronica: Impossible burger from The Outpost

Download directly here!

QUICK BURNS

Trike: Foundation season 2, July 14, Apple TV.

Jan: The Future Worlds Prize for Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers of Colour has announced its shortlist

Jan: For Asian American and Pacific Islander Month Goodreads is presenting their list of new books by AAPI authors, including a plethora of books of genre interest

Ruth: This year, the Dracula Daily emails are running again, and you can also enjoy the spine-tingling tale in audio form via the podcast Re: Dracula

MelissaMelody — Has anyone else heard about Book Riot's new release tracker?

Silvana - Lockwood and Co is canceled after one season *crying*

BARE YOUR SWORD

Jan: Tom and Veronica are of course right that it's difficult to bring a story where different people continue a story post by post to any kind of ending. It's basically the ultimate form of ""Pantsing" as you really can't plan or plot anything. Therefore I thought a cozy science fiction story could be fun as it's probably more about characters and the world than the plot! And for the people writing the excitement where others take the things you wrote.

And of course, I would love to hear a rendition of the story by Tom and Veronica (although I must admit I cringed a little when hearing my own writing *g*).

So everyone is invited to participate even if it's just a sentence!

—-

terpkristin:

I loved listening to this episode while I was at the gym. I loved the continued spotted dick conversation. When V said she was a pescatarian, I was reminded (mentally) that for purposes of Lent, capybaras (and apparently beaver and muskrat) are considered aquatic and thus ok for Catholics to eat during Lent. (my brain works in weird ways)”

—-

Trike: Just listened to the show, another great one for the books.

If you’re not going to eat calamari due to their intelligence, I have bad (or good) news about spiders:

Do spiders dream? A new study suggests they do

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Amazon Link

Other Minds

What are the best depictions of Alien cultures in SF?

Pulled me out of a reading slump

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