S&L Podcast - #509 - New Achievement!
/We wrap up Dungeon Crawler Carl, including our horrible imitations of Jeff Hays. Plus, we announce the next pick for May and ponder data-driven determinations of the best SFF books of Tom’s life.
WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?
Tom: Gnocchi Bolognese
Veronica: Gin and tonic
QUICK BURNS – add time stamp!
Any news or announcements
We have to change from per-episode to subscription billing. That means a flat monthly fee for supporting the show instead of only paying when there is an episode.
Tamahome: Brandon Sanderson’s Isles of the Emberdark available for preorder. That’s quite an early preorder for February 2026: Isles of the Emberdark
Iain: Children of Strife is on the way. Tor UK acquires four stellar novels by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Liqorice: Cassidy Beeve-Morris, er, not sure what to call him, a “data scientist and blogger,” was doing an analysis on the best sci-fi and fantasy of the last 50 years based on the major awards (Hugo, Nebula, etc.). He noticed a curious thing: there is a very distinct trend where Sword has started to outperform Laser in awards over time. Speaking as an armchair economist who fails to understand that correlation does not imply causation (I’m referring to myself, not the author), my first impulse was to attribute the change to Veronica’s influence. But then I realized that S&L has only been in production for 15 of the 50-plus-year trend, which means it’s more likely that Veronica is a product of her times while Tom is a relic of the golden age. Where Has All the Sci-Fi Gone? (Reddit)
Okay, I should probably follow up with a summary of the top ten according to awards received that spurred the observation of Sword trending over Laser. Personally, I’ve read all of them except for The Yiddish Policemen’s Union and Blackout/All Clear. To be honest, I’ve never heard of either of them. Say what?
Note that March’s S&L pick The City & the City shows up at the #18 spot. And I’m sure Princess Doughnut missed getting onto this list by a whisker. Meow.
The details, with all of the grisly math, are here (did I mention the author was a data scientist?): Determining Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels Since 1970
Tamahome: Mike Flanagan’s Carrie TV series has been greenlit at Prime Video. The series will be eight episodes and begin filming this summer: Mike Flanagan’s ‘Carrie’ Greenlit at Prime Video
BARE YOUR SWORD
Ruth: I had never really considered before the impact of negative commentary on the morale of our overlords… I want T & V to feel enthusiastic about the book club, so I shall endeavour to make some more positive comments about our current and future picks!
I’m still not entirely convinced by Alexander Skarsgård as Murderbot, tbh. I saw someone suggesting that Gwendoline Christie would have been perfect for the role and now I can’t help wishing she had been cast instead! I’ll probably watch the show anyway, though, as the trailer looks good—it captures the snarky tone perfectly.Stephen: Since Alexander put up the money to start the show and I’m sure having his name attached brought in more investors, I’m going in with a neutral mind. I really wanted an animated version like the ones in some episodes of Love, Death & Robots. I guess I’ll have to wait some more time for my vision to come true. Maybe DCC, but the character of Carl may be too tempting for some actors to pass up.
Paul: You know, his deadpan voice and subtle facial expressions actually really sold me. I had always imagined Murderbot as having a low female voice, but listening to him as Murderbot in the trailer, I thought “Yeah, this is what a SECU would be programmed to sound like.”
I’m sold. #TeamSkarsgardbot
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
May Book Advance Kick-Off
Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton
Amazon: Mickey 7
Wrap-Up
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
Amazon: Dungeon Crawler Carl
Ruth: It was interesting to hear the clip of the fully dramatised audiobook, even though, tbh, my takeaway was that Jeff Hays’ performance is so good you don’t need anything else!
A Quick Note on Isekai—and Dungeon Crawler Carl’s flavor of portal fantasy: Discord Discussion
Why this book is awesome: Goodreads Discussion
ScottM: I feel like if I wanted to experience a level grind as a form of escape, I would rather play some WoW or another MMO. In novel form, it just doesn’t click for me. I expect I would feel similarly about most litRPG novels. I understand what the novel is doing and I don’t mind reading it. I’m just also not especially interested in what it’s doing. DCC Reaction: It’s Fine
ADDENDUMS
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