S&L Podcast - #284 - Living Fen’s Dream
/Brittany Curran, who plays Fen on The Magicians, talks about how her childhood love of C.S. Lewis has turned into a modern-day trip to Fillory. Plus, the best way to enjoy Walt Whitman!
S&L Podcast - #283 - The Madness Begins
/The Nebula Award Nominees are out, the Gateway is in and we’re glad we traveled The Salt Roads. But most of all we’re geared up for the March Madness tournament of fantasy. Get your voting fingers clicking folks!
Download directly here!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Water
Veronica: Arcadia Ales IPA
QUICK BURNS
Sandra: The 2016 Nebula Award Nominees have been announced
Dara: Neil Gaiman's next novel will be a sequel to Neverwhere titled The Seven Sisters.
Nokomis.FL: Neil Gaiman's 'American Gods' gets poster, premiere date"
Sandra: Gerard Butler, yes that Gerard Butler and Neal Moritz will produce an adaptation of V. E. Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic for the big screen.
Michele: Bill Paxton has died. RIP Hudson - Game over :(
BARE YOUR SWORD
Books that make you cry
March Madness 2017: Round 1 (Voting Ends March 8th)
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
March Pick: Gateway by Frederick Pohl
Wrap-up
February Pick: The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson
TSR:I have no real idea what I think of this book
TSR: Saint Mary the Dusky
ADDENDUMS
You can order Pilot X!
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 - #282 - Where The Salt Roads Lead
/We check in on our reading of The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson, get some hints on the progress of the next Kingkiller Chronicle, and find another way to track author releases.
Download directly here!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Laguvulin 16
Veronica: Arcadia Ales IPA
QUICK BURNS
David: The movie rights to Planet of Exile by Ursula K. Le Guin have been purchased.
Greg: The Name of the Wind 10th Anniversary edition as well as some non-spoilery info on book 3
David: Goodreads is now adding a "reread" function. Until now, they'd only allow one ""date read"" per book, but now we'll be able to add multiple dates. (According to the Goodreads blog post, they're rolling out this feature, so it may not show for everyone just yet.) This will make it easier for us folks who reread a lot or do yearly reading challenges."
Martin: The Thorn of Emberlain Teaser Update on Scott Lynch's tumblr.
Mark: An interesting reading list for fans of The Man in the High Castle, the book and/or the tv show.
Atasteforbooks: A release date has been announced for the follow up trilogy to His Dark Materials! Philip Pullman shared that the first book, The Book of Dust, will be out (in the UK) on October 19, 2017!
Louie: Read Chapter One from John Scalzi's upcoming novel, The Collapsing Empire. Available March 21st.
We'll be doing March Madness for the April book again. Get your nomination in! Tournament starts March 1
BARE YOUR SWORD
Data:
On episode #280 Adam H asked about "a way of tracking upcoming releases"
from authors. You noted a few services that try. Adam had noted "Amazon
does for stuff from authors I've previously purchased, but..."
Amazon does send some emails automatically for those authors, yes. But
you can explicitly "Follow" any author on Amazon to opt-in to
notifications about all of their new releases. Search for the author,
click through to their page, hit the ""Follow"" button.
It's an automated system, so it can only be as smart as the data - but
most authors and their agents are pretty good at keeping their Amazon
data clean[*], and there is some human + machine-learned curation to
make sure that any book you get notified about really is a new one, not
just a reprint, a book by an author with the same name, etc.
Meta:
Formally I should say that although I work for Amazon, I'm not speaking
officially for them - this is just me telling you what I know.
(But in this particular case: I work on the team that runs this system,
so what I know ought to be reliable!)
[*] I dunno about that B00EYUJ8F0 guy though. I just cleaned up his
bibliography, but why someone who knows how information on the Net
stales would years ago put things like ""has written two novels"" into a
bio is beyond me. :-)
Anthony
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
February Pick: The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson
Recommended: A podcast history of the Haitian Revolution
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 - #281 - Worldbuilding Through Pinterest
/Bradley Beaulieu is on the show to talk about the second book in “The Song of the Shattered Sands” series called “With Blood Upon the Sand” coming February 7th. We also find out what a Pinterest board can do to build a better world!
S&L Podcast - #280 - Good Omens for 2018
/Neil Gaiman is running a new TV show and we're excited! Plus the Arrival folks are making a Larry Niven short story into a show, and indie bookstores are booming! We also kick-off Nalo Hopkinson's The Salt Roads.
Download directly here!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Nothing
Veronica: Ipswitch Original Ale
QUICK BURNS
Dara and Robert: Good Omens is coming to Amazon Prime as a limited 6 episode event with Neil Gaiman as showrunner.
Nokomis.FL: Indie bookstores are booming thanks to Amazon
Phil: It looks like the producer of Arrival (21 Laps) will be making a movie based on Inconstant Moon by Larry Niven.
It's one of my favorite Niven stories and I look forward to this. It was previously made into an episode of the Outer Limits in the 90's.
Nokomis.FL: Peter Capaldi to bow out from Doctor Who at the end of 2017
Dara and Silvana: The new ASoIAF story in Gardner Dozois's The Book of Swords will be titled The Sons of the Dragon, a story of Aenys I and Maegor the Cruel. Fans speculation that this will be about the Targaryen era is correct. David: This is also the same anthology that will contain Ken Liu's "The Hidden Girl," which was optioned by Studio 8 last May. "The story is about a team of assassins who are able to navigate between dimensions."
BARE YOUR SWORD
Hello Veronica and Tom. Love the show, one of the few I support via patreon. On a recent episode of Cord Killers Tom mentioned a service called Sidereel. I got this app and love it, but would like something like it for books, authors. Goodreads doesnt seem to have way of tracking upcoming releases. Amazon does for stuff from authors Ive previously purchased but Id like to add a list of authors to track. Thanks, Adam H
Author Alerts
Track New Book - New book notification by author, subject, or keyword
Sci-fi and Fantasy Magazines. Anyone subscribe? Can you give me a rundown?
On Fantasy and Utility... (A Rant for your Consideration/Critique)
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
February Pick: The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson
Book Kick-off
BLOG INTERVIEW: Nalo Hopkinson releases two e-books with Open Road Media
Final Wrap Up
January Pick: Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu
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.
BIG thank you to all the people who support us, including Katie Gross, Jay Johnson and Dan Griffin!
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 - #279 - Myke Cole, Man Hunter
/Person hunter, really! He's an equal-opportunity ass-kicker. Author and fighter of crimes, Myke Cole, tells us how he got involved in the new CBS show Hunted! And, what Sam Sykes has to do with any of it.
This episode was recorded before the Sunday, Jan 22nd premiere, but new episodes are out on Wednesday nights at 8/7c!
S&L Podcast - #278 - Don’t Trust Turkey Data
/A hot new approach to a fantasy trilogy, the real drama of rocket scientists involves cake, and why you can’t trust turkeys to rigorously use data to predict future results.
Download directly here!
QUICK BURNS
Geoff: Marlon James announces Dark Star fantasy trilogy: 'I hope 12-year-olds read this book'
Nokomis.FL "Lies Lies Lies Lies Lies and more Lies"
On his LiveJournal Martin wrote, “Not done yet, but I’ve made progress,” he wrote. “But not as much as I hoped a year ago, when I thought to be done by now. I think it will be out this year. (But hey, I thought the same thing last year).”
Fresno Bob: Some random guy got the cover for this article on top SF+F for 2017 over on Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly calls it "Appropriately convoluted!"
Pilot X
Silvana: More books coming out from the amazing NK Jemisin, including a contemporary fantasy dealing with themes of race and power in New York City. It has a projected publication date of April 2019.
Sporadicreviews and David: Neil of the online magazine Clarkesworld finally quit his day job and is going to be an editor full time (see here: http://neil-clarke.com/frankly/) He changed the Patreon goals for direct salary & healthcare though.
Louie: CBS orders pilot for Andy Weir's NASA set drama, Mission Control
Terpkristin: My coworkers and I are having a good laugh over this. Some of the comments on Facebook today:
"I like staying awake and eating M&Ms"
"I bet the CBS version will have way more explosions..well, OK, maybe not."
"Also probably not as many expletives."
"They have producers to make it more high drama. We just have I and T managers..."
"Oh, the I&T managers make it high drama"
"You forgot about the cake. Or, knowing there's cake but having to be on console and getting last picks from the seagulls who come to watch"
Definitely a couple of inside baseball jokes there, but also what it's really like. For the record, on the cake, if the launch scrubs, they put it in the freezer for the next attempt. This lead to what is now known where I work as "cakegate" and many "the cake is a lie" jokes.
Lauren: James Cameron is apparently working on a "History of Science Fiction" series for AMC.
BARE YOUR SWORD
Hey guys,
I was listening to your latest on the Three Body Problem - episode 277 - and thought you might be interested in a recent interview with Ken Liu on Chinese sci-fi. Check out the January 13 episode of the Sinica podcast, a podcast which primarily discusses topics related to contemporary China, but this time overlaps with the January read on S & L. Link here: Sinica Podcast: Ken Liu on Chinese science fiction
https://overcast.fm/+GuZKG8KEI
Regards,
David
---
If the phrase "her eyes were bigger than her stomach" equates to getting too much food and not being able to eat it all, then in my case, "my eyes were bigger than my...mind?" I did not make it through the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy during my holiday break - I only made it through The Dark Forest and am now reading the third book, Death's End. Really liking the series! And I couldn't get into Stiletto, so I haven't picked that one back up yet.
Robyn
---
When/How did you find Sword & Laser?
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
January Pick: Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu
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 - #277 - The January No-Beer Problem
/We commend Terry Brooks' foresight, possibly convince Veronica to watch the Man in the High Castle some more, and give you important information to get the most of The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu.
Download directly here!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Dry January!
QUICK BURNS
Alex: with a new quadrilogy, titled The Fall of Shannara, Terry Brooks is bringing the series to a close --- TERRY BROOKS: Well, my original plan was to live forever, but I’m discovering that’s probably not going to happen, and I don’t want to be one of those authors whose series, after going on such a long time, gets written by somebody else at the end. So I decided it was time to at least write the ending, because I’ve had it in mind for many, many years. --- The Black Elfstone (out June 13, 2017)
Nokomis.FL: The Man in the High Castle Gets A Third Season and New Showrunner
Sporadic Reviews: From Galaxy's Edge magazine :
We have a new blog called Signals from the Edge managed by Lezli Robyn. Check it out...we plan to develop it as a general site for all SF/Fantasy news and to have discussion on stories published by us (with author participation). We'd love to hear your feedback on what you would like to see.
BARE YOUR SWORD
Music
---
So to share some holiday reading, I have completed ""The Girl With Ghost Eyes"" by M.H. Boroson and I wanted to put it on your radar. It's an awesome urban fantasy set in 1800's San Francisco Chinatown. The setting felt really well researched and historical San Francisco Chinatown really comes alive in the same way historical New York comes alive in ""The Golem and the Jinni.
A Closed and Common Orbit"" by Becky Chambers is also great. Without mentioning spoilers, it very much has the same hopeful and humanist tone of ""The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet"". The setting of these books feels really unique. It obviously draws a degree of inspiration from Star Trek and Star Wars but takes ideas from those universes and does it's own distinct thing with them.
Currently I am working on "Wake of Vultures" by Lila Bowen.
MP
---
So in sync with Sword and Laser lately! I was on page 110 of The Three Body Problem when I heard the podcast and that that would be the January pick! I am planning to read the whole trilogy over my holiday break (off work until January 3rd - woo hoo!). I had The Rook on my shelf for a while to read and so when that was December's pick, I read that and liked it so much I bought the sequel on Kindle and have started that, too. Like Veronica, I am hoping more Myfawny shows up.
Robyn
---
In Episode #276, you excoriated us for not responding with our holiday reading list. Shamefacedly, I began writing this email - and was stunned when Tom announced the book for January. I have just finished ""The Three-Body Problem"" and I'm currently reading book #2, ""The Dark Forest."" I had some attention deficit issues during some sections of the first book that I ascribe to the cultural differences between my background and the author's. Nonetheless, I'm enjoying the story. The translator managed to make it understandable for Americans while still retaining some of the Chinese flavor.
Thanks for the podcast,
Gregg
---
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
January Pick: Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu
Book briefing
ADDENDUMS
Tom and Veronica will be at Baycon!
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.
Welcome to Brand new patrons Karen Turner, Paul, Peter DeCastro and more! And huge thanks to Andrew for raising his pledge!
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 - #276 - By Hook or by Rook
/We discuss whether the central plot device (the hook!) of the Rook is a cliche or clever. Plus, how to find the best stories in SciFi and Fantasy and help authors get exposure at the same time.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Irish Egg Nog (Carolan's Irish Creme, Bulleit Bourbon, Coffee, Nutmeg)
Veronica: Red blend
QUICK BURNS
Full trailer for The Expanse Season 2, with a new premiere date (a week earlier). Season 2 of The Expanse premieres on February 1, 2017 on Syfy.
Louie: Cover reveal for book #7 in The Expanse series, Persepolis Rising
Kenley: For the first time, Wired magazine's is all fiction written by science fiction authors. January 2017 issue. "15 fantastic tales from an uncertain future." Available now for digital subscribers. Probably on the newsstand soon. Hat tip to Tassie Dave for the link
Ten of 2016's most notable African science fiction and fantasy stories
Shad: The first draft of Brandon Sanderson's Oathbringer (Stormlight #3) is done and set for a November 2017 release date.
BARE YOUR SWORD
2016 Year in Review
---
Hi Tom and Veronica
You asked on episode 275 for us to write in with what we will be reading over the holidays. I'm most excited to read A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers, which I ordered from the UK. I wanted the pretty cover and to read it before March! I loved the first book (A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet) so much. And I will also read The Rook.
Happy Holidays!
Jenny Colvin (@readingenvy)
---
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
January Pick: Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu
The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
Story setup: Clever or cliched?
TR: Easter eggs - no plot 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 - #275 - Get Hip With the Rook
/We kick off our December book, the Rook by Daniel O’Malley and we are so excited for Lin-Manuel Miranda to team up with Patrick Rothfuss.
Download directly here!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Bowmore 15-year Islay Scotch
Veronica: Water
QUICK BURNS
Sandra: Lin-Manuel Miranda will be the creative producer for Patrick Rothfuss’ The Kingkiller Chronicle adaptions!
Sandra: Here's a handy list of almost every SFF adaption that's coming to TV and film, via Tor.
Silvana: There will be 8 or 9 more Dunk and Egg stories, said GRRM recently in an interview in Mexico.
Full interview here (fast forward to 3rd minute). He also recommends people to read books from Daniel Abraham, Patrick Rothfuss, Scott Lynch and Robin Hobb. And of course Tolkien and Vance. Lots of interesting questions and answers in there.
Alex: Found via tor.com; an interview with Brandon Sanderson at He talks about several things (writing characters, writing different genres, and more writing). But the best part for me is that the next stormlight is almost done.
And Julio adds: The first draft is 99% done, to be precise. In his website he has progress bars for his many projects.
Aaron: Ann and Jeff Vandermeer have announced The Big Book of Classic Fantasy.
terpkristin: Peter Vaughan, Maester Aemon in HBO's GoT, has passed away at the age of 93.
Silvana: RIP Ron Glass
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
Book briefing for The Rook
Tassie Dave: This book has been on my radar for a few years. I hope it lives up to the wait. This is also our first ever Aussie S&L book :-) and only our 3rd ever book by a Southern Hemisphere born author (We had an alternate pick by Kiwi Adam Christopher in 2012) and Tolkien (The Hobbit) was born in South Africa. It is also the 100th book we've read for S&L (91 official picks and 9 alternates).
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
Welcome to new patron Keith Olson and thanks to Robin Hill who raised their pledge!
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 - #274 - Wrap Up of Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong
/We wrap up our thoughts on the cartoon violence and snappy dialog of David Wong's dissertation on lawlessness in Tabula Rasa. We think we know what it could be a metaphor for. Whether it is or not is left as an exercise for the reader.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Cakebread Cellars: 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon
Veronica: Bulleit Rye
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong
Next month: The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
S&L Podcast - #273 - Han Solo’s Big Sister
/We are optimistic for Dune, excited for The Expanse, and hopeful for Stranger in a Strange Land. But we’re certain of what we want Emilia Clarke to be in the Han Solo movie.
Download directly here!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Air
Veronica: Bulleitt Rye
QUICK BURNS
Legendary acquires Dune
Louie: The Expanse Season 2 premiere date announced, with teaser.
Sandra: Syfy will be adapting Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
John (Nevets) One thing I'm not forgetting is that Worldbuilders.org annual fundraiser for heifer international is starting up again. It's a great organization to support with many cool potential prizes for donating. Heck, even Veronica had donated prizes in the past.
Nokomis.FL - Analog and Asimov’s magazines go bimonthly
Stephen: Guess who got a role in the new Han Solo movie? Why the Mother of Dragons!!
The makers of the great Lego Movie are in charge, so it has to be good, right?
BARE YOUR SWORD
Call from Sean (??)
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Next month: The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong
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 - #272 - Best Cats and Dogs of SciFi
/We congratulate Brandon Sanderson and the World Fantasy Award winners and try to calibrate the futuristic violence for you. The fancy suits calibrate themselves.
Download direct
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Gumption - Woodchuck Cider
Veronica: Bulleit Rye
QUICK BURNS
ladymurmur: The complete Garrett P.I. series is finally available on Kindle (and hopefully all other ebook platforms)! Red Iron Nights, #6 of 14 in the Garrett, P.I. series by Glen Cook is now available, after a very looooooong wait.
terpkristin: tor.com has the World Fantasy Award winners listed for 2016. In addition to the normal awards, Andrzej Sapkowski and David G. Hartwell were given Lifetime Achievement awards. The Best Novel winner, The Chimes, has me intrigued."
Trike: TV Tropes comes through again with their Grand Unified Timeline. It's the exact thing I was wishing for in the earlier post.
Aaron: Tor posted a new short story answering the question asked by innumerable readers of the novel All the Birds in the Sky: what happened to Patricia’s cat?
Tomp: Brandon Sanderson has a movie deal for his whole Cosmere.
BARE YOUR SWORD
Best Cats in SFF?
Best Dogs in SFF?
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong
Patreon book briefing
By the way, Tom had the vote totals wrong on the last patreon poll, but this book still would have won.
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 - #271 - Awkward Jinni Conversations
/We discover that some people's names just don't work as awards. We're excited about a site full of fictional timelines. And we ponder troubling jinni paternity questions.
QUICK BURNS
Silvana: Just in case it is not yet in this thread, this is a website containing timelines of everything SFF from books, comics, movies, TV show etc.
'AllTimelines.com’
The website All Timelines, created by former Screen Rant writer Jason Hamilton, was recently launched. As the title suggests, it is a collection of multiple fictional universe histories, including Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, and Doctor Who just to name a few. When viewing a chronology, users are able to filter the timeline to show only the items they want to see (i.e. films, TV episodes, novels) for maximum convenience. It is also possible to sort by date, author, or name.
Fiona: Don't know if someone else has posted this yet.
BBC Radio 4 is doing Neil Gaimans Neverwhere story "How the Marquis got his coat back"! You can listen to it on November 4
Nokomis.FL - Deadpool director Tim Miller will not direct Deadpool 2 and will instead direct the adaptation of Daniel Suarez's novel, Influx.
Iain: Sherri Tepper, the author of Grass has died.
Grass is a really interesting SF novel with very alien aliens. Well worth reading. I strongly recommend it. See the Scalzi memorial for a good write up.
Sandra: You can now vote on the name for the YA award to be given out at Worldcon along with the Hugo Awards. You can read about the controversial topic here and vote here.
BARE YOUR SWORD
Subject: Sleuths, spies & sorcerer's
Message: Hello again,
Another BBC update this time TV or iPlayer rather than radio. Andrew Marr (stalwart journalist / presenter -- had stroke recently) presenting series on genre fiction in title sleuths, spies and sorcerer's. Watching episode one of three now on sleuths. Good so far last episode of more interest but should be on iPlayer if you have access.
Regards,
Pob
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Next month:
Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong
Wrap Up
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
Thoughts on the Jinni and the Golem (Characters)
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 - #270 - Be a Cat Burglar for Good!
/We don't want you to steal cats (not even books, really), just to take home the exhibit from the Museum of Science Fiction. We'll explain! Plus, you must cast your vote for the classic or the new! Will you vote against Veronica?
Download directly here!
WHAT ARE WE PLEDGING?
We have new levels for the Patreon!
$10 - Knighthood level
You will now also get access to the Monthly Silliness show
Call yourself Knight of the Realm. Or a Space Marine. Whichever you like!
$20 - Now to be known as Lem’s Librarians
You will still get access to monthly silliness show
You will also get access to Lem's Library!
Details will come but essentially if you live in the US you'll get to request one book a month from a list of the advance copies we get. Shipping costs are prohibitive for outside the US for now but we're working on that.
QUICK BURNS
Terpkristin: Interesting statistics out from the American Association of Publishers. Audiobook sales are up, e-book sales are down. Paperback books are also up, apparently...so I guess the "artisanal analog tree-sourced reading material" is making a little bit of a comeback? I find it intriguing, because my audiobook purchases have gone up since Amazon started Whispersync for Voice, but that means I end up buying books in 2 formats...
Dara: Stars of the spoken word: Meet the audiobook narrators who are quietly saving book publishing.
Nokomis.FL - The Dark Tower trailer got leaked AND The trailer for 'The Man in the High Castle' is out.
Sandra: A movie adaptation of Peter V. Brett’s The Warded Man is in the works (option acquired by New Harlem)
Dara: Wesley Chu's The Lives of Tao has been optioned by ABC. I have a feeling this could be kind of a Chuck 2.0.
Thane: Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell gets a comic book adaptation. Lost Fleet is some really good, straightforward military sci-fi.
Lauren: The Museum of Science Fiction has a new Kickstarter called 'Catalysts, Explorers & Secret Keepers: Women of Science Fiction'. It is a take-home exhibit & anthology by the Museum of Science Fiction featuring short stories and reprints by women in science fiction. It has beautiful illustrations by Julie Dillon.
Nokomis.FL And the name of the next Expanse book is: "Some people seem to get angry that it's hard to make things and it takes time to do it. However, we're 2k words in Persepolis Rising now." (Babylon's Ashes comes out December 6)
BARE YOUR SWORD
Fan trailer for Ancillary Justice
So What Are Some Good Books Written In Established Universes, not by the original author?
The Defenders (Netflix)
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Taking a Patron vote for the November book. Patrons at any level can vote.
Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong
Slan by A. E. Van Vogt - (which was recently given the 1940 retro Hugo Award)
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
Patron book briefing
ADDENDUMS
Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons. Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser
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 - #269 - Artisanal Analog Tree-Sourced Reading Material
/We look for authors who satisfy like Scalzi, find out how dirty the new dirty editions of The Magicians are and discuss an ethical question regarding library books.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Lagavulin 16yr.
Veronica: Brosé
QUICK BURNS
Terpkristin: There's a Witcher stamp! It seems based on the game, not necessarily the book, but how cool is that?
Stephen: If the sheer number of characters stops you from attempting to start Steven Erikson's Malazan series, Tor.com has listed the characters of Gardens of the Moon with artist renderings.
Trike: Star Trek: Discovery TV series delayed until May
Tamahome: NSFW version of The Magicians tv series released online: Now if they could just do the same with Avasarala and The Expanse.
Nokomis.FL: If you liked The Expanse, you'll be happy to know that Allen Steele's Coyote has optioned for television.
BARE YOUR SWORD
I want more Scalzi
Library Etiquette: To Return or Not Return?
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
NEXT MONTH: The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
Book Wrap up
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
The Tines are Great
Usenet in Spaaaaace!
Pet Peeve: Alien POV
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 - #268 - "Underrated" is Not a Dirty Word
/We praise the underrated and print books, and we get into the dog-eat-dog world of Fire Upon the Deep!
Download directly!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Suntory Old Whisky
Veronica: Water
QUICK BURNS
Dharmakirti: Today (8/25), on his blog, R. Scott Bakker announced, "with details forthcoming..it looks like we have a deal for the television rights to The Prince of Nothing." My favorite fantasy series might become a TV series :) For those interested in philosophy of the mind or cognitive science he also announced, ""The Journal of Consciousness Studies has accepted 'On Alien Philosophy' for publication, likely, I’m told, for some time in early 2017. "
Mark: The Pew Research Center released their "Book Reading 2016" report this month. Note: Their analysis is US-centric. "65% of Americans have read a print book in the last year, more than double the share that has read an e-book (28%) and more than four times the share that has consumed book content via audio book (14%)" "The share of e-book readers on tablets has more than tripled since 2011 and the number of readers on phones has more than doubled over that time, while the share reading on e-book reading devices has not changed."
SporadicReviews: Dragon Awards are up.
Mark: OMNI just published an interesting article titled "Most Underrated Sci-Fi Authors". Several are on the S&L bookshelf. I don't agree that all these authors are underrated, but it's a fine group of classic science-fiction creators plus book recommendations. The photos with the article are terrific. In particular, we get to see Stanislaw Lem's expression when he heard about Veronica's struggles with Memoirs Found in a Bathtub!
Misti: Audible Channels available for Amazon Prime Subscribers. Looks like most of the original content isn't going to become available till next year but there is some classic sci-fi stuff available.
BARE YOUR SWORD
What's your fave source for news about genre fiction?
Horror Suggestions
Novellas/novelettes from slow writers
---
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am looking for ways to promote our convention and I was hoping that you might be able to help me. HonorCon is a military science fiction and fantasy convention which focuses mainly on authors and books in that genre. This year, in addition to David Weber, we will have Claudia Christian as our guest of honor. We have numerous panels dealing with publishing, writing and just about everything else a good science fiction convention requires (we have a costume contest and lots of fan panels, etc.) but what we really need is more people to come and have fun at our convention. Toward that end, I'm asking for your help.
Thank you for your time,
Very Respectfully!
Peter J. Gordon
---
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
Book notes for patrons here.
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 - #267 - We Pick the Best Wizard School
/The Hugos are in, for 2016 and 1941! And although the Thorn of Emberlain is delayed, we understand. We also pick our favorite wizard school and wrap up The Last Wish.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: In n Out
Veronica: Piederosso
QUICK BURNS
Rob: The Fifth Season won the Hugo! And the rest
Clyde: The 1941 Worldcon did not present Hugo Awards. MidAmeriCon II elected to present Retro-Hugo Awards for works first published in 1940 that would have been eligible for the 1941 Hugo Awards had there been Awards presented in 1941.
Silvana: Publication date of The Thorn of Emberlain, 4th novel of the Gentlemen Bastard series, is delayed again. It is okay, Scott, we'll be waiting. And congrats for your upcoming marriage to Elizabeth Bear!
Mark: For Douglas Adams fans, a TV series based on Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, coproduced by Netflix and BBC America [[The show will premiere on BBC America on October 22 and all eight episodes will launch on Netflix outside the U.S. in December]]
Silvana: James Purefoy aka Marc Anthony has been cast in Altered Carbon adaptation. Now I may need to read the book.
Nick: For fans of The Clockwork Dagger, there's the release of Beth Cato's Breath of Earth. It's a steampunk alt history set in 1906 San Francisco featuring magic, geomancy and a heroine who sounds and looks truly badass.
BARE YOUR SWORD
Alex: I'll have you know, me and my friends still use live journal daily! So it's not only GRRMartin who's keeping the site afloat xD
What's your favorite Wizard School?
Kindle (and other ebooks!) Daily Deal
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Wrap up:
Last Wish: The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski
TLW More Stories, Less Filling
TLW: Geralt Cosplay
Next Month: A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
Book notes for patrons here.
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 - #266 - Are You Reading Too Much?
/This week we dive into our (non-spoilery) thoughts on the Witcher and get excited about a movie based on Ted Chiang's story and a TV series based on George R. R. Martin's Wild Cards. But Brad poses a question about how one tells if they're reading too much.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Water
Veronica: Omission Lager
QUICK BURNS
Stephen and Louie: First Arrival trailer (Based on The Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang)
Mark: George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards is coming to television.
Tamahome: Help Decide Which Characters Will Be in GRRM’s Wild Cards TV Show
Robyn: StoryBundle is currently offering a space opera themed bundle
Tamahome: The Self-Published Scifi Sensation Zenith Is the Latest eBook to Make the Jump to Physical Media
Amy: Vote for DragonCon awards! Nominees
Sandra: Announcing the 2016 Aurora Awards Winners!
BARE YOUR SWORD - add time stamp!Feedback from the audience
Lots of you wrote in with suggestions about the angel noir author that Rob started a few weeks ago. Well, none of us were right! Rob himself says that he was mis-remembering the whole situation... but he told us in the best way possible:
"I was back in my office by five. It'd been a case with as many turns as a lost millenial playing Pokemon Go while driving. As dangerous too. And now that it was finally closed, I wondered if it was worth it. Turns out that what I was looking for? It didn't even exist. All I'd done was proven I'd gotten old. I'd forgotten things. I'd warped them to fit my own twisted narrative. I pored myself a slug and didn't bother to taste it as it went down, then left my office again to go home. It was late.
The streets were darker with something more than night."
Rob says he can't, of course, take credit for the last line: "To be clear, that last line isn't me, it's my favorite Chandler quote"
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski
Next episode: Thursday 8/25, then the next episode after that: Tuesday, 9/14
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 - #265 - Zombies and LARPers: The Nerdist Inkshares Winners!
/We talk with Dave Barrett, author of Inkshares book It's All Fun and Games and Zac Linville author of Inkshares book Welcome to Deadland. One has zombie-like inhabitants based on theme park patrons and the other finds a LARP outing becoming all too real.
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.
