S&L Podcast - #454 - Baltimore, City of Baltars
/We may be getting some Zelazny TV, Murderbot is coming back, some ideas of non-fiction book picks we could try, and we kick off our February book pick, Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher.
WHAT ARE WE EATING?
Tom: Vegetable Tempura
Veronica: Veggie Burger
QUICK BURNS
Jan: The Philip K. Dick Award nominees have been announced: The winner will be announced April 7, 2023 at Norwescon 45
Debra: Daniel O’Malley has just published his third book in the Checquy series, titled “Blitz” (following The Rook and Stiletto).
Jan: Bookriot has released their list of top 20 must read cozy fantasy novels
Silvana: Chengdu World Con announced new dates: 18-22 October 2023.
ChrisK: Otherwise winners announced
Mark: It turns out that the forthcoming Murderbot tale is a full-length novel (with cover reveal)!
System Collapse by Martha Wells is coming November 24, 2023 from Tordotcom Publishing
Mark: John Scalzi is the 2023 winner of the Robert A. Heinlein Award.
BARE YOUR SWORD
Jan: I think S&L is established enough to once a year or so go off the established format and do something aside from science fiction or fantasy novels, be it a biography or a movie or a novelization or whatever.
BTW: Does anyone here have any more suggestions for modern choose your adventure style stories. The last ones I read were the old Lone Wolf books!"
Paul:
I think a good option for departing from the standard format could be Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction. It's a nonfiction book that doubles as a history of Science fiction, and mini-bios of its prominent characters.I heard an interview with the author from Our Opinions Are Correct, and it apparently does not hold back on critiquing and highlighting the problematic aspects of these men, so it could be a fun read. I know Tom was favouring the fiction ideas, but he also seems to like the history of the genre and its characters, so maybe this would be a good way to get to know the old authors without having to read old and potentially problematic books."
Tassie Dave: As for going off books for a Sword and Laser pick. We could do it as an ""extra credit"" suggestion on a semi-regular basis. Not an official pick, but more like the alternates as semi-official, but with it's own section on this forum to discuss.Maybe a movie, TV show pilot, Graphic Novel. Video game etc. Not everyone is going to join in, but it could make for fun discussions. "The Last of Us" TV show that started this week could be a worthy suggestion."
Seth: I was really turned off when I first heard of AI audiobook narrators, but this discussion got me thinking a bit more broadly - so thanks for that. Here in Iowa (and probably most states) there's a library for the blind that enlists volunteer readers to record things that would never otherwise be available in audio format - stuff like school texts or academic papers. An AI that could read that sort of thing could be an outstanding breakthrough for access to non-sighted folks.
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Kick Off
WRAP UP
Brightness Falls from the Air by James Tiptree Jr.
ADDENDUMS
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