The Sword and Laser

A few more thoughts on the Hugos, who would win in a fight between Maas and Yarros, and we preview our March Madness brackets! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've opened nominations for Mad Marchness!, our March tournament of book picks. Plus, the failure of the Hugos and the rise of Romantasy. And we begin our first impressions of Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Best books of the year? Already? How Veronica got her k-wires out. And our non-spoilery thoughts on Library at Mount Char. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk to Felicia 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). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Veronica curses the Lions and eats SO many blackberries. Also, our non-spoilery thoughts on Ninth House and Ivy League schools. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Hugos are out! The Hugos are out! Huge cookies are out! TRIKE READS READER'S DIGEST? Plus, the varied emotions caused by Planetfall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Foundation is coming back to Apple TV, why Silo is great, you should not eat a bear, and what makes a great alien. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Taika Waititi is adapting a fantasy novel and also looked quite fine at the Met. Plus, self-publishing award winners, Locus nominees, and we have a progressive story in the works! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We wrap up Legends and Lattes and have a great idea for a sequel involving Thimble doing a cooking show. Plus, we're getting a Twilight TV series? We’ll make our best guesses about that too. Finally, Veronica's thoughts on spotted dick. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We hear a better version of the Pokemon cookbook than the real one, Veronica gets the tipoff for hot sauce, and our first cozy feelings about Legends and Lattes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New books for spring, finalists for the Annual Lambda and Imadjinn Awards, and the Internet Archive's e-book lending lawsuit. Plus, we kick off the March Madness winner! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The March Madness semifinals are here! And the race is TIGHT. Our first (non-spoiler) thoughts about Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings. Nomination lists are out for Nebulas and Bradbury's, and nomming has begun for the Hugos (hint hint). Plus why everybody ate lasagna after our last episode! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our “March that is Mad” tournament is live! 15 books enter, one gets to be the April pick, and everyone wins! Plus, please stop flooding Clarkesworld with AI-written manuscripts. Use ChatGPT for good! Also, we kick off our March read and wrap up our thoughts on Nettle & Bone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three Body Problem is coming to two platforms, so many beginning-of-the-year reading lists, and why we all love Bonedog (even Tom). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We check in on how everyone is feeling about Brightness Falls From the Air. We also feel mildly optimistic about Apple's digital narrators, and we discuss the best way to introduce someone to a series. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A very tense episode as Veronica and Tom violently agree about Elric of Melniboné. Plus, the most anticipated books of 2023, and how to take advantage of Novelist at your local library. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We properly credit the amazing Nancy Pearl and her four doorways into stories. And we want yours! Send them to [email protected]. Plus our mid-read takes on Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné. Also, we break the news about Henry Cavill to Veronica live on the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We wrap up our thoughts on Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty and Tom tries out his 4-part way of evaluating books to explain why people enjoyed it differently. Plus we kick off our December pick, Elric of Melniboné, encourage you to save Locus Magazine and Veronica is IMPRESSIVE at reading author names now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Veronica forgets what beer she had. Must be a good beer. It was a blonde in a tall can. A leggy blonde perhaps? Also, we have the World Fantasy Award winner AND the SPFBO finalists! Plus our non-spoilery first impressions of Mur Lafferty's Six Wakes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Veronica is very concerned about the Witcher news. Also on this episode: we have some prize winners to increase your to-read list. We pick a tentative fan name for y'all. We kick off our November read, Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty, AND our final thoughts on The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri. Also, Veronica might have Crow-vid. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's our 15th anniversary! And we celebrated by making puns, discussing our favorite wearable fantasy and sci-fi weapons, and finding rumors about our hometowns. We also check in on our read of The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

[Ed. note: We tried to fix V’s audio, sorry for the weirdness!] Veronica may have overdone becoming a friend of crows. She has more than 100 of them in her driveway now. Plus, we kick off our non-spoilery thoughts on The Jasmine Throne. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We love the Wellsian Touch, be it murderbots or fantasy. Is there a Harry Potter of SciFi? And we wrap up How High we Go in the Dark… and suggest the S&L edit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Hugos are here and lots of very deserving winners. A roguish story bundle. Are TV shows worse than an ending? Our first thoughts on How High We Go in the Dark, and our last thoughts on Rivers of London. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We get more Tor now and possibly more Lord of the Rings movies. Plus a nuanced discussion of representation in a book when the author is white. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Hunt the Stars a summer fling? We wrap up our thoughts on the SFR hit. Plus, the lowdown on the RandomPenguin antitrust lawsuit as they try to buy Simon and Schuster. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Has a book ever changed your mind? Do authors write differently for audio? Pack that reading list with Clarke award nominees, it’s a new Sword and Laser! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have Locus winners and Veronica read so many of them! Plus, what makes some books seem like a retread while others more of a remix? And our first thoughts on Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So many awards! We learn about a novelization of an unpublished Alien 3 script by William Gibson. We take a brief trip back to episode 1. And we share the books we picked to read this month in honor of Jenny. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's award season! We have Nebulas, we have Mythopoeics, we have Nommos. We also have some nice reviews of the show, and we wrap up our thoughts on Machinehood by S.B. Divya. It made us think! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The hope of science fiction spurred by a science museum, Dracula by email, why it's called a tetralogy and our non-spoilery thoughts on Machinehood, and our goodbyes to friend of the show, Jenny Colvin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is a mystery ruined if you guess the perpetrator too early? We say maybe not! Plus good news from Peter V. Brett and more radical transparency from Veronica. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Hugo finalists are out? Already? Already! A banned beer. And our initial non-spoiler impressions of Master of Djinn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A whole bundle of good stories, telling tales from the point of view of villains, and we kick off our reading of A Master of Djinn by P. Djèli Clark. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.