The Sword and Laser

We discuss our March Madness winner, salute Martha Wells, and wrap up our copious thoughts about Pandora's Star. Are you in with the motiles? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have thoughts about why a rooster crows. Plus all the Nebula news and more awards. And we dig into our non-spoilery thoughts on Pandora’s Star. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A mad, mad March has arrived! Every year in March we run a tournament to determine the April book pick. And like some actual sporting tournaments, we often have to begin that March tournament in February. We also wrap up The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What flavor of fantasy do you like? We discuss that and more in kicking off Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo. Also, nominations are open for our March tournament! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have a rousing discussion of redemption in Light from Uncommon Stars, get way too many awesome items for our to be read lists from the ALA, and discuss pivoting the show to include TV shows (and maybe therapy?). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are excited about a possible new Scalzi TV show, Twitter summaries of great books, and our first non-spoilery thoughts on Light from Uncommon Stars. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Congrats Murderbot! In congratulations, we will let you watch your dramas unbothered by human emotions. We wonder some about Chengdu. And we not only kick off our January pick, but wrap up our December one too! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

End of year book lists for days! Who can take on Arthur C. Clarke and pillow friends? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We wrap up our last thoughts on Aurora Rising by Alistair Reynolds and kick off the new read, The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have pumpkin spiked lattes and cheese. In fact one cheesy book literally molds. Plus we check in with a non-spoilery discussion of Aurora Rising/The Prefect by Alistair Reynolds. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk a little about cheese, a lot about wine, and too much about the Shrike. Plus lots of good Dune news, and we kick off our read of an Alastair Reynolds novel that may be called The Prefect or Aurora Rising depending on where you buy it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Veronica and Tom discover why horror is like cheese. Plus the reason a German book is being made into an English TV show by Germans. And our spoilery final thoughts on NOS4A2 by Joe Hill! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some things aren't for everybody, like our current read NOS4A2, or the new Game of Thrones trailer. But don't worry, there are plenty of other great things to read like the British Fantasy Award winners and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lots of award winners to beef up your To Be Read lists, plus our assumptions about Murderbot, what makes a spoiler a spoiler, and we wrap up our final thoughts on Terra Nullius. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom and Veronica are jealous of those with Leviathan Falls ARCs, and wonder if a phobia ever affected your book enjoyment! Plus we kick-off Terra Nullius, and Tom reassures us that it IS SciFi. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alastair Reynolds has a book, Tom needs a bookcrate sub stat, and our wrap-up of The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've got Dragon Award finalists, a Kickstarter roundup for small publishers, and Tom buys new bookends. Plus, our non-spoiler thoughts on The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Poet Andrew Heaton joins us to wrap up our thoughts on Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks. Plus, the greatest zombie film in the world and totally metal T-shirts to show your support of Octavia Butler and other awesome authors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

DisCon is not for Disco but it could be? Why Veronica and Tom aren't idiots. All the summer reading list fodder your list can take. Who was your first binge? And is hard Sci-Fi cold by nature? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Should Tom enter a book contest? Good Omens season 2 is a good idea. And our final thoughts on Piranesi, problematic and otherwise. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Congrats to the Nebula Award winners! Plus, a nine-year-old forum conversation on cover art continues, and our further thoughts on Piranesi (and how learning things can be a bummer sometimes). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Veronica is back! And we have good news about TorCon, lots of new book recommendations from iO9, thoughts on the phrase "Asian Fantasy" and our kick-off of the June book pick, Piranesi by Susannah Clarke. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The final book of the Expanse has been handed in for publication. Feelings of joy and sadness hit Tom. Plus, did Murderbot convert Robb Dunewood into a SciFi fan. Find out! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have finalists in the Ignyte awards, Locus awards, some upcoming release dates for new Green Bone Saga stories and why Robb Dunewood has stopped worrying and learned to love the Murderbot. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hugo awards are out and we’ve almost read all the authors! Jenny Colvin from Reading Envy is back but we also have hints of a new forthcoming host of Sword and Laser. Plus our last delightful thoughts about the House on the Cerulean Sea! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#408 - You Can't Spell Young Adult without Adult by Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex Brown is back, the Nebula nominess are out and they are great! We also discover new teas, the real flavor of crab chips, and talk about our thoughts on Elatsoe by Darci Little Badger. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex Brown is here and we talk about all the excellent books getting nominated for and winning awards. Plus why Amazon won't sell ebooks to libraries, how animated rat skeltons are pretty awesome and we kick off our March book, Elatsoe! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The hosts of the SMR Podcast join Tom to discuss The Fold by Peter Clines. Is the main character overpowered? Can they convince Christ to read the book? Plus why kids these days get to tour potato chip factories AND the beginning of March madness! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So many new reading list suggestions from Locus to the ALA to TheMarySue. Plus George RR Martin updates on his progress. And Rod Simmons from SMR Podcast is here to disucss this month's pick The Fold by Peter Clines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mallory O'Meara from Reading Glasses is back and she's very skeptical about adapting the Sparrow for television. The hands alone! Also new Game of Thrones universe TV options and our final thoughts on The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#402 - A tripod has three legs.... by Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We learn the mysteries of the fig newton and Fangtasia. PLUS we kickoff our January book with a SUPRISE GUEST and how Parable of the Sower ended making Brea and Tom more hopeful. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lots of great books are turning into TV shows and movies and lots of great book recommendation lists are coming out! We also become experts on Boxing Day and are BLOWN AWAY by Trike's Sword and laser word search. And Brea and Tom make recommendations of when NOT to read Parable of the Sower. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Veronica is off on maternity leave but Brea Grant from the Reading Glasses podcast is here. yay! Brea gets to know pigeons, our legion of Richards and kicks off her pick for December, Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. We also need your help uncovering the mystery of Boxing Day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's Veronica's last episode before her maternity leave! OH MY. And we have some fun, including wrapping up our thoughts on Howl's Moving Castle. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom and Veronica draw the lines on whether they favor Alix E. Harrow or Tamsyn Muir (because they are both awesome). Tom has some new new writing coming out, and we have our first impressions of Howl's Moving Castle and why we missed out on it in our own childhoods. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to make The Watch series not feel so bad maybe? Also, some great lists of top fantasy and sci-fi and a few more award winners. Plus, we kick off the November pick and wrap up Finder By Suzanne Palmer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sandman and Lord of the Rings go back intro production, why publishers shouldn't fear library eBooks, and a call for Sword and Laser book remembering help! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A couple of great series becoming books and video games. A couple of great folks sadly passed away. And our final thoughts on Ten Thousand Doors of January, and our FIRST thoughts on the October Pick, Finder. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dune! Dune looks so good! Yay Dune! Save us! Help us escape! Actually, we’re pretty good on that front as Ten Thousand Doors of January is helping us all escape. And we’re also pretty bulllish on the team putting together a TV adaptation of Three-Body problem for Netflix. EVERYTHING IS GREAT! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We try to explain Audible's new plans, decide if Pinocchio is fantasy (especially if Mussolini is involved), and wrap-up our thoughts on Elysium by Jennifer Marie Brissett. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Hugos are here! And we’ve read a bunch of them. Also, some thoughts on what should or should not be in the genre canon. Should there even be a canon? Or should we shoot it out of a cannon? Also our early, non-spoilery thoughts on Elysium. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We chat with Dennis E. Taylor about the Bobiverse, and what we can expect when we return to it in the new book Heaven's River. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, it's tricky to put the World in WorldCon, alternate history first contact, and Tom is really excited about next month's pick. Plus, we wrap up our ultimately satisfying read of Black Leopard, Red Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk with Sam Maggs about her new novel Unstoppable Wasp: Built on Hope, and about writing different stories in different platforms, from video games to comics to novels. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first rule of Short Story Club, SFF with a smile, and how to get the most out of Black Leopard, Red Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk with L. E. Modesitt Jr, the bestselling author of two science fiction series and four fantasy series, who has published more than seventy novels. His latest book, Quantum Shadows is described as blending science fiction, myth, and legend in an adventure that pits old gods and new against one another in a far-future world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We address the harassment accusations against authors, discover that the July pick could be classified as horror (to Veronica's horror), and have a whole lot of good TV coming based on a whole lot of good books. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom starts throwing money at Becky Chambers and Veronica defends her rose quartz. Plus, new Star Wars short stories coming and lots of great tie-in novels up for Scribe awards! Also our first impressions of A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.