Over the break, we took a little time out of vacation to talk about our holiday reads, from ancient history to Chewbacca. Sigh. No Star Wars spoilers we promise. We’re not there anymore. But we can pretend we are in this episode.
The History of the Ancient World by Susan Wise Bauer
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
The Force Awakens by Alan Dean Foster
We wrap up our thoughts about Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey. And we discuss why calling a character a “Mary Sue” has become meaningless and impedes constructive conversation.
Download direct here and rate us in iTunes!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Guinness
Veronica: Bulleit Rye
QUICK BURNS
The Very Best Science Fiction And Fantasy Books Of 2015
Trike: Margaret Atwood is writing a graphic novel trilogy, with a main character who is part cat and part bird, named Angel Catbird.
David: Apparently Neil Gaiman is working on a film adaptation of Gormenghast. I'd never heard of this series, but apparently it's one of those classics that impact lots of authors.
Keith: Lev Grossman wrote a guide to The Magicians (TV) for fans of The Magicians (book)
Paul: The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation), has released their own speculative fiction collection, featuring Bruce Sterling, Cory Doctorow, and more.
Sandra: The Man in the High Castle Season 2 is officially happening.
Sword and Laser Inkshares Contest
BARE YOUR SWORD
Tails of the Apocalypse - Veronica is reading this review copy, loves it so far!
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Next Month
Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente
Wrap-up Arrows of the Queen
Typos in my edition
An abundance of feminist ideas?
AotQ: A rare negative review?
ADDENDUMS
Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser 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.
A newly-discovered short story from W.E.B. Dubois called “The Princess Steel” seems to anticipate elements of Game of Thrones and Doctor Who. Plus, we kick off the book with the talking horses!
Download directly here, and rate us on iTunes!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Sam Adams Winter Lager
Veronica: Leftover Red Wine from Thanksgiving that I got at Whole Foods for $10
QUICK BURNS
We May Have Just Found W.E.B. Du Bois' Earliest Science Fiction Story (1908 story called The Princess Steel)
HobbitfromPA: Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars Is Coming to TV
READ: Kim Stanley Robinson's first standalone story in 25 years! / Boing Boing
Tamahome: "The Mountain" from Games of Thrones sets new keg tossing record, as he would.
Andrew: Pierce Brown has won the Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Science Fiction Book of 2015 - huzzah!
Goodreads choice award winners
Walter: Opening in select IMAX theaters and on Netflix on February 26, the sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny.
Sword and Laser Inkshares Contest
BARE YOUR SWORD
Stand-Alone Fantasy Novels
Getting to “The End.” Standalone Fantasy Books That Came Out in 2015
Steampunk - Recommendations?
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey
ADDENDUMS
Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser 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.
Author Chuck Gannon joins us on the show this week to talk about his most recent work in the Caine Riordan series (Raising Caine), as well as helping the government figure out the future as part of SIGMA. This is one busy guy, let me tell you.
The rumors are true! (Were there rumors? There may have been rumors). Along with Inkshares, we're running another Collection Contest to find the next great science fiction and fantasy novels. We are so thrilled with our current (in-production) collection, and we can't wait to see what else is out there!
Head over to Inkshares to get the whole scoop, and to learn how you can submit your idea!
We wrap up what people thought about Time and Again by Jack Finney. Some loved the imagery, some got bored, and some thought he was just too hard on New York City.
Download directly here, and subscribe in iTunes!
QUICK BURNS
Louie: As previously reported, you can watch the first episode of The Expanse TV show right now. Three weeks before its SyFy premiere on DEC 14.
Joanna: On a different note, it's Worldbuilder's time again, and all kinds of creative and geeky activity and prizes are caught up in that. It's a big fundraiser for Heifer International run by Patrick Rothfuss.
Stephen: Nebula have released their reader guide for 2015 in all categories.
Sandra: Nominations For the 2016 Nebula Awards Are Now Open
Which reminds us, the Goodreads Choice awards voting just closed!
Sandra: Orbit Books announced yesterday that they were expanding their SF/F line by 50% next year to publish a whopping 90 books starting in 2016.
9 sci-fi authors went to Microsofts research labs and wrote a book - @usuallymatt
An Unattractive Vampire joins the Inkshares Collection
BARE YOUR SWORD
How is this for whiskey nerdism (deep breath):
First, both Tom and Veronica are drinking whiskey. Scotch, bourbon, Japanese, Irish, Canadian -- they're all whiskey. It's like how all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares. Each subdivision of whiskey has its own rules. Scotch, for instance, can only be made in Scotland. You can make something exactly like it somewhere else, but you can't call it scotch. And even within scotch, there are sub-sub-divisions (single malt vs blend vs single grain, etc etc)
As for Japanese whisky (let's not get into whiskey/whisky right now): Tom is drinking whisky from Japan's first whiskey distillery, pioneered by a guy named Masataka Taketsuru, who loved Scotch, studied distilling in Scotland, and in 1920 fell in love with and married a Scottish woman named Rita Cowan. He returned to Japan, set up whiskey distilling at what would become Suntory, and met with very little success because Japanese drinkers did not like the burly taste of single malt (they preferred the tamer flavor of blended scotch) that Taketsuru so adored.
Ten years later, after his contract with Suntory was up, Taketsuru quit and started his own distillery with the aim of making Scottish style whisky again. And that's what Veronica is drinking: Nikka.
There was recently a massively popular soap opera about Taketsuru and Cowan called MASSAN that aired on NHK and caused a massive spike in interest among Japanese women in becoming whisky drinkers. Which is why, Veronica, that Nikka 12 year old you're drinking won't be available in the Us (or Japan) anymore. They're running out, and dropping age statements so they can use younger whisky without the stigma of a young age printed on the label (by law, the age on the bottle reflects the youngest whisky used; so if you make a brand by mixing 50% forty year old single malt and 50% 4 year old single malt -- you just made a 4 year old whisky). - Keith Allison
Help needed from the group - Where to start the Shannara saga?
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Next month: Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey
Wrap up:
Time and Again by Jack Finney
1880s via the 1970s (long but worth the read)
What did you think?
Joanna: I found it kind of sleepy until I hit somewhere around 60%, and the Pickering plot picks up. For most of the book I was wondering if the author forgot about the [fact that Dazinger had asked Si to see his parents meeting, but then it got addressed in the very end.
Colin: I listened to the Audible version of the book, and have to say that I enjoyed the experience. I instantly felt 'at home' with the conversational story telling style and was quite happy to be swept along wherever the story went - listening whenever I could until I had finished the whole thing.
That said, the story is not hard hitting, nor does it try to address big issues. The mechanics of the time travel, don't really bear close scrutiny. It just is what it is - a cleverly plotted mystery where the action happens to be taking place 90 years in the protagonist's past. I can see why some people could have been frustrated by the overly descriptive writing, but the richness of the text is really what sells the time travel aspect. The author must have researched it very closely - or he at least gives that impression."
Matthew: I have to say other that other then the vivid descriptions of 1882 New York, I kind of hated this book. I grew to despise the main character, and in the last third of the book began to think of him as either, at best a well meaning idiot, or at worst self important anti-hero. After reading another thread, I see the Social commentary the author is trying to get at with the architectural changes of New York, and the anti-""ends justify the means"" style of government. However in the end I am left feeling dissatisfied.
ADDENDUMS
Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser 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.
Back when we launched the S&L Inkshares Collection, we were thrilled with the quantity and quality of the entries we received. For that first contest, we decided to pick two books that epitomized the concepts of "sword" and "laser" to us, and The Life Engineered and Asteroid Made of Dragons were those selections.
All the while, another book was flying up the contest charts, and capturing our hearts (and blood). An Unattractive Vampire by Jim McDoniel:
After three centuries trapped underground, Yulric Bile—the Curséd One, the Devil’s Apprentice, the Thousand Year Old Vampyr—has risen only to find that no one in this time believes he is a vampire. Werewolf, they call him. Zombie. Mummy. Lich. Vampires, he discovers, have become very pretty, very weak, and most disturbing of all, very good. He resolves to correct this disgusting turn of events, or at the very least, murder the person responsible. Aided by a vampire wannabe, the eight-year-old reincarnation of his greatest foe, and a host of ancient horrors as far from sexy as it is possible to be, Yulric journeys from lost subterranean cities to pink suburban houses, battling undead TV stars and his fear of cars, for the right to determine, once and for all, what it truly means to be a vampire.
I'm very happy to announce that An Unattractive Vampire is officially joining the S&L Collection on Inkshares! Jim is also a S&L listener, so we're extra excited to welcome him to the family.
We interview Mallory O'Meara, producer and screenwriter for Dark Dunes Productions, about Yamasong: March of the Hallows, a movie about an automated girl and tortoise warrior, with puppets, Nathon Fillion’s voice and more. We also discuss her love of horror fiction, and how weird it is that her grandparents have a torture shack in the woods!
Veronica is down in LA, which means we get to do a team Book Unboxing! Sorry for the low audio, Tom doesn't know how sounds works ;)
The Bands of Mourning (ARC) by Brandon Sanderson (January 2016)
The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss (November 17, 2015)
The Sixteen Burdens by Dave Khalaf
George R R Martin will only say that Game of Thrones will end in a bittersweet way. We’re pretty sure we know what that means. Also Chinese Nebula Award winners and our first impressions of Time and Again by Jack Finney.
Download directly here, and rate us on iTunes!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Hakushu
Veronica: Taketsuru
QUICK BURNS
Shocker: George RR Martin says Game of Thrones ending will be bittersweet
Winner of the Chinese Nebula Awards
Rob and Tamahome: New Star Trek TV show!
Tamahome: In non-Star Trek related news, Amazon opens its first brick n mortar bookstore.
Alex: Looks like The Expanse will be getting a digital premiere starting November 23rd!
Tamahome: Tamahome Tch. That's just what Captain Jim Holden would do, stream it to all the planets before its time.
James: Philip Pullman's Dark Material trilogy is being made into a TV series. Hopefully they do a better job of it than the film as this is an amazing trilogy.
Sandra: The 2015 World Fantasy Award Winners have been announced
BARE YOUR SWORD
Interview with China Miéville
After my mention in episode 225 I will follow up with another reference to the BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06mblgl
I listened live to the first 5 minutes and wanted to stay in the car. Luckily, I have it waiting with your podcast for me in the future :)
Paul B
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Time and Again by Jack Finney
T&A: Places and History
T&A: meta time travel observations
ADDENDUMS
Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser 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.
Lo those many years ago when we kickstartered a second season of Sword and Laser video, one of our backing levels promised a 30 minute hangout which the backer could choose to make public or not. Well after literally years of scheduling we finally got a chance to hang out and chat with Kai Herbertz. Big thanks to Kai for backing the season! Be sure to check out Kai's fantasy book and the anthology he's trying to fund on kickstarter!
At Con-Volution 2015 we sat down with author/podcaster/publicist Jaym Gates and talked about her unique perspective on publishing from within and without.
We wrap up our October book pick, The Traitor Baru Cormorant. Some people find the hero less than heroic. Some people find the genre less than fantasy. So why did Tom like it so much? Is HE a traitor? Also a short story vending machine and why we're so jealous of Ann Leckie's good taste.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Templeton Rye
Veronica: Rincon Del Tajo
QUICK BURNS
Winners British Fantasy Awards
This vending machine prints short stories to read instead of looking at your phone
J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter play 'Cursed Child' is an official sequel
Mark: Ann Leckie posts her "10 Best Science Fiction Books" list at Publishers Weekly
Joanna: An "eARC" of Lois McMaster Bujold's latest Vorkosigan book, Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen is available on the Baen website.
Trike: Apparently someone found a map of Middle Earth annotated by Tolkien himself, in an old book belonging to the original map illustrator of both LotR and Narnia. Turns out Hobbiton and Oxford are on the same latitude."
BARE YOUR SWORD
"Why Andy Weir needs to update his website," or "What short stories are you reading/have you read"
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Next month: Time and Again by Jack Finney
WRAP UP
The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
Is this book fantasy? Veronica asks, you answered
What's the message? (full spoilers)
ADDENDUMS
Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser 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.
We have a delightful conversation with Catherynne M. Valente about decopunk, book awards, and why she fears spoiling herself about her own stories while she’s writing them.
Her decopunk book Radiance is out now!
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/. Download this episode directly here!
We cheer for Patrick Rothfuss winning the Hollywood game, jeer a little at Spielberg refusing to put a Delorean in the Ready Player One movie and peruse with careful academic curiosity a study showing the increase in empathy caused by reading.
Direct download here!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Bulleit
Veronica: Hendricks Gin and Tonic
QUICK BURNS
Rob: Patrick Rothfuss signed some kind of multi-media (Movie, TV And Video game?) deal with Lionsgate.
Louie: No Spielberg references in the Ready Player One film adaptation.
Robert: Helene Wecker posted on her Facebook page that there will be a sequel to The Golem and the Jinni to be titled The Iron Season. It's a ways off but I think the wait will be worth it.
Stephen: One of the authors I suggested for future interviews was Jen Williams. Well, her books are now going to be available in the USA, via Angry Robot books. The announcement was made this week on Barnes and Noble's website.
BARE YOUR SWORD
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
Is this the modern fantasy 1984?
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.
With the huge success of the film adaptation this month, we thought it would be fun to travel back in time to our interview with The Martian author Andy Weir and Influx author Daniel Suarez.
If you're interested in picking up where that episode left off, you can follow this link to the Soundcloud page (audio should start at the 45:05 mark).
As noted, Patrons will receive this episode at no charge. Enjoy!
Welcome to our Featured Reviews! In this series, we'll be highlighting book reviews by the S&L audience. If you want to submit a review, please check out the guidelines here! -Veronica
Review by Bryan S. Glosemeyer, original on Goodreads here.
"The moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason."
The opening line of Neal Stephenson's new 'hard SF' thriller, Seveneves, is bound to go down as one of the great opening lines in science fiction. I'm sure it will soon be mentioned in the same breath as William Gibson's opening line to Neuromancer. "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel."
So as you can see, the very first sentence packs quite a punch and the punches keep on coming. The clock is ticking till the sky itself burns for five thousand years. Will science and reason save humanity in the harshness of space? Or will politics and greed be our final undoing? Well, I won't spoil it for you, but if you are familiar at all with Stephenson's books, you'll expect very smart and very brave people try to save the world with their smarts and bravery.
Overall, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The premise is exciting and fun and the tension keeps ratcheting up and up. While this is most definitely 'speculative' fiction, he keeps the science grounded, yet fascinating. No artificial gravity, no warp drives, no energy shields. As usual, Stephenson does a great job of helping to make sense of the science for the average reader. But to do so means he does a lot of 'infodumps.' His books have always been high on the infodump quotient, Seveneves is even more so.
The book is divided into three parts, and I have to say I found the second act the most compelling, fast paced, edge of your seat reading. While there are smart people being heroic throughout the book, this is by far the most adventurous and heroic section.
I do have a few criticisms, and most of that has to do with character. Stephenson has never been one to dive too deep into his characters's inner worlds, but even so he could craft fleshed out, compelling and fun characters like Raz, Hiro, Jack Shaftoe. To be honest, I have to say that most of the characters fell pretty flat for me in Seveneves. I understand that the majority of them are scientists and engineers and they're not going to be the type to fall apart int an emotional mess when the shit hits the fan. But this is some pretty goddamn apocalyptic shit hitting the fan and I would expect even the coolest, logical engineer to have their emotions get hotter and go deeper than what we get here.
One character standout, though still lacking in the emotional depth I just mentioned, is the African American scientist/celebrity Doc Dubois. Any fan of Neil Degrasse Tyson won't be able to help but picture Dubois as Tyson. Even the speech cadences are there.
Again, without going into spoiler territory, the third act of this book was very reminiscent of Raz's quest in Anathem.
All criticisms taken into account, this is still a damn fun and exciting read. Fans of hard sci fi and doomsday thrillers are going to dig this a lot, I think.
Also, when I was reading it, I kept envisioning it not as a movie, but as a miniseries. With the right budget and enough hours to tell the story (5-6 hours I'd say) this would be awesome to see come to life on the screen.
BTW, I also made an online mixtape inspired by the book, especially parts one and two. You can check it out here!
We wrap up A Canticle for Leibowitz and explore all its science and religion feels. Also we welcome a new Expanse series cover, a new Gaiman baby and we discover why Taylor Swift IS the Kwisatz Haderach.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Water
Veronica: Vitamin B12
QUICK BURNS
Shelfie Is Shazam For Your Bookshelf
SporadicReviews.com Next Expanse novel "Babylon's Ashes" cover-reveal! June 2016 is too far away!
Rob Secundus: Maybe not worthy of a segment, but alt-country/rock singer Ryan Adams just released a cover album of noted pop star and possible escapee from the realm of the fey Taylor Swift's 1989. Why does Adams think the T-Swiz is so succesful? Well, she's just like the Kwisatz Haderach!
Ryan Adams said, “There’s that special, very interesting ingredient where you hear a skeleton of the song, just the bones, and her voice, and you go, 'Well, of course, this person plays to 60,000 people.’ It’s like at the end of Dune, with Paul Atreides riding the Sandworm, and his eyes are all blue from the spice mélange. That’s totally how I see Taylor.”
Andy: Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer welcomed their child Anthony Gaiman on September 16th!
terpkristin: So long, Oyster! The "Netflix of ebooks" is shutting down, and most of the team is apparently going to join Google. The co-founders were definitely hired by Google, but it seems that a bunch of the staff may have been, too. Will be interesting to see what Google does with this...if anything.
terpkristin: Storybundle.com is doing a bundle of 11 books that were finalists or winners of the Philip K. Dick Award (honoring distinguished science fiction). It will be going on for the next 22 days, or until about mid-October.
Warren: Scientists have for the first time confirmed liquid water flowing on the surface of present-day Mars.
BARE YOUR SWORD
Hello!
I do my own podcast about games, gaming etc, recently there's been a metallic twang to the far end when recording our sessions via skype.
The sound in your podcasts is always superior. If its not terribly intrusive could you tell me what software you use to teleconference and record.
Thanks in advance.
Brian
---
Ok, I'm sorry for this kinda silly question. My wife and I have noticed that a few recent SF/Fantasy novels have been using the word "sussurrus" and its other forms quite a lot. Rothfuss, Tregillis, Scalzi, and Graedon for example. We always tell each other when we encounter the word in a book or story and say "Gotcha, page XX!"
Is there some kind of inside joke being shared among the author community, or a ritual use of the word, maybe an homage to someone?
I hope bringing this up doesn't squelch or make anyone self censor, not our intention. Just chasing a silly phantom.
Thanks for your great site and podcasts!
Mike
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Next month: The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
Quiz to tell you who you are in Baru's world
How Evil SFF Empires Create Ideal Citizens
Wrap-up
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
Rachel [Spoilers]
ACFL: What to make of the crazy ending?
ADDENDUMS
Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser 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.
Welcome to our Featured Reviews! In this series, we'll be highlighting book reviews by the S&L audience. If you want to submit a review, please check out the guidelines here! -Veronica
Review by Emily Carlson
The Low-Down:
In a multiverse where magic is the product of the rise and fall of three celestial bodies, things can get a little complicated. Characters’ power waxes and wanes with the movement of these satellites, but the world seems to have reached a balance. However, that balance is shattered when the fourth, dark satellite – Oma – begins ascending. Oma, the Worldbreaker. Last time Oma rose, continents were literally torn in half by its power, and it seems that this generation will be no different.
The Mirror Empire follows Lilia, a girl from a dying universe with an amber sky, as she is hurled into a new and thriving universe in escape from the dark forces gathering in her amber world. But Lilia is far from safe in her new blue-skied universe because the armies she fled haven’t given up the chase.
Key Themes:
Genocide, multiverses, TRULY NOXIOUS WEEDS, gender and sexuality, mystical orphans, THE DOPPLEGANGER, celestial bodies (wink, wink), BLOOD
What’s Good:
Hurley has bitten off an awful lot with her ambitious Mirror Empire. And for those of us who are bored with a linear and predictable narrative, this is a very good thing. Hurley seems determined to supplant nearly every fantasy troupe, even down to her five-gendered social structure with group marriage and funerary cannibalism. These bold rejections of what we take for granted in our own society are illuminating in Hurley’s hands.
Take for example the thirty-something, war-hardened general returning home from her tour abroad to her teenaged, undereducated, ornamental husband. On one hand, this seems very familiar to fantasy fans (Drogo and Daenerys, anyone?). But on the other, it is completely unexpected and frankly, appalling. Readers might swoon at the scenes of Drogo and Dany together, might even excuse the some of the harsh treatment that Dany receives from Drogo. However, when the general dominates her husband and when we see how isolated he truly is, it’s harder to wear those same rose-colored glasses.
The result is a novel that is challenging, though inducing, and at times shocking. But very much worth the time of any fantasy reader ready for something different.
What’s Less Than Good:
Hurley has bitten off an awful lot with her ambitious Mirror Empire. What is this novel’s greatest strength can be its most frustrating weakness. Switching characters, universes, and social structures can be very confusing. Hurley pulls it off with a surprising amount of ease, but readers can still get lost easily.
Furthermore, although Hurley is making wonderful strides towards fulfilling the potential of the unique world she created, only time (and more novels) will tell if Hurley is able to pull this off with the finesse demanded when an author deviates this much from reality. In my mind, the farther an author strays from reality, the heavier the burden is to make all of that mental strain worth our while.
The Final Verdict:
Maintain focus. If you can do that, The Mirror Empire is definitely worth the read. But for those of us who don’t want to leave a book with a pounding headache (I mean… not really, but you get it) this may not be the novel for you. The world Hurley creates is rich, engaging, and completely surprising. It is worth the effort the novel will require from you, but know that this is not a mindless read. So much of the world in this book is utterly new that it is bound to leave most people feeling a little star-struck.
The world Hurley builds takes on a personality of itself, much like another character you are getting to know. It would be easy for the human characters to fade into the background of the novel and let the newness of the world stun readers. However, the characters in the novel are utterly profound. They are likable and revolting in turn, but in a way which reminds us of our own little green planet with a blue sky. The true wonder of this book is not the differences Hurley creates between her worlds and ours, but the similarities. Somehow, Hurley has managed to create a story where even with a radically different reality to ours, we are able to relate to and care about her characters.
If you’re willing to go the extra literary mile, Hurley promises to deliver even more mind-blowing confusion in the upcoming Empire Ascendant dropping in October 2015.
This week, things really go nuts when Veronica realizes that she likes Tom's book pick more than Tom does, which causes Tom to question everything he has ever known. Meanwhile, over on Goodreads, Thane questions whether present tense is the bane of genre fiction! Hmmm...
Download direct here!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Yorkshire Gold Tea
Veronica: Candy Peaches (eating)
QUICK BURNS
Thane: Looks like BBC is doing The City and the City. A 4 part adaptation. The City & the City
Tamahome: I didn't know Octavia Butler's Dawn would be adapted to tv either.
Trike: Amazon is saying the first season of The Man in the High Castle will be available November 20, 2015. If you haven't seen the pilot, I highly recommend it. And I'm known as The Guy Who Hates Everything. (Which isn't true. I only hate MOST things. But this I love.)
Jason is referring to Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti, when he says: I just found this tidbit on tor.com. This sounds exciting, the novella is read by Robin Miles and she worked closely with the author to get the right sounds and inflection to world build. Here's the synopis: "Binti is a brilliant young woman who is the first of the Himba community to be offered a place at the galaxy’s finest institution of higher learning." There is also a spooky race of bad guys. Has there ever been a collaboration with an author to make a book sound right? " ---(Tamahome found the Tor link)
Stephen: Mark Lawrence has started a new story on Wattpad. It is a free western fantasy told in 19 parts.
Elizabeth: Turns out Uprooted may contain True Facts: io9. Medieval Skeleton Found Dangling From the Roots of a Fallen Tree.
BARE YOUR SWORD
Present Tense - Can you dig it?
---
Dear Tom and Veronica,
I recently stumbled across a super-rad book from the University of Pennsylvania Press, ER Truitt's Medieval Robots, and I thought, what could be more Sword and Laser than that? I mean, ok, Space Dragons, maybe, and also actual laser swords. But still, Medieval Robots are probably the third most sword-and-lasery thing in existence. The title sounds like that of a really generically titled pulp, but it's actually a survey of automata in the Western Medieval world-- the fictional robots that feature in Medieval Romance and legend, the pseudo-fictional robots that feature in travelogues (turns out, the Middle East? Filled with robots!), and real, historical robots that were installed as curiosities in courts. Anyway, it's so rare that nonfiction stuff is relevant to the show that I thought I should share.
Rob S.
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I recently started listening to NPR's Ask Me Another, where Jonathan Coulton is the house musician, and heard one of their older episodes. On their July 31, 2014 show, Saladin Ahmed was a guest. This reminded me of your Bonus Interview with Saladin in 2012. I have not seen a video of Ask Me Another, so we cannot be sure whether Saladin/Jonathan are one person, but we do know that there is proof that they have been in the same place at the same time.
In case you have the time, I have included a link to that episode. The clip in question is "Can't Place the Place Name."
Enjoy.
-John
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
ACFL: Walter Miller Jr.
A Science-Fiction Classic Still Smolders
ADDENDUMS
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