S&L Podcast - #288 - Slow Readers Unite!

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Hugo Nominees are in! The African Speculative Fiction Society nominees are in! People pressuring you to read 200 books a year are in. But us slow readers draw the line.

Download directly here!
    
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?    
Tom:    Some of his wife's soda from Fatburger
Veronica:    Petite Syrah
    
QUICK BURNS
    
Nokomis.FL : 2017 Hugo Award Finalists Announced on April 4th
    
Sandra: Well that was fast, Scalzi's new book The Collapsing Empire tv rights have been bought.

David adds: Scalzi gives an update of all the TV/movie stuff here.
    
Sandra: Piers Anthony’s long-running “Xanth” fantasy series may soon become a feature film and a TV series. Variety has the full story. And holy crap this series has 42 books!  
    
David: The African Speculative Fiction Society just announced their short list nominees for the Nommo Awards. Folks may recognize Nnedi Okorafor's Binti on the list for "Best Novella"
    
Warren: No one wished Leon a happy birthday. Why is that?
    
Shelfaware giving away 10 signed copies of Pilot X
    
We will be special podcast guests at Baycon May 26 - May 29, San Mateo Marriott San Francisco Airport. Daniel Abraham is the guest of Honor and Ty Franck is the toastmaster so James SA Corey will be there! Daniel Dociu is the artists guest of honor and Dr. Christine Doyle is the fan guest of honor. Come join us!! 
    
BARE YOUR SWORD
    
From Alan:
I have no patience for reading. I'm a doer, I do things. So I thought the perfect way to get around this was to use Audible. This worked for a long time. I listened to most of the Dresden series, the Song of Fire and Ice (2 credits a pop there), Name of the Wind, and the random book here and there. But now I realize I have 6 unused credits. I need to use them up or lose them. Could you send me a list of your top 10 picks for "swordy" or "lasery" books? No research required. Just a list of the 10 you can think of that are worth the time. I'm sure I haven't read most of what you have in a brain dump. Thanks.
    
The Simple Truth Behind Reading 200 Books A Year
    

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION    
    
The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
    
    
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    http://patreon.com/swordandlaser
Welcome to.Dr. Jason L. Garner, Luciana Vigil-Holterman, Heather Miller
    
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 - #287 - You Do Like Your Alternate Londons

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A SciFi book is mysteriously returned after 35 years,  at the same time a billionaire suddenly invests in brain implants and a skull begins to talk. Are these events connected somehow? Yes. They're all discussed in this episode along with Gateway by Frederick Pohl.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?    
Tom: Orange Juice    
Veronica: Ipswitch Ale    
    
QUICK BURNS
    
Sean: ‘The Expanse’ Renewed for Season 3 at Syfy
    
AndrewP: Some guy made a talking skull using Amazon Alexa. Should be something for all Dresden fans who want their very own Bob!
    
Joseph "Cover reveal & synopsis for Ann Leckie's new book, due out in October."    
    
TRP: I think Elon Musk has been reading his Iain M. Banks Culture novels.  The book Surface Detail has quite a bit on neural laces
    
Nokomis.FL: Case of the purloined library book solved 35 years later, restored with $200 tucked inside. “It’s one of the, if not the greatest sci-fi/romance stories ever written; it’s absolutely fascinating” and the swiped edition is now a highly sought-after collectible."
    
Darren: Bernie Wrightson passed away this week. A huge loss. It's hard to pick a work he's most famous for, but his illustrations for Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein are never to be equalled, in my opinion.
AndrewP adds "My personal anecdote. I met Bernie several times at Con's and one time my wife asked him how she could inspire me to do more artwork. He replied with a grin "Spend all his money." :)     
    
BARE YOUR SWORD
    
Hey,

I haven't heard you mention this book/series yet and i wanted to throw the name your way, just on the off chance it can be added to the (very) long list.
The Screaming Staircase : Lockwood and Co
I have listened to the audio book and the entire series to date and I have to say it's one of the more interesting new series.

It's a fabulous fantasy horror / young fiction series and i strongly suggest the audio book, the narrator really makes it. Plus it's relatively short especially compared to certain other authors #sanderson# *cough* , i love the value of 60 hour audio books but sometimes 10-15 hours is cool too. 😉

Anyways thanks for the epic podcast.

Mat
    
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION    
    
The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
The Invisible Library Book Briefing
    
Wrap Up     
Gateway by Frederick Pohl
    
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 Gillaume Rossolini, Skeeter Murphy and Jessica! 
    
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 - #285 - Why You Should Like Bad Characters

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Sometimes a character does stuff you hate. And that’s OK! We explain why. Plus: great space opera, women writer picks, and some guy named Tom wrote a book too. 

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?    
Tom: Orange Juice    
Veronica: Pain Killers (and not the tiki drink!)    
    
QUICK BURNS

Rob "Ars Technica has an article up about Fireside Fiction, calling it "Science Fiction's Best Kept Secret" As a SW Engineer/Git user I find the details about their use of GitHub to automate the process pretty interesting.
    
Lauren "Nice set of very short sci-fi and fantasy stories for International Women's Day inspired by the phrase "Nevertheless, she persisted." Lots of big names here, Seanan McGuire, Catherynne Valente, Jo Walton, etc. "  
    
Liz "Just in case anyone missed the emails, Tor sent out its March free eBook download. This month is Shadow & Claw by Gene Wolfe."    
    
David "Anna-Marie McLemore wins the 2016 Tiptree Award for When the Moon Was Ours"
    
David: "Some guy named Tom is on the Functional Nerds podcast talking about his new book, but more importantly his work as a DJ playing the Beastie Boys. " 
    
Nokomis.FL "Nielsen survey finds UK ebook sales declined by 4% in 2016, the second consecutive year digital has shrunk as younger generations drive appetite for print "
    
BARE YOUR SWORD
    
International Women's Day 2017
    
Space Opera Book Recommendations
    
Thoughts on differences between The Magicians book and TV show

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION    
    
Check in on March Madness
    
Check in on March Pick: Gateway by Frederick Pohl
  
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 - #283 - The Madness Begins

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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

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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.

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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 - #280 - Good Omens for 2018

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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

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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!

Download directly here!

S&L Podcast - #278 - Don’t Trust Turkey Data

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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

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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

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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.

Download directly here!

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

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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

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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.

Download now!

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

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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

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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

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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.

Download directly here!

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

Wood Elves suggestions

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!

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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

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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. 

Download directly here!

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.