S&L Podcast - #390 - Interview with Dennis E. Taylor
/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.
S&L Podcast - #389 - Embracing the Challenge
/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.
Download directly here!
QUICK BURNS
Mark: 2020 World Fantasy Awards finalists announced.
Nominated for Best Novel are:
Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa
Ruth: Controversy over site selection for future WorldCons.
Members are currently voting on the site for WorldCon 2022, and the options are either Chicago, Illinois, or Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Leaving aside the security concerns about the US (WorldCon 2021 is set for Washington, DC, which could potentially be... interesting), concerns have been raised about Kingdom’s repressive laws around eg atheism, alcohol, women’s rights, and homosexuality.
UK grimdark fantasy author Anna Smith Spark is organising a letter of complaint to the WorldCon committee via her social media.
There are also some concerns about the bids for 2023, especially as Nice, France has just dropped out of the running, leaving the options as Memphis, Tennessee... or Chengdu, China (yes the same Chengdu where the US consulate has just closed).
Personally, I’m looking forward to the 2024 WorldCon, which will probably be in Glasgow, UK... or possibly Glasgow, Republic of Scotland. I’ll just have to hope that they don’t institute strict border controls to keep the English out.
Tamahome: Neil Gaiman's full cast Sandman audiodrama is out. He's the narrator too. I believe Dirk Maggs has directed many audiodramas for Alien, X-Files, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, etc.
Mark: Pandemic resurgence of mass market paperbacks? Read Cory Doctorow's interesting tweet thread on bookselling past and present...The NY Times article linked in the thread: How to Sell Books in 2020: Put Them Near the Toilet Paper
Mark: Losing Gravity is Kameron Hurley's next book, scheduled for publication in 2021.
The pitch: Killing Eve meets Die Hard, in space!"
Jan: Video Essayist and Media Critic Lindsay Ellis' debut novel Axiom's End has been released early on July 20. The Science Fiction novel is described as an ""alternate history first contact adventure"" and has collected quite a number of blurb praise, for example:
Axiom's End is somehow deeply aware of not just what it is to be human, but what it is to be any intelligent species. It's as real as any first-contact story I have ever read. Wonderfully plotted and paced, the adventure never lets up, and neither does the insight. --Hank Green
So much fun. Lindsay Ellis's experience as one of our sharpest cultural observers gives Axiom's End an edge of realism that makes it both cutting and compelling. Close encounters have a whole new look.--John Scalzi "
Jan: Uhhhm... oh, and "Cursed" - the retelling of Arthurian Legend from the point of view of Nimue, the Lady of the Lake - has dropped on Netflix. (TOM note: It is based ont eh book by Tom Wheeler and illustrated by Frank Miller)
Unfortunately the series has received so far only average to mixed reviews with a score of 57/100 on Metacritic and 6.18/10 on Rotten Tomatoes as of this posting.
The Critical Consensus quote on Rotten Tomatoes is: ""Cursed's first season isn't as subversive as its source material, but strong plotting and a heroic performance from Katherine Langford make for an enjoyable escape.
BARE YOUR SWORD
Prof Chris @themythofpsyche
Check out this amazing interview from @SamMaggs on @swordandlaser podcast this week! So much fun to hear more about her process. And it was super sweet that she gave my psych consulting a shout out on one of my favorite pods! Thanks, Sam!
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Announce August Pick
Elysium by Jennifer Marie Brissett
Elysium book briefing
WRAP UP (SPOILERY)
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
BLRW: Number of characters
BLRW: What do you expect from the sequel?
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 - #388 - Interview with Sam Maggs
/(Alt title: Learn to Love the Box) 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.
S&L Podcast - #387 - The Nanobots Are Coming?
/The first rule of Short Story Club, SFF with a smile, and how to get the most out of Black Leopard, Red Wolf.
QUICK BURNS
Mark: Coming September 2020
Andy Serkis records audiobook of The Hobbit for HarperCollins
gollum!
—
Tamahome: ❤️Fall in Love With Kiki's Delivery Service All Over Again With This New Translation of the Original Novel
Kiki's Delivery Service is a classic Miyazaki anime. She's a young witch that delivers bread. I didn't even know there was a book. I knew Howl's Moving Castle was a book. Maybe you can pick the book soon as a change of pace. Does this mean there's a Totoro novel? It might be written in an indecipherable Totoro language. 🧹
—-
Conal: Release date is set for Ready Player Two. November 24.
—
Now that post about Ready Player Two came with a suggestion of watching the movie version virtually and virtually cuddling which led Trike to say no thanks even to virtual cuddles, no touching please, which led Mark to post a picture of a finger touching a picture of a tricycle which led to:
Trike: : puts killer nanobots in mail to Mark ::
:: sends them COD for extra-added evil :Mark: Trike's nanobots haven't arrived yet so I can still post a quick burn about a murderbot.
—-
The Murderbot Diaries short story Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory by Martha Wells which was offered to people who preordered Network Effect, will be available through Short Story Club https://www.shortstory.club/
It's a book club for short stories. You RSVP, read a short story, and join a live discussion with the author on Zoom.
Live Q&A with Martha Wells On Murderbot July 21 at 5:30PM PST / 8:30PM EST
If you press the RSVP button on the website, it will take you to an eventbrite page where you can either get a free ticket or make a donation to a charity.
UPDATE: There seems to be a limit on the number of tickets that will be available so, sign up early, if this interests you.
UPDATE 2: I signed up and the link to download the short story is for Hugh Howey's Wool instead of Ms. Wells' short story! I contacted the organizers asking for help. Trike must have misaddressed his nanobots.
UPDATE 3: The short story club folks sent out the correct download link right away. The postman has come and gone today, still no nanobots, but the murderbot is squared away.
—
Dominik wrote: "Storybundle just dropped their third World SF Bundle. Either four books for five dollars or ten for fifteen, and some of them look pretty interesting."
John Added: One of the books at the lower tier is In the Vanishers’ Palace by Aliette de Bodard which is worth the price of the bundle alone...
—-
Shad: Brandon Sanderson just posted on twitter that the final draft of Rhythm of War is complete.
BARE YOUR SWORD
Craig Albuck
@Devolark
Hey @swordandlaser nice interview with LE Modesitt Jr. Have you read the Recluce saga? A fantastic series. maybe put The Magic of Recluce as a fantasy pick??
—
How many S&L books had you read this year before they were announced? 2020 edition
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
Subreddit with rereads and chapter summaries (You need to scroll to find them)
If you lemmed, here is another challenge
COMING UP!
Questions for Dennis E. Taylor 7/29
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 - #386 - Interview with L. E. Modesitt Jr
/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.
S&L Podcast - #385 - What do you mean HORROR?
/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.
Download directly here!
QUICK BURNS
Mark: 2020 Locus Award winners have been selected:
Horror: Black Leopard, Red Wolf
First Novel: Gideon the Ninth
Novella: This Is How You Lose the Time War
Mark: The annual Arthur C. Clarke Award is given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year.
The shortlist for the 2020 (34th) Clarke Award is out.
- The City in the Middle of the Night - Charlie Jane Anders
- The Light Brigade - Kameron Hurley
- A Memory Called Empire - Arkady Martine
- The Old Drift - Namwali Serpell
- Cage of Souls - Adrian Tchaikovsky
- The Last Astronaut - David Wellington
Jan: This time the trailer for the adaptation of Brave New World on Peacock (Hi Tom!).
The series will debut with the launch of peacock in the US on July 15. There is little information at the moment when and where Peacock's original programming will be available to audiences outside the US.
Netflix's second season of The Witcher is returning to production with an announcement on Twitter, apparently written as a poem by the character Jakier:
I’m dusting off my lute and quill,
I have some news, some mead to spill:
After all the months we’ve been apart
It’s time for production to restart.
The Witcher and his bard – who’s flawless,
Will reunite on set 17 August.
— The Witcher (@witchernetflix) June 22, 2020
James: Apple has released a first Teaser for the 2021 "Foundation" streaming series with Jared Harris as Hari Seldon.
Iain: Inconceivable....
Watch the Celebrity-Filled Fan-Film Version of The Princess Bride on Quibi:
Netflix has released a trailer for "Cursed" their adaptation of the book written by Thomas Wheeler and illustrated by Frank Miller reinterpreting the Arthurian Legend from the point of view of the Lady of the Lake.
The series drops on July 17 on Netflix.
Mark: Mandalorian art books, youth novels, adult novels, and comics are coming!
First adult novel coming Dec 2020 is Sparrow (is this really the title?) with absolutely no details right at this moment except it's about the Mandalorian and will be written by Adam Christopher."
BARE YOUR SWORD
Beth Mitcham @MitchamBeth
A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE, Arkady Martine. This stays with you after you put it down. It's about patriotism and envy of magnificent foreigners and the difference between memory and identity. A little bit of love. And lust. And loss. @swordandlaser
Drake Tungsten @turtleismytotem
@swordandlaser Listening to episode 20 and @Veronica mentions how she can't remember which Dresden Files books she read. I have the same problem. I've read about six books in the series, but I don't have a clear memory of any of them.
NEW POD! This week on Episode 4 of Dune Pod we are honored to be joined by @swordandlaser co-host @Veronica to talk about Denis Villeneuve’s 2016 meditation on pre-destination, Arrival. Warning: We also briefly cover Jeremy Renner’s music.
@tamahome02000
@swordandlaser I don't think Veronica will like Black Leopard, Red Wolf.
JULY PICK
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
