S&L Podcast - #496 - Leminal Space

Sad news followed by recommendations from Parade Magazine! And The Booker Short List. Plus, do you hate it when a series isn't continuing the story directly? And we check in on our September read of Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?
Tom: A cheeseburger from a movie theater
Veronica: Canadian House of Pizza and Garbage

QUICK BURNS - add time stamp
Any news or announcements

Seth and others:

  • Disney has officially announced the Graveyard Book adaptation is “paused.”

  • Netflix has announced Dead Boy Detectives, based on a comic series by Neil Gaiman, will not be getting a second season.

  • Good Omens Season 3 is also paused.

  • Five women have come forward with sexual assault allegations against Neil Gaiman, and there is a police investigation in New Zealand.

  • Gaiman denies the allegations.

Read more
More details
The Guardian article

Tamahome: The Booker shortlist is out. At least there's one with astronauts:

Orbital
Six astronauts rotate in the International Space Station. They are there to do vital work, but slowly they begin to wonder: what is life without Earth? What is Earth without humanity?
By Samantha Harvey
Read more

Mark: Adrian Tchaikovsky has written the screenplay adapting a novella, The Inquest of Pilot Pirx, by Stanislaw Lem.

The English-language film tells the story of Commander Pirx, who leads a small crew of half androids and half humans on a rescue mission into space. None of them know which is which, and Pirx’s secret task is to figure out whether the androids are truly superior to humans. Events turn dangerous when the mission is disrupted by an unknown saboteur.

Is it time to read another book by Mr. Lem?
Read more

Seth: Parade Magazine (I didn't know they cared) delivers a list of the best SFF books of the year so far.
Read more

BARE YOUR SWORD
Feedback from the audience

tilltab — 09/16/2024 2:14 PM:
“I’m just catching up on the podcast, and listening to Wheel of Thyme, and although I know I’m in the wrong here, I still can’t help wincing at Veronica singing 'teenage mutant NINJA turtles,' because in the UK, they decided that 'ninja' wasn’t good for kids, and they were called 'teenage mutant HERO turtles,' and that included a change to the theme song. 'Hero turtles' is what I grew up with, and even though I KNOW 'ninja' is the accurate and correct word to use there, it still sounds so wrong to me! 'Heroes' just fits better! I can’t help thinking that!”

Loosely-Connected Series vs. Shared Universe

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
Bookshop link
Amazon link

SDG: Brainwashed
Read more

SDG: Emily Tesh Interviews
Read more

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 - #495 - All The News That's Fit to Squee

We have Dragon Awards and Hugo Awards, we kick off Some Desperate Glory, and wrap up our final thoughts on The Spear That Cuts Through Water. Also, we determine we might need to squee more.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?
Tom: Truffle Mac and Cheese with broccoli
Veronica: Wit beer


QUICK BURNS

Chris K.
From Locus: 2023 Dragon Awards Winners

Best Science Fiction Novel
WINNER: Starter Villain, John Scalzi (Tor; Tor UK)

  • The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport, Samit Basu (Tordotcom)

  • The Saint of Bright Doors, Vajra Chandrasekera (Tordotcom)

  • Theft of Fire, Devon Eriksen (self-published)

  • These Burning Stars, Bethany Jacobs (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

  • Beyond the Ranges, John Ringo & James Aidee (Baen)

  • System Collapse, Martha Wells (Tordotcom)

Best Fantasy Novel (Including Paranormal)
WINNER: Iron Flame, Rebecca Yarros (Red Tower)

  • Three Kinds of Lucky, Kim Harrison (Ace)

  • The Water Outlaws, S.L. Huang (Tordotcom; Solaris UK)

  • He Who Drowned the World, Shelley Parker-Chan (Tor; Mantle)

  • My Brother’s Keeper, Tim Powers (Baen; Ad Astra)

  • House of Open Wounds, Adrian Tchaikovsky (Ad Astra)
    Source

Trike:
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, theaters December 13

  • AKA The War between Rohan and Dunland, taking place +/-180 years before the War of the Ring, the sealing of the legend of the Riders of Rohan, the ascension of the heroes of Gondor, the breaking of the old alliance, and the forging of a new path. In other words, a day that ends in Y in Middle-Earth.
    Watch trailer

Seth and JasonReads:
Universal International Studios Buys Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl with Seth MacFarlane’s Fuzzy Door & Chris Yost Attached
Source

Paul:
George R.R. Martin hosted his very own Alfie Awards in Scotland on Friday to honor excellence in writing in 2023, specifically for people who were deleted from the 2023 Hugo Awards. Congratulations to:

  • RF Kuang for Best Novel (Babel)

  • Xiran Jay Zhao for New Writer

  • Sandman for Dramatic Presentation

  • Paul Weimer for Fan Writer

Kuang said she will cherish her hood-ornament-turned-award forever in a fun and slightly cheeky Instagram post.
See post

AFallenAngel and John:
Hugo 2024 Award Winners
(Also posted in Discord Quick Burns channel)

  • Best Novel: Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (Tordotcom, Orbit UK)

  • Best Novella: Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher (Tor, Titan UK)

  • Best Novelette: “The Year Without Sunshine” by Naomi Kritzer (Uncanny Magazine, November-December 2023)

  • Best Short Story: “Better Living Through Algorithms” by Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld, May 2023)

  • Best Series: Imperial Radch by Ann Leckie (Orbit US, Orbit UK)

  • Best Graphic Story or Comic: Saga, Vol. 11 written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)

  • Best Related Work: A City on Mars by Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith (Penguin Press; Particular Books)

  • Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

  • Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: The Last of Us: “Long, Long Time”

  • Best Game or Interactive Work: Baldur’s Gate 3

  • Best Editor Short Form: Neil Clarke

  • Best Editor Long Form: Ruoxi Chen

  • Best Professional Artist: Rovina Cai

  • Best Semiprozine: Strange Horizons

  • Best Fanzine: Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together

  • Best Fancast: Octothorpe

  • Best Fan Writer: Paul Weimer

  • Best Fan Artist: Laya Rose

  • Lodestar (Best YA Book): Moniquill Blackgoose

  • Astounding Award for Best New Writer: Xiran Jay Zhao
    Source


BARE YOUR SWORD

Feedback from the audience

  • Seth: "There’s the book we read last year, The Empress of Salt and Fortune. Maybe it’s more of a dual-timeline story, but there’s action in the present with Chih talking with the older Rabbit, and then the bulk of the story is Rabbit's history."

  • Oaken: "Heroes ON THE half-shelf makes me think of oysters on the half-shell. And while those are yummy, turtles that way would not be good."

  • Katie: "I LOVED A Spear Cuts Through Water, and it confirmed that stories within framing stories are one of my wheelhouses."


BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Kick Off
Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
Bookshop | Amazon

Wrap Up
The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez
Bookshop | Amazon
Goodreads Wrap Up Thread


ADDENDUMS

Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons. Thank you to all the folks who back our show. If you'd like to support the show, head to Patreon.

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 Sword and Laser Picks.