Fran Wilde talks to us about Updraft, how she was inspired to create the bone city, and why she doesn't mind the young adult label but it doesn't always mean what people say it means.
American Gods nails the casting, John W. Campbell Award nails the nominees, and we nail the true origin of the world of Updraft as we wrap up this month's book pick. OK, we're probably wrong about the hedgehog (but we do wrap up Updraft).
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Water
Veronica: Omission Lager
QUICK BURNS
Michele: Orlando Jones as Mr. Nancy in American Gods - this show's casting is blowing my mind.
These First Images From Bryan Fuller’s American Gods Will Make You Weep With Joy
Sandra: Legendary composer John Williams will score the music for Ready Player One.
Trike: Tor's Fall books released. Cover pr0n!
BARE YOUR SWORD
How would you read if you were told you were dying?
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
July Book: Time Traders by Andre Norton
Wrapup: Updraft by Fran Wilde
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
Ramez Naam talks about his Nexus trilogy, nanotechnology, and when to worry about AI getting too smart!
You may be surprised to learn Gillian Anderson's role in American Gods. You may be surprised that China did not previously have official SciFi awards. But you should not be surprised at all to think of Shakespeare as an SFF author.
QUICK BURNS
Mark: Amazon's press release listing the Top 20 Most Well-Read Cities across the U.S (500,000 residents or more). Seattle tops the list.
Silvana: Full transcript of the new TWoW chapter (Damphair)
Dharmakirti: Grimdark Magazine has announced a Kickstarter effort (beginning on June 15) to fund an anthology called Evil is a Matter of Perspective: An Anthology of Antagonists that will feature contributions from the likes of R. Scott Bakker, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Deborah A. Wolf, Michael R. Fletcher and others.
Silvana: 10 Years of Temeraire contest in Naomi Novik's website
Rob: Patrick Rothfuss's charity World Builder will be doing its summer fundraiser soon, entitled "Geeks Doing Good". There is a bunch of cool nerd swag available, and he previewed some of it on his blog.
Sandra: The Chinese Government is Setting Up Its Own Major Science Fiction Award
Robyn: Gillian Anderson has joined the cast of Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods" to air on Starz. "Anderson will play Media, the mouthpiece for the New Gods, functioning as their public face and sales representative, by taking the form of various iconic celebrities. She lives off the attention and worship that people give to screens — to their laptops, their TVs, to their iPhones in their hands while they watch their TVs. Ever the perky spokesperson, and always in control, she spins stories in whatever direction best suits her."
BARE YOUR SWORD
Shakespeare and Science Fiction
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Updraft, Fran Wilde
Book Kickoff: Updraft by Fran Wilde
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
We are excited for a new space opera from John Scalzi, not new but awesome Nebula Award winners, and we get teary-eyed over an A.I. as we wrap up Kim Stanley Robinson's Aurora.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Jameson's
Veronica: Omission Lager
QUICK BURNS
Louie: Details on John Scalzi's new book (due out March 2017), a space opera set in a brand new universe, and the start of a new series.
Clyde: Scalzi got another award -- a somewhat unusual one. Well deserved say I.
Silvana: Nebula Award Winners
Sean: The Thorn of Emberlain by Scott Lynch finally has an official drop date - September 22
Dara: NK Jemisin has set up a Patreon to help her quit her day job so she can focus full time on writing.
Louie: Spielberg wants your 3D avatars to appear in Ready Player One.
SporadicReviews: Audiobooks keeping publishing afloat
BARE YOUR SWORD
Hi,
I wanted to submit to you my first album "Cadence" a cyberpunk concept album due out June 7th at neonshudder.bandcamp.com/album/cadence
It's a bit different from typical concept albums in that it's almost completely instrumental. The actual story component is an included 100+ page PDF that contains chapters corresponding to each track on the album along with artwork to add even more life to the story. The album itself is like a soundtrack to the included story.
It's a completely original cyberpunk story set on the fictional island of "Cadence." It follows a group of couriers/detectives who are hired to find the culprit of a series of high profile murders in the cyberpunk city of Cadence.
I also wanted to shoot you some download codes in the event that you do dig it and wanted to pass it around to other people or whatever.
-jhm
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Next month: Updraft, Fran Wilde (Audible version)
WRAP UP
Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
AUR: The Voting
AUR: The last section? (Spoilerish)
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.
Wheel of Time is getting a TV series and Veronica has one thing (well, more than one thing) that she expects to see. Would that make it the "boob tube?" (Ed. note -- Jesus, Tom... c'mon) Meanwhile we discuss how Aurora masterfully balances hard science and literary storytelling.
Download directly here!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Jameson's
Veronica: Old Potrero
QUICK BURNS
Mark: SFSignal says goodbye
Sandra: The Wheel of Time Is Going to Be a TV Series After All
Serendi: George R. R. Martin commissioned a trompe l'oeil mural for his Jean Cocteau Cinema. It's finished, and it's gorgeous!
Terpkristin: Cheapass Games is doing a Kickstarter for the game Tak, the game that they played in Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles books.
Anne: Bookriot has compiled a list with 100 must-read Sci-Fi Fantasy Novels by Female Authors
Tamahome: George R. R. Martin rap battles J. R. R. Tolkien on Youtube. Who's to say who won?
Sandra: Locus Award Finalists
BARE YOUR SWORD
Afternoon, Tom and Veronica!
I know you've already mentioned on the podcast about the first -ever- Dragon Awards from Dragon*Con, but would you mind mentioning that all of the published books from the first Inkshares contest are eligible for that award?
An Unattractive Vampire - Jim McDoniel
Practical Applications for Multiverse Theory - Nick Scott & Noa Gavin
Ageless - Paul Inman
The Life Engineered - JF Dubeau
Asteroid Made of Dragons - by me
You don't need to buy a D*Con badge to nominate or vote, and it would be exceptionally cool to see any of us be nominated, let alone win. With horror I heard your announcement that you would be skipping Atlanta this year as i was looking forward to finally seeing your human faces, but if one of your books makes the cut - maaaaaybe reconsider?
If any S&L listeners have read the books and think they're worthy of nomination, here's a quick link: http://awards.dragoncon.org/
Thank you
Derek
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
Book details in Patreon
Coming Soon:
Hardcore Game of Thrones
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.
The Hugos are out! We leave the drama to the side for this one and celebrate the novel nominees. But we didn't waste the drama... we just saved it for our evaluations of TV show and movie-based SFF books! We even brought a little to season our conversation about The Fifth Season and A Darker Shade of Magic. It's OK to like different styles of writing, folks!
Download direct here!
QUICK BURNS
John: The Hugo Finalists are out
Thane: Jerry Pournelle wins the Heinlein Memorial Award from the National Space Society.
Dara: Mark Rylance joins Ready Player One film adaptation (as Oasis creator James Donovan Halliday)
Rob: Bobbie Draper has been cast! (Frankie Adams. She’s been a local star in NZ for a while and played a variety of parts and is also an amateur female boxer. )
Rob: Neil Gaiman is writing a 6 part mini-series adaptation of Good Omens
David: TOR.com has published a list of (Almost) Every SFF Adaptation coming to Television / Movie Theatres. Nice to see our current book selection on the list! (Along with several other S & L picks)
BARE YOUR SWORD
"Hi Tom and Veronica,
In the most recent episode of Sword and Laser you dropped a hint that if any listeners were doing inkshares projects that we should drop a line to your email. I fit that description! :)
My name is Rue Lazzaro, and I'm currently working on Thunder in Marrow: A Weird Western Fantasy novel. What is a ""Weird Western Fantasy"", you ask? It's orc barbers, whiskey magic and demon slaying cowgirl mercenaries. If you or any of your listeners can spare the $10 for a preorder on inkshares, you can find ""Thunder in Marrow"" on Inkshares at https://www.inkshares.com/books/thunder-in-marrow
Thanks for the plug if you're willing to help me out, and good luck to Pilot X making its next goal!
Rue Lazzaro"
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Next month's book: Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
WRAP UP
A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab
Regarding White London, a small anecdote
Book, or movie treatment?
The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin
The r-word" (I tried to avoid spoilers)
Subduction Recapitulates Orogeny
When Style is more than just Cool"
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.
Magician and TV star Andrew Mayne has managed to become a successful published author. How? Not magic. Well some magic. But magic isn’t required. Plus Tom loves his latest novel Station Breaker.
Wordfire Press Humble Bundle to raise money for the SFF Writers emergency fund and Challenger Center for science education.
Statistics dub Tyrion the main character of George R. R. Martin’s A Storm of Swords and Veronica got to talk to him! Well, she talked to Peter Dinklage anyway, who plays him on the TV show. She reports back on his handshake and reveals what Arya Stark did to her. Plus, we kick off our April books!
Download direct here!
QUICK BURNS
FINALISTS: 2016 Aurora Awards
Here Are the Winners of the 2015 James Tiptree Jr. Award
Paul: "Statistical Analysis Has Revealed Game of Thrones' True 'Main' Character"
Veronica on the Game of Thrones red carpet.
Joanna: Geek & Sundry is having a hard scifi contest on Inkshares.
Thane and Tamahome: DragonCon is announcing its own genre award.
AND Nominations for the Parsec Awards are open!
Tamahome: New Kindle with battery case coming
BARE YOUR SWORD
Hi Tom / Veronica,
You may be interested in: ‘Philip K Dick Tweets’. This will play out the entire life of Philip K Dick in around 600 tweets, over the course of about 6 months.
It’s starting off right now at:
http://twitter.com/DoAndroidsTweet
It is just for its own sake, there is no PR campaign or commercial affiliations etc. I’m just a Philip K Dick fan who would like to share the story of his fascinating life. I did the same sort of thing for Wittgenstein (http://twitter.com/WittTweets) and Oppenheimer (http://twitter.com/OppieTweets).
Both of these projects attracted a huge amount of interest from people who told me they were really thankful they were aware of it and following it right from the start. I would be massively appreciative if you could share the news of this Philip K Dick project, so that as many people as possible can enjoy it. It’ll clearly appeal to any hardcore Philip K Dick fan, but I think any sci-fi fan really.
It’s very much based on Lawrence Sutin’s (1989) biography of Philip K Dick and I’ve attempted to make it as accurate as possible. I give more information here:
http://zephauerbach.com/pkd
So please feel free to share the link @DoAndroidsTweet. If you have any ideas on how to publicise this project more, please let me know.
Thanks!
Zeph Auerbach
---
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Vote on June's Laser pick
April Picks
A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab
The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin
ADDENDUMS
Thanks to everyone who pre-ordered Pilot X on Inkshares! On our way to the full publishing goal.
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.
Ken Liu, author of The Grace of Kings tells us about the inspiration for his worlds, his domain name, how translation has helped him as a writer, and why silkpunk is a thing (but probably not the thing you’re thinking).
We’re joined by Charlie Jane Anders to wrap up her book, All the Birds in the Sky. Did you know Kevin has a secret history? What anime inspired Ernesto? These things, as well as all the winners of all the awards on this episode.
Download episode here!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Irish Car Fuse (Carolan's Creme and Jameson's)
Veronica: James Pepper 1776 Rye
QUICK BURNS
Ramez Naam's Apex Is The Winner Of The Philip K. Dick Award
Reminder: Hugo Award Nominations Close March 31st
WINNERS: 2015 Aurealis Awards
WINNERS: 2016 Ditmar Awards
WINNERS: 2015 BSFA Awards
Louie: Andy Weir wrote fan fiction* for Ready Player One, and it is now canon. You can read "Lacero" here. Although, spoilers for Ready Player One.
Joanna: The Warrior's Apprentice is being reprinted for its 30th anniversary. It came out June of 1986, which means that if you count from publish date, I'm only a week or so older. Considering that it's still my favorite all-time scifi series, this makes me happy.
This episode of Sword and Laser is brought to you by Scott Sigler and his new book ALIGHT, Book II of the Generations Trilogy. Listen to an excerpt of ALIVE, the first book in the series, and watch the book trailer!
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
BIG thanks to everybody who voted in the march madness tournament!
A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab
We'll kick them off in two weeks OR if you pledge $5 an episode at patreon.com/swordandlaser you can get the book briefing right now.
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
ADDENDUMS
Tom has a book on Inkshares called Pilot X!
Our show is made possible 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
Jim McDoniel, author of An Unattractive Vampire, is not only the second author to get published in the Sword and Laser collection, he’s also a truth-sayer. About vampires. Like how they aren’t sparkly (usually). Return to the vampire roots with him!
We're checking in on All The Birds in The Sky by Charlie Jane Anders and why some people were put off by Patrica and Laurence's parents. Trust us, so were Patricia and Laurence. Also it's March Madness and we have the hot inside track on the April fantasy winner and how YOU can pick it.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Lagunitas IPA
Veronica: James Pepper 1776 Rye Whiskey
QUICK BURNS
An Unattractive Vampire by Jim McDoniel is out today!
Dharmakirti: Ian McShane has been cast as Wednesday in the American Gods adaptation for Starz. YES!
Alex: Good news for everybody who like non-western science-fiction and fantasy (like me), several drool-worthy translations are being released this year. Among them are the final volume in both the Three-Body Problem trilogy and the Night Watch series. And the never before translated to english book by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, The Doomed city.
Joanna: Lois McMaster Bujold was interviewed by David Larson for the NZ Herald. A pull quote I found interesting:
"The great game change came, of course, with Amazon's Kindle, and it's been huge. I now make as much or more - every month! - from my [totalled] e-sales as I used to make every six months from my paper sales. I have no idea how long this manna from e-heaven will last but it's holding steady at the moment."
Tamahome: Lots of books from Peter F. Hamilton this year (SF April Madness?), including the conclusion to the Commonwealth Saga (Sep. 27 in US)
SFWA Names Sir Terry Pratchett as Recipient of the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award
Philip K. Dick Award Nominees Launch New Website, Offer Cool Stuff
Tamahome: V.E. Schwab’s A Gathering of Shadows Debuts at #15 on the New York Times Bestseller List
March Madness update
Vampire Secrets
BARE YOUR SWORD
Dear Veronica and Tom,
In the acknowledgements for All the Birds in the Sky, Charlie Jane Anders says she will come to your house and act the book out with finger puppets if there are confusing or disliked parts. I think you should take her up on it for the wrap up.
Cheers,
Jenny Colvin
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
Amy: I hate it, but I love it. I'm so confused!
Mr: Too self-aware
Michele: Diversity and SJW themes
ADDENDUMS
Congrats to the winners of copies of "The Life Engineered":
Adam G.
Mark M.
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 chat with J-F Dubeau, author of The Life Engineered, first book in the Sword and Laser Inkshares collection. Find out whether the thousand year old robots in the book had any real life inspirations and whether they have sex. We're guessing you're slightly more interested in one of those questions than the other.
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're very excited about the debut of our first Sword and Laser Inkshares collection book, The Life Engineered by JF Dubeau. We're a little bummed that Tom forgot to bring more than water to drink. We're super-excited about the Nebula Award nominees. And we were a little bummed at some of the reactions to The Sword of Shannara. But Vickie helped us out with an amazing Terry Pratchett quote, and all was well in Swordandlaserville.
Download file here!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Water
Veronica: Hot Toddy
QUICK BURNS
The Life Engineered is out today!
Andy (and Tamahome)The Dark Tower movie has a release date! January 13, 2017
Rob: Nebula nominees are out
Nokomis.FL The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) have announced that John Hodgman will be Toastmaster at the 2016 Nebula Awards Weekend, the 50th anniversary of the Awards, to be held May 12-15, 2016.
Sandra: Fans of Leigh Brackett can now own "The Book of Stark", a collection of novels and short stories about space adventure Eric John Stark!
BARE YOUR SWORD
"Hi guys - I'm sure I should be more on top of things and post this on Reddit or something. I love the show and am glad to support it on Patreon. I thought you might be interested in a pretty cool fundraiser with a great SciFi twist that I learned about. Geeky Giving (geekygiving.org) is raising money for the Barrow Neurological Institute by getting SciFi writers and artists to create short stories and artwork inspired by the work done at Barrow. In exchange for a small donation, you receive periodic bundles of stories. They just published their first bundle with stories by Mary Robinette Kowal, Karina Cooper, Edward Ashton, and Sierra Dean. I love it when things I love, SciFi, can support not-for-profit organizations. Thanks!
Mitchell"
Recommended Utopian Scifi Novels
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
KICKOFF
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
All The Birds in the Sky Tumblr
WRAP-UP
Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
"I was listening to ep 243 and your discussion about Sword of Shanarra aping LotR. I'm surprised you didn't bring up the following Terry Pratchett quote regarding Tolkien and fantasy:
“J.R.R. Tolkien has become a sort of mountain, appearing in all subsequent fantasy in the way that Mt. Fuji appears so often in Japanese prints. Sometimes it’s big and up close. Sometimes it’s a shape on the horizon. Sometimes it’s not there at all, which means that the artist either has made a deliberate decision against the mountain, which is interesting in itself, or is in fact standing on Mt. Fuji.”
– Terry Pratchett, A Slip of the Keyboard: Collected Non-Fiction (p. 112)
It has really helped give me perspective when I think a book is too much like LotR. We frequently forget how huge LotR is in shaping all subsequent fantasy.
Vickie"
ADDENDUMS
Giveaway: Send us ideas for our 5-minute monthly silliness show through Patreon, or if you can't use patreon feedback@swordandlaser.com
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.
Sometimes some people just want a story you can take your brain off and enjoy. If that's not you, keep your rain off my cotton candy. Also an awesome new effort to Kickstart an Ursula K. Leguin documentary and more great books becoming TV shows!
Download directly here!
QUICK BURNS
Paul: Victoria (V.E.) Schwab, author of "A Darker Shade of Magic" and the upcoming "Gathering of Shadows", among others, has announced that the TV rights for her "A Darker Shade of Magic" series have been acquired and she will be writing the pilot for it.
Stephen: Are you having a hard time keeping up with Hugo nominations as regards to Novelettes, short stories and the like, like me ? The good folks at Rocket stack rank have listed those they feel are the most worthy.
Aaron: There is a documentary of Ursula K. Le Guin's life on Kickstarter. 25 days left and already well above their target funds.
Sandra: Syfy announces that The Magicians will be renewed for a second season.
Trike: Bryan Fuller named showrunner of the new Star Trek TV series.
Rob: The script for the new Harry Potter plays will be released in book form.
BARE YOUR SWORD
Audible virgin looking for help
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
SoS: Why I like reading Junk Fiction (like SoS)
Special BONUS! Interview with James SA Cory from the "It's Spoilerin Time" show at cordkillers.com
ADDENDUMS
We'll be interviewing the first two authors in the Sword and Laser Inkshares collection coming out soon
Questions for J-F Dubeau author of The Life Engineered
Questions for Jim McDoniel author of An Unattractive Vampire
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.
Yes you can nominate your favorite novels, short stories, TV scripts and— oh look, fancasts! We also discuss the line between inspiration and appropriation regarding Sword of Shannara.
Download directly here!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Roots Dry New England Cider
Veronica: Bulleit Bourbon
QUICK BURNS
Sandra: Nominate your favorite books (and podcasts) for a Hugo
Locus recommended reading list for 2015 books
Joanna: On a different note, they've cast Shadow from American Gods and, at least to me, he's well within spec for the mixed-race character. Yay for not completely screwing it up!?
Kristina: Altered Carbon to become a show on Netflix!
Andrew: For all those who enjoyed our read through "City of Stairs", Robert Jackson Bennett's sequel, though not available on Amazon until the 26th of this month, is available at most bookstores and through pre-order. Check out "City of Blades" and purchase using the special S&L link I've included below, so that our fabulous hosts get some money for the referral URL."
BARE YOUR SWORD
It's 2 Feb (again)
Favorite S&L of 2015
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente
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 congratulate the winners of our Inkshares contest and name the book that will be joining our Sword and Laser collection. Plus, why you shouldn’t be angry at George R. R. Martin and how Catherynne M. Valente’s Radiance is like a Tone Poem.
WINNERS!
Congrats to our Sword and Laser Collection addition!
The Animal in Man by Joseph Asphahani!
An artifact of immense power puts Maxan in the middle of a secret war between mighty guilds. To overcome the resourceful and sinister masters who would use him, use everyone, as puppets, he must decide which nature defines him. Animal, or man?
And big congrats to the other Inkshares contest winners who will be published by Inkshares!
The Last Machine in the Solar System by Matt Sobin
The Bones of the Past by Craig Munro
QUICK BURNS
Sky: George RR Martin finally admitted what everyone knew - that The Winds of Winter won't be out before the premiere of season six of Game of Thrones on HBO
Tamahome: Graph of GRRM's publishing intervals show he's writing as fast as JK Rowling did and faster than Tolkien or CS Lewis.
Trike: Harlan Ellison. Released. A. New. Book. Came out December 31st from Subterranean Press. It's called Can & Can'tankerous. Which is awesome.
Nokomis.FL: Friend of show, N.K. Jemisin Launches SFF Column at The New York Times Book Review.
Kate: TechCrunch reports that Pottermore has abandoned exclusivity for the Harry Potter series. You can now purchase the ebooks directly through Amazon and B&N.
Sandra :Phillip K. Dick Award Nominees
Stephen: A new Joe Abercrombie short story edited by the new guy at Tor.com.
Nokomis.FL: Amazon Echo can now read your Kindle books aloud on request.
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente
Josh: You guys may have dug this up already, but this short story is what Valente expanded/altered to create Radiance. It's free on Clarkesworld, and even has audio of her reading it!
On one hand I really want to read it, on the other it might be spoilery, so I'll probably save it til I've finished the book.
Is this a good book or is it merely an impressive example of the writer's art?
It seems like the basic argument of a lot of the book is that there's no such thing as nonfiction? ...But then I wonder if there's a second, subtler argument going on, that not only is nonfiction a lie, but fiction is the only way to truth.
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 talk to three of the leaders in the Inkshares Sword and Laser collection contest. From animal people to lonely AI to epic flesh carvers have they got some stories for you!
Joseph Asphahani, The Animal in Man
An artifact of immense power puts Maxan in the middle of a secret war between mighty guilds. To overcome the resourceful and sinister masters who would use him, use everyone, as puppets, he must decide which nature defines him. Animal, or man?
Matt Sobin, The Last Machine in the Solar System
The story of The Last Machine in the Solar System is about a robotic artificial intelligence that has outlived human civilization by multiple billions of years. The machine has had an incomprehensible length of time to consider the demise of man and his own existence.
Craig Munro, The Bones of the Past
Life twisting magic, demonic possession and immortals who have outlived many of the gods themselves come together in this epic fantasy inspired by the likes of Glen Cook and Steven Erikson.
Go order a book at the Inksahres contest!
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.
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
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