S&L Podcast - #514 - The Rebirths of Wesley Chu
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Wesley Chu joins us to talk about The Lives of Tao and Jan is back, so we have loads of news including Locus Award Winners and the British Fantasy Society shortlist. Plus Tom sings. We're all sorry about that. Also, we almost named this episode The Lives of Wesley Chu until we realized we had already done that in 2014.
WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?
Tom: Spinach Ravioli
Veronica: Straight and Narrow, the gross Black Currant flavor
QUICK BURNS
Jan: Blinks Well, damn, I finished The Inevitable Ruin — seems I am out of the Dungeon. sigh
On the other hand, this means I can start posting Quick Burns again! SO...
It seems our Romantasy Overlady is continuing to conquer the world: Or as The Hollywood Reporter puts it: Sarah J. Maas has signed a worldwide deal with IMG Licensing for "apparel, beauty, lifestyle, home décor, wine and spirits, food and beverage, toys and games, collectibles, cosplay, and immersive fan experiences" for her entire fictional universe. But this notably excludes film and TV rights.
Jan and The Lives of JasonReads:
The 2025 Locus Awards Winners have been announced!
Winner for SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL: The Man Who Saw Seconds, Alexander Boldizar
FANTASY NOVEL: A Sorceress Comes to Call, T. Kingfisher
DEBUT NOVEL: Someone You Can Build a Nest In, John Wiswell
Jan: Locus Mag reports:
The British Fantasy Society has announced the shortlist for the 2025 British Fantasy Awards:
Nominations for Best Fantasy Novel:
Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan
Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan
A Shadow Over Haven by David Green
The Green Man’s War by Juliet E. McKenna
Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi
Jan: There is a trailer for Momo – the new English-language movie adaptation of the hugely successful children’s fantasy novel by German author Michael Ende (The Neverending Story) about a little girl living in an amphitheater, fighting with the help of a turtle and the power of friendship against the Grey Men – who literally steal time from all adults around her (in this adaptation, by distributing some sleek technological gadget that all the adults are linked to – which is definitely NOT a very heavy-handed metaphor...)
Watch the trailer — release date in Germany is October this year. No international release dates announced yet.
Jan: Two Romantasy novels are coming this July on the same day that are both reworks of successful Dramione fanfics:
The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigette Knightly
Rose in Chains by Julie Soto
Read about the fanfic-to-publishing trend
Jan: From LocusMag and The Guardian:
Annie Bot by Sierra Greer has won the Arthur C. Clarke Award 2025 for best science fiction novel first published in the UK in the past year.
The Guardian describes Annie Bot as an "‘Intense’ novel about [a] robot abused by her boyfriend."
Jan: Amazon MGM released the first trailer for Project Hail Mary, starring Ryan Gosling and based on the novel by Andy Weir.
US release date: March 20, 2026.
Trike: The home of Alfred Bester, winner of the first Hugo Award for The Demolished Man, is for sale. His wife Rolly, by the way, was the first actress to portray Lois Lane on the 1940 Superman radio show.
Seth: Romantasy is such a cultural force that Jimmy John’s created a miniature romantasy audiobook read by Walton Goggins. It's part of their "S.M.U.T." summer menu promotion and available to Freaky Fast Rewards members through July 6.
Mark: The Faith of Beasts, the next book in the Captive's War series by James S.A. Corey, has a release date of April 2026.
BARE YOUR SWORD
Seth: I got nervous when I saw the episode title — I share the last name Warburton with Patrick (sadly, no relation). Glad I didn’t do anything to cause the name drop!
Also: Please use company funds to watch Murderbot. It’s excellent.
Ruth: Disappointed by Tom’s weak rendition of Jisoo’s “All Eyes On Me.” I expect full Korean lyrics next time. Also, Murderbot is great! I’ve been secretly watching ahead of my husband.
Tassie Dave: Yes to S&L funds bypassing the Patriarchy 😜 and supporting Murderbot! 😊
Stephen: I wish Murderbot episodes were an hour long. Half-hour dramas just feel incomplete to me.
John (Taloni): Kurt Vonnegut once shared a quote from an archaeologist:
"I don’t think being good at things is the point of doing them. I think you’ve got all these wonderful experiences with different skills, and that all teaches you things and makes you an interesting person, no matter how well you do them.”
Jan: Clarification from a past episode: The bonus chapters in the Dungeon Crawler Carl hardcovers are not the same as the extras in the audiobooks. They’re part of a standalone novella called Backstage at the Pineapple Cabaret.
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Kick Off:
The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
Wrap Up:
The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu
Questions for Wesley Chu:
See the full Goodreads thread
Seth: How does Mr. Chu feel about his debut now? Would he revise it, or is it in the past?
Trike: Did City of Heroes inspire the Prophus and Genjix dynamic?
Mark: Any other sci-fi/fantasy/horror franchises you’d love to write for?
Veronica: Were there other Lives of Tao that didn’t make the final book?
How did you decide which historical events to reference?
How did you come up with Genjix and Prophus names?
The alien possession angle is fascinating — what inspired that structure?
ADDENDUMS
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