S&L Podcast - #527 - I'm Starting to Worry This Book Isn't Sci-Fi
/Andrew Heaton from the Political Orphanage stops by to talk about "I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom" by Jason Pargin. Also, Veronica drinks in reverse. You'll understand if you listen.
WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?
Tom: Mushroom Gnocchi
Veronica: Hamburger Night!
QUICK BURNS
Mike and the Centaur: Cover art for the hardcover edition of A Parade of Horribles is out! The eBook will release on 5/12/26, followed by the Audible audiobook on 5/26/26. Ace’s hardcover edition and a limited run of trade paperbacks from Grim Oak Press will both be published on 6/2/26. Full release dates here.
Roberator: You can now watch the Indie Author documentary free on YouTube. It features past S&L authors Michael J. Sullivan, Travis Baldree, Andy Weir, M.L. Wang, and many others.
Tom: Apple has signed a deal with popular fantasy author Brandon Sanderson for film and TV rights to Sanderson's "Cosmere" universe, according to The Hollywood Reporter. While he has a large body of work, reports suggest Mistborn could be turned into a movie series, while The Stormlight Archive is also in consideration.
Seth: Library awards came out for all sorts of books this week. Here are the genre-fiction selections for the The Reference and User Services Association 2026 Reading List.
Fantasy Winner: The Knight and the Moth: The Stonewater Kingdom: Book One by Rachel Gillig (Orbit).
Read-alikes: The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow, Godkiller by Hannah Kaner, The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri.
Short List: Greenteeth by Molly O’Neill, The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson, Red City by Marie Lu, and The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar.
Science Fiction Winner: Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz (Tordotcom).
Read-alikes: A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers, The Year Without Sunshine by Naomi Kritzer, and You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo.
Short List: The Heist of Hollow London by Eddie Robson, Hole in the Sky by Daniel H. Wilson, When We Were Real by Daryl Gregory, and Where the Axe is Buried by Ray Nayler.
BARE YOUR SWORD
The Goodreads thread is some excellent meditation on the definition of generations. Tamahome ended the thread nicely with: "I like a rock song with some boomer bends."
On DRM and E-books:
Anonymous: "At the risk of admitting to something illegal, I buy epubs from ebooks.com, strip the DRM with Calibre, and email them to my Kindle."
Anonymous: "Yeah I do the same, or did the same with Kindle purchases so I could keep a DRM-free backup... until they nipped the manual download feature in the bud. Haven't felt the need to purchase a Kindle book since then. And AFAIK for US people, the DMCA allows stripping DRM for backup purposes."
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Kick Off: Someplace to Be Flying by Charles de Lint (Bookshop link)
Wrap Up: I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin (Bookshop link)
From Discord:
Tassie Dave: "At 20% in there is no indication that this book will ever become Sci-Fi or even Fantasy. I know we had the same worry with Reamde. I will hold out for something SFF-ish to happen later."
John Nevets: "I've realized that while I don't think any one character is supposed to 'be the author', the whole story is supposed to convey the points he is trying to make. If one character is closer to that consciousness, it is Ether instead."
John Taloni: (Full Spoilers) "I found it hilarious that there was no threat in the box and all the lurid ideas turned out to be completely false. It turns out the dull FBI agent was right all along. There was nothing there."
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.
