S&L Podcast - #537 - Roman Fantasy is Romantasy?

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Starlog is back! The Le Guin shortlist is out. Why Tom is naked. We kick off our July read and struggle to understand why some people think Red Rising is Romantasy. Now we know.

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What Are We Nomming?

  • Tom: Panko-crusted tilapia with roasted potatoes and braised zucchini

  • Veronica: Strawberry spritzer

Quick Burns

  • Tamahome: A new China Miéville novel is coming. View on The Broken Binding

  • Mark: Starlog (the magazine) is returning this fall with Annalee Newitz as editor! Her colleagues in this endeavor will also produce a weekly podcast and a newsletter. Starlog.com

  • Tamahøme: Neal Stephenson’s next book has been announced. View on HarperCollins

  • Mark and Chris K.: The 2026 Le Guin Prize for Fiction Shortlist is out! The 2026 selection panel includes Nicola Griffith, Mat Johnson, Fonda Lee, Darcie Little Badger, and Peter Rock. The winner will be announced on October 21, 2026 (Le Guin’s birthday). Read more at Locus

    • Audition by Pip Adam

    • Sunward by William Alexander

    • Call and Response by Christopher Caldwell

    • Midnight Timetable by Bora Chung, tr. Anton Hur

    • The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes

    • Notes from a Regicide by Isaac Fellman

    • Mad Sisters of Esi by Tashan Mehta

    • One Message Remains by Premee Mohamed

    • Slow Gods by Claire North

  • Trike: I found out from an Instagram post by P. Djèlí Clark that Subterranean Press is closing down. After a long career of publishing gorgeous limited editions, collections, art books, and novellas, publisher Bill Schafer shared the news that Subterranean Press will be permanently closing in the coming years. They intend to continue publishing work through the end of 2027, "which may bleed into 2028 as we wrap things up." Read more at Locus

Bare Your Sword

Kevin: I was going to say something rude about why Romantasy readers like Red Rising but instead I'll just say that Red Rising could have been worse if the idiot girl from Fourth Wing showed up moaning on and on and on about how much she hated that guy because of something, something but he's so hot that even though she hates him, he makes her all moist in her nether regions.

John replied: I haven't read Fourth Wing as romantasy really isn't my thing but this comment is making me reconsider that decision as it made me laugh out loud :-D

Ruth: Good to hear Tom singing another K-pop bop on the show! Boompala Boompala Boompala yeah…

Alan: Did Veronica call There Is No Antimemetics Division "There is No Anti-metrics Division"? That sounds more like a shadowy group opposing SI units.

John replied: There is a panoply of such groups in the UK, all in favour of, and I am being VERY kind in my language here, the "legacy" Imperial measurement system.

Jan: (If you're not visiting the Bare Your Sword forum in the Discord you missed this!) "What I posted was actually the third version. In the first version Donut wore a royal cape, so I did specify in the second image for Tom to be 'carrying a black and beige and white tortie Persian cat with a pink purple tiara and sunglasses but no other clothes' and the AI created this... 🫣" View on Discord

Aaron Bell: I am 90% confident that the Slow Wings episode had a fast food ad for me. I was mildly amused by that. Does the editor choose where the ad break goes, or is that entirely out of their hands?

Book of the Month Discussion

Kick Off

A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang by Lee Onhwa, translated by Slin Jung

Final Thoughts (Spoilery)

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Stephen: I am 70% in. It could be like The Dresden Files where the first two books were okay but the series hits its stride in Book 3. For me it was Grapes of Wrath to Pygmalion (My Fair Lady) to Lord of the Flies. I did buy Book Two in the series when it was on sale, which I have heard said is a marked improvement.

NotSoRedEd: This is the first Sword and Laser book since I returned to the podcast with The Hexologists that I have abandoned without finishing. I’ve just completely lost interest in it. I thought the initial concept of an oppressive government keeping its citizens in slavery while they live in luxury was a great one, especially with the lying part about the terraforming of the planet (although I did see the twist coming). I also loved the bit where he was transformed into a Gold. But since the passage section, the whole Hunger Games style challenges have completely lost my interest. I simply don’t care what happens to any of the characters; I just think this section has been going on far too long. I noticed that I’m just putting the audiobook on to finish it rather than actually enjoying it. So for the first time in ages, I’ve decided to simply abandon a book. Anyone else feel the same way? View on Discord

Liqorice: I've seen a few places where romantasy readers proclaim their love for this book. I can see it being something that is aimed at a YA audience, but I don't see the romantasy appeal. I read it a while back but I don't recall any spice. Some of the posts I've seen emphasize how everything our protagonist does stems from love for his wife and how he is willing to destroy civilization for her memory — I guess they don't think of it as fridging? I'm just confused by the popularity of this book in general and with BookTok in particular. Clearly, I'm not the target audience. What am I missing? View on Discord

J.kidd: Something I keep turning over with Red Rising is how much of its narrative pleasure comes from the thing it's supposedly condemning. Obviously, the brutality of the Institute and the hypocrisy of the allegedly meritocratic system is depicted as Bad. However, while I'm reading the book I'm not really thinking "this is what's wrong with stratified societies," I'm more thinking "wouldn't it be thrilling to be good enough to win at this." I don't think Pierce Brown necessarily intended it, but it feels like you're meant to hate what Gold represents and also, somewhere in your lizard brain, want the sigil. There's a similar kind of dissonance in The Will of the Many. View on Discord

Addendums

Our show is funded by our patrons! Thank you to all the folks who back our show. If you would like to support the show, 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.

S&L Podcast - #536 - That's So Ender's Game

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We check in on our June reading of Red Rising by Pierce Brown. Why do romantasy people like this? Veronica is making a tincture. And we have fun coming up with a Sci-Fi/Fantasy equivalent of the EGOT.

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What Are We Nomming?

Quick Burns

Nebula Awards Winners (via Spriggana)

N.K. Jemisin Grand Master Speech (Courtesy of Mark)

The 2026 Ignyte Awards Finalists (via Jan & LocusMag) The Ignyte Awards "seek to celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of the current and future landscapes of science fiction, fantasy, and horror." Nominated for Best Adult Novel are:

  • A Song of Legends Lost by M.H. Ayinde: Described on Amazon as "An unforgettable tale of revenge and rebellion [...] when a reckless king implements an ill-fated plan to end a thousand-year war."

  • Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite: From the online blurb: "When Ebun gives birth to her daughter, Eniiyi, on the day they bury her cousin Monife, there is no denying the startling resemblance between the child and the dead woman. So begins the belief, fanned by the entire family, that Eniiyi is the actual reincarnation of Monife, fated to follow in her footsteps."

  • Motheater by Linda H. Codega: Described as a "nuanced queer eco-fantasy set amid the Appalachian Mountains."

  • The Buffalo Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones: Described by Vulture as Jones' "Interview with the Indigenous Vampire."

  • Harmattan Season by Tochi Onyebuchi: Described as "West African lore meets Easy Rawlins."

2025 Stoker Awards Winners (via Spriggana)

Shortlist for the 2026 Arthur C. Clarke Award (via Spriggana)

The 2026 Lammys (via Jan) This year's Lambda Literary Awards Winner for "the best lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender books" in the category "LGBTQ+ Speculative Fiction" is Beings by Ilana Masad. The novel receives high praise from author Ruth Madievsky on the book's Goodreads page: "The alien abduction meets lesbian yearning novel that will restore your faith in the universe."

The 2026 Mythopoeic Awards Finalists (via Spriggana) The finalists have been announced. It's the third year of a separate award for YA books; children's books have had their own category since 1992. Personally, I have read three of the adult literature finalists: Audition for the Fox by Martin Cahill, Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher, and The Incandescent by Emily Tesh.

Goodreads Readers’ Hit New Books of the Year (So Far) (via Jan) Goodreads has crunched their users' numbers! This covers books published between January and June categorized as “Read,” “Currently Reading,” or “Want to Read,” including only books with at least a 3.5-star average.

Subterranean Press Closing (via Mark) Bummer! Subterranean Press will be closing. They will continue publishing work through the end of 2027 as they wrap up their commitments. I've bought a lot of terrific SF&F books from them.

Bare Your Sword

Jan: What are we nomming from the extensive Red Rising Wiki's Food and Drinks section? Or anything else, really? And as the Venusian Fury Cocktail (made using rum, stout, and squid ink) doesn't sound that great, my cocktail suggestion for this month is the Tequila Sunrise:

  • 2 oz blanco tequila

  • 4 oz orange juice, freshly squeezed

  • 1/4 oz grenadine

Stir tequila and orange juice in a chilled highball glass over ice. Top with grenadine. (Personally, I like using 1/2 oz Aperol instead of the grenadine for a nice variation, even though the "red rising" effect is less pronounced).

Ruth: I very much enjoyed the discussion of Slow Gods in this episode, especially about Maw’s agency within the story, and his powers and how he chooses to use them (or not use them). I also liked the part about the ultimate lesson to ‘live with love’, although Tom’s quoting of the line ‘Nothing’s forever, so nothing’s to fear’ has lodged the song 'Boompala' by Le Sserafim in my head. I don’t know if this was an intentional quotation or if Tom has simply been ear-wormed as badly as I have by this insanely catchy K-pop mashup of the Macarena with snippets of Indian philosophy.

Jan: Motivation for Tom to walk away from DCC to start with this month's pick!

Book of the Month Discussion

Check-In: Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Addendums

Our show is funded by our patrons. Thank you to all the folks who back our show! 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.

S&L Podcast - #535 - Slow Wings

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Tom and Veronica remember when they read a book. It was called Slow Gods by Claire North. And they're definitely not just reading the latest Dungeon Crawler Carl book instead of that one or the next one, Red Rising.

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WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

  • Tom: Homemade chicken wings and french fries

  • Veronica: Crabapple vodka spritzer

QUICK BURNS

Scott: Book Riot is getting the jump on other lists by publishing "The Best New Queer Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2026."

I just finished Ada Hoffmann's Ignore All Previous Instructions and definitely agree with its inclusion on any "best" list. And like many, I'm also eagerly awaiting the new Becky Chambers novel in October. There are plenty of authors new to me on the list whose book descriptions pique my interest.

Jan: New month, new "100 greatest novels of all time" list. This time it's The Guardian.

If we are leaving out magical realism (literary fiction sure loves its ambiguous ghost stories and allegorical supernatural elements), the Fantasy and Science Fiction novels included are:

  • The Road by Cormac McCarthy

  • The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

  • Dracula

  • Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

  • The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

  • Frankenstein

  • Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

So no Lord of the Rings, Brave New World, or Dungeon Crawler Carl...

Jan: Another Quick Burn about a Prize Winner in another language:

The winners of the 2026 Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire, honoring the best SF/F work published in France in 2025, have been announced and the winner is Aatea by Anouck Faure.

The blurb of the novel sounds rather poetic:

"A navigator capable of steering his sailboat on the suspended oceans of the Cloud, Aatea is nonetheless an outcast in the eyes of his people: born at sea, he lacks the filament, the symbiotic organ that allows his people to coexist with gigantic living islands. The only way he can endure the servitude forced upon him by the caste system is through his maritime expeditions. However, after a pirate attack costs the lives of all his passengers, Aatea loses his right to sail.

Aatea then chooses the unthinkable: to flee the safety of the islands, abandoning everything and following in the path of his grandmother, an explorer whose tales had lulled his childhood."

Jan: The 2026 British Fantasy Awards Shortlists have been announced. Nominated for Best Fantasy Novel are:

  • A Song of Legends Lost by M.H. Ayinde

  • The Outcast Mage by Annabel Campbell

  • Magic, Maps, and Mischief by David Green (self-published)

  • Daughters of Nicnevin by Shona Kinsella

  • Grave Empire by Richard Swan

  • Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods

  • Locus Mag: 2026 British Fantasy Awards Shortlists

Chris K.: 2026 Locus Awards Winners

SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

  • WINNER: Death of the Author, Nnedi Okorafor (Morrow; Gollancz)

Other Nominees:

  • The Folded Sky, Elizabeth Bear (Saga; Gollancz)

  • Picks & Shovels, Cory Doctorow (Ad Astra; Tor)

  • Notes from a Regicide, Isaac Fellman (Tor)

  • When We Were Real, Daryl Gregory (Saga)

  • All That We See or Seem, Ken Liu (Saga; Ad Astra)

  • Where the Axe Is Buried, Ray Nayler (MCD; Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

  • Slow Gods, Claire North (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

  • The Shattering Peace, John Scalzi (Tor; Tor UK)

  • Shroud, Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor UK; Orbit US)

FANTASY NOVEL

  • WINNER: The Everlasting, Alix E. Harrow (Tor; Tor UK)

Other Nominees:

  • The Devils, Joe Abercrombie (Tor; Gollancz)

  • The Tomb of Dragons, Katherine Addison (Tor; Solaris UK)

  • Lessons in Magic and Disaster, Charlie Jane Anders (Tor; Titan UK)

  • A Drop of Corruption, Robert Jackson Bennett (Del Rey; Hodderscape)

  • The Raven Scholar, Antonia Hodgson (Orbit US; Hodderscape)

  • Hemlock & Silver, T. Kingfisher (Tor; Tor UK)

  • Katabasis, R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager; Harper Voyager UK)

  • The Incandescent, Emily Tesh (Tor; Orbit UK)

  • Queen Demon, Martha Wells (Tor)

  • Locus Mag: 2026 Locus Awards Winners

Jan: The Nuremberg bid is withdrawing from the race for the 2028 Worldcon.

As the Nuremberg 2028 page states:

"This decision comes from a mix of personal, organisational and timing reasons. Since our introduction at Smofcon in November, we have received wonderful support from volunteers, artists, experienced conrunners and communities across Central Europe. We are deeply grateful for that.

But as site selection begins, we have to be honest: we are not at the point where we would need to be in order to ask the community to vote for us and be ready to carry the responsibility of winning."

This leaves Brisbane the only remaining bid for WorldCon 2028.

BARE YOUR SWORD

Katie posted: Is there a shortage of translators from German to English?

I ask because I have a sort of dream to someday become a translator of SFF from German to English. The way some people dream that they might someday write a book. I dream that maybe someday I'll translate a book.

I don't know if this will ever happen. I have full-time work and not a ton of free time. I'm not even yet fluent in German. I just keep coming back to it, trying to learn, and especially to read in German. I don't even know if I'll actually be good at it yet.

And Jan posted a link to a page that "promotes German-language literature for translation into English in the UK, USA," and has resources for translators of all experience levels!

Jan also added: "I once translated the German 1980s He-Man and the Masters of the Universe audio play 'Anti-Eternia' into English for the English-speaking fan community, and that was way too much work already. And it doesn't exist anywhere online anymore...

Though that's one of my claims to 'fame' as I am responsible, through that fan translation, for Mattel now sometimes using the translation 'Castle Hellskull' on their toys (instead of the correct 'Castle Hell-Grayskull')—just because I thought back then that it sounded cooler and less clunky..."

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

June Pick Kickoff

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

FINAL THOUGHTS (Spoilery)

Slow Gods by Claire North

Jan: The month is almost over—so what have we been nomming this month while reading? Any foods or drinks in the book?

And I also want to give a (non-AI) cocktail recommendation, that's only based on the name of the novel:

A Slow Comfortable Screw Against the Wall

  • 1.5 oz Vodka

  • 0.5 oz Southern Comfort

  • 3 oz Orange Juice

  • 0.5 oz Sloe Gin

  • 0.5 oz Galliano

Directions: Stir Vodka, Southern Comfort, and Orange Juice with ice. Strain into an ice-filled glass. Drizzle in Sloe Gin to slowly blend, and then float Galliano on top (over the back of a spoon). Decorate with an orange wheel.

There is a whole family of cocktails, from the "Slow Screw" (Sloe Gin, Dry Gin, Orange Juice) to the "Slow Comfortable Screw Against a Cold Hard Wall With A Kiss" (Vodka, Sloe Gin, Southern Comfort, Orange Juice, Galliano, Overproof Rum, and Amaretto). I think that tells you a lot about parts of the cocktail world...

tilltab (Judge Ruth): I don’t know that this adds much to the book discussion, but feel inclined to post this anyway. I’ve struggled and felt lost for parts of this book, but I have, from the beginning, felt fond of Mawukana, and some of the language in this book is rather lovely. I was struck by this small paragraph and wanted to share:

“Of all the ships I’ve flown, I’ve always enjoyed being Emni most. We feel like sap and branch. We feel like leaves moving in the autumn wind. We feel like summer.”

Somehow, I feel that.

Jan: Regarding the snarky Slow Gods review snippet that was mentioned, here it is:

"The narrative structure is… peculiar. Let’s be generous and call it “experimental”. Less generously, it’s dry and oddly monotone. The story leans heavily on character-driven momentum, which would be fine if the central character had any interesting thoughts or qualities. Maw, bless him, has the personality of stale bread. Not freshly stale, either—the kind that’s been left out for days and could probably be used as a weapon. Not mouldy either—that would give it flavour—just dry."

So... maybe that explains it a bit better why I felt a little bad when hearing people were connecting with Maw so much...

That review excerpt is not from me but from this Goodreads review of Small Gods by "Denise":

Iain Bertram: For around the first half of this book, it did not give me any Space Opera vibes at all. Limited scope, one ship, an impending disaster with a creeping sense of dread. It didn't help that I was rereading Galactic Patrol at the same time, which is packed with plots (space battles by the second chapter and it does not slow down).

It took a while for me to realise the major difference between the two books is that Maw is neither a protagonist nor an antagonist. He is peripheral to a standard space opera story. In Galactic Patrol, Dune, and any number of other space operas (Iain M. Banks is the exception here), the main character is driving the plot or reacting to the antagonist. Most of the time Maw is confused and just trying to cope as events spiral out of control around him. While Maw has power, he does not have the knowledge or influence to affect events around him.

Then there is his nature. Maw seems to be a direct commentary on the nature of space opera heroes, and that is that they are monsters who are usually responsible for mass murder and the destruction of countless lives. Maw, on the other hand (and who has a name that signifies a vast, open space that seems to swallow up everything around it), does everything in his power to avoid taking lives. He is happiest running mercy missions with medical supplies and flying out refugees. It's an interesting comparison between those who start and fight wars and those who try and care for the people left in the wreckage.

terpkristin: For the record, I do not condone burning books. :D

That said, the house I'm currently living in has induction burners so I don't think I could burn the book if I tried. Not that I would try. My girl cat regularly turns on the stove as she walks across it. THAT is not ideal, hahaha.

tamahome: Ask her to make some eggs for you in the morning.

John Taloni: And what of Theodosius? After a lengthy search, Maw finds him at his island home. An island no longer dedicated to housing a dangerous quasi-prisoner, but one left to decay as Maw traveled the galaxy and took his part in freeing it.

Not just on the island, Maw finds Theodosius in his house. Not the glammed-up, charismatic figure that led the Shine, but a worn-down figure showing signs of age and decay. His various cosmetic surgeries wear poorly. Theodosius has taken over the house without anyone noticing or caring. He is no longer the epitome of desirable traits that the Shine had its leaders portray, to the point of having their own inflected pronoun. He's a shadow of what he was. Perhaps what he always was underneath the glamour.

Theodosius is still the over-assuming asshole. Speaks openly of how he contemplated how he could torture Maw for an extended period if he still had a team. But, oh no: Theodosius has found he wouldn't enjoy it as much. As ever, only his desires matter.

They talk of how Maw could kill him. And in the end, Maw can't even be bothered to do that. Maw goes to sleep in his bedroom.

We never find out what the final end is for Theodosius. He just doesn't matter.

"I HAVE, IN SHORT, STUDIED WHAT IT IS TO BE A GOD, AND THE CONCLUSION I CONSISTENTLY RETURN TO IS THIS: THAT IF ALL LIFE IS MEANINGLESS, ALL VALUES ARBITRARY AND ALL THINGS MUST END, THEN WHILE YOU LIVE, YOU SHOULD LIVE WITH LOVE."

ADDENDUMS

Our show is 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.

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.