S&L Podcast - #531 - Interesting Nacho

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We have a hurt Veronica, Cadbury eggs, Nebula Award winners, and Tom Bombadil-lo! Plus, we kick off The Raven Scholar and wrap up Automatic Noodle. Which, of course, leads to Veronica's new business plan for a nacho bar.

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WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?

  • Tom: Chicken Chow Mein

  • Veronica: Mini Eggs

QUICK BURNS

Scott: The Nebula Award finalists have been announced. The Nebula Award for Best Novel Nominees:

  • When We Were Real, by Daryl Gregory (Saga)

  • The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, by Stephen Graham Jones (Saga; Titan UK)

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

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

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

  • Sour Cherry, by Natalia Theodoridou (Tin House; Wildfire)

  • Wearing the Lion, by John Wiswell (DAW; Arcadia) Official Nebula Announcement

Trike, ezeller & Racer951y: Dungeon Crawler Carl is officially in development for Peacock by Seth MacFarlane’s company, with Christopher Yost writing. Yost co-created the character X-23 and has written films like Thor: Ragnarok. Variety Article

Silvana: An Animorphs TV series is in development with Ryan Coogler as executive producer. Variety Article

Mark: Goodreads adds a "DNF" (Did Not Finish) shelf for folks who "lem" books! What could they possibly do to top this enhancement? 😑 Goodreads Blog

Roberator: It looks like Wheel of Time may return to the screen, but in animated form. I wish the live action was continuing, but I'll probably check these out if they get made. I'm a bit off-put by them targeting younger audiences. ScreenRant Article

Tamahome: Warner Bros. has revealed that Stephen Colbert and his son are developing a brand new Lord of the Rings movie: The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of the Past. The plot will come from chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring that didn’t make it into Jackson’s 2001 adaptation (Chapter III, "Three Is Company," through Chapter VIII, "Fog on the Barrow-Downs").

“Fourteen years after the passing of Frodo—Sam, Merry, and Pippin set out to retrace the first steps of their adventure. Meanwhile, Sam’s daughter, Elanor, has discovered a long-buried secret and is determined to uncover why the War of the Ring was very nearly lost before it even began.”

Variety Article

BARE YOUR SWORD

Trike: A couple of interesting videos about book covers popped up in my YouTube feed:

Phil: What were the books you gave 5 stars to in 2025 and which were your favorites? Phil’s 5-Star Reads:

  • Olympos by Dan Simmons

  • The Hermit of Eyton Forest by Ellis Peters

  • Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

  • Anima Rising by Christopher Moore

  • The Swords of Lankhmar by Fritz Leiber

  • Swords in the Mist by Fritz Leiber

  • The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

  • Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (Favorite!)

  • The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

  • The Narrow Road Between Desires by Patrick Rothfuss

  • Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson

  • Midworld by Alan Dean Foster

Veronica’s 5-Star Reads 2025:

  • The Book That Wouldn’t Burn (The Library Trilogy, #1) by Mark Lawrence

  • A Drop of Corruption (Shadow of the Leviathan, #2) by Robert Jackson Bennett

  • The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan, #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

  • The Knight and the Moth (The Stonewater Kingdom, #1) by Rachel Gillig

  • The Will of the Many (Hierarchy, #1) by James Islington

  • Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman

  • The Devils by Joe Abercrombie

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Kick-Off: The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson

Wrap-Up: Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz

Aaron Bell on Robot Names: Any thoughts on the names (given and chosen) of the robots of Automatic Noodle? Only on my second time through did I catch that Stay-behind's sockpuppet persona was a nod to their wartime call sign. Bowtie and Ascot.

Aaron Bell on Connection: I listened to this about 6 months ago and intend to re-read/listen this month. Initial impressions: It was well written, but I didn't feel I connected with the characters (the bots) as much as intended. I think the intelligence gathering angle felt a bit rushed. I was also a bit turned off by the whole "California vs. America" thing, but I suppose that is to be expected from a certain breed of author steeped in West Coast culture (see also some of Cory Doctorow's recent work).

Jan on Signature Dishes: Our robots concentrate on one dish, which made me wonder: What would be your "one" signature dish?

"I think my signature dish at the moment would be my variant of the Anthony Bourdain Mortadella Sandwich: Crispy toasted breadroll, with good pan-fried Mortadella, molten low-moisture Mozzarella, Dijon mustard, and German tartar sauce with added minced pickle and jalapeno... We make it at least once a week!"

Veronica: "Wait... his name was HANDS this whole time??"

ADDENDUMS

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