S&L Video - Saladin Ahmed - Bonus interview
/We ask author Saladin Ahmed more viewer questions. Plus he describes his new book and how he became a DM for Joe Abercrombie!
We ask author Saladin Ahmed more viewer questions. Plus he describes his new book and how he became a DM for Joe Abercrombie!
We're psyched to interview Scott Lynch, who, spoiler alert, is the Scott who gets welcomed in the new member hellos too! Plus we delve into the Ender's Game controversy and pick good audio books for road trips.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Water
Veronica: 2006 Bruno Rocca Barbaresco
QUICK BURNS
Teacher Suspended For Reading Ender's Game To Students
How does 1Q84 stack up to Haruki Murakami’s classic novels?
Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Series That Started Out as Trilogies
EXPANSE Book III given a title
BARE YOUR SWORD
The Lies of Locke Lamora > Boing Boing's List of Vagabonds
Time for a road trip! (No, we don't mean we're going on tour)
TV, MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES
Twilight slashfic takes Hollywood
INTERVIEW
Scott Lynch
The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1) by Scott Lynch
BOOK PICK
Help pick our May book (It's a laser)
EMAIL
Hey there! I am an assistant librarian at Parman Library here in San Antonio, TX. I was wondering, since you guys have quite the following, if you could have an option on your site or goodreads site where people can submit their book groups/social clubs for others to search for. For instance, I have a science fiction book group at our library called Escape the Earth! and if it were listed on your site, which gets a lot of traffic from SF fans, it would bring my community closer together in our nerdom. Just a thought… Been enjoying the podcast!
Tyler D. Lutz
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Hey Tom and Veronica.
Congrats on the video show, I'd actually always hoped we'd see a video show (though I always imagined it would have been a TWiT.TV show).
Anyway I have a couple of thoughts.
1. You mentioned the video show needing to be pretty strictly PG. Do you feel this is going to have a real impact on the book choices?
2. What's going to happen with Game of Thrones TV discussion? I'd really like you to think about doing a separate small 10-15 minute audioshow after each episode and drop them in the podcast feed.
Anyway really looking forward to the video show.
Jason (Australia).
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I know you cant talk about it on sword and laser because of your sponsor but I think people should know about
http://librivox.org/
It is a website that is trying to record all public domain books into audio books and then publish them on the web under creative commons. People can volunteer to read books or chapters and upload them back to the site. They are all surprising well done and although not on the same level as paid versions. They are very easy to listen to, unlike computer synthesized voices.
I first heard about from the roku channel on the nowhere man's privet channel page
http://thenowhereman.com/roku/
I would love to know what you think about it
Thanks
-Andrew
NEW MEMBER HELLOS
Jonathan, Paul, Courtney, Mike, Josh, Scott, Micha, Tyler, Brooke, Yento, G Willow Wilson, Brandon, Carleen, Leslie, Amber, Travis, Kelly, Hagar, Vicki,Terry, Quinton, Dan, Josh, Gally, Mike, Rachel, Phil, Cameron, Ryan, Chase, JC, Frank, Mike, Louie, Cy, Nick, Jon, Trevor, Sean, Damian, Hunter, Gary, Sam, Jacob, Hai, Tony, Phillip, Eric, TK, Will, CF, Jason, ob1spyker, Semora (see-more-ah), Luis, Tracey, Mimsey, Sara, Paul, John
Subtitle: Veronica goes "SQUEEE!!!"
Since practically the first moment we discussed doing the book club, Veronica has told me how Tad Williams was the foundation of her fantasy reading history. Today, we get the pleasure of talking with Tad about what he writes, how he writes, and why he's become the godfather of Sword and Laser.
QUICK BURNS
The Mountain is recast, plus some new villains for THRONES
German student creates an illuminated edition of THE SILMARILLION
AN EVENING WITH NEAL STEPHENSON
CALENDAR
9/20/2011 Reamde, Neal Stephenson
9/20/2011 Goliath, Scott Westerfeld
9/22/2011 The Islanders by Christopher Priest
9/27/2011 Ganymede, Cherie Priest (Tor)
9/27/2011 The Hum and the Shiver, Alex Bledsoe
9/27/2011 The Immorality Engine by George Mann
10/1/2011 Manhattan in Reverse by Peter F. Hamilton
INTERVIEW
Bay Area-based Tad Williams is the author of many outstanding books, including several series, such as Memory Sorrow and Thorn, Otherland, and Shadowmarch. On a personal note, his novel Tailchaser's Song was the book that basically got Veronica interested in fantasy in the first place! Follow him on Facebook!
BARE YOUR SWORD
In your discussion on the use of German in FlashForward, I cringed when you pronounced “jawohl”. It is pronounced like “yah-VOLE”, and is something you would expect to hear on Hogan's Heroes reruns, or in the phrase ""Jawohl, mein Herr!"", but I never heard it in Germany when I lived there for several months in the mid 80's.
I love your podcast,
Kevin Hansen
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Hi Tom and Veronica,
As promised, here's a small pronounciation lesson for some of the German words that you talked about in the last episode.
If you have any more questions, just ask.
Have a great day and looking forward to the next podcast, Anne.
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"Sword and Laser" in different languages
NEW MEMBER HELLOS
Gantt, AJ, Michael, Joseph, Adam, and Daric!
BOOK PICK
Next time we'll kick off: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. And Reamde, if you're so inclined!
ADDENDUMS
This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 75,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature, including fiction, non-fiction and periodicals. For a free audiobook of your choice, go to audiblepodcast.com/sword.
Dragon*Con is one of our favorite times of year, and 2011 was no exception! We had the wonderful opportunity to interview Hugo and Nebula-award winning science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer. This was especially fortuitous, considering we're reading FlashForward for the book club this month (ok... that was no coincidence).
There are no Quick Burns or Bare Your Swords this week, but thanks to everyone who sent in questions for the interview. Pick up Flashforward at a library or book store near you, and join in on the discussion on Goodreads!
Also, check out previous Dragon*Con interviews, including David Gerrold and Timothy Zahn!
QUICK BURNS
Joe Abercrombie's next book gets a title
Can 32,000 Data Points Yield The Perfect Book Recommendation?
New China Mieville book gets a title
CALENDAR
8/23/2011 - The Measure of the Magic: Legends of Shannara By Terry Brooks
8/23/2011 - The Power of Six (I Am Number Four) By Pittacus Lore
9/6/2011 - Legacy of Kings by C. S. Friedman
9/6/2011 - Tears of the Sun: A novel of change by S. M. Stirling
TV and Movies
For Croatian ASoIaF and GoT fans
3 new actors for GAME OF THRONES, plus Hellboy wants a part
INTERVIEW
Kristian Nairn plays Hodor on the HBO series Game of Thrones. He's also a DJ and WoW player!
Did he ever just wish his character was mute so he could stop saying "Hodor!"? Also, did he answer a casting call? If so what was the character description? -- Nick
Since this is his first major role, I'd like to know a bit about the casting process. How did he land role? What was the audition like? (a lot of Hodoring one would expect) -- Tero
I'd like to know how much say he had in his dialogue. No, seriously. There was a distinct lack of Hodoring in the show and I'd really like to know if he was involved in any discussions on how much Hodor is too much Hodor. I'm wondering whether they were toning it down to not grate on people, or if they just didn't have time to explain his backstory and didn't want people wondering about it until they'd had a chance to. -- Been
As a fellow big guy (6'7"" and about 280) did he have problems walking around the castles? I almost knocked myself out walking through a castle in Wales wearing a baseball cap. I walked strait into a stone door frame I could not see b/c the hat bill blocked it. Can only imagine how tough that would be with someone riding piggy back. -- Alden
Do you think that Hodor has intense internal thought but is unable to communicate it effectively? He can clearly understand what other people expect of him and can look after himself in other ways. -- Michael
ADDENDUMS
This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 75,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature, including fiction, non-fiction and periodicals. For a free audiobook of your choice, go to audiblepodcast.com/sword.
We start dancing about dragons, face an uprising from the listeners, and talk with David Peterson. As the creator of the Dothraki language, he advises us to tell the audience "Anha ochomok yeraan kijinosi."
BARE YOUR SWORD
The thread from episode 67, AKA "Let's blame Tom"
INTERVIEW - Starts at 22:01
David Peterson - LCS President (Language Creation Society), creator of the Dothraki language.
David was nice enough to translate the passage on the show and pointed us to this link for an example of some diagramming of Dothraki:
"I will not have your body burned. I will not give you that honor. The beetles will feed on your eyes. The worms will crawl through your lungs. The rain will fall on your rotting skin... until nothing is left of you but bones."
Ánha vazhók khadoés yeroón virsalát. Ánha ochomók yeraán kíjinosi. Ínte vádakhie tíhoa ma khéwo áfilki vi gadimaán. Eyél várthasoe she ilekaán ríkhoya arrekaán vékha vósi yeroón vósma tolórro.
ADDENDUMS
This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 75,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature, including fiction, non-fiction and periodicals. For a free audiobook of your choice, go to audiblepodcast.com/sword.
This episode we get the distinct pleasure of chatting with N. K. Jemisin, author of our last book pick, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. We'll discuss a little about her writing process, how she invented the world her characters inhabit, and even get a bit political. Or at least social judicial.
We also go over the books that are coming soon in the science fiction and fantasy world, and annouce the winner of the recent poll on Goodreads for our next book, which was up against some pretty tough competition in the "science fiction written by a female author" category. No recap on Game of Thrones this week, but it'll be back next time! And we'll have plenty to talk about, trust us.
CALENDAR
6/3/2011 The Book of Transformations by Mark Charan Newton Tor
6/7/2011 Robopocalypse: A Novel by Daniel H. Wilson
6/7/2011 Hot and Steamy: Tales of Steampunk by Jean Rabe
6/7/2011 Jim and the Flims, Rudy Rucker (Nightshade Books)
6/15/2011 The Uncertain Places, Lisa Goldstein (Tachyon Publications)
6/15/2011 Leviathan Wakes, James S.A. Corey (Orbit)
INTERVIEW
BOOK KICK-OFF NEXT WEEK!
Book will be--- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
ADDENDUMS
This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 75,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature, including fiction, non-fiction and periodicals. For a free audiobook of your choice, go to audiblepodcast.com/sword.
Photo by Lou AbercrombieWe have the pleasure of talking with Joe Abercrombie, author of The First Law trilogy and his most recent book, set in the same world, The Heroes. We also delve into the darker nature of fantasy these days, how that thieving leech Tolkien stole all of Joe's ideas and then time traveled backwards to make them look like his own, and we take some questions from Twitter.
ADDENDUMS
This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 75,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature and featuring audio versions of many New York Times Best Sellers. For listeners of this podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook, to give you a chance to try out their service. For a free audiobook of your choice go to audiblepodcast.com/sword. On Audible now: The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie.
Partner Sticker Fu. Use the code Sword1 and get 10% off the stickers at stickerfu.com.
Patrick Rothfuss
We have the distinct pleasure of interviewing Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Name of the Wind and the forthcoming A Wise Man's Fear, which hits bookshelves March 1. We find out that the four corners of civilization had some tabletop roots, we determine Jim Butcher is a cylon who consorts with dark powers and reveal that Patrick has written a first pass at the ending of the Kingkiller Chronicle. But don't get selfish. He and George R. R. Martin are on the same team after all. He promises it shouldn't take horribly long to finish, but even if it does, we're certain it's worth the wait.
QUICK BURNS
GOOD OMENS coming to television
A Doctor Who writer breathes new life into the "magical detective" novel
Locus List of the best genre fiction of 2010 - a cheat sheet for Hugo nominators
INTERVIEW
From Wikipedia - Patrick James Rothfuss (born June 6, 1973) is an American fantasy writer and college lecturer. He is the author of the projected three-volume series The Kingkiller Chronicle, which was rejected by several publishing companies before the first book of the series, The Name of the Wind, was published in 2007 by DAW/Penguin, which went on to receive critical acclaim and become a New York Times best seller.
The Kingkiller Chronicle
The Name of the Wind (April 2007)
The Wise Man's Fear (March 2011)
The Doors of Stone (working title)
Books Patrick mentioned he has been reading or is looking forward to:
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, Book 1 (The Inheritance Trilogy) By N.K. Jemisin
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Ghost Story (Dresden Files, No. 13) by Jim Butcher
ADDENDUMS
Sword and Laser is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 75,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature and featuring audio versions of many New York Times Best Sellers.For listeners of this podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook, to give you a chance to try out their service. For a free audiobook of your choice go to audiblepodcast.com/sword.
And support our partner Sticker Fu. Use the code Sword1 and get 10% off the stickers!
Another year, another Dragon*Con come and gone! Thanks to everyone who came out to the live show at the Hilton in Atlanta, we had a total blast. A very special "thank you" goes out to our wonderful guest, author David Gerrold (who famously wrote The Trouble with Tribbles for the original Trek). So please enjoy this extra long episode, and stay tuned for the video version coming soon!
INTERVIEW
Bio: David Gerrold - a winner of the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award - is the author of dozens of novels, including Jumping Off the Planet, Bouncing Off the Moon, The Man Who Folded Himself, When Harlie was One, and the The War Against the Chtorr series.
This week, we wrap up Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis with our opinions, your opinions, and Ian Tregillis's opinions. (Yes, he's on the show for an interview). We also look at June SciFi/Fantasy events thanks to IO9. June is pretty danged busy!
BARE YOUR SWORD - feedback from the audience
Bitter Seeds > *Spoilers* Final thoughts?
Bitter Seeds > Your superpower?
This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 75,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature and featuring audio versions of many New York Times Best Sellers. For listeners of this podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook, to give you a chance to try out their service. For a free audiobook of your choice go to audiblepodcast.com/sword.
Audible Recommendation:
Martian Time-Slip and The Golden Man by Philip K. Dick
Don't forget our partner Sticker Fu. Use the code Sword1 and get 10% off the stickers at www.stickerfu.com.
Interview with Bitter Seeds author Ian Tregillis – The S&L Podcast #033
This week we're very pleased to have a chance to talk to author Laurie R. King. Ms. King is the author of the Mary Russell series of historical mysteries, featuring Sherlock Holmes as her partner, and a series featuring police officer Kate Martinelli, as well as several standalone novels. King's first book, A Grave Talent (1993), received the 1994 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Her latest book is The God of the Hive.
QUICK BURNS
5 Epic Science Fiction Book Series to Read This Summer.
This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks.
For a free audiobook of your choice go to audiblepodcast.com/sword.
Our Audible pick: The Beekeeper's Apprentice, by Laurie R. King, narrated by Jenny Sterlin
Our partner Sticker Fu. Use the code Sword1 and get 10% off the stickers at http://www.stickerfu.com/
As a wrap-up of "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom" we finally snag an interview with the author of the Sword and Laser book club selection. Cory Doctorow is always a fun person to chat with, and this episode is no exception. We do query him on some of the thoughts behind Down and Out, but also about writing and the publishing industry in general. We also let him pick our next book!
Quick Burns
Ursula Le Guin's Petition Against Google Books
8 Comic Book Relationships To Make You Feel Good
Book Pick
Our next book is The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi.
Interview with Cory Doctorow - The S&L Podcast #028
According to io9 (who are also reading The Windup Girl this month), you can also get the ebook version for free:
To get your free ebook, write to Night Shade Books. (Click the link for the address.)
Thanks Alden! Kind of wish I had known that before I bought the hardcover, though I don't mind paying either :)
We had the distinct pleasure of chatting with Daniel Suarez, author of previous Sword and Laser pick Daemon, as well as the new sequel Freedom (TM) that just came out January 7th. Get some insight into how much of the world of the Darknet Daniel really thinks could happen, and why.
Quick Burns
Star Trek going boldly again: Stardate 2012 for sequel undocking
Spider-Man 4 Scrapped, Franchise Reboot Planned
Free Online: F&SF’s Tale Of A Dog That Is Not A Dog, And A Messy Love Triangle
Don’t forget to pick up your free copy of Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, by Cory Doctorow! It’s the next official pick!
Sponsor: Visit our partner Sticker Fu. Use the code Sword1 and get 10% off the stickers.
We had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with Brandon Sanderson, co-author of the next installment of the Wheel of Time Series; The Gathering Storm. Brandon told us how he got into writing, what books he likes to read and how he ended up with the honor of finishing the work of Robert Jordan.
Quick Burns
JC Hutchins’s sf novel 7TH SON serialized here on Boing Boing, Part 1
Colfer’s Hitchhiker’s Guide Sequel Will Be His Last
Mists of Avalon
We’re still rolling! Expect a wrap-up episode in December.
Join the Mists of Avalon Group on Ning!
Join the Club!
In the Ning forums there are active conversations about Dragon*Con 2010, EBook Readers, Movie recommendations and more.
ADDENDUMS
Don’t forget out new partner Sticker Fu. Use the code Sword1 and get 10% off their awesome nerd/geek stickers!
We had a fantastic time at Dragon*Con! Thanks to everyone who showed up for the recording, and Timothy Zahn for being an outstanding guest. Special thanks to Swoopy and Derek for inviting us in and helping us out tremendously, Jon for running about the room with a mic so we could the excellent audience feedback, and to all the folks in the Dragon*Con podcasting track who helped us sound perfect. Plus a SUPER thanks to Kathryn for designing and obtaining the t-shirts and Kim for helping us drag them around and distribute them.
QUICK BURNS
New Hitchhiker’s Guide book “not very funny”
Ariel: post-apocalyptic sword-and-sorcery adventure
Casting for Game of Thrones HBO pilot!
BARE YOUR SWORD – feedback from the audience
Mixing Media Alters My Brain – Posted by aldenoneil on September 2, 2009 at 12:22pm A phenomenon occurs occasionally, where I’ll be reading a book concurrently with playing through a videogame, and my reading of the novel is effected. This time around it’s Warcraft III and The Forever War. Reading through a description about a certain base under construction, all I could envision was little soldiers with low polygon counts and blocky grey buildings rising whole from the surface. I don’t believe that was the author’s intention.
Of course it occurs with movies – reading through The Lord of the Rings will never be the same for any of us, for example – but videogames present a more stylized vision, which really f*cks my sh*t up, for lack of a better phrase. It really points to how subjective an experience reading a novel is.
Does this happen to anyone else? Milder forms include casting actors or friends in roles, or envisioning natural settings as versions of places that you’ve actually been to. That’s why descriptions of nature scenes have always been difficult for me; I live in a bubble.
http://swordandlaser.ning.com/group/videogames/forum/topics/mixing-media-alters-my-brain
District 9
Posted by Chris M: Okay, maybe I’m jaded but I don’t get it. District 9 was a complete let down to me. I left the theater feeling like I’d seen that theme done a dozen times, usually more successfully . I don’t want to drop any spoilers, so I won’t go into detail, but for someone who is into sci-fi, District 9 presents well trod themes in a typical, unimaginative manner. The CGI was pretty interesting, but that’s about the only notable thing for me. I didn’t dislike the movie, but jeeze I’ve seen people raving about it like it’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I’d rather watch a rerun of Enemy Mine or Alien Nation.
http://swordandlaser.ning.com/forum/topics/district-9
ENGAGE – Interviews with interesting characters
Timothy Zahn – Our guest is SciFi author Timothy Zahn. He won the Hugo award in 1984 for his novella Cascade Point but is best known for the very popular Star Wars sequels known as the Thrawn Trilogy. They were authorised by Lucas and took place after Return of the Jedi. He has also written the Dragonback series and the Conquerors Trilogy, about a war between humans and aliens.
Listener Questions
What would the galaxy be like if Grand Admiral Thrawn had won? Would it be better or worse than how its turned out under the New Republic?
I’d like to know what he’s reading, and what he’s read this year. I know I bought the first Dresden Files book on Michael Stackpole’s recommendation after he read the galley.
ADDENDUMS
T-Shirts: We’re desciding the best way to distribute them on the Internets, but everybody who attened our panel at Dragon*Con got one.
Tagline: Different worlds, different discussion
Designer: Kathryn Parker
Next episode – Forever War recap and kickoff of the next book, which will be Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
#023 – The S&L Podcast: Live from Dragon*Con with Timothy Zahn
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