S&L Podcast - #264 - Will the Real Witcher Please Stand Up

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We have an excellent conversation about great character names and revel in the news of rising print book sales. But the big question is, which Witcher is canon?

Download directly here!
    
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?    
Tom: Sonoma Cider: The Anvil: Bourbon
Veronica: Water    
    
QUICK BURNS
    
eStories launches an alternative source for audiobooks
    
Surprise revival in UK printed book sales, with ebooks dipping / Boing Boing
    
Louie: Akiva Goldsman attempts to adapt Asimov's The Caves of Steel. He previously brought I, Robot to the big screen. Let's hope previous results are not a sign of future results.
    
Alex: The Economist has an interesting article on how the Discworld novels have resisted adaptation
    
Alex: Small follow up to the post on the Big Book of Science Fiction. In this interview Ann and Jeff Vandermeer mention they also want to do a Big Book of Fantasy.
    
BARE YOUR SWORD
    
Great Character Names
    
Fantasy Westerns/Weird West suggestions?
    
Please help, listeners with good memories! What was that book/author....
    
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION    
    
Kickoff:  The Last Wish: Introducing The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski
    
Patron Book Notes
    
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/picks

S&L Podcast - #263 - When to Judge a Book by its Cover

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We're excited about American Gods. We have mixed feelings about Time Traders. And we definitely understand why you might have to judge a book by its cover, but there's a good reason to try not to. Except in one particular case.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Hacienda de Chihuahua Tequila

Veronica:  Omission Lager

QUICK BURNS

Sandra: The nominees for the 2016 World Fantasy Awards have been announced!

David: Story Bundle is offering a selection of the best Japanese Science Fiction in their "Haikasoru Japan Sci Fi"" e-book bundle. Works include Ken Liu's Hugo winning story ""Mono No Aware"" and Locus Award anthology nominee "Hanzai Japan" among others. 

Paul: Renee Elise Goldsberry, of Hamilton fame, will play Quellcrist Falconer in the upcoming Netflix series ALTERED CARBON

Rob: Admiral Thrawn is being officially re-added to Star Wars cannon! Not only is going to be making an appearance in season 3 of Star Wars Rebels, there will be a new book coming out next year by Timothy Zahn simply called Thrawn.

Alex: Ann & Jeff Vandermeer just released an 1200+ page anthology containing 97 short science fiction stories, The Big Book of Science Fiction. The stories range from 1897 (H.G. Wells - The Star) to 2002 (Johanna Sinisalo - Baby Doll). They also cover the whole breadth of the genre of science fiction, space opera, hard SF, cyberpunk, the New Wave, and more. Written by people like Ursula K. Le Guin, Cixin Liu, George R.R. Martin, Octavia Butler, Harlan Ellison, Jorge Luis Borges and so much more!

Thane: Chronicles of Amber is going to be brought to TV! I don't know if Kirkman is the right guy for it, but I'll certainly give it a shot. Roger Zelazny might just be my favorite author.

Iain: American Gods trailer wheee!

BARE YOUR SWORD

Have you ever judged something unfairly?

Membership to MidAmeriCon from Carrie!

Carrie, one of our wonderful Patreon backers, has offered to transfer her attending membership to MidAmeriCon in Kansas City, this August 17-21st. She can't make it, but wants to see another S&L member enjoy it on her behalf! 

I thought we could open it up to our Patreon backers first, so if you're a backer in good standing send us a message if you can make it! If we don't hear from anyone within the next few days, we'll make a post about it on the forums. 

Thank you for your generosity, Carrie!

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Mention August Book: The Last Wish: Introducing The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski

Wrap up:  Time Traders by Andre Norton

This was... slightly disappointing (Full Spoilers)

The Rules of Non-Interference?

Differences between the original version and edited 2000 version

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/picks

S&L Podcast - #261 - The Restaurant at the End of the Barnes & Noble

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Looks like your old bookstore is getting into fancy dinners, plus the rise of book-based card games and how Time Traders proves you live in the wrong time. 

Direct download here!
    
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?    
Tom: Crispin Apple Cider    
Veronica: Omission Lager    
    
QUICK BURNS
    
Lindsey: The Girl With All the Gifts trailer came out this week -- it looks really awesome and intense. The movie is premiering in September in the UK, no US distributor yet but fingers crossed!     
        
Terpkristin: Barnes & Noble is going to open what I can only imagine are going to be some reading restaurants: "Mr. Boire announced that Barnes & Noble would open four new concept stores in Fiscal 2017, complete with a new restaurant featuring an expanded menu along with a beer and wine offering. In addition to opening the first new store in Eastchester, NY, this October, the Company plans to open stores at the Edina Galleria in Edina, MN, at the Palladio in Folsom, CA, and at One Loudon in Loudon, VA."  
    
Silvana: Locus Award winners: Congrats Naomi Novik (best fantasy) and Ann Leckie (best SF)!
    
Terpkristin: There's a Kickstarter for a Mistborn board/card game. It ends July 20th, so those board game fans out there who also like Mistborn might want to check it out! 
    
Paulo: Seems that a series of books will be written about the Mass Effect universe before the next game is launched. The first one, titled Mass Effect Andromeda: Initation, will be launched next August and it was written by none other than N. K. Jemisin
    
Silvana: JK Rowling released the history of Ilvermorny magical school
Slytherin's wand! And there is a sorting quiz! I got Thunderbird (the adventurous one) 
    
Robyn: Ready Player One has started production! Yay!
       
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION    
    
July Book: Time Traders by Andre Norton
    
TTT: Differences between the original version and edited 2000 version
    
Notes on Andre Norton and Time Traders for Patrons

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/picks.

S&L Podcast - #259 - The Adventures of the Giant Space Hedgehog

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American Gods nails the casting, John W. Campbell Award nails the nominees, and we nail the true origin of the world of Updraft as we wrap up this month's book pick. OK, we're probably wrong about the hedgehog (but we do wrap up Updraft). 

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Water

Veronica: Omission Lager

QUICK BURNS

Sandra: Here's the list of finalists for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. Or as I like to call it one sci-fi book to rule them all.

Michele: Orlando Jones as Mr. Nancy in American Gods - this show's casting is blowing my mind.

These First Images From Bryan Fuller’s American Gods Will Make You Weep With Joy

Sandra: Legendary composer John Williams will score the music for Ready Player One.

Trike: Tor's Fall books released. Cover pr0n!

Nokomis.FL: Ron Howard could be reuniting with his “Apollo 13” scribe Bill Broyles on the movie “Seveneves,” which would have Howard directing and Broyles adapting the script.

BARE YOUR SWORD

How would you read if you were told you were dying?

Frankenstein 16 June 1816

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

July Book: Time Traders by Andre Norton

Wrapup: Updraft by Fran Wilde

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/picks

S&L Podcast - #257 - Shakespeare Was a Genre Writer

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You may be surprised to learn Gillian Anderson's role in American Gods. You may be surprised that China did not previously have official SciFi awards. But you should not be surprised at all to think of Shakespeare as an SFF author.

Download directly here!

QUICK BURNS
    
Mark: Amazon's press release listing the Top 20 Most Well-Read Cities across the U.S (500,000 residents or more). Seattle tops the list.
    
Silvana: Full transcript of the new TWoW chapter (Damphair) 
    
Dharmakirti: Grimdark Magazine has announced a Kickstarter effort (beginning on June 15) to fund an anthology called Evil is a Matter of Perspective: An Anthology of Antagonists that will feature contributions from the likes of R. Scott Bakker, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Deborah A. Wolf, Michael R. Fletcher and others.
    
Silvana: 10 Years of Temeraire contest in Naomi Novik's website
    
Rob: Patrick Rothfuss's charity World Builder will be doing its summer fundraiser soon, entitled "Geeks Doing Good". There is a bunch of cool nerd swag available, and he previewed some of it on his blog.  
    
Sandra: The Chinese Government is Setting Up Its Own Major Science Fiction Award
    
Robyn: Gillian Anderson has joined the cast of Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods" to air on Starz. "Anderson will play Media, the mouthpiece for the New Gods, functioning as their public face and sales representative, by taking the form of various iconic celebrities. She lives off the attention and worship that people give to screens — to their laptops, their TVs, to their iPhones in their hands while they watch their TVs. Ever the perky spokesperson, and always in control, she spins stories in whatever direction best suits her." 
    
BARE YOUR SWORD
    
Shakespeare and Science Fiction

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION    
    
Updraft, Fran Wilde
    
Book Kickoff: Updraft by Fran Wilde
      
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/picks
    
    

S&L Podcast - #255 - Just the One Planet

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We are excited for a new space opera from John Scalzi, not new but awesome Nebula Award winners, and we get teary-eyed over an A.I. as we wrap up Kim Stanley Robinson's Aurora.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?    
Tom: Jameson's
Veronica: Omission Lager
    
QUICK BURNS
    
Louie: Details on John Scalzi's new book (due out March 2017), a space opera set in a brand new universe, and the start of a new series.
    
Clyde:  Scalzi got another award -- a somewhat unusual one. Well deserved say I.
    
Silvana: Nebula Award Winners
    
Sean: The Thorn of Emberlain by Scott Lynch finally has an official drop date - September 22
    
Dara: NK Jemisin has set up a Patreon to help her quit her day job so she can focus full time on writing.
    
Louie: Spielberg wants your 3D avatars to appear in Ready Player One.
    
SporadicReviews: Audiobooks keeping publishing afloat
    
BARE YOUR SWORD
    
Hi,
I wanted to submit to you my first album "Cadence" a cyberpunk concept album due out June 7th at neonshudder.bandcamp.com/album/cadence

It's a bit different from typical concept albums in that it's almost completely instrumental.  The actual story component is an included 100+ page PDF that contains chapters corresponding to each track on the album along with artwork to add even more life to the  story. The album itself is like a soundtrack to the included story.

It's a completely original cyberpunk story set on the fictional island of "Cadence." It follows a group of couriers/detectives who are hired to find the culprit of a series of high profile murders in the cyberpunk city of Cadence.

I also wanted to shoot you some download codes in the event that you do dig it and wanted to pass it around to other people or whatever.

-jhm

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION    
    
Next month: Updraft, Fran Wilde (Audible version)    

WRAP UP

Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
    
AUR: The Voting    
    
AUR: The last section? (Spoilerish)
    
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/picks.

S&L Podcast - #254 - Wheel of Boobies?

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Wheel of Time is getting a TV series and Veronica has one thing (well, more than one thing) that she expects to see. Would that make it the "boob tube?" (Ed. note -- Jesus, Tom... c'mon) Meanwhile we discuss how Aurora masterfully balances hard science and literary storytelling.

Download directly here!
    
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?    
Tom: Jameson's    
Veronica: Old Potrero    
    
QUICK BURNS
    
Mark: SFSignal says goodbye
    
Sandra: The Wheel of Time Is Going to Be a TV Series After All
    
Serendi: George R. R. Martin commissioned a trompe l'oeil mural for his Jean Cocteau Cinema. It's finished, and it's gorgeous!
    
Terpkristin: Cheapass Games is doing a Kickstarter for the game Tak, the game that they played in Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles books.
    
Anne: Bookriot has compiled a list with 100 must-read Sci-Fi Fantasy Novels by Female Authors
    
Tamahome: George R. R. Martin rap battles J. R. R. Tolkien on Youtube. Who's to say who won?
    
Sandra: Locus Award Finalists
    
BARE YOUR SWORD
    
Afternoon, Tom and Veronica!

I know you've already mentioned on the podcast about the first -ever- Dragon Awards from Dragon*Con, but would you mind mentioning that all of the published books from the first Inkshares contest are eligible for that award?

An Unattractive Vampire - Jim McDoniel
Practical Applications for Multiverse Theory - Nick Scott & Noa Gavin
Ageless - Paul Inman
The Life Engineered - JF Dubeau
Asteroid Made of Dragons - by me

You don't need to buy a D*Con badge to nominate or vote, and it would be exceptionally cool to see any of us be nominated, let alone win. With horror I heard your announcement that you would be skipping Atlanta this year as i was looking forward to finally seeing your human faces, but if one of your books makes the cut - maaaaaybe reconsider?

If any S&L listeners have read the books and think they're worthy of nomination, here's a quick link: http://awards.dragoncon.org/

Thank you
Derek
    
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION    
    
Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
    
Book details in Patreon
    
Coming Soon:
Hardcore Game of Thrones
    
ADDENDUMS    
    
Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser 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/picks.

S&L Podcast - #253 - A Tale of Two Styles

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The Hugos are out! We leave the drama to the side for this one and celebrate the novel nominees. But we didn't waste the drama... we just saved it for our evaluations of TV show and movie-based SFF books! We even brought a little to season our conversation about The Fifth Season and A Darker Shade of Magic. It's OK to like different styles of writing, folks!

Download direct here!
    
QUICK BURNS
    
John: The Hugo Finalists are out
    
Thane: Jerry Pournelle wins the Heinlein Memorial Award from the National Space Society.
    
Dara: Mark Rylance joins Ready Player One film adaptation (as Oasis creator James Donovan Halliday)
    
Rob: Bobbie Draper has been cast! (Frankie Adams. She’s been a local star in NZ for a while and played a variety of parts and is also an amateur female boxer. )    
    
Rob: Neil Gaiman is writing a 6 part mini-series adaptation of Good Omens
    
David: TOR.com has published a list of (Almost) Every SFF Adaptation coming to Television / Movie Theatres. Nice to see our current book selection on the list! (Along with several other S & L picks) 
    
BARE YOUR SWORD
    
"Hi Tom and Veronica,

In the most recent episode of Sword and Laser you dropped a hint that if any listeners were doing inkshares projects that we should drop a line to your email. I fit that description! :)

My name is Rue Lazzaro, and I'm currently working on Thunder in Marrow: A Weird Western Fantasy novel. What is a ""Weird Western Fantasy"", you ask? It's orc barbers, whiskey magic and demon slaying cowgirl mercenaries. If you or any of your listeners can spare the $10 for a preorder on inkshares, you can find ""Thunder in Marrow"" on Inkshares at https://www.inkshares.com/books/thunder-in-marrow 

Thanks for the plug if you're willing to help me out, and good luck to Pilot X making its next goal!

Rue Lazzaro"    
    
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION    
    
Next month's book: Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson    
    
WRAP UP    
    
A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab    
Regarding White London, a small anecdote  
Book, or movie treatment?   
    
    
The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin
The r-word" (I tried to avoid spoilers)
Subduction Recapitulates Orogeny
When Style is more than just Cool" 
    
ADDENDUMS    

 Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser 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/picks.
    

S&L Podcast - #252 - Andrew Mayne’s Magical Writing Secrets

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Magician and TV star Andrew Mayne has managed to become a successful published author. How? Not magic. Well some magic. But magic isn’t required. Plus Tom loves his latest novel Station Breaker.

Download directly here!

Wordfire Press Humble Bundle to raise money for the SFF Writers emergency fund and Challenger Center for science education.

S&L Podcast - #251 - How Veronica Tamed Tyrion

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Statistics dub Tyrion the main character of George R. R. Martin’s A Storm of Swords and Veronica got to talk to him! Well, she talked to Peter Dinklage anyway, who plays him on the TV show. She reports back on his handshake and reveals what Arya Stark did to her. Plus, we kick off our April books!

Download direct here!
    
QUICK BURNS
    
FINALISTS: 2016 Aurora Awards
    
Here Are the Winners of the 2015 James Tiptree Jr. Award
    
Paul: "Statistical Analysis Has Revealed Game of Thrones' True 'Main' Character"

Veronica on the Game of Thrones red carpet. 
     
Joanna: Geek & Sundry is having a hard scifi contest on Inkshares.
    
Thane and Tamahome: DragonCon is announcing its own genre award. 
AND Nominations for the Parsec Awards are open! 
    
Tamahome: New Kindle with battery case coming
    
BARE YOUR SWORD
    
Hi Tom / Veronica,

You may be interested in: ‘Philip K Dick Tweets’.  This will play out the entire life of Philip K Dick in around 600 tweets, over the course of about 6 months.
It’s starting off right now at:
 
http://twitter.com/DoAndroidsTweet
 
It is just for its own sake, there is no PR campaign or commercial affiliations etc.  I’m just a Philip K Dick fan who would like to share the story of his fascinating life.  I did the same sort of thing for Wittgenstein (http://twitter.com/WittTweets) and Oppenheimer (http://twitter.com/OppieTweets). 
 
Both of these projects attracted a huge amount of interest from people who told me they were really thankful they were aware of it and following it right from the start.  I would be massively appreciative if you could share the news of this Philip K Dick project, so that as many people as possible can enjoy it.  It’ll clearly appeal to any hardcore Philip K Dick fan, but I think any sci-fi fan really.
 
It’s very much based on Lawrence Sutin’s (1989) biography of Philip K Dick and I’ve attempted to make it as accurate as possible. I give more information here:
http://zephauerbach.com/pkd
So please feel free to share the link @DoAndroidsTweet.  If you have any ideas on how to publicise this project more, please let me know.
 
Thanks!
 Zeph Auerbach
---
    
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION    
    
Vote on June's Laser pick

April Picks
A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab    
The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin
 
 ADDENDUMS    
    
Thanks to everyone who pre-ordered Pilot X on Inkshares! On our way to the full publishing goal.
    
Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser 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/picks.

S&L Podcast - #249 - Secrets of All the Birds in the Sky w/ Charlie Jane Anders

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We’re joined by Charlie Jane Anders to wrap up her book, All the Birds in the Sky. Did you know Kevin has a secret history? What anime inspired Ernesto? These things, as well as all the winners of all the awards on this episode.

Download episode here!
    
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?    
Tom: Irish Car Fuse (Carolan's Creme and Jameson's)    
Veronica: James Pepper 1776 Rye    
    
QUICK BURNS
    
Ramez Naam's Apex Is The Winner Of The Philip K. Dick Award  
Reminder: Hugo Award Nominations Close March 31st
WINNERS: 2015 Aurealis Awards    
WINNERS: 2016 Ditmar Awards
WINNERS: 2015 BSFA Awards
    
Louie: Andy Weir wrote fan fiction* for Ready Player One, and it is now canon. You can read "Lacero" here. Although, spoilers for Ready Player One.   

Joanna: The Warrior's Apprentice is being reprinted for its 30th anniversary. It came out June of 1986, which means that if you count from publish date, I'm only a week or so older. Considering that it's still my favorite all-time scifi series, this makes me happy. 
    
This episode of Sword and Laser is brought to you by Scott Sigler and his new book ALIGHT, Book II of the Generations Trilogy. Listen to an excerpt of ALIVE, the first book in the series, and watch the book trailer!


BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION    
    
BIG thanks to everybody who voted in the march madness tournament!    
    
A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab    
We'll kick them off in two weeks OR if you pledge $5 an episode at patreon.com/swordandlaser you can get the book briefing right now. 
    
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

ADDENDUMS

Tom has a book on Inkshares called Pilot X!    
    
Our show is made possible by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser 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/picks    
    

S&L Podcast - #247 - Parents Just Weren’t Understood

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We're checking in on All The Birds in The Sky by Charlie Jane Anders and why some people were put off by Patrica and Laurence's parents. Trust us, so were Patricia and Laurence. Also it's March Madness and we have the hot inside track on the April fantasy winner and how YOU can pick it.

Download direct here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?    
Tom: Lagunitas IPA    
Veronica: James Pepper 1776 Rye Whiskey  
    
QUICK BURNS
    
An Unattractive Vampire by Jim McDoniel is out today!

Dharmakirti: Ian McShane has been cast as Wednesday in the American Gods adaptation for Starz. YES! 
    
Alex: Good news for everybody who like non-western science-fiction and fantasy (like me), several drool-worthy translations are being released this year. Among them are the final volume in both the Three-Body Problem trilogy and the Night Watch series. And the never before translated to english book by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, The Doomed city.
    
Joanna: Lois McMaster Bujold was interviewed by David Larson for the NZ Herald. A pull quote I found interesting: 
"The great game change came, of course, with Amazon's Kindle, and it's been huge. I now make as much or more - every month! - from my [totalled] e-sales as I used to make every six months from my paper sales. I have no idea how long this manna from e-heaven will last but it's holding steady at the moment."
    
Tamahome: Lots of books from Peter F. Hamilton this year (SF April Madness?), including the conclusion to the Commonwealth Saga (Sep. 27 in US)
    
SFWA Names Sir Terry Pratchett as Recipient of the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award
    
Philip K. Dick Award Nominees Launch New Website, Offer Cool Stuff
    
Tamahome: V.E. Schwab’s A Gathering of Shadows Debuts at #15 on the New York Times Bestseller List
    
March Madness update
    
Vampire Secrets
    
BARE YOUR SWORD
    
Dear Veronica and Tom,

In the acknowledgements for All the Birds in the Sky, Charlie Jane Anders says she will come to your house and act the book out with finger puppets if there are confusing or disliked parts. I think you should take her up on it for the wrap up.

Cheers,
Jenny Colvin
    
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION    
    
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
    
Amy: I hate it, but I love it. I'm so confused!

Mr: Too self-aware
    
Michele:  Diversity and SJW themes
    
ADDENDUMS    
    
Congrats to the winners of copies of "The Life Engineered":
Adam G.
Mark M.
    
Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser 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/picks.  

S&L Podcast - #246 - The 34 Rules of Robotics with J-F Dubeau

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We chat with J-F Dubeau, author of The Life Engineered, first book in the Sword and Laser Inkshares collection. Find out whether the thousand year old robots in the book had any real life inspirations and whether they have sex. We're guessing you're slightly more interested in one of those questions than the other. 

Download direct here!

Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser 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/picks.

S&L Podcast - #245 - Terry Pratchett Helps Us Feel Better

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We're very excited about the debut of our first Sword and Laser Inkshares collection book, The Life Engineered by JF Dubeau. We're a little bummed that Tom forgot to bring more than water to drink. We're super-excited about the Nebula Award nominees. And we were a little bummed at some of the reactions to The Sword of Shannara. But Vickie helped us out with an amazing Terry Pratchett quote, and all was well in Swordandlaserville.

Download file here!
    
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?    
Tom:    Water
Veronica:     Hot Toddy
    
QUICK BURNS
    
The Life Engineered is out today!    
    
Andy (and Tamahome)The Dark Tower movie has a release date! January 13, 2017
    
Rob: Nebula nominees are out    
Nokomis.FL The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) have announced that John Hodgman will be Toastmaster at the 2016 Nebula Awards Weekend, the 50th anniversary of the Awards, to be held May 12-15, 2016.    
    
Sandra: Fans of Leigh Brackett can now own "The Book of Stark", a collection of novels and short stories about space adventure Eric John Stark!     
    
BARE YOUR SWORD
    
"Hi guys - I'm sure I should be more on top of things and post this on Reddit or something. I love the show and am glad to support it on Patreon. I thought you might be interested in a pretty cool fundraiser with a great SciFi twist that I learned about. Geeky Giving (geekygiving.org) is raising money for the Barrow Neurological Institute by getting SciFi writers and artists to create short stories and artwork inspired by the work done at Barrow. In exchange for a small donation, you receive periodic bundles of stories. They just published their first bundle with stories by Mary Robinette Kowal, Karina Cooper, Edward Ashton, and Sierra Dean. I love it when things I love, SciFi, can support not-for-profit organizations. Thanks!

Mitchell"
    
Recommended Utopian Scifi Novels
    
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION    
    
KICKOFF  

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
All The Birds in the Sky Tumblr
    
WRAP-UP    

Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
    
"I was listening to ep 243 and your discussion about Sword of Shanarra aping LotR. I'm surprised you didn't bring up the following Terry Pratchett quote regarding Tolkien and fantasy:

“J.R.R. Tolkien has become a sort of mountain, appearing in all subsequent fantasy in the way that Mt. Fuji appears so often in Japanese prints. Sometimes it’s big and up close. Sometimes it’s a shape on the horizon. Sometimes it’s not there at all, which means that the artist either has made a deliberate decision against the mountain, which is interesting in itself, or is in fact standing on Mt. Fuji.”
– Terry Pratchett, A Slip of the Keyboard: Collected Non-Fiction (p. 112)

It has really helped give me perspective when I think a book is too much like LotR. We frequently forget how huge LotR is in shaping all subsequent fantasy.

Vickie"    
    
ADDENDUMS    
Giveaway: Send us ideas for our 5-minute monthly silliness show through Patreon, or if you can't use patreon feedback@swordandlaser.com
    
 Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser 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/picks.
     

 

 

 

 

S&L Podcast - #244 - It's OK to Like Junk Fiction Sometimes

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Sometimes some people just want a story you can take your brain off and enjoy. If that's not you, keep your rain off my cotton candy. Also an awesome new effort to Kickstart an Ursula K. Leguin documentary and more great books becoming TV shows!

Download directly here!

QUICK BURNS

Paul: Victoria (V.E.) Schwab, author of "A Darker Shade of Magic" and the upcoming "Gathering of Shadows", among others, has announced that the TV rights for her "A Darker Shade of Magic" series have been acquired and she will be writing the pilot for it.

Stephen: Are you having a hard time keeping up with Hugo nominations as regards to Novelettes, short stories and the like, like me ? The good folks at Rocket stack rank have listed those they feel are the most worthy.

Tamahome: The Women Who Helped Revive Doctor Who Are Making a New Fantasy Show based on Deborah Harkness's books.

Aaron: There is a documentary of Ursula K. Le Guin's life on Kickstarter. 25 days left and already well above their target funds.

Sandra: Syfy announces that The Magicians will be renewed for a second season.

Trike: Bryan Fuller named showrunner of the new Star Trek TV series.

Rob: The script for the new Harry Potter plays will be released in book form.

BARE YOUR SWORD

Audible virgin looking for help

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

SoS: Why I like reading Junk Fiction (like SoS)

Special BONUS! Interview with James SA Cory from the "It's Spoilerin Time" show at cordkillers.com

ADDENDUMS

We'll be interviewing the first two authors in the Sword and Laser Inkshares collection coming out soon

Questions for J-F Dubeau author of The Life Engineered

Questions for Jim McDoniel author of An Unattractive Vampire

Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser 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/picks.