Surprise, there's a problem with hosting the Hugos in China. Plus: Keanu Reeves is co-writing with China Mieville, we kick off our February read, The Shadow of the Gods. And our spoilery thoughts on The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes.

Alternatives to Goodreads, and one of them is Amazon. Which owns Goodreads. What you can and can't do with Mickey Mouse. The "Who should play Murderbot" discussion continues. Typical human and augmented human stuff! Plus why Veronica should read this month's book pick.

Are there too many Nat 20s in Kings of the Wyld, our stance on Skarsgard as Murderbot, and we introduce the January pick (which has a lot of triggers).

All the end of year book picks are out with lots of great titles to add to your own list! Did Vonnegut think he was a genre writer? And our non-spoilery thoughts about Kings of the Wyld.

Veronica now knows how to catch up on Old Man's War. Should good books not be SciFi? Is "they said" saying too much? He “sucked his teeth” is not enough! We kick off Kings of the Wyld and wrap up Mimicking of Known Successes.

We're huge fans of mushrooms! Fourth Wing is EVERYWHERE. And remember, the very aspects of a novel you might not fancy could be the same ones that captivate someone else.

Awards season is here! We're celebrating deserving winners and discussing potential TV and movie adaptations of our favorite books. This November, we're diving into a novel about trains on Jupiter and concluding our October discussion on Father’s “5D chess.”

Best books of the year? Already? How Veronica got her k-wires out. And our non-spoilery thoughts on Library at Mount Char.

Veronica's state of K-wires, the most highly-rated books in the world, we kick off our read of The Library of Mount Char, and wrap up China Mountain Zhang.

We talk to Felicia Day about her new Audible Original Third Eye, and how her own struggles led to her story about a chosen one who fails. Plus, we talk about the importance of doing what you love and learning to leave your past behind (and why she's eating ground turkey a lot).

Guess what? The new Bobiverse is coming, and we would love to have your emails! Plus, we've got some super cool thoughts (no spoilers, promise) on China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh. But you don't have to take my blurb for it!

The last new Terry Pratchett stories, the rise of nonsense literature, a brief intro to our September pick China Mountain Zhang, and final thoughts on Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.

Veronica has been in Canada for a year, and the best book in Canada is about Marie Antoinette. Tom ate some breaded hairtail and is excited about Gail Carriger's K-pop post. Plus, we announce the September book and give a few non-spoilery thoughts about Ninth House.

Veronica curses the Lions and eats SO many blackberries. Also, our non-spoilery thoughts on Ninth House and Ivy League schools.

We get to the bottom of why it's called Fahrenheit 4-5-1 and which songs get stuck in our heads when we hear “Aes Sedai.” We finish up our thoughts on Planetfall by Emma Newman and kick off Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.

The Hugos are out! The Hugos are out! Huge cookies are out! TRIKE READS READER'S DIGEST? Plus, the varied emotions caused by Planetfall.

Some of our favorite authors are giving away free short stories and winning Locus Awards. What the best book club pick we ever made was. Why books that make you uncomfortable are important to read. And our last thoughts on Fourth Wing.

So much good news! Telltale Games is making a game based on The Expanse! Season 2 trailer for Good Omens!Humble Bundle has Mercedes Lackey books. And we think it should stop being humble and admit it's awesome! Plus we check in on Fourth Wing. Turns out more people like it than you think.

Are lengthy books inherently inferior? Tom and Veronica ignite a clash of generations! Furthermore, we delve into the captivating world of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros and conclude the enthralling journey of Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Foundation is coming back to Apple TV, why Silo is great, you should not eat a bear, and what makes a great alien.

Taika Waititi is adapting a fantasy novel and also looked quite fine at the Met. Plus, self-publishing award winners, Locus nominees, and we have a progressive story in the works!

We wrap up Legends and Lattes and have a great idea for a sequel involving Thimble doing a cooking show. Plus, we're getting a Twilight TV series? We’ll make our best guesses about that too. Finally, Veronica's thoughts on spotted dick.

We hear a better version of the Pokemon cookbook than the real one, Veronica gets the tipoff for hot sauce, and our first cozy feelings about Legends and Lattes.

New books for spring, finalists for the Annual Lambda and Imadjinn Awards, and the Internet Archive's e-book lending lawsuit. Plus, we kick off the March Madness winner!

The March Madness semifinals are here! And the race is TIGHT. Our first (non-spoiler) thoughts about Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings. Nomination lists are out for Nebulas and Bradbury's, and nomming has begun for the Hugos (hint hint). Plus why everybody ate lasagna after our last episode!

Our “March that is Mad” tournament is live! 15 books enter, one gets to be the April pick, and everyone wins! Plus, please stop flooding Clarkesworld with AI-written manuscripts. Use ChatGPT for good! Also, we kick off our March read and wrap up our thoughts on Nettle & Bone.

Three Body Problem is coming to two platforms, so many beginning-of-the-year reading lists, and why we all love Bonedog (even Tom).

We may be getting some Zelazny TV, Murderbot is coming back, some ideas of non-fiction book picks we could try, and we kick off our February book pick, Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher.

We check in on how everyone is feeling about Brightness Falls From the Air. We also feel mildly optimistic about Apple's digital narrators, and we discuss the best way to introduce someone to a series.

A very tense episode as Veronica and Tom violently agree about Elric of Melniboné. Plus, the most anticipated books of 2023, and how to take advantage of Novelist at your local library.

We properly credit the amazing Nancy Pearl and her four doorways into stories. And we want yours! Send them to feedback@swordandlaser.com. Plus our mid-read takes on Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné. Also, we break the news about Henry Cavill to Veronica live on the show.

We wrap up our thoughts on Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty and Tom tries out his 4-part way of evaluating books to explain why people enjoyed it differently. Plus we kick off our December pick, Elric of Melniboné, encourage you to save Locus Magazine and Veronica is IMPRESSIVE at reading author names now.

Veronica forgets what beer she had. Must be a good beer. It was a blonde in a tall can. A leggy blonde perhaps? Also, we have the World Fantasy Award winner AND the SPFBO finalists! Plus our non-spoilery first impressions of Mur Lafferty's Six Wakes.

Veronica is very concerned about the Witcher news. Also on this episode: we have some prize winners to increase your to-read list. We pick a tentative fan name for y'all. We kick off our November read, Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty, AND our final thoughts on The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri. Also, Veronica might have Crow-vid.

It's our 15th anniversary! And we celebrated by making puns, discussing our favorite wearable fantasy and sci-fi weapons, and finding rumors about our hometowns. We also check in on our read of The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri.

[Ed. note: We tried to fix V’s audio, sorry for the weirdness!] Veronica may have overdone becoming a friend of crows. She has more than 100 of them in her driveway now. Plus, we kick off our non-spoilery thoughts on The Jasmine Throne.

We love the Wellsian Touch, be it murderbots or fantasy. Is there a Harry Potter of SciFi? And we wrap up How High we Go in the Dark… and suggest the S&L edit.

The Hugos are here and lots of very deserving winners. A roguish story bundle. Are TV shows worse than an ending? Our first thoughts on How High We Go in the Dark, and our last thoughts on Rivers of London.

We get more Tor now and possibly more Lord of the Rings movies. Plus a nuanced discussion of representation in a book when the author is white.

Is Hunt the Stars a summer fling? We wrap up our thoughts on the SFR hit. Plus, the lowdown on the RandomPenguin antitrust lawsuit as they try to buy Simon and Schuster.

Has a book ever changed your mind? Do authors write differently for audio? Pack that reading list with Clarke award nominees, it’s a new Sword and Laser!

We have Locus winners and Veronica read so many of them! Plus, what makes some books seem like a retread while others more of a remix? And our first thoughts on Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik.

So many awards! We learn about a novelization of an unpublished Alien 3 script by William Gibson. We take a brief trip back to episode 1. And we share the books we picked to read this month in honor of Jenny.

It's award season! We have Nebulas, we have Mythopoeics, we have Nommos. We also have some nice reviews of the show, and we wrap up our thoughts on Machinehood by S.B. Divya. It made us think!

The hope of science fiction spurred by a science museum, Dracula by email, why it's called a tetralogy and our non-spoilery thoughts on Machinehood, and our goodbyes to friend of the show, Jenny Colvin.

Is a mystery ruined if you guess the perpetrator too early? We say maybe not! Plus good news from Peter V. Brett and more radical transparency from Veronica.

The Hugo finalists are out? Already? Already! A banned beer. And our initial non-spoiler impressions of Master of Djinn.

A whole bundle of good stories, telling tales from the point of view of villains, and we kick off our reading of A Master of Djinn by P. Djèli Clark.

We discuss our March Madness winner, salute Martha Wells, and wrap up our copious thoughts about Pandora's Star. Are you in with the motiles?

We have thoughts about why a rooster crows. Plus all the Nebula news and more awards. And we dig into our non-spoilery thoughts on Pandora’s Star.

A mad, mad March has arrived! Every year in March we run a tournament to determine the April book pick. And like some actual sporting tournaments, we often have to begin that March tournament in February. We also wrap up The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo.

What flavor of fantasy do you like? We discuss that and more in kicking off Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo. Also, nominations are open for our March tournament!

We have a rousing discussion of redemption in Light from Uncommon Stars, get way too many awesome items for our to be read lists from the ALA, and discuss pivoting the show to include TV shows (and maybe therapy?).

We are excited about a possible new Scalzi TV show, Twitter summaries of great books, and our first non-spoilery thoughts on Light from Uncommon Stars.

Congrats Murderbot! In congratulations, we will let you watch your dramas unbothered by human emotions. We wonder some about Chengdu. And we not only kick off our January pick, but wrap up our December one too!

End of year book lists for days! Who can take on Arthur C. Clarke and pillow friends?

We wrap up our last thoughts on Aurora Rising by Alistair Reynolds and kick off the new read, The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova.

We have pumpkin spiked lattes and cheese. In fact one cheesy book literally molds. Plus we check in with a non-spoilery discussion of Aurora Rising/The Prefect by Alistair Reynolds.

We talk a little about cheese, a lot about wine, and too much about the Shrike. Plus lots of good Dune news, and we kick off our read of an Alastair Reynolds novel that may be called The Prefect or Aurora Rising depending on where you buy it.

Veronica and Tom discover why horror is like cheese. Plus the reason a German book is being made into an English TV show by Germans. And our spoilery final thoughts on NOS4A2 by Joe Hill!

Some things aren't for everybody, like our current read NOS4A2, or the new Game of Thrones trailer. But don't worry, there are plenty of other great things to read like the British Fantasy Award winners and more!

Lots of award winners to beef up your To Be Read lists, plus our assumptions about Murderbot, what makes a spoiler a spoiler, and we wrap up our final thoughts on Terra Nullius.

Tom and Veronica are jealous of those with Leviathan Falls ARCs, and wonder if a phobia ever affected your book enjoyment! Plus we kick-off Terra Nullius, and Tom reassures us that it IS SciFi.

Alastair Reynolds has a book, Tom needs a bookcrate sub stat, and our wrap-up of The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry.

We've got Dragon Award finalists, a Kickstarter roundup for small publishers, and Tom buys new bookends. Plus, our non-spoiler thoughts on The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry.

Poet Andrew Heaton joins us to wrap up our thoughts on Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks. Plus, the greatest zombie film in the world and totally metal T-shirts to show your support of Octavia Butler and other awesome authors.

DisCon is not for Disco but it could be? Why Veronica and Tom aren't idiots. All the summer reading list fodder your list can take. Who was your first binge? And is hard Sci-Fi cold by nature?

Should Tom enter a book contest? Good Omens season 2 is a good idea. And our final thoughts on Piranesi, problematic and otherwise.

Congrats to the Nebula Award winners! Plus, a nine-year-old forum conversation on cover art continues, and our further thoughts on Piranesi (and how learning things can be a bummer sometimes).

Veronica is back! And we have good news about TorCon, lots of new book recommendations from iO9, thoughts on the phrase "Asian Fantasy" and our kick-off of the June book pick, Piranesi by Susannah Clarke.

The final book of the Expanse has been handed in for publication. Feelings of joy and sadness hit Tom. Plus, did Murderbot convert Robb Dunewood into a SciFi fan. Find out!

We have finalists in the Ignyte awards, Locus awards, some upcoming release dates for new Green Bone Saga stories and why Robb Dunewood has stopped worrying and learned to love the Murderbot.

Hugo awards are out and we’ve almost read all the authors! Jenny Colvin from Reading Envy is back but we also have hints of a new forthcoming host of Sword and Laser. Plus our last delightful thoughts about the House on the Cerulean Sea!

#408 - You Can't Spell Young Adult without Adult by Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont

Alex Brown is back, the Nebula nominess are out and they are great! We also discover new teas, the real flavor of crab chips, and talk about our thoughts on Elatsoe by Darci Little Badger.

Alex Brown is here and we talk about all the excellent books getting nominated for and winning awards. Plus why Amazon won't sell ebooks to libraries, how animated rat skeltons are pretty awesome and we kick off our March book, Elatsoe!

The hosts of the SMR Podcast join Tom to discuss The Fold by Peter Clines. Is the main character overpowered? Can they convince Christ to read the book? Plus why kids these days get to tour potato chip factories AND the beginning of March madness!

So many new reading list suggestions from Locus to the ALA to TheMarySue. Plus George RR Martin updates on his progress. And Rod Simmons from SMR Podcast is here to disucss this month's pick The Fold by Peter Clines.

Mallory O'Meara from Reading Glasses is back and she's very skeptical about adapting the Sparrow for television. The hands alone! Also new Game of Thrones universe TV options and our final thoughts on The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline.

#402 - A tripod has three legs.... by Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont

We learn the mysteries of the fig newton and Fangtasia. PLUS we kickoff our January book with a SUPRISE GUEST and how Parable of the Sower ended making Brea and Tom more hopeful.

Lots of great books are turning into TV shows and movies and lots of great book recommendation lists are coming out! We also become experts on Boxing Day and are BLOWN AWAY by Trike's Sword and laser word search. And Brea and Tom make recommendations of when NOT to read Parable of the Sower.

Veronica is off on maternity leave but Brea Grant from the Reading Glasses podcast is here. yay! Brea gets to know pigeons, our legion of Richards and kicks off her pick for December, Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. We also need your help uncovering the mystery of Boxing Day.

It's Veronica's last episode before her maternity leave! OH MY. And we have some fun, including wrapping up our thoughts on Howl's Moving Castle.

Tom and Veronica draw the lines on whether they favor Alix E. Harrow or Tamsyn Muir (because they are both awesome). Tom has some new new writing coming out, and we have our first impressions of Howl's Moving Castle and why we missed out on it in our own childhoods.

How to make The Watch series not feel so bad maybe? Also, some great lists of top fantasy and sci-fi and a few more award winners. Plus, we kick off the November pick and wrap up Finder By Suzanne Palmer.

Sandman and Lord of the Rings go back intro production, why publishers shouldn't fear library eBooks, and a call for Sword and Laser book remembering help!

A couple of great series becoming books and video games. A couple of great folks sadly passed away. And our final thoughts on Ten Thousand Doors of January, and our FIRST thoughts on the October Pick, Finder.

Dune! Dune looks so good! Yay Dune! Save us! Help us escape! Actually, we’re pretty good on that front as Ten Thousand Doors of January is helping us all escape. And we’re also pretty bulllish on the team putting together a TV adaptation of Three-Body problem for Netflix. EVERYTHING IS GREAT!

We try to explain Audible's new plans, decide if Pinocchio is fantasy (especially if Mussolini is involved), and wrap-up our thoughts on Elysium by Jennifer Marie Brissett.

The Hugos are here! And we’ve read a bunch of them. Also, some thoughts on what should or should not be in the genre canon. Should there even be a canon? Or should we shoot it out of a cannon? Also our early, non-spoilery thoughts on Elysium.

We chat with Dennis E. Taylor about the Bobiverse, and what we can expect when we return to it in the new book Heaven's River.

In this episode, it's tricky to put the World in WorldCon, alternate history first contact, and Tom is really excited about next month's pick. Plus, we wrap up our ultimately satisfying read of Black Leopard, Red Wolf.

We talk with Sam Maggs about her new novel Unstoppable Wasp: Built on Hope, and about writing different stories in different platforms, from video games to comics to novels.

The first rule of Short Story Club, SFF with a smile, and how to get the most out of Black Leopard, Red Wolf.

We talk with L. E. Modesitt Jr, the bestselling author of two science fiction series and four fantasy series, who has published more than seventy novels. His latest book, Quantum Shadows is described as blending science fiction, myth, and legend in an adventure that pits old gods and new against one another in a far-future world.

We address the harassment accusations against authors, discover that the July pick could be classified as horror (to Veronica's horror), and have a whole lot of good TV coming based on a whole lot of good books.

Tom starts throwing money at Becky Chambers and Veronica defends her rose quartz. Plus, new Star Wars short stories coming and lots of great tie-in novels up for Scribe awards! Also our first impressions of A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine.

Congrats to the Locus Nominees and Nebula winners! We’ve read a bunch of those but there are some great new picks to be discovered too. Everybody wins! Plus long-time Sword and Laser listener TerpKristin joins us to wrap up Magician: Apprentice.

We're beefing up our reading lists with Japanese and British award lists. Also it's fun to see what critically-acclaimed movies are hated by the authors whose books they are based on. Plus, we preview our June pick and have a few thoughts on the May pick!

We're going to get some good Discworld TV! We talk about why sometimes you don't want to read old stuff, and whether you're someone who likes depressing consequences or happily ever after stories. All that and our first non-spoiler impressions of Magician: Apprentice.

We invited Andrew Heaton, Host of Alienating the Audience, to join us! Oh Dune… is there any wrong way to enjoy you? Possibly yes. We also wrap up How to Lose the Time War.

Veronica Roth is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Divergent series, the Carve the Mark duology, The End and Other Beginnings collection of short fiction, and most recently her newest novel, Chosen Ones. We talk to her about the new novel, and what it’s like doing a virtual book tour!

The Hugo Nominees are in! And we've read some fo them! Also the Nebula Nominees are in and we've read some of them too! And we have thoughts on the beauty of this month's pick, This is How You Lose the Time War.

Worldcon goes virtual and we totally get it, Tom has a new book out, ways to support your independent bookstore, we kick off our April pick, and FINALLY give our last thoughts on The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley.

We’ve got our first impressions of the new Star Wars: High Republic books, some great new award-winning picks, and our first impressions of The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley.

We unveil the 16 books we'll be pitting against each other in our quite Mad March tournament of polls. We also chat about the Nebula nominees, introduce our March pick, and give our final thoughts on Gideon the Ninth.

We need your book nominations for our totally “mad” March tournament. Of books! Also we’re psyched Locke and Key is on Netflix, the new Naomi Novik series, and our first non-spoilery thoughts on Gideon the Ninth.

We’ve got picks from librarians and the public domain! Plus we’re excited for Gideon the Ninth and we have our final thoughts on the January pick, In the Company of Others.

We’ve got Hugo nominations open! And a new Heinlein novel. I mean “new” to everybody but him, we guess. Plus, we kick off In the Company fo Others by Julie E. Czerneda.

Veronica explains the awesome piece in the New York Times about Ken Liu, we're excited for The Witcher, we announce the January book will be In the Company of Others by Julie Czerneda, and we wrap up The Hogfather by Terry Pratchett. Plus, we put the “fun” in Science Fungus.

Got reader’s block? We've got some tips to get you out of it. Is there too much SFF out there now? And why Death is Veronica's favorite character. We kick off Hogfather and give our final thoughts on Snow Queen!

How we’re feeling about the Snow Queen, and where it’s world-building might have drawn from. Plus two alternative pronunciation guides for the character names. Plus, a treasure trove of awesome articles about SciFi-type things!

So many awards! You have no excuse for not finding something awesome and new to read right now. Not that you ever do with us on the job, we hope. Also, our first impressions on reading The Snow Queen.

We explain why the Tiptree Award is now the Otherwise award, welcome the casting of Apple's Foundation TV show, and Sam Sykes has a message for Stephen King (and Myke Cole).

Should you feel guilty for re-reading? The answer is no. But you shouldn't feel guilty for not re-reading too. Plus our fantasy casting of A Darker Shade of Magic is pretty much all Keanu.

Targaryen TV show possible? Check. Clifford Simak movie on Netflix? Check. Far Side back? Check. Showtime turns down The Kingkiller Chronicle TV show? WHAT?! BUT LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA!

Fran Wilde's op-ed from the future sounds hilarious. N. K. Jemisin's new novel sounds awesome. And Andy Weir's short story has been adapted into a cool short film. So much good reading out there! Plus our thoughts on why Trail of Lightning has us thinking that sometimes you just have to kick your problems in the face.

The Hugos have come and gone, and they were awesome. Audible's in trouble for speech-to-text. But they're right, it's an accessibility issue. Also, the publishers are right, it's a copyright issue! Tell it to the judge, both of you! Plus, we kick off our September pick, Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse.

We had SO much fun at WorldCon in Dublin. We were blown away with how many people came out to see us!! We were literally prepared with plans for if the room was empty, but no, Ireland filled our room and our hearts. We got some great conversations and book recommendations from folks in the crowd too! Go raibh maith agaibh! The craic was grand!

Are we excited for The Witcher? Probably? Are we excited for the Hitchhiker's Guide Hulu TV series? Maybe? Are we excited for Vessel? In some ways? Is Tom excited for The Poppy War? YES!

Veronica is definitely not meeting direwolves in Ireland and stealing them and smuggling them back into the United States. Definitely not. Plus, our thoughts so far on Vessel by Lisa Nichols.

We’re so excited about our guest pick! It’s the kickoff for our July book, and the first ever-not-in-any-way chosen by Tom or Veronica. Also we love XKCD and we love Station 11. Also Dara and Terpkristin. So much love!

Tom talks with Greg van Eekhout, author of Voyage of the Dogs and California Bones about dogs, writing from local influences, and what the Nebulas mean to him. Also Tom embarrasses himself at least twice!

We're excited for a trip to the Hunger Games' past and to hear Tatiana Maslany show us her Orphan Black chops again. Plus, Veronica takes on a Jim Butcher challenge and our final thoughts on The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.

We’re cautiously pessimistic about Winds of Winter, but hey wouldn’t that be cool? Also we discover what famous authors we live in (yes, you read that right, live in) and our initial thoughts on The Last Unicorn. PLUS an astonishing announcement about next month’s pick!

Tom catches up with Rebecca Roanhorse, author of Trail of Lightning, to talk about writing native cultures in genre fiction and what she gets out of the Nebula conference.

Tom had fun at the Nebulas, and we’re excited about the winners. We also kick off a new book, wrap up the last one and give our thoughts about the Game of Thrones finale.

Locus Award finalists! Great supplementary material for the Martian Chronicles! Why we need utopias! AI Whisky! ALL THAT AND MORE! Sorry. We're really excited about this episode. We hope you will be too.

To Gene Wolfe! Thank you for Shadow and Claw and Pringles. Plus, William Gibson’s Alien 3, what you need to know before reading The Martian Chronicles, and our final thoughts on the vast conspiracies that make up Theft of Swords.

Brian's most recent book, Uncanny Collateral, is described (on Brian's Twitter) as "Harry Dresden meets Dog the Bounty Hunter in a fast-paced urban fantasy about a collection agent who works for the supernatural."

So many great books are nominated for Hugos. Independent Bookstore Day is coming up and the proper pronunciation of Riyria! and we kick off our impressions of the refreshing and comfy feelings we’re getting from the thoroughly enjoyable Theft of Swords.

So many books became options! We’re hopeful. Also we’re excited to read our March Madness winner, Theft of Swords. And why Dumbledore may or may not be an irresponsible headmaster.

We review the final four books in our Mad March Tournament. Plus lots of great new award-winners and nominees to fill your to-read list and our continuing thoughts on our re-read of Harry Potter.

Author S.A. Chakraborty joins us on the show to talk about the inspiration for her two recent books: The City of Brass and The Kingdom of Copper.

So many good TV shows based on books that we love are coming, and we even got a movie with a casting announcement that made Tom very excited! Plus, our final thoughts on The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal and the kick off of what we assume is a re-read for most of you, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling. Come on. Read it again! It’s fun! We are GO for March Madness! Head to Goodreads or find the link on swordandlaser.com to vote for your favorite books.

We chat with Mary Robinette Kowal, the author of this month’s pick, The Calculating Stars. From acknowledging and learning from your biases, to de-stigmatizing mental illness, to using math as a magic system, we had a lovely time and don’t care WHAT people would think.

So many news stories! We have to speed through them but there’s some good picks from lots of award winners in there. Plus, the best pajamas ever and whether Calculating Stars is steamy!

We’re very pleased that the Hugo Nominations are open and we’ll keep reminding you. Also we’re pleased to discuss pairing beer with novels and pleased to look over the new Philip K. Dick award nominees. We’re pleased to be reading Ninefox Gambit too, even if it makes our brain hurt.

We’re SO excited for books coming out this year, AND we award our favorite Sword and Laser reads for 2018! We finish with our final thoughts on Crows.

The Sword and Laser bump returns! Also, Veronica wants to start reading comics. And we realize we need brain, but that’s all we need. Isn’t that festive!

The Verge is writing SciFi for a better tomorrow, plus is Roald Dahl Fantasy? Is It's a Wonderful Life SciFi?

We’ve got options! For TV shows! Well we don’t but Annalee Newitz, Mira Grant and Kristine Kathryn Rusch do! Plus our feelings on Zeroes.

Tom inadvertently affects a listener feud, the truth about George R. R. Martin and why we think Zeroes is number 1.

Well we are certainly interested in Molly Gloss after that Ursula K. Leguin blurb, we’re mad on behalf of Chuck Wendig, each for different reasons, and coincidentally Zeroes by Chuck Wendig is our next pick. Plus we wrap up the journey that is Matt Ruff’s Lovecraft Country.

We're excited for optioned TV series for Circe and Dresden Files even if they are just options. Also we brainstorm Type 3 civilizations and female gearheads.

Gorgeous LeGuin books, more Bobiverse! and our final take on Slan.

We’re excited for TV with Henry Cavill as Geralt, and maybe even some Witchlands! Plus our initial non-spoilery impressions of this month’s book, Slan.

We talk to author R. A. Salvatore about his new book Timeless, and also how he feels these days about Chewbacca, Dungeons and Dragons and more. Timeless is out September 4. Pick it up in the Salvastore!

We lost the Hugos and it was AWESOME! Plus we have great news about a new novel coming from Rivers Solomon, and a new ebookstore from Wal-Mart. Plus we kick off Slan by A. E. van Vogt and our final thoughts on Jade City.

SFF readers have more mature relationship views. It's science. And hey! We're still Hugo-nominated! Will we stay that way or become winners? Who can say? But we have other things to say, like what we think of Jade City by Fonda Lee.

The Tor vs. Library saga continues, we're pumped for the World Fantasy Award nominees, and the serendipity of reading a book about the place you are at while you're reading it. Trust us. It will make sense in the show.

We're excited about new monsters and solarpunk but mostly we're excited about Mortal Engines! Except for all the murder.

We team up with Mallory and Brea from Reading Glasses for a supercollaboration with reading advice, emails, and discussion of Mortal Engines.

Why we think Amazon may have been cribbing off us, the reality TV connection to ancient Greece, and the raging 2X audiobook debate speeds along.

A database of all the stories, Stranger Things enters the tie-in book world, a debate about speed-listening, and what Veronica REALLY thinks about Zeus.

We're very excited about the Expanse coming back and Gail Carriger's plans and that the "What are we drinking" segment got a good review! Plus the different takes on mythology from our two latest book picks.

Brian McClellan joins us to talk about his latest book, Wrath of Empire (second book in the Gods of Blood and Powder series). Plus we find out why he may not want to time travel, and what his writing kryptonite is!

So many awards! Locus, Scribe, Parsec, oh my! Plus why we think maybe it's OK to read the 21 books you shouldn't read, and we kick off Tanith Lee's amazing Night's Master.

Have you ever walked into a book store and just froze? Us too. We'll talk you through it. Plus we announced the May book pick and Tanith Lee fans will be happy! Because it's by Tanith Lee! Also the wrap-up for We Are Legion (We are Bob).

We are SO excited to be nominated for the Hugos! Thank you! Also the return of the Expanse and why Amazon will spend $1 billion on a Middle Earth show.

The March tournament was so much fun, and in the end we'll read We Are Legion (We Are Bob) which is an appropriately fun book. We also talk about other podcasts that are cool to listen to, plus our last thoughts on the beautiful complexity of An Unkindness of Ghosts.

More Pratchett TV coming, and more Rothfuss books?  Plus more deep discussion about an Unkindness of Ghosts, including why blurbs may lead you astray.

Tom tries to convince Veronica to fight hate, but A Wrinkle In Time has her questioning love's power.

Hey the Hugo nominations are open and you can vote for us! Also Firefly is coming back as books. And the Hugo nominations are open and you can vote for us. Plus StoryBundle has an awesome set of books called Black Narratives! And the Hugo nominations are open and you can vote for us. Oh and the Locus Awards are open for voting. That one... you can't vote for us. But you can vote for us in the Hugos.

We share our memories and thoughts on the passing of Ursula K. Leguin. We also talk about how silly it is to think anybody but George R. R. Martin truly knows the release date for Winds of Winter, and discover the true villain of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Goodbye Shannara, hello The Blade Itself TV show? Also Moby Dick and Philip K Dick have different problems, and what the monster in Frankenstein might truly represent.

It's a whole new year of books, and we have some suggestions! Plus the science behind Westeros and the amazing 200-year-old Mary Shelley.

Ready Player One may have a sequel, The Witcher TV show has a show runner, and we have no bones to pick with California Bones.

#312 - Eating Bones for Fun and Magic by Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont

This week we have a lot to say about wine, some to say about Amazon's Lord of the Rings series and loads to say as we wrap up Connie Willis' Doomsday Book. Plus we kind of sort of kick off December's Book, California Bones.

OMG. Patrick Rothfuss is best buds with Lin-Manuel Miranda and they're doing a TV prequel to Kingkiller Chronicles, while Felicia Day plays Poppy the Dragonologist AND Amazon wants to do a Tolkien series. And that doesn't even begin to shed light on how good our book pick Doomsday Book is. But the piece de resistance of the show is one man's story of losing power and trying to read.

We’re happy for Chuck Wendig and sad for the passing of Roy Dotrice and Julian May. And we’re also debating whether side conversations are a good literary device.

That’s right, Sword and Laser has been picking and reading books for 10 years and we’re not even close to stopping. This week we discuss why you don’t need to travel to London to read Theodora Goss but it doesn’t hurt. And why we’re extra excited for Andy Weir’s Artemis.

Good Omens looks good, Annihilation looks great, our last thoughts on Helliconia Spring, and why we’re reading about monsters in October.

Annalee Newitz joins us on the show to talk about her new novel Autonomous. We discuss indentured robot servitude, the archaeological digs she's digging right now, and what the future of our economy could look like!

The Martin Studies International Network will help you study Westeros better, Scott Lynch gives hope for the next Locke Lamora book and sadly, we lose a great one in Jerry Pournelle,

We say goodbye to Brian W. Aldiss by reading one of his books. We respect Terry Pratchett's Steamroller wishes. And why Hey Jude is not an anachronism.

All the best books are being adapted into TV shows and movies including Good Omens, The City and the City, Dawn, and The Fifth Season! Plus we dive into the Gunslinger and talk mostly spoiler-free about fantasy westerns. And BONUS song about our Goodreads moderator, Rob.

We talk with author Daniel H. Wilson about his book, Clockwork Dynasty and why we might not need to fear the robots.

Hot Pie has a bakery! Ready Player One has a trailer! The Rook has a TV show! This episode has a final word on butterscotch! And the man in black has a gunslinger following him!

Hey kids, Nnedi Okorafor has an HBO show coming, EW and Tor have LOADS of book recommendations and we love the world created by Ursula K. Le Guin.

It's windy but in among the breeze, N.K. Jemisin shares wisdom about writing, characters and wrapping up the Broken Earth Trilogy. Plus she accidentally brings up FanFic and talks about why, even though it can be more than practice, it's really good for honing your writing.

George R. R. Martin has even more money coming his way, public domain books clean up nice, we love the Locus Award winners, and why Veronica is not allowed to let a bear eat her.

New Game of Thrones Trailer! AHHHHH! Levar Burton reading stories on a new podcast! AHHHH! Haint plot hole in the Hum and the Shiver-- ahhhhh— maybe not that big a deal?

We talk to Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham, the authors that make up James S. A. Corey, about coffee, distilled and fermented beverages and making The Expanse a TV show at BayCon 2017.

The Hugo nominees are out and we love them all, we kick off the Hum and the Shiver with music, and a spider that looks like a sorting hat.

We are excited about the winner of this year's Nebula, the finalists in the Locus awards, and so many TV shows coming from our favorite books. Plus, why Neil Gaiman will read a Cheesecake Factory Menu on stage.

We chat with author Cory Doctorow about his new novel Walkaway, which is post-apocalyptic, but not dystopian. It's also DRM-free!

We've got more of Game of Thrones TV coming, the Arthur C. Clarke Award nominees, and our thoughts on why The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet is the opposite of epic in the best way possible.

We talk with M. R. Carey about his new book The Boy on the Bridge, and how The Girl with All the Gifts became a movie!

Neil Gaiman makes sure the American Gods TV show is prepared for the sequel he hasn’t even written yet, why the Invisible Library doesn’t need to change the world to be awesome, and a plea for regular folks to get back to Fantasyland.

Matthew Isaac Sobin tells how his desire to write a beautiful story about the solar system, and how the aggressive encouragement of a friend led to the story of Jonathan, the Last Machine in the Solar System.

Hugo Nominees are in! The African Speculative Fiction Society nominees are in! People pressuring you to read 200 books a year are in. But us slow readers draw the line.

A SciFi book is mysteriously returned after 35 years,  at the same time a billionaire suddenly invests in brain implants and a skull begins to talk. Are these events connected somehow? Yes. They're all discussed in this episode along with Gateway by Frederick Pohl.

Author Brian McClellan talks with us about his new entry point into the Powder Mage universe, Sins of Empire, why there's no wrong order to reading his books, and his attitude toward research.

Sometimes a character does stuff you hate. And that’s OK! We explain why. Plus: great space opera, women writer picks, and some guy named Tom wrote a book too.

Brittany Curran, who plays Fen on The Magicians, talks about how her childhood love of C.S. Lewis has turned into a modern-day trip to Fillory. Plus, the best way to enjoy Walt Whitman!

The Nebula Award Nominees are out, the Gateway is in and we’re glad we traveled The Salt Roads. But most of all we’re geared up for the March Madness tournament of fantasy. Get your voting fingers clicking folks!

We check in on our reading of The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson, get some hints on the progress of the next Kingkiller Chronicle, and find another way to track author releases.

Bradley Beaulieu is on the show to talk about the second book in “The Song of the Shattered Sands” series called “With Blood Upon the Sand” coming February 7th. We also find out what a Pinterest board can do to build a better world!

Neil Gaiman is running a new TV show and we're excited! Plus the Arrival folks are making a Larry Niven short story into a show, and indie bookstores are booming! We also kick-off Nalo Hopkinson's The Salt Roads.

Person hunter, really! He's an equal-opportunity ass-kicker. Author and fighter of crimes, Myke Cole, tells us how he got involved in the new CBS show Hunted! And, what Sam Sykes has to do with any of it.

A hot new approach to a fantasy trilogy, the real drama of rocket scientists involves cake, and why you can’t trust turkeys to rigorously use data to predict future results.

We commend Terry Brooks' foresight, possibly convince Veronica to watch the Man in the High Castle some more, and give you important information to get the most of The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu.

We discuss whether the central plot device (the hook!) of the Rook is a cliche or clever. Plus, how to find the best stories in SciFi and Fantasy and help authors get exposure at the same time.

We kick off our December book, the Rook by Daniel O’Malley and we are so excited for Lin-Manuel Miranda to team up with Patrick Rothfuss. http://swordandlaser.com/home/2016/12/7/sl-podcast-275-get-hip-with-the-rook https://www.patreon.com/posts/7439054

We wrap up our thoughts on the cartoon violence and snappy dialog of David Wong's dissertation on lawlessness in Tabula Rasa. We think we know what it could be a metaphor for. Whether it is or not is left as an exercise for the reader.

We are optimistic for Dune, excited for The Expanse, and hopeful for Stranger in a Strange Land. But we’re certain of what we want Emilia Clarke to be in the Han Solo movie.

We congratulate Brandon Sanderson and the World Fantasy Award winners and try to calibrate the futuristic violence for you. The fancy suits calibrate themselves.

We discover that some people's names just don't work as awards. We're excited about a site full of fictional timelines. And we ponder troubling jinni paternity questions.

We don't want you to steal cats (not even books, really), just to take home the exhibit from the Museum of Science Fiction. We'll explain! Plus, you must cast your vote for the classic or the new! Will you vote against Veronica?

We look for authors who satisfy like Scalzi, find out how dirty the new dirty editions of The Magicians are and discuss an ethical question regarding library books.

We praise the underrated and print books, and we get into the dog-eat-dog world of Fire Upon the Deep!

The Hugos are in, for 2016 and 1941! And although the Thorn of Emberlain is delayed, we understand. We also pick our favorite wizard school and wrap up The Last Wish.

This week we dive into our (non-spoilery) thoughts on the Witcher and get excited about a movie based on Ted Chiang's story and a TV series based on George R. R. Martin's Wild Cards. But Brad poses a question about how one tells if they're reading too much.

We talk with Dave Barrett, author of Inkshares book It's All Fun and Games and Zac Linville author of Inkshares book Welcome to Deadland. One has zombie-like inhabitants based on theme park patrons and the other finds a LARP outing becoming all too real.

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?

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.

G. Derek Adams, author of Asteroid Made of Dragons, knows his title is over the top. He meant it that way, and it's part of the genius of his stories. Find out which rules he breaks, why, and how it made for a wonderful cast of characters in a fascinating world.

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.

Fran Wilde talks to us about Updraft, how she was inspired to create the bone city, and why she doesn't mind the young adult label but it doesn't always mean what people say it means.

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).

Ramez Naam talks about his Nexus trilogy, nanotechnology, and when to worry about AI getting too smart!

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.

We talk with Jason Greene and Alex Berg from Hardcore Game of Thrones, a show that tells the history of Westeros in the style of Dan Carlin's Hardcore History.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

Ken Liu, author of The Grace of Kings tells us about the inspiration for his worlds, his domain name, how translation has helped him as a writer, and why silkpunk is a thing (but probably not the thing you’re thinking).

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.

Jim McDoniel, author of An Unattractive Vampire, is not only the second author to get published in the Sword and Laser collection, he’s also a truth-sayer. About vampires. Like how they aren’t sparkly (usually). Return to the vampire roots with him!

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.

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.

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.

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!

Yes you can nominate your favorite novels, short stories, TV scripts and— oh look, fancasts! We also discuss the line between inspiration and appropriation regarding Sword of Shannara.

We congratulate the winners of our Inkshares contest and name the book that will be joining our Sword and Laser collection. Plus, why you shouldn’t be angry at George R. R. Martin and how Catherynne M. Valente’s Radiance is like a Tone Poem.

We talk to three of the leaders in the Inkshares Sword and Laser collection contest. From animal people to lonely AI to epic flesh carvers have they got some stories for you!

Over the break, we took a little time out of vacation to talk about our holiday reads, from ancient history to Chewbacca. Sigh. No Star Wars spoilers we promise. We’re not there anymore. But we can pretend we are in this episode.

We wrap up our thoughts about Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey. And we discuss why calling a character a “Mary Sue” has become meaningless and impedes constructive conversation.

A newly-discovered short story from W.E.B. Dubois called “The Princess Steel” seems to anticipate elements of Game of Thrones and Doctor Who. Plus, we kick off the book with the talking horses!

Author Chuck Gannon joins us on the show this week to talk about his most recent work in the Caine Riordan series (Raising Caine), as well as helping the government figure out the future as part of SIGMA. This is one busy guy, let me tell you.

We wrap up what people thought about Time and Again by Jack Finney. Some loved the imagery, some got bored, and some thought he was just too hard on New York City.

We interview Mallory O'Meara, producer and screenwriter for Dark Dunes Productions, about Yamasong: March of the Hallows, a movie about an automated girl and tortoise warrior, with puppets, Nathon Fillion’s voice and more. We also discuss her love of horror fiction, and how weird it is that her grandparents have a torture shack in the woods! http://swordandlaser.com/home/2015/11/16/sl-podcast-235-how-to-become-a-turtle-puppet-horror-master

George R R Martin will only say that Game of Thrones will end in a bittersweet way. We’re pretty sure we know what that means. Also Chinese Nebula Award winners and our first impressions of Time and Again by Jack Finney.

At Con-Volution 2015 we sat down with author/podcaster/publicist Jaym Gates and talked about her unique perspective on publishing from within and without.

We wrap up our October book pick, The Traitor Baru Cormorant. Some people find the hero less than heroic. Some people find the genre less than fantasy. So why did Tom like it so much? Is HE a traitor? Also a short story vending machine and why we're so jealous of Ann Leckie's good taste. http://swordandlaser.com/home/2015/10/27/sl-podcast-232-is-this-book-a-traitor-to-its-genre

We have a delightful conversation with Catherynne M. Valente about decopunk, book awards, and why she fears spoiling herself about her own stories while she’s writing them. Her decopunk book Radiance is out now! 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/. http://swordandlaser.com/home/2015/10/20/sl-podcast-231-can-an-author-spoil-herself

We cheer for Patrick Rothfuss winning the Hollywood game, jeer a little at Spielberg refusing to put a Delorean in the Ready Player One movie and peruse with careful academic curiosity a study showing the increase in empathy caused by reading.

With the huge success of the film adaptation this month, we thought it would be fun to travel back in time to our interview with The Martian author Andy Weir and Influx author Daniel Suarez.

We wrap up A Canticle for Leibowitz and explore all its science and religion feels. Also we welcome a new Expanse series cover, a new Gaiman baby and we discover why Taylor Swift IS the Kwisatz Haderach.

This week, things really go nuts when Veronica realizes that she likes Tom's book pick more than Tom does, which causes Tom to question everything he has ever known. Meanwhile, over on Goodreads, Thane questions whether present tense is the bane of genre fiction! Hmmm...

This weekend at DragonCon 2015 in Atlanta, we had the great fortune of chatting with Cherie Priest for an hour in front a live audience of Sword & Laser enthusiasts! Listen in to hear Cherie's rise from goth to glorious, the proper way to distinguish steampunk from goth, and why Lizzie Borden is not who you thought.

We’re happy for the Hugos, sad for the last Terry Pratchett novel, and J.R.R. Tolkien has a new book. Plus, we wrap up Uprooted by Naomi Novik and make our peace with a trope. Full show notes: http://swordandlaser.com/home/2015/8/26/sl-podcast-225-embrace-the-manic-pixie-dream-witch

We chat with J-F Dubeau, author of The Life Engineered about why we should keep calm and build more robots. Also the good news of more Game of Thrones coming to TV thrilled the live audience at Nerdtacular 2015 as did our surprise host-swap! And thanks to Matt Avery of The Tadpool for the album art inspiration ;) Recorded before a live studio of nerds, and thanks to Jeff Cannata of We Have Concerns for joining in!

Scott Sigler’s Alive is out, and even though he didn’t mean it as Young Adult fiction it’s turned out that way. And even though he didn’t mean it to be Science Fiction, it’s turned out that way too! Find out why this all happened and why he’s happy with all of it.

This week we congratulate several more authors on TV deals, one author on getting to write more movie books, and another author on having too many potential movie deals. We also come to the conclusion that Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel is all the genres.

We have an eyewitness report from the ALA conference in San Francisco, our initial thoughts on Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and Neil Gaiman will write some episodes for the American Gods TV series. Thank American Gods!

Ellen DeGeneres is apparently interested in adapting Naomi Novik's Uprooted as a film. But, we all know there's a long road from "interest" to "released." Just ask Neil Gaiman. The good news is Gaiman's American Gods is finally green-lit for TV! So there's hope. Unless you're a god from the Continent! More about that as we wrap up The City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett.

We talk with author Beth Cato, author of The Clockwork Dagger, about why healers are never the hero in genre fiction and how she decided to change that. We also press her for baked brie recipes and discover how the Foo Fighters helped shape Octavia Leander.

First off we now have a 100% record picking Nebula-award winning books for the club. That’s 100% of the last two years. So take note Nebula-wanters! Also we’re very excited about a new series from University of Illinois Press called the Masters of Science Fiction. You can find out William Gibson’s secrets!

Peter Orullian wears many hats. He is an author, musician, and has worked for many years at Microsoft on the XBox team. Today we talk about his series The Vault of Heaven, get the scoop on his all-time favorite music, and hear why Peter believes there is no such thing as writer's block.

We congratulate John Scalzi on his book deal (while Veronica teases about his Lock In Sequel’s title), applaud Ernest Cline’s choice of audiobook narrator and have polar opposite opinions about Leigh Brackett’s “Sword of Rhiannon.”

We talk with Rachel Aaron about why she doesn't worry about genre anymore and how she had to fight the siren song of Warcraft to become a professional writer.

Everything you’ve ever read seems to be coming to TV. Plus Veronica tries to uncover Tom’s secret political conspiracy, while Tom changes Veronica’s opinion of 1940s era swashbuckling.

Rucksack Universe Author and Pratchett Enthusiast, Anthony St. Clair joins us to wrap up our reading of Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters. Is Granny Weatherwax a conduit for Pratchett's righteous anger? Does Tom live next to Nanny Ogg? All these mysteries and more revealed.

We're excited and fearful about a new chapter from George R.R. Martin's Winds of Winter, we're hopeful about new books from John Scalzi and Ann Leckie and we're just a little wistful and/or angry about the Hugos.

We give our last thoughts on The Goblin Emperor, kick of our April pick, Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett and discuss why some author names are bigger than their titles. But what really gets this episode going is the debate about whether a reader has the right to "clean up" an author's language.

We talk with Peter V. Brett about his new book, cool tattoos and the last enjoyable book he read. The Skull Throne, 4th in the Demon Cycle series, comes out March 31, 2015.

Created by Scott Johnson! http://www.myextralife.com/

We bid adieu to Terry Pratchett and commemorate him with one more book pick next month. We cheer for Chuck Wendig being picked for the next Star Wars novel. And we wonder if we are too much like the Goblin Emperor. Are you?

Sarah Monette, a.k.a. Katherine Addison, tells us why you’re all right about the Goblin Emperor, why the wizards in the book are so stubborn about using magic, and shares tips for inventing a language.

So much good news! Some of our favorite stories are becoming movies and TV shows and we even have good news of a popular indie author getting picked up by Tor. And we even make a stab at predicting the Nebula winner. Yet controversy rages in the Untheileneise court. Especially about how to pronounced Untheileneise.

Gary Whitta is an award-winning screenwriter who wrote The Book of Eli and worked on the first Star Wars standalone film. So when he had an idea for a dark historical fantasy story he wrote a book. Why? We ask him that, about successfully crowdfunding his novel, and much more on this episode! Oh, and yes. We ask him about Star Wars too.

We have a whole Wheel of Time pilot mystery to solve and then on top of it George RR Martin says any character in the Game of Thrones series could be killed even if they’re safe in the book. WHAT?! Hands off the Imp! Also we explore the mystery of why Tom didn’t like Annihilation more, even though he wanted to.

When you rule the world of powder mages you can do what you want. Brian McClellan wields his powder for good. In addition to delivering us the complete Powder Mage trilogy with the third book Autumn Republic, Brian is going to bring us a second trilogy in the same universe, all while growing his own spaghetti sauce and keeping bees. Impressive. Most impressive.

Veronica REALLY wanted to make the title of this episode "Tom Merritt is a sexist pig." But Tom doesn't need that kind of grief. And besides he has promised to read even more female SciFi/Fantasy authors going forward. But if you want to hear Veronica giggle at the notion-- as well as defend our book pick, Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer, and wax eloquent about the need for varied perspectives in literature-- then fire up this episode!

We welcome back the amazing Myke Cole to talk about how he finds time to write great books, fight crime, and decorate his apartment with even more books. We also pressure him into a startling revelation about unicorns. And of course, talk to him about his new book, Gemini Cell: A Shadow Ops Novel which is out now!

We wrap up The Sparrow. We loved it and it made us sad. We're also blown away at the quality of books being made into TV shows. Well, only a pilot and a trailer but so far so good. But should you risk reading a book and seeing a movie or TV show too? Maybe not!

Author and robotics engineer Daniel H. Wilson chats with us about his new story/app called Mayday: Deep Space about a person trapped on a ship full of monsters. Only you can help him survive! But of course we have to ask Daniel when the robots will rise up and kill us all.

Well we're here to kick off the new year AND celebrate our 200th episode so we gathered drinks and cheer and your favorite books of 2014 as well as our own and a few others. You'll never guess which one everybody picked! That's not true. You'll totally guess. You probably already guessed. But listen to the show anyway, OK. For us?

This week we almost wrap up The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, discuss the intricacies of eBook DRM and try to decide just how high a price our integrity would fetch. We also wonder the same about Neal Stephenson and Steven Hawking. Join us, won't you?

This week we're busy. We congratulate the winners of several year-end awards. We kick off our December book pick, The Night Circus, a beautiful novel by Erin Morgenstern. And we dive into some of the most wretched and hated terms and phrases in the professions of authorship. Mary Sue is under siege!

We sing the praises of Ursula K. Leguin, marvel at the casting of HBO's Westworld, announce our December book pick and wrap up Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick. Also, Veronica admits she would eat people. Ed. note: I would eat people -V

We have some awesome World Fantasy winners to talk about, some exciting casting news for The Magicians and The Expanse, but it really gets interesting when our “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” check-in turns into an ethics of meat-eating discussion.

It's a jam-packed episode this week with great news for Ann Leckie and Andy Weir, our wrap-up of Alif the Unseen, Kickoff of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and the determination that it's OK to hate the book I love.

We had a lovely time chatting with author Delilah Dawson about her struggles with Ikea furniture, brilliance on Twitter and the coining of Whimsydark. There's also a fair amount about blud and humans.

In Neil Gaiman’s new book, The Sleeper and the Spindle, Sleeping Beauty gets woken by a Queen’s kiss. And there’s pictures so it did happen. Fictionally speaking. We also discuss The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan, and find out people are pleasantly surprised by the techno-thrilling coming of age fantasy that is Alif the Unseen.

Robert Jackson Bennett joins us on the show this week to talk about his new book, City of Stairs! The city of Bulikov once wielded the powers of the gods to conquer the world, enslaving and brutalizing millions—until its divine protectors were killed. Now Bulikov has become just another colonial outpost of the world’s new geopolitical power, but the surreal landscape of the city itself—first shaped, now shattered, by the thousands of miracles its guardians once worked upon it—stands as a constant, haunting reminder of its former supremacy. Into this broken city steps Shara Thivani. Officially, the unassuming young woman is just another junior diplomat sent by Bulikov’s oppressors. Unofficially, she is one of her country’s most accomplished spies, dispatched to catch a murderer. But as Shara pursues the killer, she starts to suspect that the beings who ruled this terrible place may not be as dead as they seem—and that Bulikov’s cruel reign may not yet be over. We also take questions from you, the audience, and ask him what the heck was going on with the video below:

From excitement about a new book in the Old Man's War series, to a rising demand for SciFi, things are looking up on the laser side. We also find out that Tom doesn't use a Kindle and Veronica's opinion on spiders.

We chat with Timothy Zahn about his new book Soulminder. What happens when you can store a person's life essence separate from their body? And yes we get in a little talk about Star Wars and the prospects for Grand Admiral Thrawn and Jaina Solo too.

We dig into the first four stories from Ted Chiang's Stories of Your Life and Others, and boy do we learn a lot about ourselves and others. Plus you'll want to take your vitamins since Margaret Atwood's latest novel won't be available to read for 100 years and we explore the idea of regaining your literary virginity.

We talk with Naomi Novik, fanfic writer, Ruby on Rails coder and author of the Temeraire series, from DragonCon 2014 in Atlanta! Then, we wrap up Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

We congratulate all the winners of the Hugos and chat with Aidan Moher about how he took home the best fanzine Hugo for A Dribble of Ink. Veronica milks him for info on how to win, and then we learn a way you can help more people become better writers and win more Hugos!

Almost every book is becoming a TV show or movie. Also we tell you how to be a part of a living creation of Alice in Wonderland and we kick off Patrick Rothfuss’s Name of the Wind.

We chat with Steven Paul Leiva, author of Traveling in Space and his audiobook narrator Jeff Cannata, about aliens, the beauty of language and avoiding death.

There’s so much you can do with us this week, including bringing Neil Gaiman to the stage, discovering 20th century high fantasy, and saving humanity. And how we can save humanity makes Tom blush.

We ponder on Matt Damon's role in The Martian, why we love to hate villains, and the role of philosophy and ideology in Octavia Butler's Dawn. Join us, before Veronica falls into the hellmouth.

Ken Liu's short story "The Paper Menagerie" swept the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy Awards. His short story, "Mono no aware" won the 2013 Hugo, and his novella "The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary" was also nominated for a Hugo. We caught up with him at this year's Nebula awards and asked him if he takes writing-enhancement supplements.

We break down our June book pick, Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan, and find out why it's actually four or five books and its gods are not what they seem. Also we set up our July pick from Octavia Butler and decide whether warp speed is actually coming or not.

We talk to Emily Jiang at the Nebula Awards about her book Summoning the Phoenix, her foray into children's books and what she has planned for a full novel. Hint, it involves magic and spies.

Would you like to be in a George R. R. Martin Book? Got $20K? Don't mind being killed? Good. You can help wolves. Also we give our first impressions of Brian McClellan's The Promise of Blood and talk Geekomancy with Michael Underwood.

David Weber joins Tom Merritt at BayCon to talk about the origins of his writing, the journey of Honor Harrington and how he relies on his fans.

We intersect with Mr. Samuel R. Delany at the Nebula Awards to talk about his writings, old and new, and the role of science fiction, plus more stimulating conversation.

Veronica is back from China to regale us tales of motorboating pandas, but first we announce our June book pick and wrap-up The Martian by Andy Weir. Is it as scientifically accurate as so many say? We get an aerospace engineer's perspective.

We chat with Ann Leckie mere hours before she wins a Nebula award, about what it's like to get so many awards, and what's coming next for fans of her award-winning novel, Ancillary Justice.

N. K. Jemisin writes fiction that reads like history in the best way. But could it also be romance? We ask N. K. Jemisin that and how she's able to keep a day job and still write amazing fiction. We also find out what trope she'd like to give a rest. It's our season finale and we couldn't think of a better person to help us wrap things up in style!

Haven’t you wondered how orcs and goblins and other monsters see the world? Do they feel unfairly vilified? Jim C. Hines can help you walk a mile in their— scaly misshapen feet. Find out why the author of the Goblin Series finds book-cover poses personally painful and whether he’ll give you a fire spider.

Veronica is traveling in China, so we pre-recorded this episode and took the opportunity to properly wrap-up A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Leguin. We also kick off the rest of The Martian and promise to be better about these sorts of things once Veronica is back. Still, on the bright side, we are putting in practice a ton of great suggestions from the audience. Yay audience!

We're very excited to have Bryan Benson on the show today, who backed our Kickstarter for season 2 of video, and got to pick this month's book. He's a game designer, author and all around great guy. Plus, he helped us to realize that JJ Abrams has become the destroyer of canonicity in SciFi.

What kind of mind can write about a faerie war in Shakespearian England and Lovecraftian Nightmares in depression-era Maine? The kind of mind that can also win a Campbell award for best new writer and then go on to notch a couple Hugos. That's the kind of mind that sits inside the cranium of Elizabeth Bear. We got a chance to talk to Ms. Bear and find out her mind on a few issues and ask her some of your questions too!

Travel fantasy writer Anthony St. Clair (Home Sweet Road, Martini Destiny) is on the forefront of a new genre involving beer and travel, plus he reveals the secret for planning a book with one word.

Kevin Hearne was an English teacher who put up with rejection from twenty three agents and five publishers before he finally prevailed. Thank goodness he did! We would have never been able to meet Oberon! Oh, and Atticus too, of course. We ask Kevin many many things including if we can expect a TV or graphic novel adaptation, and why chicken apple sausages?

We're very excited that James S. A. Corey's 'The Expanse' is being made into a TV series! PLUS we sat down to chat with Andy Weir and Daniel Suarez. We learn you shouldn't go for a publisher, but go for an audience, and why you should NOT tell your friends your stories but make them read what you write instead.

How did Brent Weeks get from Montana to writing novels on napkins to becoming the bestselling author of the Lightbringer Series? We'll ask him about that, find out his favorite word and whether he still has those napkins.

Wes Chu has had many interesting (and varied) careers, but we're happy that he's focused on the fascinating tales of Tao. In this Google hangout, we talk about the upcoming finale to the series, where he's taking the story next, and answer your questions!

Chuck Wendig has a reputation for cursing. He also has a reputation for being a badass writer of amazing characters in inventive situations, across novels, comics and movies. He also invented cornpunk. Oh wait, he ALSO writes one of the best guides for writers ever made. But what is his favorite word? Well, now you'll just have to watch for that, and to see how many times our editor has to use the bleep button. Spoiler: he uses it more on the hosts than the guest.

From a debate on whether we should read early chapters from George R.R. Martin's "Winds of Winter" to the usefulness of Asimov's three laws, to our wrap-up of Altered Carbon, this is an episode that should contain a lot of wisdom. Who knows? It might!

This week you’ll learn how Alastair Reynolds went from Cornwall to a doctorate in astronomy, to pushing ice across the vastness of space. How much do current scientific advances influence him? Does he feel a kinship with Mass Effect? What order should you read his darn books in? All these questions and more will be answered.

We had a lovely time chatting with Brian McClellan, author of the Powder Mage trilogy. He answers a lot of questions about including history in novels, snorting gunpowder, smoking old-timey pipes while listening to flute music, and making cakes for Sam Sykes.

Have you been ignoring short stories? You’re missing out! And Rachel Swirsky is one of the best authors to prove it. Find out how this award-winning author and podcaster got into writing and poetry too!

We evaluate George R. R. Martin's plans to stay ahead of the HBO show, look forward to spaceships returning to SyFy, congratulate Arthur C. Clarke Award finalists and ponder the disgusting need for spit as a payment method in Richard K. Morgan's "Altered Carbon."

Sorry for the late podcast, everyone! I took a nasty tumble this week and broke my foot and wrist, so everything kind of shut down for a bit! But we're back, and so is Adam Christopher! We talk about the recently released Hang Wire, and upcoming The Burning Dark! http://swordandlaser.com/home/2014/3/15/sl-podcast-166-the-prolific-mr-adam-christopher

How do you become an award-winning puppeteer AND award-winning writer AND a audiobook narrator? Easy. Be Mary Robinette Kowal. We ask the author of Without a Summer and Valour and Vanity how she fits in all those things and still has time to convincingly imitate Patrick Rothfuss and convince Sam Sykes to make debatable life choices.

Anne Leonard's first book JUST came out. Congrats Anne! Moth and Spark is about a Prince who has been chosen to free dragons from bondage to the Empire, but nobody’s exactly sure how he should do it, not even their riders. He meets a doctor’s daughter who discovers she’s a seer. She’s also a commoner, so he really shouldn’t fall for her How do you shine a spotlight on such a young career? It's all in the backstory! Just watch. http://swordandlaser.com/home/2014/3/4/sl-video-author-spotlight-anne-leonard

We kick off our March book pick, Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan, ponder the brief career of Jonathan Ross as LonCon MC, and discover that at least Houghton Mifflin thinks SciFi is lit.

It's our author guide to Max Gladstone! If you want an author who knows how to work the financial crisis into epic fantasy and is handy with a sword, Max is your man. We also get the final word on a showdown between him and Scott Lynch. You won't believe who really runs the economy.

We chat with Bill Gourgey, who's Glide Trilogy does not settle for a run-of-the-mill post-apocalyptic world. What happens AFTER the post-apocalyptic dust settles!? We also find out how a tech analyst ends up writing genre novels and poetry. You won't believe his answer! Or maybe you will. You probably will. But you won't know what it is, unless you watch/listen to the show!

We're back!!! Welcome back to the space castle, everybody! HUGE thanks to our Kickstarter supporters for making this possible. In our first episode of Season 2, we talk to Wool Omnibus author Hugh Howey. Find out how not to get shoved outside and how George R. R. Martin motivated Hugh's career. and his number one editing tip. Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwIvAyp_5V4

Hugh Howey caused quite a stir with his findings about independent authors, but what does it mean for us readers? We also talk about the Wizard of Earthsea feminism implications and have an exciting election for the March book pick! There is a gavel involved.

We chat with Gregory A. Wilson, author of The Third Sign, about his newest novel Icarus and the graphic novel based on it that he and artist Matt Slay are working on. It's about a being who falls from the sky to save a world from tyranny. We also find out if he named his daughter after one of his own fictional characters.

This time around we're kicking off our February book pick, A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. Le Guin. If you're looking for the first tale a of a boy who attends a school of wizardry, we've got the goods, as well as what Ms. Le Guin, who wrote her book in 1968, thinks of Ms. Rowling. Plus The Clarion Workshop deadline is looming and USC and Intel make one author's world come alive.

At our meetup at Borderlands Book in San Francisco, we were treated to a wonderful song about the first three Dresden Files books by Sky Corbelli!

We've got some awesome news about new books from Peter F. Hamilton, Richard Morgan, Joe Abercrombie and Gillian Anderson. Plus we wrap up our January book, The Einstein Intersection.

We have a chance to chat with the fabulous Ian Tregillis, author of the Milkweed Triptych and Something More Than Night. He alludes to his secret 'Clakkers" project, explains how to make an angel talk like a shamus, and reveals Gretel's secret Reagan baby.

It's our first episode after New Year's and we're still recovering. Thank goodness Neil Gaiman, the Wertzone and Stephen Chow are here to perk us up. Plus we kick off our January book, The Einstein Intersection by Samuel R. Delany. http://swordandlaser.com/home/2014/1/7/sl-podcast-158-read-a-book-change-your-brain-science

We chat with Marie Brennan about her historical fiction her fictionalized history and all kinds of matters relating to anthropology, ethnography, archaeology and natural history. And dragons. Plus get a peek at how much glee she takes in chopping off hands. That and more insights coming your way in this interview with Marie Brennan. Show notes: http://swordandlaser.com/home/2013/12/19/sl-podcast-157-how-marie-brennans-fantasy-brings-the-science-to-fiction

It’s a no-holds barred episode where Tom and Veronica reveal their most horrible secrets. Happy Christmas! Also good news from Scott Lynch, slightly bad news from Charles Stross, and the book character you want on your side in a bar fight.

We had a really good time chatting with Sam Sykes, author of the Aeon's Gate series. Among other things, we learned what a flying shark is good for, why he left the Horde, what a "stealfie" is, and how Sam keeps his daily threat-making to a minimum. Plus your questions! Enjoy.

It’s a very dragon-filled episode, as we kick off our December pick, A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent, actually by Marie Brennan. Also Temeraire. And Paul and Storm steal our idea but we decide we like them anyway. http://swordandlaser.com/home/2013/12/10/sl-podcast-153-kicking-dragons

We talk with Peter V. Brett about his Demon Cycle books, the grim world of dark fantasy, his old HP iPaq and why he's so big in Germany. http://swordandlaser.com/home/2013/12/3/sl-podcast-152-peter-v-brett-is-the-dark-david-hasselhoff-of-fantasy To get in on the D&D action at ConFusion and possibly see Myke Cole's head get shaved visit Worldbuilders.org. And check out the Not Playing Podcast: 002 Die Hard on the Boing Boing Podcast Network!