The Sword and Laser

Starlog is back! The Le Guin shortlist is out. Why Tom is naked. We kick off our July read and struggle to understand why some people think Red Rising is Romantasy. Now we know. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

Tom and Veronica remember when they read a book. It was called Slow Gods by Claire North. And they're definitely not just reading the latest Dungeon Crawler Carl book instead of that one or the next one, Red Rising . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan has taken over the show and is exhibiting the personality of the AI from Dungeon Crawler Carl . Veronica hates awards. Tom puts the butt before the horse in deference to Veronica's theory of good things happening. And we don't wrap up Slow Gods , but we still have non-spoilery thoughts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Hugo voting is open! The Guild is coming back! Is "best and most popular" actually fair? Is it right to defy a dead author's wishes? Tom risks Octavia Butler's ghost to explain. Plus, we share our opening thoughts on Slow Gods by Claire North. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eat zucchini! And Bleu cheese. Also, we didn’t get nominated for a Hugo, but loads of our favorite authors did. We kick off our May read (a little early) and wrap up our spoiler thoughts on The Raven Scholar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

Veronica's sick but she soldiers on and we review the final four of the March tournament. Plus our non-spoiler check in on Automatic Noodle. Also, we talk about our favorite noodles.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A voter's guide to our March Madness tournament. How to define genres. Your favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy quotes. And we wrap up our thoughts on Someplace to Be Flying by Charles de Lint. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time for our March book tournament! Nominations are open. Also, Veronica and Tom have shocking revelations about books they have NOT read. Also, why is Tom having a hard time with this month's pick? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew Heaton from the Political Orphanage stops by to talk about "I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom" by Jason Pargin. Also, Veronica drinks in reverse. You'll understand if you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

LACon V(eronica) registration is open, the Philip K. Dick Award nominees are out, and we discuss why we're "halfway happy." Plus, we kick off I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom and wrap up The Book That Wouldn't Burn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s all about the beans on this Sword and Laser. Chili, chowder, and more. We also find time to talk about books, specifically Mark Lawrence’s book that wouldn’t burn. But we don’t want to burn the beans either. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Floating Hotel was a great deal, and we really enjoyed it when we checked in. During our stay we met some really interesting folks, and the staff was fabulous. There was some murder, but in the end we were more concerned with the identity of the Lamplighter. And the cocktails were quite delicious. We enjoyed the continental breakfast, because it included so many continents. Hosted on Acast. Se...

Should the Floating Hotel be called a “space cruise ship”? Why Veronica can't make change. Tom tries not to insult Stephen's intelligence. And hoorah for N. K. Jemisin! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert Jackson Bennett deserves more kudos. We clarify it's a tapas bar, not a topless bar. And our thoughts on the new book, Floating Hotel, and the wrap-up of Interview with the Vampire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We revel in the Lammy Awards, follow the tale of root beer, and discuss our first, or most recent, impressions of Interview with the Vampire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom reports from the Matt Dinniman book event in LA, we kick off our Interview with the Vampire read, and share our last spoilery thoughts on The Hexologists and why we think the writing doorway is the strongest one for this book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#519 - No Stomach for Old Salad by Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#518 - Hugo Bump Yourself by Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We get a history listen and revisit accents. And the clean blade battle is confirmed for WorldCon 2029. Plus our non-spoilery first impressions of She Who Became the Sun. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why taste in books is like taste in food. Plus, our final thoughts on Joe Abercrombie's The Devils. And the Ruth-Veronica feud heats up. Also, Tom likes fish sticks. Literally. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We cast The Devils, try to apologize to Ruth, and recall other food-related romantasy. Plus, Veronica has a shameful tequila revelation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wesley Chu joins us to talk about The Lives of Tao and Jan is back, so we have loads of news including Locus Award Winners and the British Fantasy Society shortlist. Plus Tom sings. We're all sorry about that. Also, we almost named this episode The Lives of Wesley Chu until we realized we had already done that in 2014. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Everything is out of context. But we do have interesting thoughts about The Lives of Tao and lots of congrats for the winners and nominees of the Nebulas and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.