The Sword and Laser

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Hugo finalists are out? Already? Already! A banned beer. And our initial non-spoiler impressions of Master of Djinn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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?). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

End of year book lists for days! Who can take on Arthur C. Clarke and pillow friends? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alastair Reynolds has a book, Tom needs a bookcrate sub stat, and our wrap-up of The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Should Tom enter a book contest? Good Omens season 2 is a good idea. And our final thoughts on Piranesi, problematic and otherwise. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.