The Sword and Laser
Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont
Read along with the Sword and Laser book club! From classic science fiction to the latest gritty fantasy, we cover it. Subscribe for book discussions, author interviews, hot releases, and news from the genre fiction world!
Episodes
Mentioned books
Feb 27, 2020 • 42min
#375 - 16 Books Enter, One Becomes Pick
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.
Feb 14, 2020 • 37min
#374 - Chaotic Neutral
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.
Jan 30, 2020 • 38min
#373 - Generation Sword & Laser
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.
Jan 16, 2020 • 37min
#372 - Hmmm... hmmm.
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.
Dec 20, 2019 • 31min
#371 - Science Fungus
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.
Dec 5, 2019 • 48min
#370 - Death is Her Favorite Character
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!
Nov 21, 2019 • 38min
#369 - Jeffety Jeff Jeffers of Planet Jeff
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!
Nov 11, 2019 • 31min
#368 - But is it Art?
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.
Oct 24, 2019 • 52min
#367 - Shitposting Stephen King with Sam Sykes
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).
Oct 11, 2019 • 31min
#366 - Just Crack Me Open and Take a Look
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.
