

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

May 17, 2024 • 34min
#489 - Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Veronicas
We have Locus Award and Arthur C. Clarke award nominees. We share our non-spoilery thoughts on Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. And Tom discovers Birria Ramen!

9 snips
May 2, 2024 • 47min
#488 - Barrayar Your Sword
Some great books in the Seiun Awards in Japan, why Sword and Laser is good for your heart, we kick off the May pick, and finally wrap up our thoughts on the surprising complexity and depth of the awesome Cordelia's Honor.

Apr 18, 2024 • 35min
#487 - Have We Reached Critical Maas?
OMG all of the top bestsellers are romantasy! What order should you read series in? Does it matter? Also why is Veronica telling Tom to suck it? Or did we misunderstand. Tune in and find out!

Apr 8, 2024 • 34min
#486 - Pre-re-read
Will Veronica and Tom make it to Glasgow? Not after that embarrassing German pronunciation. And after talking some baseball, they dig into non-spoilery discussion of Cordelia's Honor.

Mar 27, 2024 • 49min
#485 - Triangles Are Stronger
The Nebula Award nominees are out! Should we re-read Neuromancer? Veronica explains Type I, II, and III fun. The truth behind Cordelia's Honor. And our final thoughts on Iron Widow.

Mar 7, 2024 • 49min
#484 - It's Giving "Mad"
We check in on who's winning the tournament. A vikings kids book! Where it's stabbing time! We talk a little bit about Iron Widow, and wrap up Shadow of the Gods.

Feb 23, 2024 • 44min
#483 - C is for Chestburster
A few more thoughts on the Hugos, who would win in a fight between Maas and Yarros, and we preview our March Madness brackets!

Feb 9, 2024 • 55min
#482 - Let's Talk About Seax, Baby
We've opened nominations for Mad Marchness!, our March tournament of book picks. Plus, the failure of the Hugos and the rise of Romantasy. And we begin our first impressions of Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne.

Jan 26, 2024 • 54min
#481 - Big Trouble in Little Worldcon
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.

Jan 4, 2024 • 49min
#480 - What You Can Do With Mickey Mouse
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.