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
Apr 8, 2023 • 41min
#459 - Leave the Broadsword, Take the Biscotti
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.
Mar 31, 2023 • 38min
#458 - Pikastew is Off the Menu
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!
Mar 9, 2023 • 41min
#457 - Timecozy
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!
Feb 24, 2023 • 46min
#456 - The Clarkesworld Flood
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.
Feb 9, 2023 • 34min
#455 - When Life Gives You Bones, Make a Bone Dog
Three Body Problem is coming to two platforms, so many beginning-of-the-year reading lists, and why we all love Bonedog (even Tom).
Jan 26, 2023 • 35min
#454 - Baltimore, City of Baltars
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.
Jan 12, 2023 • 31min
#453 - And That's How the News Goes
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.
Dec 29, 2022 • 42min
#452 - Having Feelpinions
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.
Dec 15, 2022 • 40min
#451 - When Your Anti-Hero Gets a Little Too Anti
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.
Dec 2, 2022 • 44min
#450 - Where the Wild Nerds Are
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.
