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
Sep 23, 2022 • 58min
#445 - Release the S&L Cut!
We love the Wellsian Touch, be it murderbots or fantasy. Is there a Harry Potter of SciFi? And we wrap up How High we Go in the Dark… and suggest the S&L edit.
Sep 8, 2022 • 42min
#444 - Cut Thieves and Purses
The Hugos are here and lots of very deserving winners. A roguish story bundle. Are TV shows worse than an ending? Our first thoughts on How High We Go in the Dark, and our last thoughts on Rivers of London.
Aug 19, 2022 • 37min
#443 - The Land of MoarTor
We get more Tor now and possibly more Lord of the Rings movies. Plus a nuanced discussion of representation in a book when the author is white.
Jul 28, 2022 • 45min
442 - Multiverse Penguin
Is Hunt the Stars a summer fling? We wrap up our thoughts on the SFR hit. Plus, the lowdown on the RandomPenguin antitrust lawsuit as they try to buy Simon and Schuster.
Jul 15, 2022 • 42min
#441 - Multiverse Tom Read It
Has a book ever changed your mind? Do authors write differently for audio? Pack that reading list with Clarke award nominees, it’s a new Sword and Laser!
Jul 1, 2022 • 44min
#440 - Mr. Darcy in Space
We have Locus winners and Veronica read so many of them! Plus, what makes some books seem like a retread while others more of a remix? And our first thoughts on Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik.
Jun 23, 2022 • 36min
#439 - And the Rest is History
So many awards! We learn about a novelization of an unpublished Alien 3 script by William Gibson. We take a brief trip back to episode 1. And we share the books we picked to read this month in honor of Jenny.
Jun 2, 2022 • 49min
#438 - New Ruth Rising
It's award season! We have Nebulas, we have Mythopoeics, we have Nommos. We also have some nice reviews of the show, and we wrap up our thoughts on Machinehood by S.B. Divya. It made us think!
May 21, 2022 • 53min
#437 - Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
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.
May 6, 2022 • 37min
#436 - It's About the Howdunnit
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.
