

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

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 We learn about a novelization of an unpublished Alien 3 script by William Gibson.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.

Apr 21, 2022 • 38min
#435 - Cultural Appreciation
The Hugo finalists are out? Already? Already! A banned beer. And our initial non-spoiler impressions of Master of Djinn.

Apr 7, 2022 • 32min
#434 - Are Sequel Prequels Equal?
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.

Mar 24, 2022 • 47min
#433 - Slow Burns
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?

Mar 10, 2022 • 52min
#432 - Does the Crow Rooster?
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.

Feb 24, 2022 • 54min
#431 - A Peach Blossom of a Novella
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.

Feb 10, 2022 • 39min
#430 - What's Your Fantasy Flavor Profile
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!