The Sword and Laser

Jan has taken over the show and is exhibiting the personality of the AI from Dungeon Crawler Carl. Veronica hates awards. Tom puts the butt before the horse in deference to Veronica's theory of good things happening. And we don't wrap up Slow Gods, but we still have non-spoilery thoughts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Hugo voting is open! The Guild is coming back! Is "best and most popular" actually fair? Is it right to defy a dead author's wishes? Tom risks Octavia Butler's ghost to explain. Plus, we share our opening thoughts on Slow Gods by Claire North. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eat zucchini! And Bleu cheese. Also, we didn’t get nominated for a Hugo, but loads of our favorite authors did. We kick off our May read (a little early) and wrap up our spoiler thoughts on The Raven Scholar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have a hurt Veronica, Cadbury eggs, Nebula Award winners, and Tom Bombadil-lo! Plus, we kick off The Raven Scholar and wrap up Automatic Noodle. Which, of course, leads to Veronica's new business plan for a nacho bar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Veronica's sick but she soldiers on and we review the final four of the March tournament. Plus our non-spoiler check in on Automatic Noodle. Also, we talk about our favorite noodles.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A voter's guide to our March Madness tournament. How to define genres. Your favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy quotes. And we wrap up our thoughts on Someplace to Be Flying by Charles de Lint. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time for our March book tournament! Nominations are open. Also, Veronica and Tom have shocking revelations about books they have NOT read. Also, why is Tom having a hard time with this month's pick? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew Heaton from the Political Orphanage stops by to talk about "I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom" by Jason Pargin. Also, Veronica drinks in reverse. You'll understand if you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

LACon V(eronica) registration is open, the Philip K. Dick Award nominees are out, and we discuss why we're "halfway happy." Plus, we kick off I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom and wrap up The Book That Wouldn't Burn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s all about the beans on this Sword and Laser. Chili, chowder, and more. We also find time to talk about books, specifically Mark Lawrence’s book that wouldn’t burn. But we don’t want to burn the beans either. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Floating Hotel was a great deal, and we really enjoyed it when we checked in. During our stay we met some really interesting folks, and the staff was fabulous. There was some murder, but in the end we were more concerned with the identity of the Lamplighter. And the cocktails were quite delicious. We enjoyed the continental breakfast, because it included so many continents. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Should the Floating Hotel be called a “space cruise ship”? Why Veronica can't make change. Tom tries not to insult Stephen's intelligence. And hoorah for N. K. Jemisin! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert Jackson Bennett deserves more kudos. We clarify it's a tapas bar, not a topless bar. And our thoughts on the new book, Floating Hotel, and the wrap-up of Interview with the Vampire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We revel in the Lammy Awards, follow the tale of root beer, and discuss our first, or most recent, impressions of Interview with the Vampire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom reports from the Matt Dinniman book event in LA, we kick off our Interview with the Vampire read, and share our last spoilery thoughts on The Hexologists and why we think the writing doorway is the strongest one for this book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#519 - No Stomach for Old Salad by Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#518 - Hugo Bump Yourself by Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We get a history listen and revisit accents. And the clean blade battle is confirmed for WorldCon 2029. Plus our non-spoilery first impressions of She Who Became the Sun. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why taste in books is like taste in food. Plus, our final thoughts on Joe Abercrombie's The Devils. And the Ruth-Veronica feud heats up. Also, Tom likes fish sticks. Literally. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We cast The Devils, try to apologize to Ruth, and recall other food-related romantasy. Plus, Veronica has a shameful tequila revelation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wesley Chu joins us to talk about The Lives of Tao and Jan is back, so we have loads of news including Locus Award Winners and the British Fantasy Society shortlist. Plus Tom sings. We're all sorry about that. Also, we almost named this episode The Lives of Wesley Chu until we realized we had already done that in 2014. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Everything is out of context. But we do have interesting thoughts about The Lives of Tao and lots of congrats for the winners and nominees of the Nebulas and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We speculate on how James Cameron will make The Devils and whether Frankenstein will be too scary for Veronica. And we further kick off The Lives of Tao. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss the return of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files and Frank Herbert’s posthumous SFWA Infinity Award, Audible’s AI narration plans and Amazon’s cancellation of The Wheel of Time—while nominating hamburg steak and vegan enchiladas and sharing listener stories from Matt Dinniman’s event. We round out the show with in-depth discussions of The Lives of Tao and Mickey 7. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Hugo admins resigning over AI panel vetting to the latest award winners and a fresh Murderbot clip—to set the stage for our book club pick. Then we dig into Mickey 7’s Ship of Theseus dilemma, sharing listener takes (yes, even foot‑fetishting AIs) and the questions that keep us up at night. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We wrap up Dungeon Crawler Carl, including our horrible imitations of Jeff Hays. Plus, we announce the next pick for May and ponder data-driven determinations of the best SFF books of Tom’s life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have Murderbot trailer! And we like it! Plus, the Hugo nominees are out and we wrap up our thoughts on The City and the City and begin our April dungeon crawl. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom forgot to write the intro to the show this week, so you’re stuck with the Veronica Edition. March is still full of madness, which makes sense because it’s a full moon eclipse coming up and Venus is in retrograde. Or something! We check in on The City and The City by China Miéville, and we see and unsee your perspectives on the book thus far. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

March Madness has begun, so get your votes in now. Plus do we like Alexander Skarsgard as Murderbot? And our final thoughts on Will of the Many and non-spoiler intro to The City and the City. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The nominations have begun for our March Tournament! Why do we care if eBooks and print books are the same? And our first thoughts on The Will of the Many. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have the best 25 books coming out in the next six months and the best 25 books of the last 25 years. Goodbye to the Science Fiction Book Club, our final thoughts on The Ministry of Time, and we kick off our read of The Will of the Many. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom is safe. Stephen has had three New Years, and we all love Graham Gore. But the best part of the show is Veronica's parade of diseases. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We kick off our January read, wrap up Akata Witch, and welcome in new public domain characters. There's a new Lord of the Rings movie this year. Yay! Plus, Veronica had a rhubarb cider, and Joe Abercrombie looks great for 50! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's end-of-year book list time! And we have a list of our favorite end-of-year lists. Plus, our initial thoughts on Akata Witch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We celebrate our 500th episode in the best way we know how—by asking ChatGPT to get our stats wrong. PLUS, announcing the book pick for December and sharing our final thoughts on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We decided to take a break from the usual format and recommend some BIPOC and LGBTQIA authors. Plus, we kick off The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in case you need some comic relief. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We wrap up our thoughts on A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny. Tom lays down some very obscure hints about the next pick. And why we’re glad Andy Weir got fired. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We learn a lot about nunchucks and old best SciFi lists, but we spend the majority of our time mulling over Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh. We also kick off a cozy October horrorish read. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sad news followed by recommendations from Parade Magazine! And The Booker Short List. Plus, do you hate it when a series isn't continuing the story directly? And we check in on our September read of Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have Dragon Awards and Hugo Awards, we kick off Some Desperate Glory, and wrap up our final thoughts on The Spear That Cuts Through Water. Also, we determine we might need to squee more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is not a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles podcast but it sure does end like one. But before it comes to that we boggle at all the awesome award winners, and talk about our good first impressions of The Spear That Cuts Through Water. Oh, and we have an idea for a cafe filled with Brandon Sanderson puns. Oh the puns! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oh, Hugos. Also, the best Sci-Fi books of all time, and will AI kill the planet? We kick off our August book The Spear that Cuts Through Water, and wrap up our last thoughts on Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We debate whether we want dead celebrities to read our audiobooks. How long is too long for a series? And our non-spoilery takes on Cursed Bunny. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's awards season and we cover them all, including a Martha Wells sweep! We wrap up our thoughts on Sword of Kaigen and get excited (read: trigger warnings) for Cursed Bunny, our July pick. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are we living in a Maas society? Veronica has recommendations in joining on the Sarah J. Maas train. Independent bookstores are on the rise. We kick off The Sword of Kaigen and give our spoilery thoughts on Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.