The Sword and Laser
Episodes
S&L Podcast - #230 - Reading Makes You A Better Person, Says Science
14 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We cheer for Patrick Rothfuss winning the Hollywood game, jeer a little at Spielberg refusing to put a Delorean in the Ready Player One movie and peru...
S&L Podcast Rewind: 'The Martian Influx' Redux
07 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
With the huge success of the film adaptation this month, we thought it would be fun to travel back in time to our interview with The Martian author An...
S&L Podcast - #229 - Taylor Swift Is A Fremen
01 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We wrap up A Canticle for Leibowitz and explore all its science and religion feels. Also we welcome a new Expanse series cover, a new Gaiman baby and ...
S&L Podcast - #228 - Is Present Tense For Baby Brains?
16 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This week, things really go nuts when Veronica realizes that she likes Tom's book pick more than Tom does, which causes Tom to question everything he ...
S&L Podcast - #227 - Cherie Priest And The Caverns Of Inspiration
10 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This weekend at DragonCon 2015 in Atlanta, we had the great fortune of chatting with Cherie Priest for an hour in front a live audience of Sword & Las...
S&L Podcast - #226 - Embrace The Manic Pixie Dream Witch
27 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We’re happy for the Hugos, sad for the last Terry Pratchett novel, and J.R.R. Tolkien has a new book. Plus, we wrap up Uprooted by Naomi Novik and m...
S&L Podcast - #225 - Why You Should Welcome The Robots
06 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We chat with J-F Dubeau, author of The Life Engineered about why we should keep calm and build more robots. Also the good news of more Game of Thrones...
S&L Podcast - #224 - Scott Sigler Keeps Us Alive!
31 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Scott Sigler’s Alive is out, and even though he didn’t mean it as Young Adult fiction it’s turned out that way. And even though he didn’t mean...
S&L Podcast - #223 - Why Station Eleven Is Horror AND Science Fiction
24 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This week we congratulate several more authors on TV deals, one author on getting to write more movie books, and another author on having too many pot...
S&L Podcast - #222 - Neil Gaiman Writes All The Things
09 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We have an eyewitness report from the ALA conference in San Francisco, our initial thoughts on Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and Neil Gaima...
S&L Podcast - #221 - From Authors To Hollywood Moguls!
25 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Ellen DeGeneres is apparently interested in adapting Naomi Novik's Uprooted as a film. But, we all know there's a long road from "interest" to "releas...
S&L Podcast - #220 - Why The Healer Deserves To Be A Hero
18 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with author Beth Cato, author of The Clockwork Dagger, about why healers are never the hero in genre fiction and how she decided to change tha...
S&L Podcast - #219 - We Make People Win Nebula Awards. Maybe.
11 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
First off we now have a 100% record picking Nebula-award winning books for the club. That’s 100% of the last two years. So take note Nebula-wanters!...
S&L Podcast - #218 - Why There's No Such Thing As Writer's Block
04 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Peter Orullian wears many hats. He is an author, musician, and has worked for many years at Microsoft on the XBox team. Today we talk about his series...
S&L Podcast - #217 - Apply John Scalzi Directly To Forehead
28 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We congratulate John Scalzi on his book deal (while Veronica teases about his Lock In Sequel’s title), applaud Ernest Cline’s choice of audiobook ...
S&L Podcast - #216 - Why Genres Don't Matter On The Internet
21 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with Rachel Aaron about why she doesn't worry about genre anymore and how she had to fight the siren song of Warcraft to become a professional...
S&L Podcast - #215 - Is The Magician S Quentin Too Handsome
14 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Everything you’ve ever read seems to be coming to TV. Plus Veronica tries to uncover Tom’s secret political conspiracy, while Tom changes Veronica...
S&L Podcast - #214 - Discworld's Inner Rage
30 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Rucksack Universe Author and Pratchett Enthusiast, Anthony St. Clair joins us to wrap up our reading of Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters. Is Granny Weat...
S&L Podcast - #213 - Our Thoughts On The Hugos
16 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We're excited and fearful about a new chapter from George R.R. Martin's Winds of Winter, we're hopeful about new books from John Scalzi and Ann Leckie...
S&L Podcast - #212 - Do You Have The Right To Delete Swear Words
02 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We give our last thoughts on The Goblin Emperor, kick of our April pick, Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett and discuss why some author names are bigger ...
S&L Podcast - #211 - Why Peter V. Brett Empathizes With George RR Martin
26 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with Peter V. Brett about his new book, cool tattoos and the last enjoyable book he read. The Skull Throne, 4th in the Demon Cycle series, com...
BUMPERX - Who Is Veronica Belmont
19 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Created by Scott Johnson!http://www.myextralife.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S&L Podcast - #210 - Are You The Goblin Emperor?
19 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We bid adieu to Terry Pratchett and commemorate him with one more book pick next month. We cheer for Chuck Wendig being picked for the next Star Wars ...
S&L Podcast - #209 - The Secret To Inventing Your Own Language
12 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah Monette, a.k.a. Katherine Addison, tells us why you’re all right about the Goblin Emperor, why the wizards in the book are so stubborn about u...
S&L Podcast - #208 - Who Will Win This Year's Nebula
05 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
So much good news! Some of our favorite stories are becoming movies and TV shows and we even have good news of a popular indie author getting picked u...
S&L Podcast - #207 - Crowdfunding An Abomination With Gary Whitta!
25 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Gary Whitta is an award-winning screenwriter who wrote The Book of Eli and worked on the first Star Wars standalone film. So when he had an idea for a...
S&L Podcast - #206 - How Tyrion Could Die
18 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We have a whole Wheel of Time pilot mystery to solve and then on top of it George RR Martin says any character in the Game of Thrones series could be ...
S&L Podcast - #205 - Brian McClellan Grows His Own Spaghetti Sauce
11 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
When you rule the world of powder mages you can do what you want. Brian McClellan wields his powder for good. In addition to delivering us the complet...
S&L Podcast - #204 - Annihilation Is Not The End
04 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Veronica REALLY wanted to make the title of this episode "Tom Merritt is a sexist pig." But Tom doesn't need that kind of grief. And besides he has pr...
S&L Podcast - #203 - Myke Cole's Secret Unicorn
28 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We welcome back the amazing Myke Cole to talk about how he finds time to write great books, fight crime, and decorate his apartment with even more boo...
S&L Podcast - #202 - Ready Player Two
21 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We wrap up The Sparrow. We loved it and it made us sad. We're also blown away at the quality of books being made into TV shows. Well, only a pilot and...
S&L Podcast - #201 - Don't Fear The Roomba
14 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Author and robotics engineer Daniel H. Wilson chats with us about his new story/app called Mayday: Deep Space about a person trapped on a ship full of...
S&L Podcast - #200 - Best Books Of 2014
06 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Well we're here to kick off the new year AND celebrate our 200th episode so we gathered drinks and cheer and your favorite books of 2014 as well as ou...
S&L Podcast - #199 - Integrity For Sale
17 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
This week we almost wrap up The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, discuss the intricacies of eBook DRM and try to decide just how high a price our int...
S&L Podcast - #198 - The Most Hated Phrases In SciFi
10 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
This week we're busy. We congratulate the winners of several year-end awards. We kick off our December book pick, The Night Circus, a beautiful novel ...
S&L Podcast - #197 - Veronica Is A Cannibal
26 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We sing the praises of Ursula K. Leguin, marvel at the casting of HBO's Westworld, announce our December book pick and wrap up Do Androids Dream of El...
S&L Podcast - #196 - Would Vegetarians Eat Electric Meat
12 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We have some awesome World Fantasy winners to talk about, some exciting casting news for The Magicians and The Expanse, but it really gets interesting...
S&L Podcast - #195 - Why It's OK To Hate My Favorite Book
30 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
It's a jam-packed episode this week with great news for Ann Leckie and Andy Weir, our wrap-up of Alif the Unseen, Kickoff of Do Androids Dream of Elec...
S&L Podcast - #194 - Delilah S. Dawson: Why Whimsydark Rules
21 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We had a lovely time chatting with author Delilah Dawson about her struggles with Ikea furniture, brilliance on Twitter and the coining of Whimsydark....
S&L Podcast - #193 - Kiss From A Queen (on The Face)
15 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
In Neil Gaiman’s new book, The Sleeper and the Spindle, Sleeping Beauty gets woken by a Queen’s kiss. And there’s pictures so it did happen. Fic...
S&L Podcast - #192 - Sexual Experiences With Robert Jackson Bennett
07 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Robert Jackson Bennett joins us on the show this week to talk about his new book, City of Stairs!The city of Bulikov once wielded the powers of the go...
S&L Podcast - #191 - Tom Merritt, Kindle Hater
01 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
From excitement about a new book in the Old Man's War series, to a rising demand for SciFi, things are looking up on the laser side. We also find out ...
S&L Podcast - #190 - Timothy Zahn Minds Your Soul
24 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We chat with Timothy Zahn about his new book Soulminder. What happens when you can store a person's life essence separate from their body? And yes we ...
S&L Podcast - #189 - Literary Virginity, Literally
17 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We dig into the first four stories from Ted Chiang's Stories of Your Life and Others, and boy do we learn a lot about ourselves and others. Plus you'l...
S&L Podcast - #188 - It's A Dragon Con Plex
03 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with Naomi Novik, fanfic writer, Ruby on Rails coder and author of the Temeraire series, from DragonCon 2014 in Atlanta! Then, we wrap up Name...
S&L Podcast - #187 - How To Win A Hugo
20 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We congratulate all the winners of the Hugos and chat with Aidan Moher about how he took home the best fanzine Hugo for A Dribble of Ink. Veronica mil...
S&L Podcast - #186 - The Name Of The Wind Is Dave
06 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Almost every book is becoming a TV show or movie. Also we tell you how to be a part of a living creation of Alice in Wonderland and we kick off Patric...
S&L Podcast - #185 - Traveling By Bubble!
06 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We chat with Steven Paul Leiva, author of Traveling in Space and his audiobook narrator Jeff Cannata, about aliens, the beauty of language and avoidin...
S&L Podcast - #184 - Threeways To Save Humanity
23 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
There’s so much you can do with us this week, including bringing Neil Gaiman to the stage, discovering 20th century high fantasy, and saving humanit...
S&L Podcast - #183 - The Damon Inside Me
08 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We ponder on Matt Damon's role in The Martian, why we love to hate villains, and the role of philosophy and ideology in Octavia Butler's Dawn. Join us...
S&L Podcast - #182 - Ken Liu Translates Success
01 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Ken Liu's short story "The Paper Menagerie" swept the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy Awards. His short story, "Mono no aware" won the 2013 Hugo, and ...
S&L Podcast - #181 - The Promise Of More Blood
25 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We break down our June book pick, Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan, and find out why it's actually four or five books and its gods are not what the...
S&L Podcast - #180 - Emily Jiang: Cinderella, Secret Agent
18 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We talk to Emily Jiang at the Nebula Awards about her book Summoning the Phoenix, her foray into children's books and what she has planned for a full ...
S&L Podcast - #179 - Flintpunk And Geekomancy
11 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Would you like to be in a George R. R. Martin Book? Got $20K? Don't mind being killed? Good. You can help wolves. Also we give our first impressions o...
S&L Podcast - #178 - David Weber Talks Honor At BayCon 2014
08 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
David Weber joins Tom Merritt at BayCon to talk about the origins of his writing, the journey of Honor Harrington and how he relies on his fans. Hoste...
S&L Podcast - #177 - A Chat with Grand Master Delany
04 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We intersect with Mr. Samuel R. Delany at the Nebula Awards to talk about his writings, old and new, and the role of science fiction, plus more stimul...
S&L Podcast - #176 - Martians And Panda Pants
28 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Veronica is back from China to regale us tales of motorboating pandas, but first we announce our June book pick and wrap-up The Martian by Andy Weir. ...
S&L Podcast - #175 Ann Leckie Wins it All
20 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We chat with Ann Leckie mere hours before she wins a Nebula award, about what it's like to get so many awards, and what's coming next for fans of her ...
S&L Video: Author Spotlight -N. K. Jemisin
08 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
N. K. Jemisin writes fiction that reads like history in the best way. But could it also be romance? We ask N. K. Jemisin that and how she's able to ke...
S&L Author Spotlight - Jim. C. Hines
01 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Haven’t you wondered how orcs and goblins and other monsters see the world? Do they feel unfairly vilified? Jim C. Hines can help you walk a mile in...
S&L Podcast - #174 - A Wrap - Up Of Earthsea
30 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Veronica is traveling in China, so we pre-recorded this episode and took the opportunity to properly wrap-up A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Leguin....
S&L Podcast - #173 - JJ, Destroyer Of Canons
30 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We're very excited to have Bryan Benson on the show today, who backed our Kickstarter for season 2 of video, and got to pick this month's book. He's a...
S&L Author Spotlight - Elizabeth Bear
24 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
What kind of mind can write about a faerie war in Shakespearian England and Lovecraftian Nightmares in depression-era Maine? The kind of mind that can...
172 S&L Podcast - #172 - The Invention Of BeerPunk
23 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Travel fantasy writer Anthony St. Clair (Home Sweet Road, Martini Destiny) is on the forefront of a new genre involving beer and travel, plus he revea...
S&L Author Spotlight - Kevin Hearne
17 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Kevin Hearne was an English teacher who put up with rejection from twenty three agents and five publishers before he finally prevailed. Thank goodness...
S&L Podcast - #171 - The Martian Influx
16 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We're very excited that James S. A. Corey's 'The Expanse' is being made into a TV series! PLUS we sat down to chat with Andy Weir and Daniel Suarez. W...
S&L Author Spotlight - Brent Weeks
11 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
How did Brent Weeks get from Montana to writing novels on napkins to becoming the bestselling author of the Lightbringer Series? We'll ask him about t...
170 S&L Podcast - #170 - The Lives Of Wesley Chu
07 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Wes Chu has had many interesting (and varied) careers, but we're happy that he's focused on the fascinating tales of Tao. In this Google hangout, we t...
S&L Author Spotlight - Chuck Wendig
03 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Chuck Wendig has a reputation for cursing. He also has a reputation for being a badass writer of amazing characters in inventive situations, across no...
169 S&L Podcast - #169 - Sneaking Peeks And Swapping Sleeves
02 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
From a debate on whether we should read early chapters from George R.R. Martin's "Winds of Winter" to the usefulness of Asimov's three laws, to our wr...
S&L Video: Author Spotlight - Alastair Reynolds
27 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
This week you’ll learn how Alastair Reynolds went from Cornwall to a doctorate in astronomy, to pushing ice across the vastness of space. How much d...
168 S&L Podcast - #168 - Promises Of Blood And Old Timey Pipes
26 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We had a lovely time chatting with Brian McClellan, author of the Powder Mage trilogy. He answers a lot of questions about including history in novels...
S&L Author Spotlight - Rachel Swirsky
20 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Have you been ignoring short stories? You’re missing out! And Rachel Swirsky is one of the best authors to prove it. Find out how this award-winning...
S&L Podcast - #167 - Spitcoin
20 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We evaluate George R. R. Martin's plans to stay ahead of the HBO show, look forward to spaceships returning to SyFy, congratulate Arthur C. Clarke Awa...
S&L Podcast - #166 - The Prolific Mr. Adam Christopher
15 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Sorry for the late podcast, everyone! I took a nasty tumble this week and broke my foot and wrist, so everything kind of shut down for a bit! But we'r...
S&L Author Spotlight - Mary Robinette Kowal
14 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
How do you become an award-winning puppeteer AND award-winning writer AND a audiobook narrator? Easy. Be Mary Robinette Kowal. We ask the author of Wi...
S&L Author Spotlight - Anne Leonard
06 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Anne Leonard's first book JUST came out. Congrats Anne! Moth and Spark is about a Prince who has been chosen to free dragons from bondage to the Empir...
S&L Podcast - #165 - SciFi Is Finally Literature!
05 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We kick off our March book pick, Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan, ponder the brief career of Jonathan Ross as LonCon MC, and discover that at leas...
S&L Author Spotlight - Max Gladstone
27 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
It's our author guide to Max Gladstone! If you want an author who knows how to work the financial crisis into epic fantasy and is handy with a sword, ...
S&L Podcast - #164 - Bill Gourgey's POST - Post - Apocalyptic World
25 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We chat with Bill Gourgey, who's Glide Trilogy does not settle for a run-of-the-mill post-apocalyptic world. What happens AFTER the post-apocalyptic d...
S&L: Author Spotlight - Hugh Howey
20 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We're back!!! Welcome back to the space castle, everybody! HUGE thanks to our Kickstarter supporters for making this possible. In our first episode of...
S&L Podcast - #163 - Hugh Howey Hullabaloo
19 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Hugh Howey caused quite a stir with his findings about independent authors, but what does it mean for us readers? We also talk about the Wizard of Ear...
S&L Podcast - #162 - Gregory A. Wilson's Graphic Fallen Angels
12 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We chat with Gregory A. Wilson, author of The Third Sign, about his newest novel Icarus and the graphic novel based on it that he and artist Matt Slay...
S&L Podcast - #161 - What Harry Potter Stole From Earthsea
05 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
This time around we're kicking off our February book pick, A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. Le Guin. If you're looking for the first tale a of a boy...
Sky sings Dresden Files!
21 Jan 2014
Contributed by Lukas
At our meetup at Borderlands Book in San Francisco, we were treated to a wonderful song about the first three Dresden Files books by Sky Corbelli! Hos...
S&L Podcast - #160 - Scully Writes A Book, Ringo Is A God
21 Jan 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We've got some awesome news about new books from Peter F. Hamilton, Richard Morgan, Joe Abercrombie and Gillian Anderson. Plus we wrap up our January ...
S&L Podcast - #159 - Ian Tregillis On Angels, Superpowers, And Deathmatches
15 Jan 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We have a chance to chat with the fabulous Ian Tregillis, author of the Milkweed Triptych and Something More Than Night. He alludes to his secret 'Cla...
S&L Podcast - #158 - Read A Book, Change Your Brain -- It's Science!
08 Jan 2014
Contributed by Lukas
It's our first episode after New Year's and we're still recovering. Thank goodness Neil Gaiman, the Wertzone and Stephen Chow are here to perk us up. ...
S&L Podcast - #157 - Marie Brennan's Fantasy Brings The Science To Fiction
31 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
We chat with Marie Brennan about her historical fiction her fictionalized history and all kinds of matters relating to anthropology, ethnography, arch...
S&L Podcast - #156 - Wrapping Up Dragons!
23 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a no-holds barred episode where Tom and Veronica reveal their most horrible secrets. Happy Christmas! Also good news from Scott Lynch, slightl...
S&L Podcast - #155 - Why Sam Sykes Is For Sharks And The Alliance
18 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
We had a really good time chatting with Sam Sykes, author of the Aeon's Gate series. Among other things, we learned what a flying shark is good for, w...
S&L Podcast - #154 - A Natural History Of Dragons
11 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a very dragon-filled episode, as we kick off our December pick, A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent, actually by Marie Brennan...
S&L Podcast - #153 - Peter V. Brett Is The Dark David Hasselhoff Of Fantasy
04 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with Peter V. Brett about his Demon Cycle books, the grim world of dark fantasy, his old HP iPaq and why he's so big in Germany.http://swordan...