The Sword and Laser

We say goodbye to Brian W. Aldiss by reading one of his books. We respect Terry Pratchett's Steamroller wishes. And why Hey Jude is not an anachronism.

All the best books are being adapted into TV shows and movies including Good Omens, The City and the City, Dawn, and The Fifth Season! Plus we dive into the Gunslinger and talk mostly spoiler-free about fantasy westerns. And BONUS song about our Goodreads moderator, Rob.

We talk with author Daniel H. Wilson about his book, Clockwork Dynasty and why we might not need to fear the robots.

Hot Pie has a bakery! Ready Player One has a trailer! The Rook has a TV show! This episode has a final word on butterscotch! And the man in black has a gunslinger following him!

Hey kids, Nnedi Okorafor has an HBO show coming, EW and Tor have LOADS of book recommendations and we love the world created by Ursula K. Le Guin.

It's windy but in among the breeze, N.K. Jemisin shares wisdom about writing, characters and wrapping up the Broken Earth Trilogy. Plus she accidentally brings up FanFic and talks about why, even though it can be more than practice, it's really good for honing your writing.

George R. R. Martin has even more money coming his way, public domain books clean up nice, we love the Locus Award winners, and why Veronica is not allowed to let a bear eat her.

New Game of Thrones Trailer! AHHHHH! Levar Burton reading stories on a new podcast! AHHHH! Haint plot hole in the Hum and the Shiver-- ahhhhh— maybe not that big a deal?

We talk to Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham, the authors that make up James S. A. Corey, about coffee, distilled and fermented beverages and making The Expanse a TV show at BayCon 2017.

The Hugo nominees are out and we love them all, we kick off the Hum and the Shiver with music, and a spider that looks like a sorting hat.

We are excited about the winner of this year's Nebula, the finalists in the Locus awards, and so many TV shows coming from our favorite books. Plus, why Neil Gaiman will read a Cheesecake Factory Menu on stage.

We chat with author Cory Doctorow about his new novel Walkaway, which is post-apocalyptic, but not dystopian. It's also DRM-free!

We've got more of Game of Thrones TV coming, the Arthur C. Clarke Award nominees, and our thoughts on why The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet is the opposite of epic in the best way possible.

We talk with M. R. Carey about his new book The Boy on the Bridge, and how The Girl with All the Gifts became a movie!

Neil Gaiman makes sure the American Gods TV show is prepared for the sequel he hasn’t even written yet, why the Invisible Library doesn’t need to change the world to be awesome, and a plea for regular folks to get back to Fantasyland.