If you’re in Atlanta this weekend and headed to DragonCon you MUST join us in the Crystal Ballroom of the Hilton at 2:00 PM (Eastern) on Saturday afternoon August 30th. Why?
BECAUSE we’re doing a live Sword and Laser episode and interviewing the incomparable Naomi Novik! You cannot miss it. So DON’T! See you there.
Time: Sat Aug. 30, 02:30 pm Location: Crystal Ballroom – Hilton (Length: 1 Hour)
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 milks him for info on how to win, and then we learn a way you can help more people become better writers and win more Hugos!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Third Shift Amber Lager
Veronica: Hell or High Watermelon
QUICK BURNS
Louie: Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice (Orbit) took the top prize of Best Novel. No surprise there. I believe Veronica called this result, months ago. What do you think about the other winners? How many of the nominees have you read?
Best Related Work: We Have Always Fought: Challenging the Women, Cattle and Slaves Narrative by Kameron Hurley (A Dribble of Ink) and Best Fanzine: A Dribble of Ink edited by Aidan Moher
Alain: The class of 2012 Clarion writers work shop is raising money for the non-profit Clarion Foundation. The Clarion workshop is a six week course/session where aspiring writers who want to write Science Fiction and Fantasy can hone and improve their craft. Many now famous writers in the field have attended here is a far from exhaustive list. Anyway the class of 2012 have put together an anthology to raise funds. It’s a name your price kinda of thing for .99 cents upwards. Luke R. Pebler who appears in the S&L anthology has a story in here as well as 16 other writers. A very cheap way to check out some up and coming writers.
Paul: July is biggest comic month in history making $53 million and the number one selling comic? Rocket Racoon #1. Rack up another one for the “Unknown Property” of Guardians of the Galaxy. P.S. Groot debuted in November 1960 in Tales to Astonish #13. Years Before Spider-Man, The X-Men or every one of the Avengers except for the original Captain America series (March 1941). Just For Posterity Ronan The Accuser (August 1967). The Original far future Guardians of the Galaxy which was a completely different team (January 1969). Adam Warlock (The already announced GotG 2? 🙂 (April 1972) Drax (1973) Gamora (1975) Star Lord and Rocket Racoon both (1976)
terpkristin: Jennifer Lee, who co-wrote Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen, has been tapped to work on the screenplay for a live-action version of A Wrinkle in Time. I loved loved loved loved this book when I was a kid and am cautiously optimistic about this project…
George R.R. Martin Says Game of Thrones Readers Have Already Predicted the Series Ending
Syfy’s Childhood’s End Adaptation Gets Closer and Closer to Happening
PICKS
Lindsay writes: Prior to reading The Name of the Wind, I read: Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis: Picked it up after listening to an interview with the author on the Skiffy and Fanty show and it was excellent YA Fantasy. Every time the main character blinks his perspective switches to a girl in a secondary fantasy world.
August 26 – The Broken Eye (Lightbringer) by Brent Weeks and Echopraxia by Peter watts (continuing on from Blindsight) Lock in by John Scalzi
September 2 – Sleeping Late on Judgement Day (Bobby Dollar) by Tad Williams
Find more upcoming releases at swordandlaser.com/calendar
BARE YOUR SWORD
Sword and Laser do #LonCon3 ! @swordandlaser http://t.co/ahzB5y3SXf
@swordandlaser Just got this. Looks like a fantastic lineup. http://t.co/V2Bg71q3qJ
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Next Month’s book pick! Stories of Your Life and others by Ted Chiang
This month’s Pick:
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
The always important casting thread
Theories from: The Re-Readers’ Thread posted by Jack
ADDENDUMS
Sign up for the newsletter to enter to win a copy of Half a King by Joe Abercrombie! See form on the right-hand nav on the website here!
The Sword and Laser newsletter is our way of reaching out directly to you and letting you know when special things are coming up. As a way of saying thanks for signing up, we’re giving away stories.
“Once upon a time there was a frog stormtrooper–“
Sorry I’ve been informed by Veronica that we need to give away good stories if we really want to thank people for signing up for our newsletter.
Sign up for our newsletter and receive the story “A Night for Spirits and Snowflakes” by Aidan Moher, from the Sword and Laser Anthology!
The Sword and Laser newsletter is our way of reaching out directly to you and letting you know when special things are coming up. As a way of saying thanks for signing up, we’re giving away stories.
“Once upon a time there was a frog stormtrooper–“
Sorry I’ve been informed by Veronica that we need to give away good stories if we really want to thank people for signing up for our newsletter.
subscribed:
1275
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Sign up for our newsletter and receive the story “A Night for Spirits and Snowflakes” by Aidan Moher, from the Sword and Laser Anthology!
We’ll be doing more giveaways on the newsletter soon. Sign up below and never miss out!
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 Patrick Rothfuss’s Name of the Wind.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Smithwick’s Irish Ale
Veronica: 21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon
QUICK BURNS
ALAIN writes: Ghost Brigades part of the John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War Series is going to air on SyFy. If they keep the tone of the novels it should be pretty cool. It’s nice to see the SyFy channel air more Science Fiction and Fantasy. The irony is it took other cable channels to show them that the genre is viable if done properly. Scalzi has a self-interview about the news.
Dara: A Dragonriders of Pern movie is totally happening. Probably. Maybe.
Michele: So this might make Tom happy, or not 😉 Amazon Studios picks up The Man in the High Castle.
Rob: Syfy will be adapting the magicians. That’s right, not HBO, not showtime, not AMC. Syfy. Hurray?
Nokomis.FL: Starz is previewing the first episode of Ron Moore’s depiction of Diana Gabaldon’s ‘Outlander’ on their website. You don’t need to be a subscriber, but you do need to be in the US.
Ben: Jonathan Pryce and Alexander Siddig (among others) have been cast for Season 5 of Game of Thrones. No sign yet of Victarion Greyjoy and unfortunately it doesn’t look good for fans of Arianne Martell, so let’s all revisit her picture from the Fantasy Flight Games board game and pretend.
Aubrey: There’s a Kickstarter for temporary literary tattoos. “Litographs Tattoos: Wearable Tributes to Iconic Books” – I like the designs and they have a tattoo chain idea for the first 2500 pledgers to get a tattoo with a quote from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” so the whole book would be “”worn”” by all the backers. Pretty nifty idea, I think.
Sony stops selling ereaders
PICKS
Kaleb: Deadly Class by Rick Remender has to be the most dark and twisted comic I’ve ever read! Anyone who reads this comment, I highly recommend you read it.
Half A King by Joe Abercrombie just arrived at my library! I’m excited to read my first book by Abercrombie.
Out today August 5th! The Magician’s Land: A Novel by Lev Grossman, Severed Souls by Terry Goodkind, The Widow’s House (The Dagger and the Coin) by Daniel Abraham
NEXT Week: August 12: Fool’s Assassin (Realm of the Elderlings: Fitz and the Fool Trilogy) by Robin Hobb
Find more upcoming releases at swordandlaser.com/calendar
BARE YOUR SWORD
Thane: Author or Book-Related Dreams?
Dave: SDCC Epic Fantasy panel: Putting the Epic in Epic Fantasy
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
We chat with Steven Paul Leiva, author of Traveling in Space and his audiobook narrator Jeff Cannata, about aliens, the beauty of language and avoiding death.
Welcome to our Featured Reviews! In this series, we’ll be highlighting book reviews by the S&L audience. If you want to submit a review, please check out the guidelines here! -Veronica
Review by Kaleb Russell
After reading this book, I‘ve realized how amazing Chuck Wendig is. Somehow he manages to write great books and give out even greater writing advice through his blog at www.terribleminds.com, which you should definitely check out after reading this review.
Deep down, under the streets of New York City, lies the Great Below, the Descent, or the Underworld. It is a great expanse of deadly denizens, monstrous cults, and even the Gods themselves who are trapped in the eternal hell. That is until the humans, accidentally, open the gates to hell; allowing said creatures into the infinite above to rape and kill any and all the humans who reside there; to feed on their pain and make the world for humans a living hell. And these deadly creatures don’t care if they used us up completely; they only want to cause chaos on the world above them.
Then there is The Organization. A variety of different gangs, formed together in order to keep control of prostitution, crime, and drug trade in the city of New York. The main drug being Cerulean, otherwise known as The Blue Blazes. One of the Five Occulted Pigments originating from the Great Below; it gives the user enhanced strength and allows them to strip away the veil the monsters use to hide themselves from anyone who hunts them. One of whom happens to be one of the strongest, most vicious thug of The Organization.
He goes by the name of Mookie Pearl. Butcher, bar owner, breaker of bones (both human and demon). Don’t let the name fool you. He’s an intimidating, hulking figure who is only good at bashing the heads of anyone who trifles with The Organization. Or his estranged daughter, Nora, who comes to Mookie telling him she plans to change the game and become the next big crime boss of New York. Right after that Mookie learns the boss of The Organization, Konrad Zoladski, has terminal lung cancer. The Boss knows he doesn’t have much time left on this earth, so he decides that his grandson, Casimir, will become his successor and take control of The Organization and all that comes with it. But Casimir is not ready and he knows it. It’s then that Casimir comes to Mookie for help. He asks Mookie to find another one of the Five Occulted pigments, a purple substance known as Death’s Head, which is said to cure any disease or even bring the user back to life. The fact that no one has even seen this Pigment makes Mookie skeptical, but when he starts searching for it he finds more than he’s looking for and chaos ensues.
The Blue Blazes was a spectacular book. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but after I continued reading it I fell in love. The world building in the book was good. We learn the origin of the Organization, the monsters that inhabit the Great Below and the Five Occulted Pigments from Mookie as he goes around the city, searching for something that might not even exist. Most of the information is given to us through the means of a journal entry by a man named John Atticus Okes, a man who delved into the Great Below and never returned, at the beginning of every chapter. I found it helpful and felt eager to read John’s story as he slowly goes mad in the Great Below. With those we could move on in the story rather than have most of it introducing the world and more time was spent developing the characters.
Another thing I loved about the book were the action scenes. I felt they were fast paced and well executed. It felt like I was actually there to witness the battle between Mookie and all the creatures of the night. My favorite thing about The Blue Blazes was the family dynamic between Mookie and his daughter Nora who is constantly at her dad’s throat for abandoning her and her mother. I don’t believe Nora’s character was as fleshed out as I’d liked it. She acts like a spoiled brat throughout most of the novel and even admits it from time to time. But even with that I still enjoyed how Mookie was always willing to save his daughter even with all the things she’d done. Some fathers wouldn’t go through that much trouble to help their children when they are in dire need of help. It made my heart warm when reading it. Mookie isn’t the big bad monster everyone makes him out to be. In truth, he’s a man who loves his family and friends. I sympathized with him whenever something went wrong with him on his journey.
Honestly, I have nothing to gripe about. This was a great book and when I try to think of any negatives, my mind draws a blank.
Final Verdict: Why are you still here?! Stop reading this review and go out to buy The Blue Blazes this minute! It’s an amazing book and you’d have to be doped up on the Blue not to see it.
And please let me know if you found this review helpful as well as what you feel like I need to work on. Thank you for reading.
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 humanity. And how we can save humanity makes Tom blush. Plus, we wrap up this month’s pick, Dawn by Octavia Butler!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Original Sorghum Malt Beer – Bard’s Tale Beer Company, LLC
Veronica: Racer5
A TV series based on The Elfstones Of Shannara has been greenlit.
Daniel Abraham has an update on The Expanse TV show, including first casting news and the creative team behind the television adaptation.
There is currently a kickstarter campaign for a theatrical adaptation of 5 of Neil Gaiman’s short stories, a bunch of the backer rewards are various books and things signed by Neil Gaiman and he’s in the video so check it out if you’re a fan.
World Fantasy Award nominees were announced, as were two Lifetime Achievement Award winners.
PICKS
Killian: Finished The City and the City by China Miéville earlier today and was absolutely blown away by it. Here’s my review: I think I’ll read a Feist book next for some light, mindless fun.
Rabindranauth – Finished Royal Assassin earlier, dived headlong into Assassin’s Quest immediately. I will forever kick myself for not reading these incredibly brutal books before now.
Here’s my review.
COMING SOON
July 29
Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch is out in paperback
July 31
Equoid: A laundry Novella by Charles Stross
August 6
The Widow’s House (The Dagger and the Coin) by Daniel Abraham
Rise of the King: Companion Codex, II (Companions Codex) by R. A. Salvatore
The Magician’s Land: A Novel by Lev Grossman”
Find more upcoming releases at swordandlaser.com/calendar
BARE YOUR SWORD
A Suggestion for New Topics on Club Picks
Are there any “high fantasy” books that take place in the 20th century?
Local Group Meetups
Amazon Unlimited
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Wrap-up Dawn by Octavia Butler
What did you think? (full spoilers)
What Makes Us Human?
Ending issues (here be spoilers)
Next Month’s Book: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is our August book
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, before Veronica falls into the hellmouth.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Red Stripe
Veronica: 2011 Canoe Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon The Expedition
QUICK BURNS
And the Martian is…
The Wertzone: Update on Scott Lynch’s THE THORN OF EMBERLAIN
WINNERS: 2014 Locus Awards – SF Signal
J.K. Rowling has released a new ‘Harry Potter’ story online
S&L and Open Road heading to Loncon 3!
PICKS
FEATURED REVIEW: Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
Find more upcoming releases at swordandlaser.com/calendar
BARE YOUR SWORD
Tor founder Tom Doherty on publishing without DRM
Do we love to hate villains?
Duty to self-publishing authors?
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Geeky Awesome Jennifer found us at the Managing Your Community panel here at Nerdtacular ’14 in Utah! She made a fantastic knitted Lem, and we are eternally grateful 🙂
