Rob’s
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(group member since Jul 06, 2012)
Rob’s
comments
from the The Sword and Laser group.
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I'm sad Lives of Tao lost, but not at all surprised. I probably won't keep pushing for it to be in the tournament like I did with Theft of Swords, hopefully just making the tournament will lead at least a few of you to check it out and enjoy it anyways.

View the full bracket: https://challonge.com/b9vf0sp2
Round 1 Statistics
Total Votes Cast: 1,845
Average Votes Cast: 231
Book With Most Votes: The Grace of Kings - (153 Votes)
Match-up With Most Votes: Legends & Lattes vs. Minimum Wage Magic (244 Votes)
Largest Win: The Grace of Kings - (82 Votes)
Smallest Win: Red Rising - (7 Votes)
Average Win: 38 votes
Sword Bracket
---------------------------------
Match 1:
(1) Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree - 136 Votes
vs.
(16) Minimum Wage Magic by Rachel Aaron - 108 Votes
Winner: Legends & Lattes
Total Votes: 244
Margin of Victory: 28
Match 2:
(8) Momo by Michael Ende - 71 Votes
vs.
(9) The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu - 153 Votes
Winner: The Grace of Kings
Total Votes: 224
Margin of Victory: 82
Match 3:
(4) The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein - 100 Votes
vs.
(13) Vita Nostra by Marina Dyachenko - 116 Votes
Winner: Vita Nostra
Total Votes: 216
Margin of Victory: 16
Match 4:
(5) Victory City by Salman Rushdie - 85 Votes
vs.
(12) The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty - 147 Votes
Winner: The City of Brass
Total Votes: 232
Margin of Victory: 62
---------------------------------
Laser Bracket
---------------------------------
Match 5:
(2) Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky - 139 Votes
vs.
(15) The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu - 104 Votes
Winner: Children of Time
Total Votes: 243
Margin of Victory: 35
Match 6:
(7) Startide Rising by David Brin - 112 Votes
vs.
(10) Red Rising by Pierce Brown - 119 Votes
Winner: Red Rising
Total Votes: 231
Margin of Victory: 7
Match 7:
(3) The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz - 138 Votes
vs.
(14) Notes from the Burning Age by Claire North - 82 Votes
Winner: The Terraformers
Total Votes: 220
Margin of Victory: 56
Match 4:
(6) The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind by Jackson Ford - 108 Votes
vs.
(11) The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal - 127 Votes
Winner: The Spare Man
Total Votes: 235
Margin of Victory: 19

https://challonge.com/b9vf0sp2

Yeah, that's a good way to put it. I haven't found myself wanting to rewatch the movie a lot. But it's one of those films that's well done in terms of time travel, especially on the budget they had.

But my top pick in terms of enjoyment is probably Back to the Future. I watch that movie at least once a year. Usually I watch all 3, but I don't like 2/3 as much.
However my top pick in terms of plausibility is Primer, which Trike doesn't even have on his list. That either means he hasn't seen it, or that his tastes are so different from mine that I can't take his list seriously. :-D.
But everyone's tastes are different, I'm sure if Trike has seen that movie he'll give me a long post about why I'm wrong.
Primer is super low budget and easy to overlook because it never really got the marketing it deserves in my opinion. If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend it. Unfortunately it doesn't look like it's on any streaming services, but you can buy/rent it digitally.

I'll have to think of something different to nominate next year. Hopefully at least a few people give it a shot no matter the outcome. I really enjoyed that series.

https://challonge.com/b9vf0sp2
Round 1 will be February 22nd - February 28th 11:59PM EST
Sword Bracket
---------------------------------
Match 1:
(1) Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
vs.
(16) Minimum Wage Magic by Rachel Aaron
Vote Here
Match 2:
(8) Momo by Michael Ende
vs.
(9) The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
Vote Here
Match 3:
(4) The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein
vs.
(13) Vita Nostra by Marina Dyachenko
Vote Here
Match 4:
(5) Victory City by Salman Rushdie
vs.
(12) The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
Vote Here
---------------------------------
Laser Bracket
---------------------------------
Match 5:
(2) Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
vs.
(15) The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu
Vote Here
Match 6:
(7) Startide Rising by David Brin
vs.
(10) Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Vote Here
Match 7:
(3) The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz
vs.
(14) Notes from the Burning Age by Claire North
Vote Here
Match 8:
(6) The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind by Jackson Ford
vs.
(11) The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal
Vote Here

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree - 5 (Tassie Dave, Calvey, Elizabeth, Misti, Steve)
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky - 5 (John, Iain, Jamie, Noisy Deadlines, Debra)
The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz - 4 (Tina, Kristy, Alex, Matthew)
The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind by Jackson Ford - 4 (Cory, Trike, Jen, Gary)
Startide Rising by David Brin - 4 (Christopher, Robert, Phil On The Hill, Viola)
Red Rising by Pierce Brown - 3 (Wayne, Noe, terpkristin)
The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein - 3 (Melanie, Seth, HeyT)
Victory City by Salman Rushdie - 3 (John (john), Valerie, Oaken)
Momo by Michael Ende - 3 (Jan, Linguana, Daniel)
The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal - 3 (Dazerla, Kev, Jo)
I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells - 3 (Christos, Sofia, C)
Notes from the Burning Age by Claire North - 2 (Ruth, Steve)
The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu - 2 (Roberator, Robert)
Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott - 2 (Ricardo, Harry)
The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu - 2 (Chris K., Randy)
Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey - 2 (Mark, David)
Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko - 2 (Mer, John)
Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear - 2 (Jordan, Paul)
Tau Zero by Poul Anderson - 2 (John (Taloni), Mike)
Noir by Christopher Moore - 2 (I, Phil)
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny - 2 (Clyde, bob)
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson - 2 (Kenley, Jackie)
Vita Nostra by Marina Dyachenko - 2 (Wayne, Derek)
Minimum Wage Magic by Rachel Aaron - 2 (T.T., Neil)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - 2 (Papa MRF, Adam)
The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart - 2 (Leesa, Marti)
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty - 2 (Siddhartha, Julia)
Legend by David Gemmell - 2 (Daryl, AndrewP)
Scythe by Neal Shusterman - 2 (Tobi, Stacey)
The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett - 1 (Jesse)
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley - 1 (John (Nevets))
Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon - 1 (Tamahome)
The Forever Watch by David B. Ramirez - 1 (Joanna)
The Slayers by Hajime Kanzaka - 1 (Alexander)
In Fury Born by David Weber - 1 (Marc-ids)
Battle of the Linguist Mages by Scotto Moore - 1 (Jen)
The Drawing of the Dark by Tim Powers - 1 (Dale)
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao - 1 (Alex)
Memory of Water by Emmi Itäranta - 1 (Elianara)
Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon - 1 (Silvana)
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire - 1 (Richard)
The Last Ring-Bearer by Kirill Yeskov - 1 (Aaron)
The Union by Leah Vernon - 1 (Jason (jkb))
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire - 1 (Malcolm)
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor - 1 (Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth)
The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey - 1 (Stephen)
Spellmonger by Terry Mancour - 1 (Thembays)
China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh - 1 (Dorene)
Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland - 1 (Kathryn)
Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark - 1 (Felicia)
The Black Company - Glen Cook - 1 (Fosfor)
The Honor of the Queen by David Weber - 1 (WriterBenjamin)
The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston - 1 (Interstella5555)
The Original Hitchhiker Radio Scripts by Douglas Adams - 1 (TRP)
Way Station by Clifford D. Simak - 1 (Kris)
Between Two Thorns by Emma Newman - 1 (Louise)
Telepath by Janet Edwards - 1 (William)
The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker - 1 (Austin)
Fairy Tale by Stephen King - 1 (Eric)
Rosewater by Tade Thompson - 1 (Colin)
Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron - 1 (HobbitFromPA)
The Wandering Inn: Volume 1 by Pirateaba - 1 (Mitch)
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel - 1 (Dan)
Leech by Hiron Ennes - 1 (Rhys)
August Kitko and the Mechas from Space by Alex White - 1 (Cally)
Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes - 1 (Sean)
To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José Farmer - 1 (Joyce)
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North - 1 (Rainer)
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler - 1 (Elizabeth)
Fated by Benedict Jacka - 1 (Buzz)
Anyone by Charles Soule - 1 (Adrian)
The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani - 1 (Kirsten)
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff - 1 (Megan)
Cry Pilot by Joel Dane - 1 (Qukatheg)
A Talent for War by Jack McDevitt - 1 (Maclurker)
Aliens: Phalanx by Scott Sigler - 1 (Cesyl)
The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu - 1 (Krissy)
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn - 1 (Lesley)
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas - 1 (Kelly)
The Last Day by Andrew Hunter Murray - 1 (Pumpkinstew)
Dichronauts by Greg Egan - 1 (Fredrik)
The Ophiuchi Hotline by John Varley - 1 (Gregory)


Just like previous years I'll be periodically rolling up the nominations as we go (ideally at the top of each page).
FAQ:
How Many books can I nominate? One. You cannot nominate one book and second another. You cannot nominate both a Fantasy book and a Sci-Fi book. Just ONE book total. If you mention more than one, I'm going to pick one. Likely the first one you mention. Please be CLEAR about your nomination.
Can we nominate any book we want? The only criteria is that it's a Fantasy or Sci-Fi book we haven't read. That said, it's preferable that you also nominate a book by an author we haven't read as well. Those nominations will likely have a better chance of making the final bracket. There is also a rule to forbid author's from nominating their own books. In addition we'd like to prevent people from nominating their friend's book etc. If I see you doing this, I will first warn you to pick another book, and later simply ignore your nomination all together.
You can see the full list of past books here: https://swordandlaser.fandom.com/wiki...
Can I change My Nomination? Yes, but if you do so, please specify which book you are changing it from, as I'm doing this by hand.
What if I make a mistake in my nomination? No problem. Just please make another post correcting your mistake. Do no delete or edit your original post as I may miss the change. Thanks.
How many books will be selected? 16 (8 Fantasy, 8 Sci-Fi)
When do nominations close? Monday, February 20th 8:00 PM ET. This will give Tom & Veronica some time to make the final bracket.
Which books will be selected? Whichever books Tom & Veronica want. They will simply use the nominations in this thread for suggestions.
How will the books be seeded? This is entirely up to Tom & Veronica. They may take into account how many people have nominated a book, but there is no guarantee.
The book I want was already nominated. You can second a nomination made by someone else, and I'll count how many people have nominated that book and sort accordingly.
No one else is nominating my book, should I change my vote to something more popular? In my opinion, you're better off just nominating a book you're interested in us reading than hoping to game the nomination system by changing your vote. Most years some of the books in the final bracket had only a single nomination, while several books with multiple nominations didn't make it. Multiple nominations may help it get noticed or in the seeding, but really all of that is up to Tom & Veronica.
How are the Nominations Sorted? The numbering is based on number of nominations, followed by when they moved up the list (i.e. based on post order). This number will likely not reflect the actual seeding as that will be entirely up to Tom & Veronica.
My nomination is missing/wrong! Sorry about that. I'm doing this by hand. Please post again and yell at me for missing, or not grouping it with another nomination for the same book, or marking you down for the wrong book, etc. If you're not clear about your nomination (or you nominate 2) I may add the "wrong" book. Please be sure you're clear, and I can fix it.
-----------Nominations----------------
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree - 5 (Tassie Dave, Calvey, Elizabeth, Misti, Steve)
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky - 4 (John, Iain, Jamie, Noisy Deadlines)
The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz - 4 (Tina, Kristy, Alex, Matthew)
Red Rising by Pierce Brown - 3 (Wayne, Noe, terpkristin)
The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein - 3 (Melanie, Seth, HeyT)
Victory City by Salman Rushdie - 3 (John (john), Valerie, Oaken)
The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind by Jackson Ford - 3 (Cory, Trike, Jen)
Momo by Michael Ende - 3 (Jan, Linguana, Daniel)
The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal - 3 (Dazerla, Kev, Jo)
Notes from the Burning Age by Claire North - 2 (Ruth, Steve)
The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu - 2 (Roberator, Robert)
Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott - 2 (Ricardo, Harry)
The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu - 2 (Chris K., Randy)
Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey - 2 (Mark, David)
Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko - 2 (Mer, John)
Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear - 2 (Jordan, Paul)
Tau Zero by Poul Anderson - 2 (John (Taloni), Mike)
Noir by Christopher Moore - 2 (I, Phil)
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny - 2 (Clyde, bob)
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson - 2 (Kenley, Jackie)
Vita Nostra by Marina Dyachenko - 2 (Wayne, Derek)
Minimum Wage Magic by Rachel Aaron - 2 (T.T., Neil)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - 2 (Papa MRF, Adam)
The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart - 2 (Leesa, Marti)
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty - 2 (Siddhartha, Julia)
The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett - 2 (Jesse, Phil On The Hill)
Legend by David Gemmell - 2 (Daryl, AndrewP)
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley - 1 (John (Nevets))
Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon - 1 (Tamahome)
The Forever Watch by David B. Ramirez - 1 (Joanna)
The Slayers by Hajime Kanzaka - 1 (Alexander)
In Fury Born by David Weber - 1 (Marc-ids)
Battle of the Linguist Mages by Scotto Moore - 1 (Jen)
The Drawing of the Dark by Tim Powers - 1 (Dale)
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao - 1 (Alex)
Memory of Water by Emmi Itäranta - 1 (Elianara)
Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon - 1 (Silvana)
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire - 1 (Richard)
The Last Ring-Bearer by Kirill Yeskov - 1 (Aaron)
The Union by Leah Vernon - 1 (Jason (jkb))
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire - 1 (Malcolm)
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor - 1 (Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth)
The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey - 1 (Stephen)
Spellmonger by Terry Mancour - 1 (Thembays)
China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh - 1 (Dorene)
Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland - 1 (Kathryn)
Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark - 1 (Felicia)
The Black Company - Glen Cook - 1 (Fosfor)
The Honor of the Queen by David Weber - 1 (WriterBenjamin)
The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston - 1 (Interstella5555)
The Original Hitchhiker Radio Scripts by Douglas Adams - 1 (TRP)
Way Station by Clifford D. Simak - 1 (Kris)
Between Two Thorns by Emma Newman - 1 (Louise)
Telepath by Janet Edwards - 1 (William)
The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker - 1 (Austin)
Fairy Tale by Stephen King - 1 (Eric)
Rosewater by Tade Thompson - 1 (Colin)
I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells - 1 (Christos)
Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron - 1 (HobbitFromPA)
The Wandering Inn: Volume 1 by Pirateaba - 1 (Mitch)
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel - 1 (Dan)
Leech by Hiron Ennes - 1 (Rhys)
August Kitko and the Mechas from Space by Alex White - 1 (Cally)
Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes - 1 (Sean)
To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José Farmer - 1 (Joyce)

So for March we'll be reading Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings
Let us know what you think of the pick.


Just like previous years I'll be periodically rolling up the nominations as we go (ideally at the top of each page).
FAQ:
How Many books can I nominate? One. You cannot nominate one book and second another. You cannot nominate both a Fantasy book and a Sci-Fi book. Just ONE book total. If you mention more than one, I'm going to pick one. Likely the first one you mention. Please be CLEAR about your nomination.
Can we nominate any book we want? The only criteria is that it's a Fantasy or Sci-Fi book we haven't read. That said, it's preferable that you also nominate a book by an author we haven't read as well. Those nominations will likely have a better chance of making the final bracket. There is also a rule to forbid author's from nominating their own books. In addition we'd like to prevent people from nominating their friend's book etc. If I see you doing this, I will first warn you to pick another book, and later simply ignore your nomination all together.
You can see the full list of past books here: https://swordandlaser.fandom.com/wiki...
Can I change My Nomination? Yes, but if you do so, please specify which book you are changing it from, as I'm doing this by hand.
What if I make a mistake in my nomination? No problem. Just please make another post correcting your mistake. Do no delete or edit your original post as I may miss the change. Thanks.
How many books will be selected? 16 (8 Fantasy, 8 Sci-Fi)
When do nominations close? Monday, February 20th 8:00 PM ET. This will give Tom & Veronica some time to make the final bracket.
Which books will be selected? Whichever books Tom & Veronica want. They will simply use the nominations in this thread for suggestions.
How will the books be seeded? This is entirely up to Tom & Veronica. They may take into account how many people have nominated a book, but there is no guarantee.
The book I want was already nominated. You can second a nomination made by someone else, and I'll count how many people have nominated that book and sort accordingly.
No one else is nominating my book, should I change my vote to something more popular? In my opinion, you're better off just nominating a book you're interested in us reading than hoping to game the nomination system by changing your vote. Most years some of the books in the final bracket had only a single nomination, while several books with multiple nominations didn't make it. Multiple nominations may help it get noticed or in the seeding, but really all of that is up to Tom & Veronica.
How are the Nominations Sorted? The numbering is based on number of nominations, followed by when they moved up the list (i.e. based on post order). This number will likely not reflect the actual seeding as that will be entirely up to Tom & Veronica.
My nomination is missing/wrong! Sorry about that. I'm doing this by hand. Please post again and yell at me for missing, or not grouping it with another nomination for the same book, or marking you down for the wrong book, etc. If you're not clear about your nomination (or you nominate 2) I may add the "wrong" book. Please be sure you're clear, and I can fix it.
-----------Nominations----------------
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree - 5 (Tassie Dave, Calvey, Elizabeth, Misti, Steve)
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky - 4 (John, Iain, Jamie, Noisy Deadlines)
Red Rising by Pierce Brown - 3 (Wayne, Noe, terpkristin)
The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein - 3 (Melanie, Seth, HeyT)
Notes from the Burning Age by Claire North - 2 (Ruth, Steve)
The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind by Jackson Ford - 2 (Cory, Trike)
Momo by Michael Ende - 2 (Jan, Linguana)
The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu - 2 (Roberator, Robert)
Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott - 2 (Ricardo, Harry)
The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu - 2 (Chris K., Randy)
Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey - 2 (Mark, David)
Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko - 2 (Mer, John)
Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear - 2 (Jordan, Paul)
The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz - 2 (Tina, Kristy)
Tau Zero by Poul Anderson - 1 (John (Taloni))
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley - 1 (John (Nevets))
Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon - 1 (Tamahome)
The Forever Watch by David B. Ramirez - 1 (Joanna)
Minimum Wage Magic by Rachel Aaron - 1 (T.T.)
The Slayers by Hajime Kanzaka - 1 (Alexander)
Legend by David Gemmell - 1 (Daryl)
The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett - 1 (Jesse)
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny - 1 (Clyde)
In Fury Born by David Weber - 1 (Marc-ids)
Battle of the Linguist Mages by Scotto Moore - 1 (Jen)
The Drawing of the Dark by Tim Powers - 1 (Dale)
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao - 1 (Alex)
Memory of Water by Emmi Itäranta - 1 (Elianara)
Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon - 1 (Silvana)
Victory City by Salman Rushdie - 1 (John (john))
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire - 1 (Richard)
The Last Ring-Bearer by Kirill Yeskov - 1 (Aaron)
The Union by Leah Vernon - 1 (Jason (jkb))
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire - 1 (Malcolm)
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor - 1 (Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth)
The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey - 1 (Stephen)
Spellmonger by Terry Mancour - 1 (Thembays)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - 1 (Papa MRF)
The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart - 1 (Leesa)
China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh - 1 (Dorene)
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson - 1 (Kenley)
Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland - 1 (Kathryn)
Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark - 1 (Felicia)
The Black Company - Glen Cook - 1 (Fosfor)
The Honor of the Queen by David Weber - 1 (WriterBenjamin)
Noir by Christopher Moore - 1 (I)
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty - 1 (Siddhartha)
The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston - 1 (Interstella5555)
The Original Hitchhiker Radio Scripts by Douglas Adams - 1 (TRP)
Way Station by Clifford D. Simak - 1 (Kris)