Rob’s
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(group member since Jul 06, 2012)
Rob’s
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from the The Sword and Laser group.
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This year we had 47 bracket predictions (https://challonge.com/swordandlaser20...)Currently we have 0 perfect bracket after round 2. However we still have a single bracket in first place.
DCC FTW by oclipa
Remains on top with 14 (out of 16) points, predicting Dungeon Crawler Carl to win it all. They have a maximum score of 30.
There are 5 brackets tied for 2nd with 13 points. 3 of those can max out at 29 points. Only 1 of those has picked something other than DCC to win (they chose Mickey 7 which dominated its match in round 2)
Can Oclipa continue to hold their lead after round 3? Or will one of the others pass them?
Results from Round 2:View the full bracket: https://challonge.com/swordandlaser2025/
Tournament Statistics
Total Votes Cast: 2,608
Average Votes Cast: 222
Book With Most Votes: Dungeon Crawler Carl - (155 Votes) (Round 1)
Match-up With Most Votes: Dungeon Crawler Carl vs. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi - (253 Votes) (Round 2)
Largest Win: Dungeon Crawler Carl - (72 Votes) (Round 1)
Smallest Win: Embers of War - (2 Votes) (Round 2)
Average Win: 36 votes
Round 2 Statistics
Total Votes Cast: 943
Average Votes Cast: 236
Book With Most Votes: Mickey 7 - (144 Votes)
Match-up With Most Votes: Dungeon Crawler Carl vs. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi - (253 Votes)
Largest Win: Mickey 7 - (56 Votes)
Smallest Win: Embers of War - (2 Votes)
Average Win: 23 votes
Sword Bracket
---------------------------------
Match 1:
(1) Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman - 142 Votes
vs.
(9) The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty - 111 Votes
Winner: Dungeon Crawler Carl
Total Votes: 253
Margin of Victory: 31
Match 2:
(5) The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu - 119 Votes
vs.
(13) Middlegame by Seanan McGuire - 115 Votes
Winner: The Art of Prophecy
Total Votes: 234
Margin of Victory: 4
---------------------------------
Laser Bracket
---------------------------------
Match 3:
(2) Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny - 111 Votes
vs.
(10) Embers of War by Gareth L. Powell - 113 Votes
Winner: Embers of War
Total Votes: 224
Margin of Victory: 2
Match 4:
(6) Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton - 144 Votes
vs.
(14) The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon - 88 Votes
Winner: Mickey 7
Total Votes: 232
Margin of Victory: 56
Chris K. wrote: "Seth wrote: "Goodbye mass-market paperbacks, apparently.https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b...
Publisher's Weekly reports that the book jobber who distributes to mass retailers (bookstores and big boxes) is going to cease working with books in mass-market paperback size. I have many memories of combing used-bookstore shelves for mass-market sci-fi titles as a kid - reading lots of Star Wars and Star Trek paperbacks, some until they fell apart.
"
I used to buy/read a ton of MMPB when I was younger/first building my personal library as a 20-something. However I don't buy a ton of physical books anymore and instead mostly purchase audio books and the occasional ebook.
When I do get a physical book it is hard cover for something I'm "collecting" more than for the convenance/price point of the format. I don't own a ton of trade paperbacks, they are almost all MMPB.
They mention that the market for MMPB has been dwindling. I doubt that has changed even with a bit of a resurgence in younger folks buying physical books. They are more of a boutique item I think. Special Editions/fancy "spredges" etc to entice you to spend more/collect the book.
Still it makes me sad.
Todd wrote: "To simplify the genre question, I'd propose giving people a sword nomination and a laser nomination and have separate threads for each. Then where you nominate a book is inherently the genre you th..."That doesn't simplify it, it just makes more work for me
Round 2 has begun!The matchups and links to vote are here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Voting ends March 8th 11:59 PM ET, so get your votes in!
Round 1 results: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
This year we had 47 bracket predictions (https://challonge.com/swordandlaser20...)
Currently we have 1 perfect bracket after round 1:
DCC FTW by oclipa
As indicated by their bracket title, they are predicting Dungeon Crawler Carl to win it all.
There are 9 brackets that went 7/8 in round one and are tied for 2nd.
It's still anyone's game as the value of correct predictions increase with each round!
This year we had 47 bracket predictions (https://challonge.com/swordandlaser20...)Currently we have 1 perfect bracket after round 1:
DCC FTW by oclipa
As indicated by their bracket title, they are predicting Dungeon Crawler Carl to win it all.
There are 9 brackets that went 7/8 in round one and are tied for 2nd.
It's still anyone's game as the value of correct predictions increase with each round!
Results from Round 1:View the full bracket: https://challonge.com/swordandlaser2025/
Round 1 Statistics
Total Votes Cast: 1,665
Average Votes Cast: 208
Book With Most Votes: Dungeon Crawler Carl - (155 Votes)
Match-up With Most Votes: Dungeon Crawler Carl vs. Kill the Farm Boy - (228 Votes)
Largest Win: Dungeon Crawler Carl - (72 Votes)
Smallest Win: Middlegame - (18 Votes)
Average Win: 48 votes
Sword Bracket
---------------------------------
Match 1:
(1) Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman - 150 Votes
vs.
(16) Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson & Kevin Hearne - 78 Votes
Winner: Dungeon Crawler Carl
Total Votes: 228
Margin of Victory: 72
Match 2:
(8) She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan - 86 Votes
vs.
(9) The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty - 129 Votes
Winner: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
Total Votes: 215
Margin of Victory: 43
Match 3:
(4) Time of the Cat by Tansy Rayner Roberts - 98 Votes
vs.
(13) Middlegame by Seanan McGuire - 116 Votes
Winner: Middlegame
Total Votes: 214
Margin of Victory: 18
Match 4:
(5) The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu - 130 Votes
vs.
(12) Twelve Kings in Sharakhai by Bradley P. Beaulieu - 69 Votes
Winner: The Art of Prophecy
Total Votes: 199
Margin of Victory: 61
---------------------------------
Laser Bracket
---------------------------------
Match 5:
(2) Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny - 122 Votes
vs.
(15) In Fury Born by David Weber - 77 Votes
Winner: Lord of Light
Total Votes: 199
Margin of Victory: 45
Match 6:
(7) Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler - 87 Votes
vs.
(10) Embers of War by Gareth L. Powell - 121 Votes
Winner: Embers of War
Total Votes: 208
Margin of Victory: 34
Match 7:
(3) Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase - 71 Votes
vs.
(14) The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon - 125 Votes
Winner: The Speed of Dark
Total Votes: 196
Margin of Victory: 54
Match 8:
(6) Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton - 132 Votes
vs.
(11) How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by K. Eason - 74 Votes
Winner: Mickey 7
Total Votes: 206
Margin of Victory: 58
Round 1 is in the books and the field is down to 8 books. Round 2 begins nowBracket: https://challonge.com/swordandlaser2025
Round 2 will be March 2nd - 8th 11:59 PM ET
Sword Bracket
---------------------------------
Match 1:
(1) Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
vs.
(9) The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
Vote Here
Match 2:
(5) The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu
vs.
(13) Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
Vote Here
---------------------------------
Laser Bracket
---------------------------------
Match 3:
(2) Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
vs.
(10) Embers of War by Gareth L. Powell
Vote Here
Match 4:
(6) Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton
vs.
(14) The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
Vote Here
This is why we can't have nice things.The reason I'll be asking for genre is at Tom's request to expedite his creation of the bracket. I will likely rule with an iron fist and it comes to it will delete people arguing about genre in the nomination thread if it gets bad.
But thankfully that's a next year problem
Trike wrote: "Rob wrote: "I can't wait until next year when people have to give us the genre..I'm sure that will go well.."I have compiled an easy-to-follow list:
Romantiscience
Oscillating Fantasy
Why, eh?
..."
🤬
I can't wait until next year when people have to give us the genre..I'm sure that will go well..
Qukatheg wrote: "I apologise if I broke any rules! I did read the information thread, but possibly I missed or misunderstood something in translation."There was no rule/request to post genre this year. That's a next year thing. Trike is just indicating how we already have problems with people trying to nominate multiple books/don't read the rules before nominating.
I don't want to start (another) genre debate. Next year I'll be requiring people include the bracket (sword or laser) their nomination should be in.That won't solve this problem as we are seeing already debate about which bracket a book belongs in, but at least it will be known ahead of the time.
Just found the other thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...I moved it here. I'm going to lock this thread, and next month in the newsletter I'll update the link to that thread instead.
I thought there was a thread for this already, but doing the newsletter I didn't see one. Specious Reasons (who organizes the Seattle local meet-ups) is organizing a World Con meetup
World Con will be August 13–17.
Head on over to discord for the details: https://discord.com/channels/54897414...
I finally finished going over 10 years of nomination data and generating some statistics.Fun Facts
🔹 There have been 550 unique books nominated over 10 years!
🔹 The Top nominated book has made the finals 3 times (2016, 2019, 2023)
🔹 The Top nominated book has lost in the first round 3 times (2017, 2021, 2024)
🔹 Theft of Swords was the top nominated book 3 times (2016, 2018, 2019), finally winning it all in 2019
🔹 Theft of Swords has had the most nominations: 24 over 4 years
🔹 Legends & Lattes is the only other top nominated book to win the tournament (2023)
🔹 2018 was our most popular year. 187 people nominated 111 books
🔹 2018 was also the first year we did both Sword & Laser brackets
🔹 2018 was the only year we allowed Authors to nominate their own books. We had 5.
🔹 6 books have been Nominated for 5 years or More
🔹 Lord of Light has been nominated in 8 of the 10 years of the tournament (2018-2025)
🔹 2025 marks the first time Lord of Light has been selected to the tournament
🔹 The Blue Sword has been nominated 6/10 years. It has been selected for the tournament 3 times (2017, 2021, 2024). It lost in the first round all 3 times.
🔹 Only 1 book nominated for at least 5 years: Rivers of London have been selected by Tom & Veronica as a pick (August 2022)
🔹 Tassie Dave has nominated the top book for the last 4 years straight. (2022-25)
🔹 Tassie Dave has nominated the winning book twice. He is the only member to do so. (2017, 2023)
NOTES
🔹 Technically Fifth Season was one of 4 books with 4 nominations in 2016
🔹 Technically Theft of Swords was one of 4 books with 4 nominations in 2016
🔹 Technically Fifth Season didn't lose in 2016, it was a tie and Tom & Veronica declared it the alt pick
Here are the full stats: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
The nominations have closed and the bracket (https://challonge.com/swordandlaser2025/) is set!Don't forget you can create a prediction bracket (https://challonge.com/swordandlaser20...) before the round ends, and if you make an account (not needed to make a prediction) you can more easily track your bracket as the tournament goes on. I will be providing updates on the top brackets after each round!
Head over to the Round 1 thread to get the matchups and links to all the polls where you can vote for your favorites. You have until March 1st 11:59 PM ET to vote in round 1.
The Bracket is set!https://challonge.com/swordandlaser2025
Round 1 will be February 23rd - March 1st 11:59 PM ET
Sword Bracket
---------------------------------
Match 1:
(1) Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
vs.
(16) Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson & Kevin Hearne
Vote Here
Match 2:
(8) She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
vs.
(9) The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
Vote Here
Match 3:
(4) Time of the Cat by Tansy Rayner Roberts
vs.
(13) Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
Vote Here
Match 4:
(5) The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu
vs.
(12) Twelve Kings in Sharakhai by Bradley P. Beaulieu
Vote Here
---------------------------------
Laser Bracket
---------------------------------
Match 5:
(2) Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
vs.
(15) In Fury Born by David Weber
Vote Here
Match 6:
(7) Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
vs.
(10) Embers of War by Gareth L. Powell
Vote Here
Match 7:
(3) Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase
vs.
(14) The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
Vote Here
Match 8:
(6) Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton
vs.
(11) How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by K. Eason
Vote Here
Our March pick will be The City & the City by China MiévilleLet us know what you think about the pick
-----------Final Nominations----------------Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman - 10 (John, Linguana, Mer, Jay, Tassie Dave, Chris K., Nick, James, Kyle, Mike)
Time of the Cat by Tansy Rayner Roberts - 4 (Qukatheg, terpkristin, Deborah, Trike)
The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu - 4 (Roberator, Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth, Liam, Todd)
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire - 3 (Scott, Sheila Jean, Misti)
Twelve Kings in Sharakhai by Bradley P. Beaulieu - 3 (Tash, Ricardo, Phil On The Hill)
The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers - 3 (Dominik, Jan, Daniel)
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny - 3 (Clyde, Steve, J)
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden - 2 (Seth, Jen)
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan - 2 (Art, Ruth)
Dracula by Bram Stoker - 2 (John (Taloni), Tina)
King Rat by China Miéville - 2 (Valerie, Meghan)
He Who Fights with Monsters by Shirtaloon - 2 (Mikemayou, Chris)
The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman - 2 (Lucy, Shaina)
A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore - 2 (Phil, Randy)
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett - 2 (Martin, G)
Embers of War by Gareth L. Powell - 1 (Louise)
In Fury Born by David Weber - 1 (Marc-ids)
Babel by R.F. Kuang - 1 (Paul)
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen - 1 (Steve)
The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal - 1 (Adrian)
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - 1 (Nico)
Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase - 1 (Genesee)
Aftershocks by Marko Kloos - 1 (Aaron)
The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon - 1 (Beth)
Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry - 1 (Jacquelyn)
The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir - 1 (Joyce)
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley - 1 (Adam)
Gobbelino London & a Scourge of Pleasantries by Kim M. Watt - 1 (Melanie)
These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs - 1 (Cory)
Vita Nostra by Marina Dyachenko / Sergey Dyachenko - 1 (Joanna)
Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey - 1 (Mark)
36 Streets by T.R. Napper - 1 (Phillip)
Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton - 1 (John)
Clockwork Angels by Kevin J. Anderson - 1 (HobbitFromPA)
Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes - 1 (Alex)
The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan - 1 (Jason (jasonb))
Sunshine by Robin McKinley - 1 (Violinknitter)
Chasing the Darkness by Cassie Sanchez - 1 (Brian)
The Management Style of the Supreme Beings by Tom Holt - 1 (Don)
A Pale Light in the Black by K.B. Wagers - 1 (Joe Sherry)
Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland - 1 (Stephen)
The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson - 1 (Rhys)
A Portrait in Shadow by Nicole Jarvis - 1 (Elizabeth)
Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler - 1 (Jason)
The Body Scout by Lincoln Michel - 1 (Calvey)
Replay by Ken Grimwood - (Julia)
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty - 1 (Richard)
Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson / Kevin Hearne - 1 (Sean)
For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn - 1 (Will)
On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers - 1 (Pumpkinstew)
Garth Marenghi's TerrorTome by Garth Marenghi - 1 (Christos)
In the Black by Patrick S. Tomlinson - 1 (Tamahome)
How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by K. Eason - 1 (Robin)
Armor by John Steakley - 1 (Jeremy)
Parasol Against the Axe by Helen Oyeyemi - 1 (Kenley)
The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross - 1 (Aron)
The Child Thief by Brom - 1 (Daryl)
First Contact by Michael R. Hicks - 1 (Joe)
Lord of a Shattered Land by Howard Andrew Jones - 1 (Joseph)
White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton - 1 (Chris)
Making History by Stephen Fry - 1 (TRP)
Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky - 1 (Colin)
Embassytown by China Miéville - 1 (Anne)
Red Rising by Pierce Brown - 1 (Alex)
Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg - 1 (AndrewP)
The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher - 1 (John (Nevets))
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell - 1 (Dazerla)
The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O'Keefe - 1 (JasonReads)
The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves / China Miéville - 1 (Shane)
