Rob’s Comments (group member since Jul 06, 2012)

Rob’s comments from the The Sword and Laser group.

I know the audio has an impact on the books I read. That's why I review the audio for every single one I listen to. I try to highlight the ones that I think work well in audio and ones I think don't.

There are definitely books I think don't work in audio, but that other people find perfectly fine. I'm a lot better at listening to audio books now than I was when I started 8 years ago.

But everyone is different.

I think it's naive for you to assume audiobook listeners don't already understand their medium of choice.

If it wasn't for audio books, I'd hardly get any reading done. I think it's a great medium for books.

Leap year means an extra long February. What will you be reading with your extra day this month?

New trailer for Locke & Key: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v0eb...

Discord is a chat platform. It started out for gaming, but it's grown to cover a variety of interests.

You would need another account, yes. There are apps for all platforms, but you can use it in a web browser too (I believe)

Yeah, I can't spell.

I'd have fixed it sooner if you said something on the server instead of just making fun of me here. :-D

Ian wrote: "Our discord channel is spelled los-angelos
Ha!"

I have no idea what you're talking about... :-D

I just read the novella, and it's almost entirely different.

OK, so I got permission to make it public.

The link is here: https://discord.gg/e2YUWzz

I have a post to discuss it further here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Eventually I'll update the FAQ with a link as well, but the formatting for those posts are a pain.

In addition to all our great discussion here on goodreads, Sword & Laser now has a discord server.

I made a bunch of channels based on things I figured you'd want to discuss, including channels for each of the known/active meetups.

I also created a channel for feedback, but feel free to post it here. We may be tweaking things depending on how it goes. I know Tom's planning to tie some things to the various Patreon roles, but I don't have any specifics to share at this time.

The server is public though, so you don't have to a Patron to join us!

Here's the link: https://discord.gg/e2YUWzz

So yes, there is a S&L Discord server. But hardly anyone knew about it before this podcast.

I created it last year for the MD/DC/NoVA group when Google said it was shutting down Hangouts (which was supposed to be last summer and still hasn't happened) as a way for us to communicate in real time about the meetups.

I asked Tom and Veronica if they were interested in making it a wider group Discord and they agreed it was a good idea.

But I was never given the go-ahead to share it with anyone else. I emailed them about it again back in October, but I never heard back so I've just been sitting on it. I emailed them again about it today and hopefully get the greenlight to share it with everyone else.

I had intended on writing a Bot (Lembot) to help with stuff, but then I got busy with work and have had very little interest in doing extra coding after work.

As to Tassie Dave's concerns, I think the intention is that it would be a public space, but it'd allow member to better communicate in real time.

It probably will split the community, but I also suspect that it will bring in members who don't current particpate on the forums to participate in Discord. I could be wrong though.

Personally, I don't plan on ditching the forums. I mostly use them at work and I can't use Discord at work, so that won't change.

Richard wrote: "Much of the Magic 2.0 Series by Scott Meyer is available:

Off to Be the Wizard for $0.99
Spell or High Water for $0.99
[book:An Unwelcome Quest|232..."

I highly recommend the audio books. Not sure if they have cheap audible add-ons, but they usually do.

I do like order...

To each their own. I've been loving this season...

Leap year meetup: https://www.goodreads.com/event/show/...

I don't really think the shoehorn is that big personally.

But then I'm not very familiar with classic Who, and will probably not be upset no matter what they've come up with.

Sean Lookielook wrote: "Ruth [spoilers removed]"

I disagree.

(view spoiler)[
If they are going to insert a new Doctor into the mix, there is any number of ways they can work around that. Especially when the 13th Doctor doesn't remember being Ruth.

First: What if Ruth (or some other forgotten past version of the Doctor) did steal the Tardis? It would make sense that if the Doctor did it once, they'd do it again. Even if they no longer remember their past self or the fact that they already did it once.

Since presumably they are still the same person and likely to have the same inclinations.

So that just come back to your "it looks like a police box". They can retcon that somehow or more easily they can say when Ruth went into hiding she was simply using the camoflauge setting of a Police Box.

"It's not stuck as a Police Box: Look" (Tardis takes on a different disguise). Again same person, so they may have plausibly used the same camouflage as the first Doctor.

I mean plot holes aside it looked like a police box because that's what people recognize as the Tardis. If the Doctor uncovered a Tardis with a different disguise it wouldn't have had the same impact on the audience. Most people probably wouldn't have known what they were looking at.
(hide spoiler)]

My guess is

(view spoiler)[Ruth will turn out to be a past version that the Doctor no longer remembers. That seems like a bit of a boring choice, but it could be interesting if she pre-dates the first version fans are aware of.

Ruth didn't strike me as evil, but seems a bit more willing to work in the Grey than the current Doctor. Again a bit like the War Doctor in that regard.

I had no idea what the Valeyard was. I googled it and it appears to be a story from the original run of the show which I've never seen.

It looks at those Moffet made mention of it during Matt Smith's run or something though. I don't remember it.
(hide spoiler)]

That episode was jam packed with stuff. I'm very excited to see how this all turns out. Looks like we'll have to wait a bit though.

(view spoiler)[I recognzied John Barrowman's voice almost immediately. Very excited to see Captain Jack again. Very disappointed he didn't actually interact with the Doctor. I really love how even he mistakes Graham as the Doctor. That's a running gag I don't think I'll get tired of. However unlike most he adjusts to the Doctor being a woman very quickly/easily.

I was not paying enough attention on the new Doctor front though. I did wonder if Ruth was going to be a Timelord though. I was thinking maybe another incarnation of the Master, but since they just introduced the Sacha Dhawan version, that seemed a bit strange.

I got suspicious when Gat called they called Lee her companion. Does any Gallifreyan but the Doctor have companions?

I'm a "reboot" Doctor Who fan, which is to say I started with the 2005 revival and have seen very little classic Who where it seems as though Gallifreyans were more commonplace. I've mostly just seen the Doctor and the Master.

The recap I read on tor mentioned that breaking the glass was similar to the pocketwatch the last time the Doctor wiped their memory on the show. I had totally forgotten about that.

On one hand I think it's really cool we have a Black Woman as The Doctor, but on the other it feels a bit unfair to fans because she's not been cast as the show's main star, so we probably won't get very much time with her. Kind of like the War Doctor.

I'm curious to see how exactly they are going to work out the story. I like that they are taking the show in new directions, but messing with the past can be tricky. I still feel like the War Doctor only exists because Eccelston didn't want to come back as the 9th for the 50th anniversary.

This incarnation is obviously more intentional, but another forgotten regeneration seems lame. I kind of hope she turns out to be a future doctor and they bring her back after Jodie Whittaker's run is over. But she's already said she's back for at least 1 more season, so probably not.

I did like Jo Martin's Doctor outfit and Tardis though. I'm sure the outfit will get cosplayed a fair bit.
(hide spoiler)]

I'm glad I belong to a few different county's libraries. My county has a HUGE waitlist for both the hardcover and ebook version of this.

However the next county over had 1 copy available, so hopefully I'll get that soon.

Not sure I'm going to enjoy this once (hence the library copy) but willing to give it a try. It seems to have a lot of good buzz anyways.