Mark’s Comments (group member since Apr 13, 2012)

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

Not sure what this is, but when you view the back of the Jade Legacy advance reader copy by Fonda Lee, with the Google Lens app on your phone, a video pops up...

https://twitter.com/FondaJLee/status/...

Google Lens, search what you see https://lens.google/

Good Omens Season 2 ordered by Amazon

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/...

"Season 2 will explore storylines that go beyond the original source material to illuminate the uncanny friendship between Aziraphale, a fussy angel and rare book dealer, and the fast-living demon Crowley. Having been on Earth since The Beginning and with the Apocalypse now thwarted, Aziraphale and Crowley are getting back to easy living amongst mortals in London’s Soho when an unexpected messenger presents a surprising mystery."

I watched Farscape week-by-week when it was first broadcast and enjoyed it. I saw a few episodes in reruns over the years, but hadn't attempted a full rewatch until now. I agree with John. It takes a bit longer than I remembered, for the cast to get to know their characters and each other, but once they do they have a lot of fun.

The thing I recall best, and which still holds up, are the fantastic creatures and aliens. Even the the little mechanical DRDs (Diagnostic Repair Drones) have some personality.

2021 Locus Awards Winners announced

https://locusmag.com/2021/06/2021-loc...

Best Science Fiction Novel: Network Effect by Martha Wells

Best Fantasy Novel: The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

Best Horror Novel: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Best Young Adult Novel: A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

Best First Novel: Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

Best Novella: Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

and more

You can follow the ongoing events at File 770

http://file770.com/tag/discon-iii/

The organizers say they have space limitations and are having difficulty planning con events where nominees and winners are fairly represented. There are probably other issues that aren't clear from the File 770 reporting too.

good suggestions Trike; added a field for the year Produced, and started adding additional productions for several books

Thanks Dave

Here's a thread for folks with more update suggestions to Sword & Laser goes to the movies

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Added Disney's Sword in the Stone from The Once and Future King per Tassie Dave.

Moving this over from Quick Burns

New wiki page

https://swordandlaser.fandom.com/wiki...

If you have additions, corrections, or suggestions for this wiki page, but don't want to edit wiki pages, drop them here and I'll make the edits.

The Sword & Laser wiki has a new page that could use some eyeballs...

Sword & Laser goes to the movies
https://swordandlaser.fandom.com/wiki...

where we can go to learn which S&L picks have been adapted for movie/tv/radio. Remember radio? Most of the links go to IMDB and books like Dune, which has been adapted several times, currently only has a link to the David Lynch film. This is just to get started. Take a look and add links or corrections as needed.

Tina wrote: "The Fifty-Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek-The First 25 Years is on sale for $1.99.
You can also add the Audible audio for $7.49."

Thanks for the head's up!

John (Nevets) wrote: "Hey as bad as my memory can be, I did actually remember that.

I enjoyed Warehouse 13 when it came out, and I thought it was fun that it was in the same universe as Eureka!. They both were part of ..."

I rewatched Eureka and Warehouse 13 last year and they both hold up pretty well. Of the two shows, I guess I prefer Warehouse 13. It was streaming for free on Amazon's IMDB tv. Not sure if it's still there.

Trike wrote: "Tamahome wrote: "Hah. John Nevets said the same thing on discord."

It’s almost like they both know about IMDB. What are the odds?"

IMDB
ISFDB
SFADB

All interesting places out there on the intertubes

Rewatching Farscape for the next couple of weeks

Bianca in the Dresden Files tv show was played by Joanne Kelly. She also played Secret Service agent Myka Bering in Warehouse 13, another fun show to binge.

Another paperback?!?!

Trike wrote: "I don’t recall the details, but your description sounds a lot like many white American men these days."

On the back of the uncorrected book proof of Consider Phlebas (1987), English author Fay Weldon is quoted: "Iain Banks is the great white hope of contemporary British literature"

Have we read any other "great white hopes"?

Joseph wrote: "The first taste is free ...

This month's tor.com free eBook is Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson.

https://ebookclub.tor.com/"

This is the second time for this book. It was also the September 2016 free eBook of the month.

Conal wrote: "
Ben Aaronovitch 49
Donald Hamilton 42
Don Pendleton 36

Mack Bolan and Matt Helm?"

Yes. My Dad was a big fan of both, so I wound up reading them too.

I tried out the Excel method linked to by Conal

Ben Aaronovitch 49
Donald Hamilton 42
Don Pendleton 36
Peter David 35
John Scalzi 32
Arthur W. Upfield 29
Steve Brewer 26
Aimée Thurlo 26
Richard Stark 25
Steven F. Havill 24

The numbers for Aaronovitch and Scalzi are skewed because I read individual Rivers of London comics instead of trade paperback collections, and Scalzi published a serialized book a few years back.

These are mostly crime and spy novels because that's what I frequently read back in the day.