The Sword and Laser discussion
Introduction and welcome thread!
Hello, my name is John and I live in Central Texas. I have been a member of Goodreads for about 6 months. I read SciFi, Fantasy, Thrillers and Mysteries, and I have been a listener of Sword & Laser for over a year. I have begun reading a lot of Indie authors since the first of the year and found most of them well worth while. I have been posting my book reviews both here on Goodreads as well as on my blog http://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.
I am very late to the party. I have heard of the group and podcast for quite some time but I was never much of a reader. That has all changed recently. Although I have always loved a decent book once in a great while, it was not my medium of choice. All of a sudden I have the urge to really plunge in and explore. I drive a truck for a living which means I have the odd advantage of being able to listen to audio books at work! That is my primary method as I never seem to dive in as well into fiction by reading. I guess I am more auditory. Anyways, I have a lot of catching up to do and I actually plan to play catch up on the pick list. I am skipping a few of the first picks out of taste preferences, but after that it seems all the others will be a real treat. I'll be playing catch up on the podcasts as I go also so thank you for whoever is responsible for the wiki. It's much appreciated. I mostly seem to gravitate towards Sci-Fi, but I am willing to try some fantasy especially if it's whimsical. I am a Navy Vet, a trucker, and have an I.T. background just for introduction sake. Please feel free to add me as a friend as I would love getting some additional ideas to pass the miles away. Aloha!
Hi everyone, I'm a science fiction and fantasy fan and only recently self published my first book on Amazon--a 650 page epic sci-fi/fantasy novel. My pen name is J.D. Thomas.I always wanted to write a book someday, but never thought I would be able to finish one.
I love reading books, and listening to audiobooks, also love reading self improvement and motivation genre books.
On my free time, I play RPG games, watch anime, read manga, aside from books.
If anyone wants a copy of the book, I can send one as a Kindle gift through email, or as a PDF whichever you prefer. It could use some feedback, as I am constantly improving it.
Hello, my name is and isn't Ron Jockman.The secret is that this is merely a pen name. I write satirical Science Fiction and have always loved Sci-Fi and Fantasy. Some series I've read are Sword of Truth, Wheel of Time, Song of Ice and Fire, Lord of the Rings, Book of the New Sun, and a few other books here and there.
I look forward to participating in this awesome group!
Hi I am Colin, and I live in the UK.My earliest reads (that I can remember) were CS Lewis, Asimov, Tolkein - so swords and lasers sounds about right for me.
I stopped reading in my late 20's / early 30's when work and kids became all consuming timewise, but now in my 40's I am reading plenty again.
I am always looking for new reading experiences so that's why I joined S&L.
EDIT: I read paper books (does that make me retro ? I always wanted to be retro !)
Hello Sword and Laser! I finally listened to my first S&L podcast the other day and got excited to read along. My name is Guy. I'm 29 and although I'm from the US, I'm currently living in Dubai. I have been reading on and off for my whole life but, like most people, I want to start reading more. I read primarily on my Kindle and read almost all genres (I'm most fond of sci-fi/fantasy of course!).
Unfortunately, I don't think I will be able to catch this month's book as I am currently reading 1Q84. So far it is a little slow but very interesting. Hope to see you next month!
edited: I have horrible grammar skills
HI, I'm Saila ( My name is pronounced like 'sylah'but as it almost sounds like 'cylon' some of my friends actually call me that.) and I'm from Finland, hence the weird name.I think I have always loved fantasy and I'm quite fond of sci-fi (I think I'm about 70% sword and 30% laser). My comfort blanket authors are Tolkien J.R.R. and Pratchett Terry. Lately I've been into Joe Abercrombie, I just finished First Law trilogy few months back. I am currently reading Hannu Rajaniemi's 'Quantum Thief' (I got the book in English although I could read it in Finnish). I am also trying to find volume 2 of Tales of the O'tori (Amazon doesn't like Finnish people with Kindles). I also joined the Vaginal Fantasy group because of reasons.
My other interests include gaming, comic books and fantasy/sci-fi/superhero movies.
helloI'm a guy that reads books and comics, watches tv shows and movies. I see no point of being more specific at this point.
Hi Olaf and Saila, nice to see more folks that read comics!
Hi there! My name is William Fripp and I am an author living in Lincolnton , North Carolina with my wife and two kittys! My new novel #AdInfinitum is currently out on Amazon and is featured in the Author Promo section of this group! YAY!
Hi everyone!!!! New to the group!
Hello world! My name is Jonathan and I'm an up and coming author in a very literal sense (nothing published yet, but several stories in the works). I recently discovered this place through Geek & Sundry and decided to join for a number of reasons, one being that I've never been a hugely avid reader and I'm looking to read more since I'm now moving in the direction of publishing.Yeah, yeah, I know... sounds kinda stupid. A writer who doesn't read. Well, that's not EXACTLY the case. I have a lot of experience in fanfiction and freestyle written roleplay, but eventually came to feel limited by their constraints and wanted to branch out into original works, especially after getting numerous people tell me that my work is better than a lot of published material they've read. (Not just close family and friends, either. I know they can be biased.)
So, since I'm entering the world of original fiction I thought it best that I start to connect to the community a bit. Joining a book group seemed like a good way to start, and this is the most awesome one I could find, so here I am. =)
Hey! My name is Chris and I live in Los Angeles. I'm probably a bit more of a sci-fi fan, but I like fantasy as well, and I read tons of different stuff. Some of my favorite writers are Haruki Murakami, Neal Stephenson, and Alastair Reynolds.Cheers!
Hi everybody!! I'm George, I like warm hugs....sorry to much snowman. I've always struggled to stay current with fantasy and sci-fi books and am thrilled to have found this group! Oh, and I found the group by listening to the DLC podcast, and then heard about the Torture cast, and then heard about the Sword and Laser podcast which just so happens to have a group with all things I love. Minus the SF Giants. I'm a disgruntled former Marlins fan who refuses to give the owner any more of my money for which he's already taken.....but I digress. Since I'm new and haven't listened to but one episode of the podcast does anybody have any suggestions of a great book to read?....obviously. I haven't read much so anything suggested I'm sure will be new.
Was invited by a friend to join the group, glad I did. I am a reader first and jump around in the genre fields. A good book is a good book, whatever the subject.
I've been listening to the podcast for about a year now, and finally got around to exploring the book club itself. Just finished the anthology as well, and would love to discuss it further.
Back to actively browsing the forums after a few years of simply podcast listening. Finished with classes so now I'm reading by paper, kindle, and audible for pleasure. Picking up with the August 2014 book selection via Audible that I started at lunch today.
Hi, I'm Charlotte and I'm an avid science fiction and fantasy reader, leaning more towards fantasy and steampunk. I'm trying to expand my reading, but always return to swords and lasers! Favourite writers include Cornelia Funke, Julia Golding, Chris Wooding, Philip Pullman and Tamora Pierce. The list is not exhaustive!
Hi fellow booklovers! I am Romy from the Netherlands. Big fan of the S&L webshow and longtime addict to Fantasy books. So I thought i might join the group :D Favourite authors: Sir Terry Pratchett, George R.R. Martin, Gavriel Guy Kay, Kelley Armstrong, Gail Carriger, Jacqueline Carey, Brent Weeks and Brandon Sanderson. Ow...and I love my guilty pleasures: Laurell K. Hammilton, Diana Gabaldon and Charlaine Harris... Happy reading everybody!
Howdy! I'm Fallon, originally from Texas but now living in BC, Canada. I'm a leatherworker by trade so I spend a lot of time sitting in one spot while my hands and eyes are fairly busy, a perfect scenario for listening to podcasts. I found out about S&L through Tested some months ago, recommended it to my wife (who's a Children's Librarian), started listening to it myself when she turned out to not have the time and I've been listening ever since. I've gone back and been slowly working my way through all the "classic" episodes for the past while. It's the perfect sort of thing to listen to while working and I love getting back into that bookwormy mindset.
Hi Im Jana. I came across the pod cast and decided to join. I am a Mississippi girl which is why I have a soft spot for the Sookie books. I love a mix of science fiction and fantasy, and especially like when they cross the lines like in Star Wars.
Hi, I'm Louise and I'm from Sweden. I have been a member of this group since May 2012 (the video show introduced me to S&L) but have neither introduced myself nor participated in the discussions until now. Don't know how active I will be in the discussions, though.I have been reading along since Hyperion (may 2012) and have managed to read almost all of the books the club read before I became a member as well.
I mostly read SF/F these days with some romance in between (I'm a member of Vaginal Fantasy as well).
Am trying to work my way through my to read-lists (yes, lists - there are several), unfortunately they seem to grow faster than I can read the books already there...
Hi I'm John.I've listened along sporadically for a long time, but have listened consistently since Bridge of Birds. I've even read along with the book group on occasion since then.
Favorite books include Alphabet of Thorn, The Dark Lord of Derkholm, the Riddle Master Trilogy, the Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls,the Killing Moon, Soulless (just for kicks), Kalpa Imperial, Bridge of Birds and the Cygnet duology. I also like reading mythologies from around the world.
Hello, I'm Mike and I've finally gotten back into "serious" pleasure reading over the last year. (lost count around 50) Most recently I've read Emerald Sea by John Ringo, The Hermit of Lammas Wood by Nathan Lowell, Without Bloodshed by Mathew Graybosch, and Mars Rising by Cidney Swanson. I've listened to Sword &Laser for a while now, but never had the urge to read one of the book picks until now.
Hi, I'm Dennis. I've been reading books for literally as long as I can remember. My dad's bookshop is older than me (how awesome is that, having a personal bookshop?), the presence of which was the reason I grew up reading. Books came and went, but about 1500 of them were — and still are at our home back in Central Siberia at any given moment. Zelazny, Verne, Bradbury, Heinlein, Strugatsky, Norton, Foster, Bulychev,... I had full bibliographies of them at hand and a huge public library across the road. The library is a whole another nice story though.Back when I was seeing things in black and white (as you do, when you're 12), I used to love SF and hate F, but now I read both with equal pleasure.
Hi, I'm Jules, from Austin, Tx. I love to read anything, but my favorite is definitely sf&f. I'm a child of the 70s so, like most, Star Wars, Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica were my entry into sci-fi.Sci-fi will always be my first love, but I'll never say no to a good fantasy novel. I love how fantasy is so diverse. From The Hunger Games to Lord of the Rings to A Song of Ice and Fire, and everything in between!
Oh, I found goodreads thru the podcast... still getting caught up on all the episodes lol.
Other literary likes are history, crime, thrillers, mystery, and suspense.
Oh, and other than books, I'm addicted to tv, fitness, and mmorpgs.
Hello I am Jon. I was a big fan of the Sword and Laser videos on YouTube, and that lead to sporadic listing of the podcast. I have to say I am far more of a Laser fan than a Sword fan, with my introduction to reading in general being Star Wars novels from the early to mid 1990s.
Though now I am interested in expanding what I usually read, so I instantly thought of Sword and Laser for recommending the best books.
Hello, I'm Ellen, I'm pretty new to Goodreads in general and came across this forum when looking for book discussions. I've only listened to one episode of the podcast but I expect that will change.I go back and forth on whether I prefer fantasy or science fiction, currently I'm in a sci-fi mood. I especially like stories involving time travel or AI.
Hi I'm Chris,I exist in a place called 'The Valley of the Dirt People'. Locals call it the Victor Valley located in Southern California.
I'm more of a laser guy. When I was a young man I used to read Phillip Jose Farmer and Douglas Adams. Like Adams was, I'm an atheist. This means I dislike anything that tries to push a belief in deities. I do enjoy religion within the context of the story, for instance, Game of Thrones.
The reason I joined this group is to find new books to read. I've read Hugh Howey's Silo Series. Also, I've read E.E. Knight's Vampire Earth series, but book eleven is terrible and I couldn't get past the first chapter. To be honest, after the initial first three, Vampire Earth started going down hill.
I go by Hobbes on the interwebs. I'm into all sorts of books, though fantasy and sci fi are probably my favorite genres. I also dabble in writing for fun. Hope to eventually publish.
Hey all,I'm Mark and in a former incarnation I was a full time game designer. Now I split my time between indie game projects and writing. My favourite authors include Michael Moorcock, Brian Aldiss, T.H. White, Alan Moore, H.G. Wells, the list could go on...
To be totally honest I came across the group while looking for places to promote my new book, as this is something I dearly want to be able to make a living doing. That said, I love laser, and a bit of sword too, so I'll come in on discussions and maybe even start a few.
Cheers
Hey everyone,How did I miss this group? It's awesome! I'm an avid sci-fi enthusiast as well as fantasy lover. My favorite books include Jordan's Wheel of Time series, Lord of the Rings (of course), Zelazny's Amber books, and my new lovechild, Hugh Howey's Wool and Silo series. In fact, I stumbled upon this group by reading Veronica's review of Wool. I'm a new author trying to get my new book noticed in a sea of them, and I messaged her directly without knowing she's queen of this huge Goodreads group!
See you guys online..
Hi there sword wielders and laser jockeys, My name is Jeff and I'm a longtime listener to the podcast & occasionally reader of the forums. I never properly jumped into the community, thus, here I am making your acquaintance.
I wanted to thank the folks (Tom and Veronica?) who made The Name of the Wind the August 2014 pick. It was the push I needed to get in here, as well as the encouragement to finally read the book!
When I'm not reading for school or leisure, I'm either out trying to run to my death in the mountains (see: ultrarunning) or designing things for fun and mortgage.
See ya 'round.
Megan wrote: "Hi! I'm Meg, and I split my time between writing comics (I'm the co-creator of a series called Namesake) and being a web producer for PennLive.com. I live just outside of Harrisburg, Pa., and while..."Namesake is an awesome comic. Really worth a read if you haven't checked it out, folks.
Good stuff, Megan.
I second the fact that Namesake is an INCREDIBLE comic, with lovely artwork and a great story!Welcome Megan! XD
Hello! My name is Gage and I read any fiction books. I am always reading. At school, at home, and even a the store! My favorite authors are John Green, Veronica Roth, and Rick Riordan.
Greetings and Salutations!I'm a relative newcomer to Goodreads and, honestly, didn't even know Groups existed until a friend told me about this one.
Color me a laser fan mostly, but I do enjoy the Hobbit and LOTR, so there's a bit of sword in there too. I grew up reading mysteries until I discovered my favorite author, Timothy Zahn. Not only did he spark my interest in reading sci-fi, but he fanned a flame for writing it as well.
So my time is spent writing, reading, and playing board/PC games. I'll lurk around here for awhile and pop up when least expected. Like a Predator, except without the spine removal process. Well, hopefully.
Hello everyone, My name is Jared and I was first introduced into fantasy when I first read the Weis and Hickman Dragon series. Since then I have fell in love with the Sword. I am working on the Lazer. Currently though I am reading the Martin's Song of Fire and Ice ( I know a bit late to the game), but life has been extremely busy.
Hi all well my name is Farwa and I am from Pakistan. I am not newo readi+g but my experience is more in Urdu literature. But I love fantasy novels filled with mystery and adventure like Harry Potter and Creepy Hollow series. Well that's it I guess.And I love swords
Hi, I'm Dan. I've discovered Goodreads only recently, and I wish I had given it a chance MUCH sooner.It sounds to me like you've read many of the same books as I did growing up. I started on Lloyd Alexander and C.S. Lewis as a boy and eventually (after a lot of mythology) made my way to Tolkien, Raymond E. Feist, Michael A. Stackpole, Glen Cook, Patrick Rothfuss, and now I'm trying to avoid George R. R. Martin (because chivalry doesn't exist in his world).
On the Science Fiction side of things, I enjoy Ray Bradbury, Phillip K. Dick, Paul Cook, William Gibson, China Mieville, and, most recently, Ernest Cline.
Apart from my current gig as an English teacher, I have been a call center monkey, assistant burger flipper, skeleton shift security guard, ghostwriter, editor, blogger, and, as of last year, Sci-Fi author.
My first novel, The Wolf of Descarta, combines my love of reading Speculative Fiction with my video game addiction. While it goes pretty far afield into the Cyberpunk subgenre, it remains a love letter to Fantasy.
I'm actually involved in a giveaway here on Goodreads. Just follow this link for a chance to win a free copy: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
I'm currently reading Ernest Cline's Ready Player One, which I discovered when a reviewer compared me to him. She wasn't wrong. So far, I'm really enjoying Cline's work because it speaks to me on every level of geekery that I identify with. I'm also reading a couple of indies, Marion York's Factions: Coup d'Etat, and J.B. Rockwell's Breakshield, which are Sci-Fi and Fantasy respectively.
My goal this semester is to read more books outside of the classroom than I currently read with my students. Teaching and writing can make it difficult to just sit down and read for the sheer joy of it--but I miss that, and I'm going to try to get it back. Maybe being in a book group like this one will help.
Nice meeting you all.
Hi, all.My name is Liz, and I'm a librarian in Virginia. I've always meant to join a book club, but it's really difficult to find one that doesn't just read The Help and Gone Girl. I think Swords and Lasers will be a good fit for me; I've always loved science fiction and am just getting back into fantasy.
It's great that the current selection is The Name of the Wind because I've been listening to it on audio over the past few weeks. I guess I'll need to pick up the pace so I can jump on the discussion thread.
I love to read and am participating in the 52 Book Challenge, which I first stumbled upon on Reddit, though it clearly has a presence on goodreads, as well. My goal for this year is actually 75 books, and I'm at around 65. I'm hoping this group will provide some good suggestion for me to round out my year of reading.
I'm looking forward to being a part of this group!
Hi -- Phil here, long time science fiction fan - enjoy both hard SF, Military, and space operas - started with Heinlein, Asimov - then started reading everything I could get my hands on - I fully embrace Ebooks and also use Audible - glad I found this group....
Greetings.I have been reading now for about 30 years. I just found this site recently and have been using it to help me find books to read. I don't want to read an ebook ever and if real books go away I will most likely stop reading.
HI! I'm Scott. I'm a longtime and avid fantasy reader. A few of my favorite authors would be Pat Rothfuss, Miles Cameron, David Dalglish and Mark Lawrence. I figure joining this is a good way to hear about more books I wouldn't usually know of.
Hi, I'm Jon.I am new to both the book club and the podcast. I've been listening to podcasts for years and I can't believe it took me this long to find The Sword and Laser!
Some of my favorite authors/characters include Glen Cook/Garrett, Steven Brust/Vlad and Loiosh, Alex Bledsoe/Eddie Lacrosse, Elizabeth Moon/Paks and Jim Butcher/Harry Dresden.
I consider myself more of a sword than a laser but I enjoy both. I am joining the book club in order to read books that I normally wouldn't consider.
Hello! I am Britt.
I look forward to participating in discussions of science fiction and fantasy literary works. I don't have many personal friends who are into science fiction or fantasy, so I have been longing to find a community where I can discuss books openly.
I hate picking favorite authors. I always have a laundry list of authors. But I will list some authors (and a book or two that I liked from them) below that come to mind that I love:
Phillip K Dick (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Ubik)
HP Lovecraft (The Shadow Over Innsmouth, The Colour of Outer Space, Dagon)
JRR Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Hobbit)
Heinlein (Starship Troopers)
Scalzi (Old Man's War)
Hi everyone!I love books - especially of the sf and fantasy variety - and I hope to discover some interesting new ones with you guys.
I'm slightly more in favor of all things laser, but I'm currently rediscovering my love for the sword. Favorite authors include Tim Powers, China Mieville, Stephen Baxter, Iain (M.) Banks, Vernor Vinge, Robin Hobb, Michael Ende, Charles Stross and David Mitchell.
Since my friends never read the same books I do (or at least not at the same time), I'm looking forward to interesting discussions with you.
Cheers!
Hi, I'm April. I love sci-fi fantasy books and it is the only genre I read. I'm currently in university so my activity is about to slow down, but this group looks like a lot of fun. A month per book should be plenty of time.I look forward to discussing these books will everyone!
The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
Ghosts of the Scattered Kingdoms (other topics)The Sword of Shannara (other topics)
Shadow & Claw (other topics)
A Canticle for Leibowitz (other topics)
A Canticle for Leibowitz (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Wade Garret (other topics)Gene Wolfe (other topics)
John Scalzi (other topics)
Richelle Mead (other topics)
Brandon Sanderson (other topics)
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Shameless self-promotion: I own a bookstore in Chicago called Bucket O Blood that specializes in sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. If you're in Chicago, come say hi!