The Sword and Laser discussion
Introduction and welcome thread!
Hello, I'm Zak.I started listening to the podcast and really enjoyed it, so I wanted to take part in the book club portion too. So far I'm very happy I did. I doubt I would have read The Hunger Games if not for S&L. So thanks for that you guys.
I really like Sci-Fi/Fantasy, like a lot. There are two main reasons for my love: escapism, and social commentary. It's refreshing to be drawn away to a world that is different from our own, even as those very differences give us new perspective on ours. Then there is fluff, and thats OK too.
Hi.I'm Andrew and have been what you would call a lurker for a while now. I've been listening to S&L since single digits having followed Tom and Veronica's work for some time in the tech field (back to when they were originally a team). Finally decided it was time to become a more active part of the community reading my first novel (The Hunger Games) in-sync with the group.
For myself I lean more towards Sword with my early introduction (as a pre-teen) being the genre defining classic The Hobbit (quickly followed by LOTR), after which I went on to consume the works of many notable authors in the genre, branching out later into the Laser side of things.
Look forward to some interesting discourse, and reading some books that I may otherwise not.
Hi my name is Matt, I have been a long time scifi and fantasy fan in all forms. Currently my favorite authors are George R.R. Martin and Robert Heinlein.
Hi, I'm Adam. I have been a long time reader of many different genres of books. Anything from Cussler and Clancy to Heinlein, and sprinkling of books on history and politics.
I started listening to the podcast earlier in the year. Since I have not read too much scifi or fantasy (outside of the LOTR world), the recommendations or discussions by Tom and Veronica on the podcast have provided me some good material to jump into the genres more. I am halfway through the 2nd book in the Song of Ice and Fire series.
Hi, My name is francis and I am on Goodreads Joined in August 2007, last active this month
interests science fiction
favorite books - the hobbits and taken by thomas h cooke. I have been listen to your swordandlaser podcast from the beginning of this year,2011.
I currently reading blindsight. Have read/audiobook called the thirteen moons by charlie frazier from the jacksonville public library(FL).
Hi guys,I'm very new to the s&l experience, discovering it through major nelsons show. I started out reading a lot of the classics until I came across Lord of the Rings and everything changed.
These days i'm reading a wide range of both sword and laser. I'm a passionate follower of the dresden files and simon r green's nightside series. I've just wrapped up the banaris series by lisa shearin and the wise man's fear and have been newly ensnared by A discovery of witches.
To clear up any confusion or outrage the username's accurate i'm registered blind. I have a small amount of residual vision but the majority of my reading is now done via audiobook or ipad/kindle.
Hi, I'm Dani. I've always been the geek with her nose in a book and proud of it. I love reading pretty much anything but my shelf groans the most under the sci/fi fantasy section. I've pretty much been hooked since I discovered David Eddings on my aunt's bookshelf at the age of 12 and I've never looked back.
I'm a huge fan of Douglas Adams, George RR Martin, Mercedes Lackey and others.
I joined/found this due to being an obsessive frogpants listener and figured this seemed right up my alley. :)
Hello, I'm Robert. I've known about S&L from listening to Veronica & Tom in their shows. Not sure where I 1st heard about it. Game of Thrones helped push me into listening the podcasts here. At 1st it was just the segments of Games. Then I started listening more & found it educational. Spoilers or not, they help get books on my list that I would like to read. The way I see it there are a lot of details missing that either you want to read how it lead to that event and/or what's going to happen after. S&L has helped me expand on my interests in reading.
Hello. I'm Jason.Been a long time reader of Sci-fi & fantasy. Started with fantasy in grade school with The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Then moved on to the DragonLance and Xanth series in high school. In college started reading Stephen King and looking back can't believe how many books I read during college.
My favorite book series is the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. Reread the first few novels, which I read in college, and then finished the series about a year ago. Looking forward to start reading more sci-fi and fantasy again with this group. Just started Game of Thrones a few weeks ago and I'm about 1/2 way through. Would like to get through the first four books in the Song of Fire & Ice, before A Dance with Dragons comes out, but it's not looking like I'm going to make it.
Hello, I'm Vladimir.I heard about this group from Veronica's appearance on TWiT and have been listening to the podcast for a couple of months now.
Have now read The Hunger Games together with the group (actually just finished the entire trilogy in a week). I love science fiction, so it's great to be able to read/discuss sci-fi books with people who love them too.
Hi everyone,I'm Dan. I live near Pittsburgh PA. I enjoy Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror, and anything else that sounds interesting to me at the time lol. Some of my favriot authors are Stephen King, David Eddings, J. R. R. Tolkien, and I know some of you are going to cringe at this but Robert Jordan is fairly high on my list also. There are many others I enjoy though there are to many to list. I found out about this podcast from other shows that Tom is on in the Frogpants Network. I am currently working a reread of The Wheel of Time(on book 9), I figured since the series is supposed to be done soon I would give myselfe a refresher on the story.
Hello, im Austin, I'm trying to get back into reading again and heard that Tom and Veronica had this podcast. Just got a Kindle and started on my first couple fo scifi/fantasy books. Thanks Tom and Veronica for all the podcasts you have done over the years, i watch/listen to most of them.
Greetings,I've been listening to the podcast for few months. Finally got the gumption to join after meeting Tom and Veronica at Nerdtacular in SLC. I went digital last year, first with an iPod touch and just recently got a Kindle for my birthday. Just finished "American Gods", next download I think is "The Hunger Games" so I can listen to the current podcast.
Hi, My name is David. I've been reading Sci-Fi and Fantasy since I've learned to read. Currently reading books on my Ipad2 mainly using the Kindle app.
Howdy, Tom here, but Panama's fine. I've listened to just about every S&L up to date, and am really appreciative of the heads up for goodreads.
I swore off reading pure-Sword as a teenager when I got completely fed up with Robert Jordan's WoT - I think I stalled around Vol. 7. Seriously, when a book starts with a 20-30 page 'recap' the epic-ness can really weigh things down. I turned to mostly sci-fi, but of course 'speculative fiction' can take you down a very sword-like path. Ursula Le Guin of course straddles both worlds and remains one of my favourite authors; I'd love for S&L to consider reading one of her many short story collections (or *any* short story collection really, unless I'm forgetting something I don't think you've ever done one...).
An Iain Banks book (any book!) is way overdue too here, but I'm patient (his latest 'Surface Detail' was fantastic, my favourite sci fi book in the past 2-3 years).
Back to to epic fantasy, as I told you, I SWORE off reading the huge tomes that typically accompany the genre, I just felt burned by the authors too many times. After listening to friends, Veronica & Tom excitedly discuss GoT's arrival to HBO, I looked forward to watch the show but still figured I wouldn't go down that familiar road & read the series. No luck there, I had the ebook downloaded to my iPad before Episode 1 was finished. Now I'm half way through CoK! I probably won't be caught up in time for the DwD podcast, but my spolier-tolerance is pretty high. I imagine sales of the first two volumes are doing brisk business but some friends new to the series WON'T read ahead of the tv-show because they fear it will spoil it. Spoiler-obsessed folk confuse me sometimes, but that's just me.
Question: how many subscribers are there to the podcast these days? Really appreciate all your hard work - S&L has encouraged me to MAKE time for more recreational reading, and spend less zombie-like time passively staring at a screen. Thank you, thank you thank you!
Hi! I've been listening to S&L for about a year, and have been lurking on the Goodreads forum for several months. I've been an avid fantasy reader since I learned to read, and have read a good amount of sci-fi, too. I'm horrible at participating in read-a-longs in general, but I still really enjoy the podcast.
Hi, I'm Joanna and I read, everything else is pretty much incidental.I read pretty widely but there's always some sword or laser nearby. Some favorite authors within the genres:
Philip K. Dick, China Miéville, Frank Herbert, Douglas Adams, J.R.R. Tolkien, Patrick Rothfuss, Paul Kearney, George R.R. Martin, Andrzej Sapkowski, Isaac Asimov, Iain M. Banks and I could keep listing :)
Oh yeah, and I'm a Whovian. I watch Doctor Who obsessively, again, and again, and again, and again... you get the picture :) I also think that the best idea for a present is a Doctor Who disappearing TARDIS mug...
Hi, my name is Frank, I'm in South Carolina, love the podcast and look forward to reading with you all.
Hy, I'm Leavey. I'm from Austria, so if my comments sound a little gibberish at times, it's not because I'm drunk (well, not normaly) but because english is not my first language.
I've been reading fantasy since forever. I've always been a little hesistant when i comes to sci-fi. I've always gotten the impression, that it's more of an idea driven genre, and I prefer strong character and prose over THE ORIGINAL IDEA or THE SUPER SPECIAL WORLDBUILDING. But I've noted a few sci-fi titles from the Podcast wich sound interesting, so hopefully I won't be as ignorant in the laser department for much longer.
Google brought me to the podcast after Pat Rothfuss got me hooked on Brandon Sandersons Podcast and I ran out of episodes. Loving it so far.
I probably won't be reading every book of the month (you know how it is: work, life and already a shelf full of "to-read" books, wich are glaring at you every time you ad another one ...), but I actually got the Hunger Games audiobook since you seemed pretty convinced of its merrits. (Although I'm -sadly- prepared not to like it. I've found that many female protagonists are depicted in a way that makes me want to strangle them instantly, but I'm still hopefull in this case.)
Hi everyone. I love reading and sci fi/fantasy is my preferred (although not only) genre. My favorite series currently are The Dresden Files and The Retrieval Artist books. I started listening to the podcast a month or so ago and am hoping to find some new series to check out with everyone.
I've been listening to the S&L podcast for a few months now and finally decided to post on the welcome thread.I've recently become a first-time daddy, and I've been really chewing through the books during long, waking periods at night. Go ahead and guess why I'm not sleeping.
I'm a long-time fantasy/sci-fi fan, with 'There and Back Again' and 'The Foundation' being the sentinel books that really made me fall in love with the genres.
If left to my own devices, I tend to prefer the dark, strange, and mind-boggling, and I often shy away from the sensual, happy, and carefree. Ray Bradbury's 'The Martian Chronicles' really pushes my buttons, and I may also confess to bouts of PG Wodehouse enthusiasm (although that is neither sword nor laser).
I'm much more likely to participate in the forums than the book-of-the-month, because I'm working through 'The Wheel of Time' series for the first... time. Unless I read it before and can't remember.
Hi My name is Lorenzo, I love Scifi Fantasy and Horror.. fan of both Veronica and Tom! Alway wondering what my next book will be so I hope to get good recommedations here!
Howdy folks. My name is Ashly. I just joined GoodReads. I live in Baltimore. I am a gamer girl that likes sports, music, reading and tv's. I love all things geek and I am a fan of both Veronica and Tom. I am not sure how I missed reading the Sci-Fi genre since I love it in so much when it comes to games, music, movies and TV shows. My favorite authors are James Patterson, Dan Brown, and John Grisham.
Hello:my name is Alex and I´m glad I found this podcast because it contains the 2 genres I just love in books, tv shows, videogames, etc.
Keep the good work!
Hi everyone,I'm Edvardas from Lithuania.
Been listening for the podcast for the last 6 or so months.
Recently rediscovered the joy of reading (partly because I bought a book reader and probably partly because I forgot the "reading tortures" from school.)
Hello, my name is Colin.I found the Sword and Laser through Tom participating in the TWIT network. I have been listening for a few months now and thought I would give the forums a go. Not sure how much I will follow the reading list as I have a bunch of books in my backlog to read, but I did read Blindsight (after the wrap up show) and I have already read the Hunger games trilogy, so that wasn't anything new.
I like both Sci Fi and Fantasy, although lately I have been ready more Sci Fi. I am a big Tolkien fan, and my early years were spent with King and Koontz.
Hello all,I am a book binger who lives by the motto "I will read any book as long as it is given to me." Sometimes this works to my advantage, like when I read Perdido Street Station. And sometimes it works to my disadvantage, like when I had to read all of the Twilight novels.
I'm a young dude who exclusively reads outside. I enjoy a good tequila. And my living room smells of rich mahogany and leather bound books.
I was introduced to you guys back when you guys interviewed Pat Rothfuss and haven't stopped listening since. I guess it is just time to begin actively participating.
Livestrong and prosper,
Gum
My name is Mike and I just started listening to the podcast. I'm really enjoying it. I just finished listening to the first few beginning episodes since I've actually read Neuromancer.Off the top of my head I'd say my favorite scifi/fantasy books are Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, most of the Gotrek and Felix books (a guilty pleasure?), Brave New World, and the aforementioned Neuromancer. My all-time favorite books though are the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian.
Long time listener, first time caller. First let me say I love the 'cast. I especially love the pace and format Veronica and Tom have adopted. (Note: As I listen, I like to picture them as the VeroniTom, a two-headed book-hoarding winged creature. Try it yourself, it gives the podcast that added extra flair.) I've actually been on the forums off and on for some time but never posted an intro, so here ya go.I fell in love with scifi back when George Lucas was smart enough to have Alan Dean Foster ghost write his books (he should have tried it for his scripts). I read the original "Star Wars" one billion times (estimated), long after the pages had curled up from an unfortunate plunge into waters best unnamed. That book was a gateway drug to more serious fare like Herbert, Pohl, Pournelle, Bradbury, and more. I'm most definitely "team laser" but I do enjoy wielding a sword every now and then. While I read a lot as a kid, I went through a long reading drought as an adult. That was broken when I discovered S&L and the Goodreads forum. Now, thanks to the community and the 'cast I'm reading like I was when I was a kid and I'm loving it. I'm nowhere as prolific a reader as folks here but who says it's a contest? As long as I'm reading I win.
Hi folks,I've been lurking and listening to the podcast for a while now, but figured it was time to say howdy.
I'm a longtime SciFi/Fantasy guy, Dungeons and Dragons player, and general all around fun-loving nerd. :) I'm actually officially certified as a nerd: BS in Mechanical Engineering (minor in Astronomy), and I make my living as a Navy nuclear submarine officer, which means I had to get certified as a nuclear engineer too. Right now I live in upstate New York (Saratoga Springs), but that'll change in about six months, when the Navy moves us again. :)
My all time favorites include (in no particular order): Tolkien (duh!), David Eddings, Robert Jordan, Stephen King, Tom Clancy's early works, Terry Brooks, Arthur C Clark, Heinlein, Carl Sagan, R A Salvatore, George R R Martin, Timothy Zahn, and the list goes on. I know I'm leaving many people out. Oh well, you get the picture.
I'm also a fan of the Redskins and the Red Sox (grew up in DC, went to school in Boston, and married a girl from Maine in case you're wondering how that combination came to be).
So anyway, good to meet you all. Looking forward to some good books, and good discussions. :)
Greetings,I'm Michael from Germany.
Growing up with "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs" (see avatar), I have always been fascinated with Sci-Fi.
I mainly focused on Sci-Fi TV shows and movies until Leo Laporte's enthusiasm for Pandora's Star convinced me to dive into Sci-Fi audiobooks. At the moment I am trying to catch up on Sci-Fi classics and checking out a wide variety of author's rather than concentrating on one author / series.
When it comes so fantasy I am a great fan of Terry Pratchett. Most other approaches to the fantasy genre are hard to stomach. :)
I generally avoid everything with vampires and zombies in it.
Hi, I'm Jason. I love fantasy and science fiction, though I am definitely more of a sword than a laser. I've been listening to the podcast for a while now and decided to finally take the plunge and get involved in the discussions.At the moment I would say George R R Martin is my favorite author (his Song of Ice and Fire books just grabbed me by the face and wouldn't let go until I'd finished them!), but I also love Robin Hobb, Brandon Sanderson, Orson Scott Card, and too many others to list.
I'm writing an epic fantasy novel right now, and I have a website at JasonGarman.com. There's not a lot there right now as I'm writing my first book, but there's a couple reviews and some other things as I figure out what content is interesting. It's mostly just a public declaration of my intention to write to motivate me to finish.
Hi, I'm Don. Found the S&L podcast last year, love it. It introduced me to some really great reads. Came here after listening to the podcasts. I'm in my late 40s and have been a sci-fi and fantasy nut all my life. Favorite authors right now, James Rollins, George R R Martin, O S Card, David Gemmell, Dave Duncan
Hi everyone,Ive been a member since Sword and Laser moved to Goodreads from the other book club website, but Ive never introduced myself or commented, so I figured its time to actively participate since I read so much and from both non-fiction and fiction. (When I say read, I mean listen) I love audiobooks and I listen to them all day long at work with a few podcasts thrown in. My favorite authors right now are: George RR Martin, Pat Rothfuss, Joe Abercrombie, and Brandon Sanderson. I am currently re-reading the Song of Ice and Fire Series to get ready for A Dance with Dragons
Hello everyone,My name is James. I discovered the Sword and Laser podcast after listening to various Twit and Revision3 podcasts. The podcast is a great resource for discovering new books to read. I am a CPA and during the tax filing season, I do not have a lot of pleasure reading time. On my recent vacation, I finished Game of Thrones, read the Hunger Games trilogy, and started the first Sookie Stackhouse book. I am looking forward to the discussions.
Hello, I'm Sarah (aka the Librarian in Black). I've been a podcast-listener/lurker for S&L since the beginning. I live in San Rafael, CA and am a librarian. Contrary to popular belief though, librarians *never* get paid to read books. We read on our own time because we love to do so. For me, that means science fiction, dystopian literature, fantasy, and future-gazing non-fiction. 5 months ago I switched to digital reading only, and am now sadly annoyed with the weight & page-turning process of paper books (who woulda thunk it?).
I'm so glad to read that so many S&L members are library users--don't forget we have a bazillion eBooks too, including most S&L picks. Happy to act as the group's impromptu librarian as needed!
Hi! I'm Melissa...auditor by day and secret geek by night. I just discovered the Sword and Laser when signing up for (pause, dramatic music) *****DRAGON CON 2011*** (sigh). I am currently reading Ilona Andrews and The Rediscovery of Man by Cordwainer Smith.I love the podcast & have already started a list of new books to read. My only distraction is words with friends--but reading scifi & fantasy teaches me all sorts of new words to spell. :)
(oh yeah-I am addicted to smiley faces in my posts)
Sarah wrote: "Hello, I'm Sarah (aka the Librarian in Black). I've been a podcast-listener/lurker for S&L since the beginning. I live in San Rafael, CA and am a librarian. Contrary to popular belief though, libr..."Welcome Sarah from another librarian who doesn't get paid to read (if I did, it definitely wouldn't be S&L stuff!). I've followed your blog for several months now, and it will be nice to hear what you have to say in our discussions.
Hi, I'm Erika (or Rikki) and I've been listening to S&L for a while and I joined Goodreads to participate ages ago but I just never got around to posting. I've been reading pretty much just sword and laser books for about thirteen years. Urban Fantasy and Space Opera are my favourite sub-genres but I mostly like well done stories that aren't soul-crushing. The Dresden Files is pretty much my all time favourite series with the Vorkosigan Saga on it's heels.
How's it y'all? My name is Chris but I always go by my gamertag cause I think it's fun. Anywho, I stumbled upon the podcast yesterday through Reddit. Now I really, really want a Sword and Laser T-shirt. Is there any other way of getting one other than participating in the sound effects competition which probably ended all ready?
Hello, my name is Moises and I stumbled into Sword and Laser while browsing for groups under the SciFi section of goodreads looking for new books to read. Yours seemed to be the most popular one. Anyway, I just read The Hunger Games, and wasn't disappointed. I'll be going through everything in the group's bookshelf now.Greetings from Manila/Singapore!
Mod
Oh great Lord of Squirrels, Hail and well met. Since nobody sent us any sound effects, you still have a shot there. However, once I get my lazy butt out to the garage to count the shorts, I will send that count to Scott Johnson and he will add Sword and Laser t-shirts to the Frogpants store. Then you will be able to exchange a small piece of paper with the picture of Alexander Hamilton on it for a shirt. I also try to take them with me to big conferences like Dragon*Con in Atlanta.
In any case we welcome you and wish you long days and pleasant acorns. (For your squirrell vassals)
Hi you all, My name is Ricardo And live in Santiago de Chile. Love Sci-Fi when I was a kid my mother would read me Jules Verne Books and then I found Isaac Asiminov my favorite laser writer. I just finished reading Hunger games and is enjoy it in so many different levels it is a great book. I also enjoyed the books discussion
Hi all,Mike here. Thirty-three years old. I work with crime scenes. I've been reading the cool nerdy books since I was a kid. Way too many to mention. Helped out in the school library as a kid. That didn't hurt.
I signed on to the group to make friends with similar interests.
Actually, I really just like hearing my own name read aloud on podcasts. =)
Hello, I'm Dave. I'm a draftsman from NC that uses reading as my escape. I'll read pretty much anything interesting, but I prefer Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels, which I've been reading for the past 20+ years. I've been listening to the S&L since last year when I started downloading the frogpants ultra feed to grab my podcasts. My favorite authors are Raymond E Feist, Terry Goodkind, David Eddings, Douglas Adams, and so many more. I really enjoy the podcast and I'm looking forward to being a part of this community.
Hi all,Grant here.
I'm a network administrator/it purchasing agent/government drone in Jackson, MS.
I heard about S&L way back when it was announced on ExtraLife but just recently got around to joining the group and listening to the podcast.
I read far more fantasy than anything else, started with Dragonlance novels in elementary school and have never stopped reading fantasy since.
Both better and worse books tho =P
Hi there,My name's Scott and I run the militaryscifi.com website (among others). As you can imagine I'm a big fan of Military Science Fiction. If you have any suggestions for MilSciFi books, especially new ones, let me know. On the personal side I'm a Pilot Plant technician at a company that develops electronic ink displays for eBook readers and whatnot.
Hello! Name is Nick and I am a fan of hardcore sci-fi, fantasy and time travel themed books. I do most of my 'reading' through audible as I travel some in my work and have a lengthy daily drive. My goal is to work my way through all the books on the SF masterworks top 100 type lists and throw in new books from time to time as well.
I'm huge fans of older authors such as Jack Finney, Poul Anderson and Robert A. Heinlein as well as some newer authors William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, Neil Gaiman, Connie Willis and Orson Scott Card etc...
I was originally turned on to sci-fi books at a young age getting a copy of 'Space Winners' by Gordon R. Dickson and was hooked. I hope to pick up new suggestions and follow the group reads!
Hi everyone,I'm Costa. Been listening to the show for a while, and finally decided to join the forums! Like Grant I started fantasy with the DragonLance books, and have since expanded onto Tolkein, Robert Jordan, George R R Martin, and others.
Like most of you I'm currently finding every space minute to read A Dance With Dragons!
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)
More...
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)
More...
I'm Charlie and I'm been reading scifi and fantasy since I was handed the Hobbit when I was 10. Currently I'm on an "Urban Fantasy" kick Reading Jim Butcher, Kim Harrison, Ilona Andrews and Simon R. Green. I look forward to being part of the group.