The Sword and Laser discussion

The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss has been picked as the October book.
It was announced on the Patreon site.

Based on some of literature’s horror and science fiction classics, this is the story of a remarkable group of women who come together to solve the mystery of a series of gruesome murders—and the bigger mystery of their own origins.

Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless following her parents’ death, is curious about the secrets of her father’s mysterious past. One clue in particular hints that Edward Hyde, her father’s former friend and a murderer, may be nearby, and there is a reward for information leading to his capture…a reward that would solve all of her immediate financial woes.

But her hunt leads her to Hyde’s daughter, Diana, a feral child left to be raised by nuns. With the assistance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Mary continues her search for the elusive Hyde, and soon befriends more women, all of whom have been created through terrifying experimentation: Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherine Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein.

When their investigations lead them to the discovery of a secret society of immoral and power-crazed scientists, the horrors of their past return. Now it is up to the monsters to finally triumph over the monstrous.

It sounds fun :-)

Last months pick was the 100th Official bookpick. This month is another milestone.
This book will be the 10th Anniversary book for Sword and Laser.
Sword and Laser started in October of 2007

I'm not trying to take your job Rob ;-)

Tassie Dave wrote: "I'm not trying to take your job Rob ;-) "

Sure you're not. I know how cool my job looks to everyone.

Sounds intriguing...
Think I might use an audible credit for this one, as the Kindle book is relatively expensive at £9.99 on amazon's UK site.
The audio book seems to have pretty good reviews so far (even those who didn't much like the book itself praised the narrator).

Fun fact. Theodora Goss is the first Hungarian born author to be read by Sword and Laser.

Ruth wrote: "Sounds intriguing...
Think I might use an audible credit for this one, as the Kindle book is relatively expensive at £9.99 on amazon's UK site.
The audio book seems to have pretty good reviews so f..."

I can't speak for this book, but in general Kate Reading is a fantastic narrator.

I was thinking of borrowing the book from the library..but now I'm tempted to do the audio instead. I'm running low on credits though..hmm.

Rob wrote: in general Kate Reading is a fantastic narrator ..."

I haven't encountered her before (although I like the appropriateness of her name!) so thanks for the recommendation. Definitely going for the audio book.

Her and her husband (Michael Kramer) are both narrators who live and work in Maryland. I got to meet them a few years back (before I knew who they were/how much I'd enjoy their work).

They co-narrate the Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time books, Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive and VE Schwab's Shades of Magic. Reading has also done a bunch of other solo stuff I enjoyed including Codex Alera and Paladin of Souls.

She does a lot of non-SFF as well.

Ruth wrote: "Rob wrote: in general Kate Reading is a fantastic narrator ..."

I haven't encountered her before (although I like the appropriateness of her name!) so thanks for the recommendation. Definitely goi..."
She and Michael Kramer really helped me get through the parts of Wheel of Time I would have hated reading. I believe Michael Kramer is also her husband.

Ruth wrote: "Rob wrote: in general Kate Reading is a fantastic narrator ..."

I haven't encountered her before (although I like the appropriateness of her name!) so thanks for the recommendation. Definitely goi..."
Ooh, definitely second the Kate Reading recommendation. I never really thought about how I rank the Audible readers, but she is definitely in my top 5.

Ooh, this one sounds interesting. I can't wait to get started on it.

Rob wrote: "They co-narrate the Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time books, Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive and VE Schwab's Shades of Magic. Reading has also done a bunch of other solo stuff I enjoyed including Codex Alera and Paladin of Souls.
."

She has also done the Lady Trent books by Marie Brennan.

She makes every book she narrates better, IMHO.

Went to hit up LA Public Library and am #17 on 10 copies. Might be a bit of a wait. Seems pretty popular though! Good pick.

Rob wrote: "Ruth wrote: "Sounds intriguing...
Think I might use an audible credit for this one, as the Kindle book is relatively expensive at £9.99 on amazon's UK site.
The audio book seems to have pretty good..."

Oh, I love Kate Reading! Had no idea she was the narrator. Maybe I'd listen but I actually have the DTE of this book.

I can't wait! This one has been on my TBR for a couple of weeks. So glad I'll have a chance to read it so quickly! Based on the recommendations in this thread, I'll be picking up the audiobook. The book came out at the beginning of August so I'm guessing getting library copies will be tough. If you have access to the King County Library System (KCLS) or Seattle Public Library (SPL) there are some audiobook-CD versions available.

This book hadn't been on my list, but I did really enjoy Goss's short story on Tor.com: "Red as Blood and White as Bone."

Seems an odd pick considering we are very likely to read Frankenstein in a few months.

^Isn't the pick pro forma, though? I would expect we have all read Frankenstein at least once. I plan to skim it when we get it, but won't need a full-attention reread.

I've never read Frankenstein

Neither have i! I've read Dracula but never Frankenstein, for all we feel like we know it through cultural osmosis. I'm looking forward to it (Frankenstein).

Rob wrote: "Ruth wrote: "Sounds intriguing...
Think I might use an audible credit for this one, as the Kindle book is relatively expensive at £9.99 on amazon's UK site.
The audio book seems to have pretty good..."

I asked my library to purchase this as an e-audio. If they don't I'll be using an Audible credit. It does sound like a fun title, I love Kate Reading, and its the perfect read for just before Halloween!

Tassie Dave wrote: "Fun fact. Theodora Goss is the first Hungarian born author to be read by Sword and Laser."

To the stats list!

Wow Trike. That just triggered a 60's Batman style swirling scene transition in my head. With the brass horn sting too.

Phil wrote: "Wow Trike. That just triggered a 60's Batman style swirling scene transition in my head. With the brass horn sting too."

Sorry to trigger your PTSD - Post Television Superhero Disorder.

Now I'm envisioning Batman and Robin furiously pedaling to the Batcave on tricycles, so that they can calculate statistics on the BatComputer.

The Internet comes through again.

https://lala-ii.deviantart.com/art/Ba...

Trike wrote: "Tassie Dave wrote: "Fun fact. Theodora Goss is the first Hungarian born author to be read by Sword and Laser."

To the stats list!"

To the lists. Stat ;-)

You know it's already on there :-)

Tassie Dave can check my math here, but I believe this is the 805th book we've read that's set in London?

Well, Tom is a known anglophile, so that would make sense. ;-)

Anyone else think that basing a book around the old horror classics sounds very similar to the TV show Penny Dreadfull?

Brendan wrote: "Tassie Dave can check my math here, but I believe this is the 805th book we've read that's set in London?"

Well, I suspect that that there are many versions of London. I think this may be "Mauve London", or perhaps it's "Fuchsia".

It may not all take place in London, maybe during the course of the book they'll take a steamer to New York, and admire the fountain in Central Park before taking in a spot of architecture at the Dakota, ride the trams, and perhaps see the famous metal ceiling freeze that makes you feel like you are flying.

Personally I'm hoping that a mysterious librarian turns up to solve the mystery before heading back to her interdimensional book repository.

(PS. To be clear, I've loved the 19thC/London based S&L picks so far, and I'm really looking forward to this one!)

I was thinking this might belong on the shelf with The Invisible Library as well. Maybe with The Rook too.
It also strikes me as a mashup of those classic lit. plus monster books that were popular a couple years ago and the Monster High dolls and cartoons that are big now.

Brendan wrote: "Tassie Dave can check my math here, but I believe this is the 805th book we've read that's set in London?"

Sounds about right :-)

London and New York feature in 457% of all Sword and Laser picks ;-)

My part of the world makes up 0.000000000000000000000% of locations in our picks :-(

Maybe we'll read a Kiwi book next month, Dave!

I just want to point out that The Shadow of What Was Lost by Aussie author James Islington would be a perfect way check that box off.

Well, Red London had 3...actually, 4! So it wouldn't be hard to hit (Dr. Evil voice) one MILLION percent!

There are probably more books set in Victorian London than there were people living there at the time.

John (Taloni) wrote: "Went to hit up LA Public Library and am #17 on 10 copies. Might be a bit of a wait. Seems pretty popular though! Good pick."

I'm number 6/5 for the audiobook/ebook.

Looking forward to reading this book, I had side-loaded it on the PW earlier this month. Once I finish the 3rd book of the Bobiverse. Those books have been a fun read, the type of read that your sorry to see end.

John (Taloni) wrote: "^Isn't the pick pro forma, though? I would expect we have all read Frankenstein at least once. I plan to skim it when we get it, but won't need a full-attention reread."

I've tried to read it once as a kid, couldn't get into it then. It is on my to-read pile, though... in there somewhere...

This book sounds really interesting, but as a recent release it's still kind of expensive, and I'd been meaning to save as much money as I can next month for a con... I am conflicted.

^Are you anywhere near a big city library? I don't live in LA but any California resident can get an LAPL library card. That's how I get most of the ebooks I read. Perhaps you could do something similar.

Where I'm from, the city library charges an annual fee - it's not really a lot per month, but it adds up. Plus, I imagine English-language books would be hard to come by even if I had access.

John (Taloni) wrote: "^Are you anywhere near a big city library? I don't live in LA but any California resident can get an LAPL library card. That's how I get most of the ebooks I read. Perhaps you could do something si..."
Do you have to go down to an actual branch for one? I'm down there about once a year. But if I can just get one online, it'd be a lot easier.

Going on, this book looks very interesting and I just got it on Kindle.

Could this be the "League of Extraordinary Ladies?"

Dominik wrote: "Where I'm from, the city library charges an annual fee - it's not really a lot per month, but it adds up. Plus, I imagine English-language books would be hard to come by even if I had access."

Where is this?

I'm interested in how libraries work in other countries, as they sound completely different from the US system.

Trike wrote: "Dominik wrote: "Where I'm from, the city library charges an annual fee - it's not really a lot per month, but it adds up. Plus, I imagine English-language books would be hard to come by even if I h..."

Germany. I checked, in my town it's 38 Euros per year (28 with a student discount), which adds up to 3-ish a month. Still a lot to pay all at once. It does come with a bunch of perks, though, like free evening classes and access to the 3D printer, so I've been considering it.

Dominik wrote: "Where I'm from, the city library charges an annual fee - it's not really a lot per month, but it adds up. Plus, I imagine English-language books would be hard to come by even if I had access."

Where I'm from libraries are free. You also get free subscription to online magazines (eg. New Scientist) and a (bit limited) selection of ebooks. On site there are lots of clubs, sofas, computers and of course free WiFi.

If they added free tea I'd rename it "heaven".

I loved this book - excited to see the club is reading it.

Stephen wrote: "I just want to point out that The Shadow of What Was Lost by Aussie author James Islington would be a perfect way check that box off."

I was bemoaning the lack of local locales in the books we've read.
That book's not set in Tassie, or even Australia ;-) or Earth for that matter.

We have read an Aussie book, The Rook by Daniel O'Malley. Although it was set in London.

David wrote: "Maybe we'll read a Kiwi book next month, Dave!"

We did have a Kiwi Alternate. Empire State by Adam Christopher in January 2012.
It would be nice to have an Aussie or Kiwi female author.
Maybe Kiwi born Aussie Juliet Marillier :-)

Tassie Dave wrote: "We have read an Aussie book, The Rook by Daniel O'Malley. Although it was set in London."

.."
Yes the cultural cringe :-)

Couldn't possibly have it in Oz!

(Given the Australian political news, I assume every Aussie is secretly Kiwi now, anyway.)

I had no idea Adam Christopher was Kiwi, though!

David wrote: "(Given the Australian political news, I assume every Aussie is secretly Kiwi now, anyway.)"

I think they also *want* to be.

I just saw a random episode of a show called 800 Words, which is about an Aussie newspaper columnist (how quaint) who moves with his kids to a small town in New Zealand. This is the second time recently I've encountered the concept of "let's get away from the hectic Australian lifestyle to the relaxed Kiwi one", which is hilarious to Americans.

Even our most chill locales run at triple speed of anything I saw in Australia. I live in New Hampshire where we have almost no streetlights, the major activity is hiking and 99% of the stores are closed by 8 pm, and yet I found Sydney to be far more relaxed.