The Sword and Laser discussion

I'm tired from staying out late to see Avengers last night..but I think it's a new month..so here's a new thread..

Whatcha got?

Finished with Peter Grant #5, Foxglove Summer and I'll never see unicorns the same way again.

Starting The Dispossessed. I hope I could finish this one since I am really curious about the anarchist society in it.

Current S&L challenge tally:
Sword: 17
Laser: 9

Just finished The Fifth Season and am no starting The Obelisk Gate just so I can get to The Stone Sky. The plan is to read all the Hugo nominated novels for this year before I vote. Unfortunately even though I have them in my library, I've not read any of them.

I am currently reading "something wicked this way comes " by ray bradbury.

I expect I'm going to be reading To Ride Hell’s Chasm for a not-insignificant part of the month (it's a long book), and after that I'm looking forward to Night's Master and the rest of the Flat Earth books.

Finished up two Vampire-Staking, World-Saving, hilarious romps by Kate Danley: Eine Kleine Nacht Maggie and Of Mice and MacKays. Comes with sardonic take on Southern California life.

Now on to this month's book. (Recent reading curtailed by full-series binge of The Expanse.)

I finished Oathbringer and We Are Legion (We Are Bob) last month, and plan to read Night's Master this month. And I should finish Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life soonish.

But aside from that, I'm not really sure what I want to read next, particularly for audible. I've got a few options, but I'm really not sure what I'm in the mood for. At the moment, I have New Spring (re-listen), Calamity, Murder on the Orient Express, Perfect State, Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell, and Warbreaker all downloaded. I may just RNG it and see what comes up.

Right now I'm reading:


Old Man's War by John Scalzi - my favorite Scalzi book so far (of course that's not saying much...)


Cugel's Saga by Jack Vance - #3 in the Dying Earth series


To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis - very lighthearted SF time travel homage to the Victorian Age classic Three Men in a Boat

non-genre books:

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
March Violets by the recently deceased Philip Kerr
The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall

Sigh... well I've broken out of the reading slump. Lessee...

Last month was We Are Bob and Head On and The Wrong Stars. This month I've got the following going:

Night's Master
Norse Mythology
Amberlough

I don't read graphic novels but I was sick last week and browsing the library app and what popped up? Volume 1 of The Sandman, Preludes & Nocturnes. I'm now 4 volumes into that... having just finished Season of Mists and I've started Carey's Lucifer series.

It struck me that much of this has a mythic feel to it so I think my next book is one I've been meaning to get to but which I needed to be on a certain mood to read, Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr

That should take me through the 15th or so (yes, definitely out of the slump) and I'll pick up Space Opera I think because I'll probably want something light and silly and what's sillier than Galactic Eurovision?

Wow, you are reading Sandman for the first time? What a treat.

I finished Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Vol. 6: Flight and The Three-Body Problem.

Vol 6 of Galactic Heroes wasn't as good as the previous 5 - it suffered from a transitional period in the plot with lots of exposition and philosophy but not a lot of action. But by the last half it picked up pace and was very enjoyable. Vol 7 drops in English in August.

Three Body Problem was great. I am going to take a small break and listen to the three hour All Systems Red before continuing 3-body with The Dark Forest

I'm saving Night's Master for later when I'm traveling.

But a visit to the local library yielded entertainment for the meantime. I must be in an historical mood, since I brought home The Hippopotamus Pool, The Secret of Abdu El-Yezdi (although that probably counts as a sword), and the latest from one of my favorite authors, Bernard Cornwell, Fools and Mortals

John (Taloni) wrote: "Wow, you are reading Sandman for the first time? What a treat."

Yeah, it's quite excellent. I just never read comics after my teen years and didn't pick up the whole 'graphic novel' thing. My library has Hoopla now which has online access to these and they read well on a retina iPad.

I'm halfway through Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson. Know I'm behind the game for this series, but I'm enjoying it very much. After I finish, I will likely read Night's Master and then either Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel or Autonomous.

I stopped at the library on the way home from work tonight and picked up The Bastard Legion (aka The Hangman's Daughter, apparently - UK vs US, I guess?) which looks like rowdy MilSF.

The first page has the main character bored in a combat suit cranking music and using her rifle as an air guitar (or space guitar, I suppose) a la Pete Townsend. Sold!

Currently listening to Forging Hephaestus by Drew Hayes. Its a book about superheroes and supervillains only told from the perspective of a new recruit on the supervillain side which makes it very interesting.

I recently finished Taste of Wrath - the 7th and final novella in Matt Wallace's Sin Du Jour series. I thought it wrapped things up very nicely. It's been a solid, 4 star sort of series.

I'm reading Circe by Madeleine Miller which is always pegged as literary fiction but it's a reimagining of mythological characters so kinda almost fantasy?

I also scored an audiobook review copy of Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel so I listened to an hour of that this morning.

Finished Night's Master. It wasn't really my cup of tea overall. There was some nice poetic writing but it got to be a little too much. I also found the whole thing pretty depressing.
Starting Gamer Fantastic.

About 40% into The Core, last book in the Demon Cycle by Peter V. Brett. This is the first book of the lot I'm fed up with.

Been reading The Midnight Front by David Mack as well. Got this one through PageHabit. I've been enjoying this "secret history" of WWII with secret demon magic.

Robert wrote: "Just finished The Fifth Season and am no starting The Obelisk Gate just so I can get to The Stone Sky. The plan is to read all the Hugo nominated nov..."

I like to read all of the Hugo nominated novels too. I took the last couple of years off after all of the Hugo controversy, but I think I'm back this year. I still need to read Earth 2140, Six Wakes, and Raven Stratagem.

I finished my re-read of Abaddon's Gate. I liked it a lot more this time around. My review.

Now I'm reading Exo by Fonda Lee.

I just finished Jade City, which was awesome. 5 stars from me. It’s like The Godfather meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. So good.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Dara wrote: "

Now I'm reading Exo by Fonda Lee."

If it’s as good as Jade City, I’m all for that.

Finishing up Timothy Zahn's Blackcollars. A buddy made me read Zahn's Star Wars Thrawn trilogy so I figured I give his non-Star Wars books a try as well.

Trike wrote: "I just finished Jade City, which was awesome. 5 stars from me. It’s like The Godfather meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. So good.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/sh..."

Just read on Tor the top 5 Asian SFF books and Jade City is there. I have to give that i try now since Tor and group members seems to have good things to say about it.

Unless, this could somehow be a book pick this year?!?

I read Jade City recently and I guess I don't get all the hype. It's a solid story, but I didn't find it anything mind-blowing.

Trike wrote: "Dara wrote: "

Now I'm reading Exo by Fonda Lee."

If it’s as good as Jade City, I’m all for that."

I'll let you know! :-) Jade City is so goood.

Started Persepolis Rising.

I'm up to Nemesis Games in my Expanse re-reading. This one is tough - I feel like I'm just slogging through the set-up because I know what's coming, and I'm super-excited about getting to all the crazy stuff that happens in the rest of the book.

Brendan wrote: "I read Jade City recently and I guess I don't get all the hype. It's a solid story, but I didn't find it anything mind-blowing."

Seconded. 3.5 for me. I liked the writing, thought that (view spoiler)[ the wayward daughter and whether she'd come back to the family was drawn out too long (and really, her attitude wasn't depicted well, coming off as more entitled than conflicted) (hide spoiler)] but the world is intriguing.

I started Age of Myth in audio, the BOM Night's Master in Kindle and The City & the City in Dead Tree. My next Graphic Novels are Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood and Black Squadron. I wish I could count playoff hockey, Jets in Laser and the Golden Knights in sword.

I don’t care what the logo looks like it is the Nashville “Preditors”, I’d call that laser. Capitol ships sound like laser to me. Since I have no clue what a Bruin is, I’m going go with a fantastical beast with a sword. And since we all know gods are the ones hurling lightning, they have to be swords. To make the numbers even, let’s have Dr. Evil’s sharks with lay-zer beams, and the mythical flying penguins are sword? I have to be honest I like the idea of space penguins better, but that would lopsided the remaining teams.

Bruin = bear.

So, you know, either way.

Working through Night's Master on Kindle and a re-read (listen this time) of WoT The Eye of the World.

Just finished Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynold, which was good except for some pretty unpleasant characters :(

DOOH! Yea, should have remembered that. I just rarely see them use that fact, mostly the “hubbed B” logo. But as you said, that can still work.

Michele wrote: "I'm up to Nemesis Games in my Expanse re-reading. This one is tough - I feel like I'm just slogging through the set-up because I know what's coming, and I'm super-excited about getting to all the c..."

It seems like a filler book in concept but yeah stuff happens midway which makes it anything but a filler. Its actually one of my favorite of the series. The 6th book to me was disappointing because it seemed like it was a whole book of people just talking about what happened and little happening until an anti climactic ending.

Personally Nemesis Games is my favorite book of the Expanse series so far. To each their own though.

Finished an audiobook this morning, Death of a River Guide ★★★★★ which is a sad beautiful read by Richard Flanagan at the top of his game. Not sure how he made such bleak material hopeful, but he did (non genre).

Finished Lovecraft Country ★★★★☆ last night and it was great too. This was a book full of strong, interesting characters surviving darkness in pre civil rights America. Probably the best genre book I have read this year. Demonstrates that hell is other people.

Also, I LOVE the idea of binning up Hockey teams/mascots into SFF.

My team is the Sabres..so that's a little obvious. We're really bad swords..

Well, people already have cosplay for sports, wearing the jerseys. Fantasy leagues is D&D for sports fans. Bin 'em up!

Go (space) Pens! OR they can be birds with swords for arms...

I liked Nemesis Games alot too.

Finished with The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin. I really enjoyed it, very strong and fascinating societies, truly an ambiguous utopia.

Now starting my Hugo reading with Provenance by Ann Leckie.

Current S&L challenge tally:
Sword: 17
Laser: 10 (double digit finally)

That reminded me immediately of this artist's heraldic banners for the NHL:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/18886581...

As for what else I'm reading, I'm working on Circe, rereading The Silmarillion, and looking forward to getting Aru Shah and the End of Time.

NG is also my favorite of the series - I'm just impatient to get to the really good parts.

I’ve actually been collecting sports team logos based on various SFF franchises.

For instance, Star Wars: https://theawesomer.com/star-wars-spo...

Lord of the Rings hockey: http://stevethomasart.blogspot.com/20...

Harry Potter: https://m.imgur.com/gallery/8GzZrek

Star Trek (my favorite is the Red Shirt Expendables): https://www.popsugar.com/tech/Star-Tr...

Marvel: http://boards.sportslogos.net/topic/1...

Game of Thrones



The Simpsons


My Little Pony

Haaa, these are *awesome!*

Finished The Philosopher's Flight, I was really into it until it just kind of... drifted off.

Followed up with Artemis which I really enjoyed and hopefully talked a friend into reading after she had decided to not.

Finally reading An Unkindness of Ghosts - about halfway through and still unsure if I'm enjoying it or not. This typically either means I'm going to hate it or love it, with no middle ground for just uncertainty.

Trying to decide if I start Chuck Wendig's Heartland books, read Abandon, or Old Man's War next.

Rob wrote: "Also, I LOVE the idea of binning up Hockey teams/mascots into SFF."

What does "binning up" mean?
Google translate doesn't work on American to Aussie ;-)
and Google is failing me.

Trike are you into Scott Sigler's "Galactic Football League" series.

Fans have made logos for most of those futuristic alien/human American Football teams

https://www.flickr.com/photos/scottsi...

Binning up is another way of saying sorting