The Sword and Laser discussion

Some things aren't for everybody, like our current read NOS4A2, or the new Game of Thrones trailer. But don't worry, there are plenty of other great things to read like the British Fantasy Award winners and more!

https://www.patreon.com/posts/57171750
https://soundcloud.com/swordandlaser/...
http://swordandlaser.com/home/2021/10...

Aww, how can you resist that face?

*blushes*

Preshow thoughts...

I really wanna figure out what's drawn on the whiteboard behind Veronica...

Veronica's chocolate covered toffee candy in a tray: Is it Toffifay?
https://www.storck.us/en/brands/toffi...
Those are incredibly addictive...

Re: House of the Dragon…

Should I be putting trailers in the Quick Burns? I made the Coming Soon thread because Tom mentioned once that films/TV weren’t part of the S&L remit, which I took as wanting to keep the podcast book-centric as opposed to his other podcasts.

Or maybe just book-related trailers? Which are actually quite a few of them, but would House of the Dragon fall under that, being a spin-off of an adaptation?

Re: Holidays…

Here’s an idea for December:The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror. Angels, zombies, Christmas, comedy, horror, everything Veronica likes, all in one place.

Personally I only post book related TV/Movies to quick burns.

I don't know how to categorize House of Dragons though.

I believe the events that House of Dragons will depict were at least loosely covered in The World of Ice & Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones.

The Audio is in sync on Youtube this time!

Jan wrote: "I really wanna figure out what's drawn on the whiteboard behind Veronica..."

Veronica's whiteboard doodle

[image error]
https://ibb.co/HGy78BY



https://ibb.co/VwbWNZW

I think it could be a sheep with tentacles on its head.

https://image.spreadshirtmedia.net/im...

I would still class NOS4R2 as Fantasy.

We have read several other books that fit the Horror genre.

Lovecraft Country (Fantasy/Horror)
Frankenstein:, (Sci-Fi/Horror)
Annihilation (Sci-Fi/Horror)
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (Sci-Fi/Horror)

Black Leopard, Red Wolf had its Horror moments.

Personally, I found BLRW and Annihilation to be more horrific and creepier than NOS4R2.

As far as non-Sci-fi/Fantasy, I would put Rule 34 and Reamde as more thrillers with a bit of real world cyberpunk

That doodle behind Veronica is a message from the aliens in Arrival.

My guess at V's doodle is a design for a new Belbot, possibly an homage to DRDs (Diagnostic Repair Drone) on Farscape

See https://farscape.fandom.com/wiki/Diag...

Or the gardening robots from Silent Running:



*Rejoice in the Sun by Joan Baez starts playing in the background*

What the hosts said about NOS4A2 feeling like a Stephen King book made me realise that’s partly why I didn’t get on with it- I actually prefer Joe Hill’s writing to his dad’s. I’ve read a few King books (Carrie, Misery, The Gunslinger plus the non-fiction On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft) but I’ve never really got into him as an author and I noped out of It after about 10% - about how far I got into NOS4A2.

When I saw Hill doing a talk a few years ago he mentioned that his agent initially had no idea who his father was- which I found hilarious because, as you mentioned in the podcast, he looks exactly like a young Stephen King so you’d think anyone who was into horror would join the dots.

He says he was trying to make it in writing without using his father's name at first.


Speaking of King's On Writing, my review has a ton of quotes from it, including this opinion which I think Joe Hill mostly follows:

"...(I find wardrobe inventory particularly irritating; if I want to read descriptions of clothes, I can always get a J. Crew catalogue)...

I think locale and texture are much more important to the reader's sense of actually being in the story than any physical description of the players. Nor do I think that physical description should be a shortcut to character. So spare me, if you please, the hero's sharply intelligent blue eyes and outthrust determined chin; likewise the heroine's arrogant cheekbones."

Trike wrote: "Re: Holidays…

Here’s an idea for December:The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror. Angels, zombies, Christmas, comedy, horror, everything Veronica likes, all in o..."

I love Christopher Moore's books and have been trying to push A Dirty Job on the group for many years but while The Stupidest Angel is an enjoyable book on its own, it ties together characters and elements from several of his series and might not be the best place to start.

Tamahome wrote: "That doodle behind Veronica is a message from the aliens in Arrival."

or a very advanced 10 month old 😉

I mean, at this point I’m enjoying y’all trying to figure it out. Maybe I should just keep it a secret!

I have a feeling what the picture of the next episode will be.

Y'all record almost at my bedtime (silly time zones) so I doubt I'll ever manage to see it live but I do think it would help to have a special tag/role or dedicated "podcast announcement" channel in the discord so I can sub to that without getting all of the messages in general or whatever. I would likely every now and then make it if that happened.

After everything y'all said about NOS4A2 and the trigger warning info, I made the right call skipping it this month. But for those that are into it, it sounds like people are enjoying it.

Oh also the baseball talk was super amusing. But as a fan of Veronica's east coast team, I'm hoping they do well.

terpkristin wrote: "Oh also the baseball talk was super amusing. But as a fan of Veronica's east coast team, I'm hoping they do well."

Yah, it was a bit cheeky, with sports fans, or those that know the locations of the hosts, not having too difficult a time figuring out what teams they were talking about. But anyone else may have been a bit more lost.

My team is still in it as well, and playing a team that use to hale from the town my team currently represents.

Yay sportsball! Go win, team!

Relevant: https://youtu.be/we-L7w1K5Zo

But Troik! It's da Sawx! Da Red Sawx! Dis got nuttin' ta do wit CLOTHES!

John (Taloni) wrote: "But Troik! It's da Sawx! Da Red Sawx! Dis got nuttin' ta do wit CLOTHES!"

People around here call Roger Clemens and Johnny Damon traitors for leaving Boston to play with the Yankees. Heck, they *still* say that about Babe Ruth. And they’re legit angry about it. The Red Sox as an organization are still so mad at Wade Boggs for going to New York that they refuse to retire his number, despite the fact he checks all the criteria.

Mention the Yankees around here and the kneejerk rage-quote of “I hate New York!” just erupts from people. It’s simultaneously hilarious and sad.

Yankees Suck!: The Official Guide for Fans Who Hate, Despise, Loath, and Detest Those Bums From the Bronx by Jim Gerard

GO DODGERS!!



(Sorry Tom, I know you're afan!)

I assume this is about some kind of "spurts" or whatever they call it...

When I was a kid it was considered weird or nerdy (not in a good way) to love reading, etc. & not care about sports. I'm really glad that has been changing for the better & it's cooler to be a geek now. Love what you love.

Ian (RebelGeek) wrote: "When I was a kid it was considered weird or nerdy (not in a good way) to love reading, etc. & not care about sports. I'm really glad that has been changing for the better & it's cooler to be a geek..."

While that was weird when I was a kid, it was even more odd to like to read and watch sci fi, and also like sports. It was like two different worlds, and it was weird to have a foot in both. And I'd get a bit a hazing from both sides. I always figured it just made me more well rounded. But hey you like what you like, and it's OK to not like what you don't.

I've always liked sports and mostly always had nerdier pursuits.

My mom was a librarian and would read a book all the time, including when she had football on in the background.

It never felt strange to me to like both.

Sport and nerdier pursuits don't always mix well though.
My Sundays as a teenager involved playing rugby in the morning and then spending the afternoons miniature gaming.

I (sort of) recall getting a concussion one morning and feeling OK but then realising during a game of Bloodbowl (of all things) that half the rules had been knocked out of my head.

Then there was the time I split my lip and couldn't play trombone for 6 months. Bye bye embouchure. :(

Trike wrote: "Re: House of the Dragon…

Should I be putting trailers in the Quick Burns? I made the Coming Soon thread because Tom mentioned once that films/TV weren’t part of the S&L remit, which I took as want..."

Yes. Book-related.

Rob wrote: "Personally I only post book related TV/Movies to quick burns.

I don't know how to categorize House of Dragons though."

House fo the Dragon is based on Fire & Blood. So it qualifies.

there is an audio message from Joe hill at the end of Nos4a2 - Harper Audio, Kate Mulgrew (Narrator of NOS4A2). It about his mother as fine author.