The Sword and Laser discussion

New thread for 2025.

Post your SFF Book news for consideration to be included in the next podcast

Audible put out a new ad that is weirdly judgey about what speed you listen at:

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTY3UR7Xx/

We're one quarter of the way through the 21st century, and Reactor asked established SFF author and columnist Jo Walton to create a list of the top ten SFF books of the 21st century so far. Long story short, she failed, and made 5 different top ten lists instead, none of which is an over all best of, but she documents her struggles well!
https://reactormag.com/on-selecting-t...
The lists she made instead are really great though. Here's her list of top ten novellas:
Eleanor Arnason — The Potter of Bones (2002)
Baoshu — What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear (2015)
Ted Chiang — The Lifecycle of Software Objects (2010)
Carolyn Ives Gilman — The Ice Owl (2012)
John Kessel — Stories for Men (2002)
Ursula K. Le Guin — Paradises Lost (2002)
Kelly Link — Magic For Beginners (2005)
Ian R. McLeod — New Light on the Drake Equation (2001)
Sarah Pinsker — And Then There Were (N-One) (2017)
Robert Reed — A Plague of Life (2004)

Here's her list of top ten YA (she loves Le Guin, can you tell?)
William Alexander — Ambassador (2014)
Willam Alexander — Nomad (2015)
Cory Doctorow — Little Brother (2008)
Nina Kiriki Hoffman — Past the Size of Dreaming (2001)
Naomi Kritzer — Catfishing on CatNet (2019)
Ursula K. Le Guin — Gifts (2004)
Ursula K. Le Guin — Voices (2006)
Ursula K. Le Guin — Powers (2007)
Kari Maaren — Weave a Circle Round (2017)
Rainbow Rowell — Carry On (2015)

Top ten series (complete and ongoing):
Daniel Abraham — The Long Price Quartet (2006-9)
Ben Aaronovich — Rivers of London (2011-ongoing)
Lois McMaster Bujold —World of the Five Gods (2001-ongoing)
Shelley Parker-Chan — Radiant Emperor (2021-23)
Kate Elliott — The Sun Chronicles (2020-ongoing)
N.K. Jemisin — The Broken Earth (2015-17)
David Mitchell — The Thousand Autumns Series (2010-ongoing)
Ada Palmer — Terra Ignota (2016-2021)
Patrick Rothfuss — The Kingkiller Chronicle (2005-ongoing) (- personal note: ongoing should be asterisked with "allegedly")
Walter Jon Williams — Dread Empire’s Fall (2002-22)

Her top ten fantasy:
Vajra Chandrasekera — The Saint of Bright Doors (2023)
Susanna Clarke — Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2004) (- she notes that she wanted to use Piranesi, but that Strange & Norrell has had more cultural effect)
John M. Ford — Aspects (2022)
Victoria Goddard — The Hands of the Emperor (2019)
Ellen Kushner — The Privilege of the Sword (2003)
Ann Leckie — The Raven Tower (2019)
Sofia Samatar — A Stranger in Olondria (2013)
Nisi Shawl — Everfair (2016)
Sean Stewart — Perfect Circle (2004)
G. Willow Wilson — Alif the Unseen (2012)

And finally her top ten sci-fi, after which she name dropped 6 of the runners-up she didn't want to cut:
Sue Burke — Semiosis (2018)
Cixin Liu— The Three-Body Problem (2014)
Samuel R. Delany — Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders (2012)
Simon Jimenez — The Vanished Birds (2019)
Ada Palmer — Perhaps the Stars (2021)
Susan Palwick — Shelter (2007)
Kim Stanley Robinson — Forty Signs of Rain (2004)
Geoff Ryman — Air (2004)
Karl Schroeder — Lady of Mazes (2005)
Robert Charles Wilson — Spin (2005)

She also talks extensively of other books she wanted to include but didn't such as The Yiddish Policemen's Union, Anathem and The Expanse series. So a dangerous read if you're trying to keep your TBR under control, but frankly, I love Jo Walton's lists, so I don't mind the TBR boost.

EDIT: Just noticed that Tamahome covered this list in the discord back in November. My bad. But I found another list of the 25 best of the last 25 years by an indie book store. It's definitely got a lot of big names and no real surprises:
https://www.powells.com/featured/25-e...

The big question now (potentially for the breakout discussion) is: What's missing?? These lists seem wary of picking much from the last few years, but I'd have had Babel on there, personally.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/17/bo...

The New York Times has published an article about the possible effect of the TikTok ban on publishing in the United States, considering the huge impact BookTok had over the past few years.

I do not see much of a problem t be honest. Will there be disruptions? Yes, but so what. Vine disappeared, the world survived. My Space disappeared and we moved on. I wonder how much of this ballyhoo is from the Chinese side trying to hang on. They are spying and it is over with me with that alone. The Chinese government could have divested and they did not. The one area I do not fully understand is those that make money with Tik Tok as compared to YouTube. If I have it right, Tik Tok pays much better once they monetize. If that is true, that screaming I understand.

I’m sorry, I know this is such a painful topic, but can we have some direction on how we as a S & L community are going to discuss the Gaiman news?

I apologize if this was already covered elsewhere.

Ryan wrote: "I’m sorry, I know this is such a painful topic, but can we have some direction on how we as a S & L community are going to discuss the Gaiman news?

I apologize if this was already covered elsewhere."

It was discussed a few months ago back when the allegations reached 5, but yeah, I guess the quick update is that New York Magazine ran a cover story last week with new allegations, and the total number of women alleging sexual abuse is at 8 or 9...
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0...

Paul wrote: "We're one quarter of the way through the 21st century, and Reactor asked established SFF author and columnist Jo Walton to create a list of the top ten SFF books of the 21st century..."

Jo Walton is great... such a super-fan. And a decent author, as well!

Ursula K. Le Guin — Gifts (2004)
Ursula K. Le Guin — Voices (2006)
Ursula K. Le Guin — Powers (2007)

I read these to my kids... they were great! As you'd expect with Le Guin, YA doesn't mean you have to be young to enjoy.

Ryan wrote: "I’m sorry, I know this is such a painful topic, but can we have some direction on how we as a S & L community are going to discuss the Gaiman news?

I apologize if this was already covered elsewhere."

Simply this: people will always disappoint you. Don’t put them on pedestals.

Jan wrote: "https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/17/bo...

The New York Times has published an article about the possible effect of the TikTok ban on publishing in the United States, conside..."

The ban has been lifted, so no biggie. It lasted, what, 8 hours or something?

Bans these days just aren’t what they used to be.

Trying to get back into submitting quick burns, the submitted news item immediately gets obsolete. Good start 😜

Or worse! We could be doing a discussion in Quick Burns which is meant for topics only! Instead of, yanno...

*Cough*
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

John (Taloni) wrote: "Or worse! We could be doing a discussion in Quick Burns which is meant for topics only! Instead of, yanno...

*Cough*
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/......"

Nobody puts Baby in a corner.

Reactor puts out a list of SFF titles from the first half of the year. First a few paragraphs for more established writers and entries into series - then 30 others that get special attention. Marked quite a few as 'want to read.'

https://reactormag.com/30-sff-titles-...

John Ridley, who wrote the screenplay for the Oscar-winning movie 12 Years a Slave is slated to direct an adaptation of Isaac Asimov's 1954 novel The Caves of Steel, a SF detective novel. The book is the first in Asimov's Robot series and features the first appearances of human Elijah Bailey and the android R. Daneel Olivaw.

https://reactormag.com/12-years-a-sla...

We haven't read any Asimov since 2012 (Foundation), so mayhaps this could be a future Laser pick?

Normally, not completely relevant, the short-list for the Edgar Awards for best mystery of the year have been released: https://mysterywriters.org/2025-edgar...

But this year, among the nominees is fantasy/mystery The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett.

Via Locus: 2025 Audie Awards Finalists

Here are the Fantasy and Science Fiction Finalists (more at the link):

As a side note: The Ministry of Time, Kaliane Bradley, narrated by Katie Leung & George Weightman & (Simon & Schuster Audio) was a finalist in the Fiction category.

https://locusmag.com/2025/01/2025-aud...

Science Fiction

Mal Goes to War, Edward Ashton, narrated by Katharine Chin & John Pirhalla (Macmillan Audio)

The Book of Doors, Gareth Brown, narrated by Miranda Raison (HarperAudio)

Frontier, Grace Curtis, narrated by Aven Shore (Tantor Audio)

Lake of Souls, Ann Leckie, narrated by Adjoa Andoh (Hachette Audio)

System Collapse, Martha Wells, narrated by Kevin R. Free (Recorded Books)

Fantasy

Bookshops & Bonedust, written and narrated by Travis Baldree (Macmillan Audio)

The Bright Sword, Lev Grossman, narrated by Lev Grossman & Nicholas Guy Smith (Penguin Random House Audio)

Goddess of the River, Vaishnavi Patel, narrated by Sneha Mathan (Hachette Audio)

Black Shield Maiden, Willow Smith & Jess Hendel, narrated by Willow Smith (Penguin Random House Audio)

Someone You Can Build a Nest In, John Wiswell, narrated by Carmen Rose (Tantor Audio)

Bookshop.org now sells ebooks. Like their print books, shopping there supports local booksellers. Here's their informational page: https://bookshop.org/info/ebooks

Nice to have options.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/ar...

Any thoughts? My only question is is this truly real?

Speaking of SCALZI SCALZI SCALZI, here's a pretty good overview of his writing career, written by Andrew Liptak for the Old Man's War 20th anniversary.

https://transfer-orbit.ghost.io/john-...

Mark wrote: "Speaking of SCALZI SCALZI SCALZI, here's a pretty good overview of his writing career, written by Andrew Liptak for the Old Man's War 20th anniversary.

https://transfer-orbit.ghost..."

Nice.
I sorta knew Scalzi's story as a writer -- but in bits and pieces. Andrew Liptak does a good job of pulling it together.

In a move that I assume most authors will applaud, Simon and Schuster will no longer require (or it looks like, even encourage) authors to find blurbs for their books.

The new editor, writing a piece for Publisher's Weekly says, among other things, "I don’t want my favorite writers writing blurbs—I want them writing more books so I can read them!" And more pointedly, "this kind of favor trading creates an incestuous and unmeritocratic literary ecosystem that often rewards connections over talent."

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b...

I've certainly given a book a second look because of who blurbed it, but probably this is a positive change.

Assuming the blurbs were written by people that read the book.

Travis Baldree’s new book, Brigands & Breadknives, is available for pre-order. Releases November 11.

Ben Aaronovitch has a new book in the Rivers of London series Stone and Sky available July 8th 2025. That the good news. The bad news it is listed at $17.99 for the e-book. WTF.

I noticed that ebook prices have gone up, even novellas are 12 bucks or something.

Silver and Lead, the 19th October Daye novel by Sword and Laser Miéville effect author Seanan McGuire is coming 30 September 2025. The Kindle edition is a bargain at only $14.99, 48% off the price of the hardcover edition!

Mark wrote: "... The Kindle edition is a bargain at only $14.99, 48% off the price of the hardcover edition!"

I do not consider $15 to be a reasonable price for an eBook. 🤷‍♂️😕

Locus Magazine has released its Recommended Reading List where they recommend their favourite genre books from 2024. I listened to a podcast where they talked about how they whittle down the list, and I find that fascinating since this list contains over 200 books... Makes me wonder how long the original list was!

https://locusmag.com/2025/02/2024-rec...

It might seem a bit daunting, but personally, I like to keep this tab open and work through the list a little bit at a time. I save it for when I'm stuck in front of a computer and don't feel like facing real life, and would rather just add things to my TBR. That might be an odd form of self-care, but I'm sure I have kindred spirits here!

Paul wrote: "... but I'm sure I have kindred spirits here!"

For sure!

Clyde wrote: "I do not consider $15 to be a reasonable price for an eBook. "

a bad joke, $14.99 is a bargain compared to $17.99 for the next Rivers of London e-book mentioned above

Personally, I have a $5.99 max limit on Novellas and if the eBook is $8.99 to 11.99 it is a sure buy or preorder. ,Wind and Truth I did buy for $ 19.99 but they did have the previous books on sale for $3,99 the month before so I feel better about biting the bullet.

It seems worth mentioning that novels set in the 20th century are now getting categorized as Historical Fiction. Here's a Goodreads list broken down by decade from the 1900s to the 1990s.

https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2897

Anyone else feel old now?

Nominations for the 2025 Ursula K Le Guin Prize for Fiction open on March 1 and run through March 31. Anyone can submit a nomination. The full set of criteria are at the site below. Note the period of eligibility this year is different. The book must have been first published between April 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024.

https://www.ursulakleguin.com/prize25

Scott wrote: "It seems worth mentioning that novels set in the 20th century are now getting categorized as Historical Fiction. Here's a Goodreads list broken down by decade from the 1900s to the 1990s.

https://..."

Just to give a bit of perspective, 1900 was 125 years ago, WWI ended 106 years ago and WWII ended 80 years ago.
And yes, I feel old.

Amazon’s killing a feature that let you download and backup Kindle books

After February 26th, you can only download books from the Kindle store to your e-reader over Wi-Fi.

https://www.theverge.com/news/612898/...

Edit: how to transfer from Kindle to Kobo using Calibre, or just download Kindle content to your computer: https://youtu.be/YcBirwJJycg

Edit 2: Remove DRM from any ebook: https://youtu.be/TIjvNB2Ojk0

First look at Alexander Skarsgard as Murderbot.

https://www.avclub.com/murderbot-skar...

I’ve enjoyed Skarsgard in everything I’ve seen him do, but I still think he isn’t quite right for Murderbot. I’ll watch, though. Debuts May 16 on Apple TV.

Stephen wrote: "Ben Aaronovitch has a new book in the Rivers of London series Stone and Sky available July 8th 2025. That the good news. The bad news it is listed at $17.99 for the..."

In this case especially, that's just going to make the audio book more attractive.

Trike wrote: " Amazon’s killing a feature that let you download and backup Kindle books

After February 26th, you can only download books from the Kindle store to your e-reader over Wi-Fi.

https://www.theverge...."

My normal procedure is to download new kindle purchases to my PC Just making a backup for your personal use isn't illegal and I then always have a copy if Amazon decides to do something fishy.. like this move. The files are then available to use Send to Kindle if something gets messed up, you replace your kindle or some other problem. With the new policy of not being able to make backup copy, I guess man people will probably be buying more from Kobo or other independent sources instead of Amazon.

Ian Banks’ The Culture coming to TV

NEWS
‘Consider Phlebas’ Sci-Fi Series Based On Book In Works At Amazon From Charles Yu, Chloé Zhao & Plan B

https://deadline.com/2025/02/consider...

Believe it when you see it.

Also, Chloe Zhao is heading up the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot, and we heard the shocking news that Michelle Trachtenberg (who played Buffy’s sister Dawn) unexpectedly passed away today. She was 39. Apparently she had a liver transplant last year.

https://people.com/michelle-trachtenb...

Analog, Asimov’s, and F&SF Under New Ownership

https://locusmag.com/2025/02/analog-a....

All 3 mags bought by the same outfit, which also purchased Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.

Goodbye mass-market paperbacks, apparently.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b...

Publisher's Weekly reports that the book jobber who distributes to mass retailers (bookstores and big boxes) is going to cease working with books in mass-market paperback size. I have many memories of combing used-bookstore shelves for mass-market sci-fi titles as a kid - reading lots of Star Wars and Star Trek paperbacks, some until they fell apart. Recently, I figured it was mostly for the Romance genre, so was surprised to learn that last year's best-selling mass-markets were 1984 and Animal Farm.

Seth wrote: "Goodbye mass-market paperbacks, apparently.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b......"

BOO! Mass market is my favorite book format.

https://www.libbylife.com/2025-02-25-...

The winners of the 2025 Libby awards, chosen by librarians and library workers across North America, have been announced,

Winners of genre interest are:

Science Fiction and Debut Author of the Year winner is Sword & Laser Pick The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

Best Fantasy is The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst (romantic cozy fantasy about stolen spellbooks, unexpected friendships and sweet jams)

Best Romantasy is totally unexpected House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

Best Young Adult Fiction: Heir by Sabaa Tahir (romantic fantasy following an orphan, an outcast, and a prince in a world on the brink of chaos).

Best Middle Grade Book: Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell (a race to save the world’s last magical place)

Jan wrote: "https://www.libbylife.com/2025-02-25-...

The winners of the 2025 Libby awards, chosen by librarians and library workers across North America, have been announ..."

Lots of interesting picks in that list. In addition to the S&L related, James and We Solve Murders are calling to me.

When it’s Libby’s Libby’s Libby’s on the label label label, uou will like it like it like it on the table table table.

https://terrybrooks.online/news/f/bro...

Terry Brooks announces that, at age 81, he's ready for semi-retirement. He's handing head-writer duties for his 50-year old Shannara series to Delilah Dawson.

Instead of feeling like Sanderson finishing the Wheel of Time, this seems to me more like what's happened recently with some suspense authors becoming brands. Like Lee Child turning over his character to his brother, or like how Clive Cussler or Robert Ludlum's characters just keep going despite their author's deaths.

The 2024 Nebula Award Finalists have been announced.

https://nebulas.sfwa.org/award-year/2...

The long list for the Women’s Prize for fiction has been announced- it’s mostly litfic but the nominees include S&L pick The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. Another example of the S&L bump?

https://womensprize.com/prizes/womens...