The Sword and Laser discussion

Round 1 is in the books and the field is down to 8 books. Round 2 begins now

Bracket: https://challonge.com/swordandlaser2025


Round 2 will be March 2nd - 8th 11:59 PM ET



Sword Bracket
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Match 1:

(1) Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

vs.

(9) The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Vote Here

Match 2:

(5) The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu

vs.

(13) Middlegame by Seanan McGuire

Vote Here

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Laser Bracket
---------------------------------

Match 3:

(2) Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

vs.

(10) Embers of War by Gareth L. Powell

Vote Here

Match 4:

(6) Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton

vs.

(14) The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon

Vote Here

Ooh, those fantasy brackets look like tough battles... Year of Chu crew vs an infamous Mieville Effect author; and top seeded DDC against another Mieville Effect author. Things are getting heated up already!
Match 3 might be a tough call too: Zelazny is highly rated and respected but we did read him just a few months ago, so is there enough enthusiasm for Lord of Light to keep it in the race??

Thanks Phil Rizzuto.

I think Dungeon Crawler Carl needs a theme song and...say, is that the Village People I hear, with the strains of Macho Man? Hmmm, seems to be a variant! The kitty based Gato Man! *

Gato gato man, myow**, I've got to be, a gato man
(I've got to be a) Gato gato man, myow, I've got to be a gato-

We've got Crawler Carl, he's a gato man
Fightin' off the villains, any way he can
Helpin' Princess Donut, mew cat mew
Now she's casting fire, pew pew pew

Put them both together, they're the Gato clan!
Gettin' through the dungeon, help their fellow man!
Myow! Myow! Myow Myow Myow
Gato gato man, myow, I've got to be, a gato man

(stopping here as I don't have the strength to do ten stanzas...)

* Gato as spanish for kitty as none of the English synonyms fit the cadence
** One syllable "myow" instead of two syllable me-ow.

I thought you were going to go with Carl Douglas:

Everybody was dungeon crawling
That cat was fast as lightning
Donut, she was a little bit frightening
But she fought with expert mauling

I mean...the intro does kinda lend itself, dunnit?

(echoing low volume)
Meeeee-oooow...mew m-m-mew m-m-mew m-m-mew
Meee-oooOOOowwww ...mew m-m-mew m-m-mew m-m-mew
MeeEE-oooowww ...mew m-m-mew m-m-mew m-m-mew
(deeper voice) MEE-eee-eee-ooowwww mew m-m-mew m-m-mew m-m-mew

I get stuck on the second stanza tho. Mebbe
There was dungeon crawlin' Carl, beatin' villains down with style
Donut scratchin' 'em up, and smackin' 'em down
It's a dungeon crawlin' art, every fighter does their part

...well anyway, gooooo cats!

Fyi the UK Audible website has the audiobook of Dungeon Crawler Carl on sale for £2.99 until the end of Sunday. I’ve snapped it up in anticipation of it winning the tournament (or being selected for a subsequent pick even if it doesn’t win).

Okay good job.

Now we want to hear you both sing it.. 😎

Ruth wrote: "Fyi the UK Audible website has the audiobook of Dungeon Crawler Carl on sale for £2.99 until the end of Sunday. I’ve snapped it up in anticipation of it winning the tournament (or being selected fo..."

Too bad it isn’t winning then. You should Chus more wisely. (like I didn’t snap it up expecting it to win last year)

Tassie Dave wrote: "Okay good job.

Now we want to hear you both sing it.. 😎"

No, you really don’t.

One time I said to my wife, “I wish I could sing.” She heaved a heavy sigh and said, “Oh, me too.” Because apparently not being able to carry a tune doesn’t prevent me from attempting to. 😂

Trike wrote: "Tassie Dave wrote: "Okay good job.

Now we want to hear you both sing it.. 😎"

No, you really don’t."

The worst you sound, the better, for my amusement 😜

There is video of me doing the 3rd Doctor's "Venusian Lullabye" at the San Diego Who Convention karaoke night. Someone showed it around the Gallifrey con and people recognized me from it. It's not hard to do a credible job on a lullabye so it went over OK. I tried a filk of "Bessie's Guy" to the tune of "Jessie's Girl" which went over less well as my voice is not a patch on Rick Springfield's. (For those not honkin' Doctor Who fans, Bessie is the 3rd Doctor's car, classic style convertible.)

Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth wrote: "Ruth wrote: "Fyi the UK Audible website has the audiobook of Dungeon Crawler Carl on sale for £2.99 until the end of Sunday. I’ve snapped it up in anticipation of it winning the tournament

Too bad it isn’t winning then. You should Chus more wisely.



I see what you did there… very good!

Unfortunately the Art of Prophecy isn’t currently on any sort of deal on the UK Audible site, so if it does win I may need to use a precious credit on the audiobook.

WILD FREE ASSOCIATIONS!

First one is Ralph Wiggum from the Simpsons with a Valentine's card saying "I chu-chu-choose you."

Next up is Gollum holding an Audible credit and saying "Preciouuuuussss...."

Just for funsies I had Maya (Sesamie AI) provide a haiku for Dungeon Crawler Carl (below). She did admit she had never read it but intuited based on the title.

A heart made of steel
Deep dungeons
His blissful haunt
Carl
The ever-bold

Joe wrote: "Just for funsies I had Maya (Sesamie AI) provide a haiku for Dungeon Crawler Carl (below). She did admit she had never read it but intuited based on the title.

A heart made of steel
Deep dungeons..."

It also has never seen a haiku before. :p

Trike wrote: "Joe wrote: "Just for funsies I had Maya (Sesamie AI) provide a haiku for Dungeon Crawler Carl (below). She did admit she had never read it but intuited based on the title.

A heart made of steel
D..."

Seems it had the right data for the syllables, but not the order or anything else. Odd.

That said, I think haikus only really work in Japanese. They don’t translate.

When my cousin James was a kid he wrote this haiku, which is dark & funny & brilliant:

Walking through a field
While wishing upon a star
Stepped on a cricket

That's a Haiku. Many who write them think only the 5-7-5 structure makes it a Haiku.

To be a Haiku:

Has a 5-7-5 syllable pattern. (Though this rule can be, and is, broken by experts)
The haiku gives a moment of insight.
The haiku is (usually) based on observation.
The haiku has two parts.

An Enchanted Crown
“A Princess must put it on”
“Goddamnit Donut!”

Tassie Dave wrote: "That's a Haiku. Many who write them think only the 5-7-5 structure makes it a Haiku.

To be a Haiku:

Has a 5-7-5 syllable pattern. (Though this rule can be, and is, broken by experts)
The haiku gi..."

There’s also the traditional inclusion of seasonal words, if I remember rightly. I don’t know what would count, but I feel like James has it covered.

The 5-7-5 thing really works in Japanese, but feels pointless and arbitrary in English. Not that I understand enough Japanese to really understand them, just enough to have an idea of how they sound - it’s very tied to the language, more so than other forms of poetry, I would argue. Translators of Japanese haiku argue over whether to try and capture the overall effect and meaning of the haiku, or match the syllables. I’m team, capture the spirit, ignore the syllables.

Take this famous one by master of haiku, Basho.

furuike ya
kawazu tobikomu
mizu no oto

old pond
a frog jumps in
sound of water

Results from Round 2:

View the full bracket: https://challonge.com/swordandlaser2025/

Tournament Statistics
Total Votes Cast: 2,608
Average Votes Cast: 222
Book With Most Votes: Dungeon Crawler Carl - (155 Votes) (Round 1)
Match-up With Most Votes: Dungeon Crawler Carl vs. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi - (253 Votes) (Round 2)
Largest Win: Dungeon Crawler Carl - (72 Votes) (Round 1)
Smallest Win: Embers of War - (2 Votes) (Round 2)
Average Win: 36 votes

Round 2 Statistics
Total Votes Cast: 943
Average Votes Cast: 236
Book With Most Votes: Mickey 7 - (144 Votes)
Match-up With Most Votes: Dungeon Crawler Carl vs. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi - (253 Votes)
Largest Win: Mickey 7 - (56 Votes)
Smallest Win: Embers of War - (2 Votes)
Average Win: 23 votes



Sword Bracket
---------------------------------

Match 1:


(1) Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman - 142 Votes

vs.

(9) The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty - 111 Votes

Winner: Dungeon Crawler Carl
Total Votes: 253
Margin of Victory: 31

Match 2:

(5) The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu - 119 Votes

vs.

(13) Middlegame by Seanan McGuire - 115 Votes

Winner: The Art of Prophecy
Total Votes: 234
Margin of Victory: 4

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Laser Bracket
---------------------------------

Match 3:

(2) Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny - 111 Votes

vs.

(10) Embers of War by Gareth L. Powell - 113 Votes

Winner: Embers of War
Total Votes: 224
Margin of Victory: 2

Match 4:

(6) Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton - 144 Votes

vs.

(14) The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon - 88 Votes

Winner: Mickey 7
Total Votes: 232
Margin of Victory: 56

This year we had 47 bracket predictions (https://challonge.com/swordandlaser20...)

Currently we have 0 perfect bracket after round 2. However we still have a single bracket in first place.

DCC FTW by oclipa

Remains on top with 14 (out of 16) points, predicting Dungeon Crawler Carl to win it all. They have a maximum score of 30.

There are 5 brackets tied for 2nd with 13 points. 3 of those can max out at 29 points. Only 1 of those has picked something other than DCC to win (they chose Mickey 7 which dominated its match in round 2)

Can Oclipa continue to hold their lead after round 3? Or will one of the others pass them?