The Sword and Laser discussion

Round 2 has concluded and we're now down to 4 books. Round 3 begins now

Bracket: https://challonge.com/swordandlaser2025


Voting will be March 9th - 15th 11:59 PM ET



Sword Bracket
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Match 1:

(1) Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

vs.

(5) The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu

Vote Here


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Laser Bracket
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Match 2:

(6) Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton

vs.

(10) Embers of War by Gareth L. Powell

Vote Here

Year of Chu vs Dungeon Crawler Carl crew... Things are about to get messy!

Settle it in the ring.

This is maybe the first year I'm actually voting (i.e. I notice that the voting is going on before it's over and I actually am planning to read the book).

I don't really care which sword book wins: It took me forever to choose and I think both will go on my list even if neither will win the final bracket.

Embers of War has a ship called the Wardog, which got my vote,

Sentient ship too.

Read Dungeon Crawler Carl just last month, so fantasy was an easy pick.

When it comes to the laser vote I don't have a (war)dog in the fight. Embers of War is the only one I've voted for to get this far, but was surprisingly gifted Mickey 7 this weekend (one of the other players in my RPG group is drastically reducing his collection so giving away books to everyone with the slightest interest).

The Sword Finale is so hard to choose between!

I do plan on reading Mickey 7 before watching the movie, so if it wins, it'll be a good motivator for me to get a move on and start reading it.

Paul wrote: "I do plan on reading Mickey 7 before watching the movie, so if it wins, it'll be a good motivator for me to get a move on and start reading it."

You might want to watch the movie first, since watching it after reading is so disappointing it has to be better in the other order.

I would argue that, since the book version is, usually, the best version of a story. Then reading the book, without being spoiled by the movie, would be preferable.

Read the tweets about the movie then read the Cliff’s Notes about the book then read the comic based on the movie.

The most important thing, tho, is to have a lengthy discussion as to whether the story is SF or Fantasy.

I reckon I will end up reading all four remaining books.
Already bought Embers of War, so it could well be first.

I watch the movie for the suspense, then read the book for the details.

In my view, it’s rare to enjoy something as much in a different format as you do in the first you come across. Book first generally means book better. Film first normally means film better. So I generally think you’re best to start with the thing you’re most excited about. In this case, I’m more interested in the film.

Usually the movie is more about the drama, and the book is more about logic and reality.

Usually the book is much better, but there are exceptions.
In this particular case the movie just sucked.
I was disappointed because the book was much better and very different. My husband who hasn't read the book, hated it. My recommendation is read the book and just skip the movie because it doesn't add anything.

The film seems to be getting middling reviews (I don't want to watch it until I've read the book.)

I'm suspecting that this will be a 'book better' situation.

Aww, I quite enjoyed the movie! Not groundbreaking, but I love seeing grungy sci fi on the big screen. And the aliens were so gross and cute at the same time 😆

Molly wrote: "Aww, I quite enjoyed the movie! Not groundbreaking, but I love seeing grungy sci fi on the big screen. And the aliens were so gross and cute at the same time 😆"

OK, sometimes the visuals in movie are worth seeing after reading the book. Such as Jurasic Park and Harry Potter.

Why is the film called Mickey 17 when the book is Mickey 7? Did they just decide it needed ten more Mickeys for the big screen?

They made a lot of changes. In the movie they used him for experiments when in the book he was just being killed by the planet because they were using him for dangerous missions the way we might use a robot.

Are we sure this isn't a Disney film? Because they're known for hidden Mickeys.

Results from Round 3:

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

Tournament Statistics
Total Votes Cast: 3,116
Average Votes Cast: 233
Book With Most Votes: Mickey 7 - (169 Votes) (Round 3)
Match-up With Most Votes: Dungeon Crawler Carl vs. The Art of Prophecy- (258 Votes) (Round 3)
Largest Win: Mickey 7 - (88 Votes)Smallest Win: Embers of War - (2 Votes) (Round 2)
Average Win: 36 votes

Round 2 Statistics
Total Votes Cast: 508
Average Votes Cast: 254
Book With Most Votes: book:Mickey 7|62030429] - (169 Votes)
Match-up With Most Votes: Dungeon Crawler Carl vs. The Art of Prophecy- (258 Votes)
Largest Win: Mickey 7 - (88 Votes)
Smallest Win: Dungeon Crawler Carl - (46 Votes)
Average Win: 67 votes



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

Match 1:


(1) Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman - 152 Votes

vs.

(5) The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu - 106 Votes

Winner: Dungeon Crawler Carl
Total Votes: 258
Margin of Victory: 46


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Laser Bracket
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Match 2:

(6) Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton - 169 Votes

vs.

(10) Embers of War by Gareth L. Powell - 81 Votes

Winner: Mickey 7
Total Votes: 250
Margin of Victory: 88

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

After 3 rounds we have pretty much no changes to the leaderboard

DCC FTW by oclipa

Remains on top with 22 (out of 24) points, predicting Dungeon Crawler Carl to win it all. They still have a maximum score of 30.

There are 3 brackets tied for 2nd with 21 points each. They can max out at 29 points.


Robert Pattinson is prettier than Carl by anonymous
Read the book before we see the movie. by CableMonkey
Oh no, Ronbo! by OhNoRonbo

If Carl wins it all, so does Oclipa who has led all tournament. If Mickey wins, Cablemonkey and the anonymous user who predicted Mickey will take it.