The Sword and Laser discussion

The Lies of Locke Lamora One book which stands out in recent years as a great swashbuckling fantasy is "The Lies of Locke Lamora". Big characters, fun plot, a couple of twists and an interesting world. I am sure the Sword and Laser Community would love this one.
Phil

I second this book's nomination. A really well-done tale, even if its sequel doesn't quite live up to it. It's self-contained and a lot of fun.

Jonathan wrote: "A really well-done tale, even if its sequel doesn't quite live up to it."

I think I may be one of the few people who actually liked Red Seas Under Red Skies just as much if not more than the first book. People seem to think the middle of the book lagged but that was my favorite bit.

I enjoyed the second one too. It overflowed with ideas

Don't get me wrong; I liked it. But there was an element of tension that didn't have any for me as a reader. Overall, I really liked how it took the picaresque style of the original out onto the open seas.

I'm also disappointed that we're still waiting for the next book with nothing really concrete on the horizon while Lynch battles some very real problems.

I agree. I think the next one is in 2012 :-(

Phil wrote: "I agree. I think the next one is in 2012 :-("

Makes for a damned good excuse, though: "Sorry. Could not finish due to apocalypse."

I wouldn't mind reading(re-reading, actually) Locke with this group.

I read it a few weeks ago. I wouldn't be up for a re-read just yet but I think it'd be a fun book to talk about.

How about Blindsight. It kills a couple of birds with one stone I think that has been discussed on the podcast. It is a hard SF book, which hasn't been done in quite a while. The ebook can be had for free and it is a 2007 Hugo nominee.

Matthew wrote: "How about Blindsight. It kills a couple of birds with one stone I think that has been discussed on the podcast. It is a hard SF book, which hasn't been done in quite a while. The ebook..."

I have that on my "to read" list! I vote yes for Blindsight

Matthew wrote: "How about Blindsight. It kills a couple of birds with one stone I think that has been discussed on the podcast. It is a hard SF book, which hasn't been done in quite a while. The ebook..."

I think everyone has set there mind on wanting to do The Lies of Locke Lamora, a lot of people has read the book and enjoyed, but I have not.

Have not read, or did not enjoy, Kevin?

At some point we should do Split Infinity. It exemplifies "sword" and "laser" as well as any book I've ever read. The protagonist goes back and forth between a fantasy world and a sci-fi world. It's great!

I really didn't think The Lies of Locke Lamora was very good. It was okay, but it wasn't anything I'd want to have any kind of in depth conversation about because I didn't find much depth.

Matthew's suggestion of Blindsight is a good one. That book had so many thought-provoking ideas that it's ideal for discussion.

Keep suggesting Options. While I suggested The Lies of Locke Lamora I think we should have other suggestions too. Give our hosts a few ideas and then an interesting vote.

What about The Sparrow?

Ala wrote: "Have not read, or did not enjoy, Kevin?"

Have not read, its in my TBR.

Matthew wrote: "How about Blindsight. It kills a couple of birds with one stone I think that has been discussed on the podcast. It is a hard SF book, which hasn't been done in quite a while. The ebook..."
Completely agree. on my to read list and would like some hard SF to read on my Kindle

I like Blindsight and Split Infinity I've been wanting to read both

Melissa wrote: "What about The Sparrow?" Sparrow is another great book. Have you read the sequel?

I'd love to read The Sparrow. I've had the sequel on my shelf for a while but don't want it to be over. It might be good discussed in a group, particularly for those of us who have read Anathem, I think there are some parallels there.

Matthew wrote: "How about Blindsight. It kills a couple of birds with one stone I think that has been discussed on the podcast. It is a hard SF book, which hasn't been done in quite a while. The ebook..."

This gets my vote. Interesting.

I vote for Blindsight too. lies of Locke Lamora was fun, but is there much to discuss?(and, selfishly, I haven't read blindsight yet so that would solve the"what should I read next" problem for me)

I like Blindsight. I also like Lies of Locke Lamora.

I'll slap in a nomination for Tigana, mostly because I've already got it from Audible and I'll be listening to it next when I'm done with my current Audible book.

Been meaning to read Tigana myself.

How about a bit of Dianne Wynne Jones? I'd never read any but just picked something up when I heard of her passing. Maybe Howl's Magic Castle so I can compare it to the movie?

I'd like to get a little more laser. Something classic, but later than most of the laser we've read. I'd vote for anything in C.J. Cherryh's Company Wars Universe. Most of them are fine to read as separate novels, having read others in the series informs you, but they aren't required. I'd also suggest anything from David Brin's Uplift Saga series. I wouldn't suggest the first or last book in the series, but like with the Cherryh books, they stand on thier own petty well. Lastly I would suggest something like Vernor Vinge's The Peace War.

All three are around 25 years old and it is interesting to see where tech has actually gone in that time. Plus the Cherryh and Vinge books are pretty quick reads, so our busy fearless leaders can get through them easier.

I'll read whatever is chosen; But my vote is for The Black Prism, mostly because I plan on reading it anyway.

Boots wrote: "I'll read whatever is chosen; But my vote is for The Black Prism, mostly because I plan on reading it anyway."

I have that sitting on my shelf staring at me... I don't want to read it until the rest of the series is out.

Eric wrote: "At some point we should do Split Infinity. It exemplifies "sword" and "laser" as well as any book I've ever read. The protagonist goes back and forth between a fantasy world and a sci..."

I had forgotten about Piers Anthony. The apprentice adept series was great, you are right. Same with Fates series. Voles, horses , and that sort of thing, not so much for me.

We should crack out the War of the Lance, Dragonlance trilogy (Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, Dragons of Spring Dawning). Might as well cover the spectrum of fantasy out there. Could even throw in Summer Flame as well since they aren't exactly challenging reads.

Ooh, Blindsight is a definite attention grabber for me. Space Vampire! Count me in.

Boots wrote: "I'll read whatever is chosen; But my vote is for The Black Prism, mostly because I plan on reading it anyway."

Why not the The Night Angel Trilogy? It's a complete trilogy, and I did enjoy it. It wasn't great, but good. As for Piers Anthony, I no longer read him. I did like A Spell for Chameleon, and his earlier books, but after reading several Xanth novels I just got fed up with the juvenile direction he was going. Wasting an entire book just to justify one bad pun was Just Not Worth My Time.

Bruce wrote: "Why not the The Night Angel Trilogy? It's a complete trilogy, and I did enjoy it."

I would certainly like to reread that trilogy, The Way of Shadows made me a Brent Weeks fan. The main reason I said The Black Prism is because I ordered it from the library in December and I have a feeling it's going to show up this week.

I will put my vote in for Lies of Locke Lamora as well. I have been wanting to read this one for a while!!

If we are putting in books for the vote then I would like to nominate American Gods by Neil Gaiman (well I am reading it now but am usually so slow I would finish in time for the wind up)

This is mainly due to the fact that apparently the film rights have been sold :)
http://www.imdb.com/news/ni9031885/

I think we already got enough books to vote on up here already, so I'm not sure whether it makes sense to add any more to the list. I'm also torn, because I can only really recommend books that I've already read, while at the same time I would like to discover something new.

I really enjoyed The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway and would recommend it for others to read, especially since it's rather new and I don't know how widely known it actually is. It has ninjas, exploding sheep, a traveling mime troupe and lots of other fancy stuff, if that sounds convincing...

(If we have enough candidates for the next book already, I'd gladly save this for one of the next books-up-to-vote, though.)

I did not much care for The Way of Shadows, myself. But American Gods is a modern classic, a total giant. If you haven't read it, I cannot urge you to read it enough.

I thought we already read American Gods, no?

Didn't we already do American Gods? Or am I thinking of another book club.

I've already thrown my vote in for The Lies of Locke Lamora but we should definitely do something by Richard K. Morgan at some point. I'm in the middle of The Steel Remains at the moment and it's awesome, and the sequel is out soon so it might be a good time for it.


*edited* yes, we did already do American Gods, http://www.swordandlaser.com/home/200...

I vote for The Lies of Locke Lamora if we lean towards Sword, and Blindsight if we go Laser.

Blindsight

Kate wrote: "Didn't we already do American Gods? Or am I thinking of another book club."

ALL of my book clubs have done American Gods. It's a good book, but I just don't want to go through yet another discussion.

I think Lamentation by Ken Scholes would be a good club selection. I listened to the audiobook after hearing Julie Davis raving about it on the SFF Audio podcast. It's got elements of both sword and laser in it. S&L choice or not- check it out, it's a good book.

Or perhaps Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood? We're about due for a little dystopia.

How about the basis for the movie Limitless? It's kept in the Margaret Atwood section of the bookstore, though.

Vance wrote: "I thought we already read American Gods, no?"

Was this on the other forum site?

What about
Neverwhere
Anansi Boys
Stardust

Paul wrote: "Vance wrote: "I thought we already read American Gods, no?"

Was this on the other forum site?

What about
Neverwhere
Anansi Boys
Stardust"

As much as I adore Neil Gaiman, I think this group has already read two of his books, American Gods and Good Omens, so I would vote for another author.

feel free - I sure do not remember Gods - but yes Omens was only just done. So fair enough.

Paul wrote: "feel free - I sure do not remember Gods - but yes Omens was only just done. So fair enough."

I just saw it on the bookshelves for Sword and Laser, so I assumed - I might be wrong though. I'm fairly new to the book club, so this will be my first book to actually participate while it's read.