It's windy but in among the breeze, N.K. Jemisin shares wisdom about writing, characters and wrapping up the Broken Earth Trilogy. Plus she accidentally brings up FanFic and talks about why, even though it can be more than practice, it's really good for honing your writing.

George R. R. Martin has even more money coming his way, public domain books clean up nice, we love the Locus Award winners, and why Veronica is not allowed to let a bear eat her.

New Game of Thrones Trailer! AHHHHH! Levar Burton reading stories on a new podcast! AHHHH! Haint plot hole in the Hum and the Shiver-- ahhhhh— maybe not that big a deal?

We talk to Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham, the authors that make up James S. A. Corey, about coffee, distilled and fermented beverages and making The Expanse a TV show at BayCon 2017.

The Hugo nominees are out and we love them all, we kick off the Hum and the Shiver with music, and a spider that looks like a sorting hat.

We are excited about the winner of this year's Nebula, the finalists in the Locus awards, and so many TV shows coming from our favorite books. Plus, why Neil Gaiman will read a Cheesecake Factory Menu on stage.

We chat with author Cory Doctorow about his new novel Walkaway, which is post-apocalyptic, but not dystopian. It's also DRM-free!

We've got more of Game of Thrones TV coming, the Arthur C. Clarke Award nominees, and our thoughts on why The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet is the opposite of epic in the best way possible.

We talk with M. R. Carey about his new book The Boy on the Bridge, and how The Girl with All the Gifts became a movie!

Neil Gaiman makes sure the American Gods TV show is prepared for the sequel he hasn’t even written yet, why the Invisible Library doesn’t need to change the world to be awesome, and a plea for regular folks to get back to Fantasyland.

Matthew Isaac Sobin tells how his desire to write a beautiful story about the solar system, and how the aggressive encouragement of a friend led to the story of Jonathan, the Last Machine in the Solar System.

Hugo Nominees are in! The African Speculative Fiction Society nominees are in! People pressuring you to read 200 books a year are in. But us slow readers draw the line.

A SciFi book is mysteriously returned after 35 years,  at the same time a billionaire suddenly invests in brain implants and a skull begins to talk. Are these events connected somehow? Yes. They're all discussed in this episode along with Gateway by Frederick Pohl.

Author Brian McClellan talks with us about his new entry point into the Powder Mage universe, Sins of Empire, why there's no wrong order to reading his books, and his attitude toward research.

Sometimes a character does stuff you hate. And that’s OK! We explain why. Plus: great space opera, women writer picks, and some guy named Tom wrote a book too.

Brittany Curran, who plays Fen on The Magicians, talks about how her childhood love of C.S. Lewis has turned into a modern-day trip to Fillory. Plus, the best way to enjoy Walt Whitman!

The Nebula Award Nominees are out, the Gateway is in and we’re glad we traveled The Salt Roads. But most of all we’re geared up for the March Madness tournament of fantasy. Get your voting fingers clicking folks!

We check in on our reading of The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson, get some hints on the progress of the next Kingkiller Chronicle, and find another way to track author releases.

Bradley Beaulieu is on the show to talk about the second book in “The Song of the Shattered Sands” series called “With Blood Upon the Sand” coming February 7th. We also find out what a Pinterest board can do to build a better world!

Neil Gaiman is running a new TV show and we're excited! Plus the Arrival folks are making a Larry Niven short story into a show, and indie bookstores are booming! We also kick-off Nalo Hopkinson's The Salt Roads.

Person hunter, really! He's an equal-opportunity ass-kicker. Author and fighter of crimes, Myke Cole, tells us how he got involved in the new CBS show Hunted! And, what Sam Sykes has to do with any of it.

A hot new approach to a fantasy trilogy, the real drama of rocket scientists involves cake, and why you can’t trust turkeys to rigorously use data to predict future results.

We commend Terry Brooks' foresight, possibly convince Veronica to watch the Man in the High Castle some more, and give you important information to get the most of The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu.

We discuss whether the central plot device (the hook!) of the Rook is a cliche or clever. Plus, how to find the best stories in SciFi and Fantasy and help authors get exposure at the same time.

We kick off our December book, the Rook by Daniel O’Malley and we are so excited for Lin-Manuel Miranda to team up with Patrick Rothfuss. http://swordandlaser.com/home/2016/12/7/sl-podcast-275-get-hip-with-the-rook https://www.patreon.com/posts/7439054

We wrap up our thoughts on the cartoon violence and snappy dialog of David Wong's dissertation on lawlessness in Tabula Rasa. We think we know what it could be a metaphor for. Whether it is or not is left as an exercise for the reader.

We are optimistic for Dune, excited for The Expanse, and hopeful for Stranger in a Strange Land. But we’re certain of what we want Emilia Clarke to be in the Han Solo movie.

We congratulate Brandon Sanderson and the World Fantasy Award winners and try to calibrate the futuristic violence for you. The fancy suits calibrate themselves.

We discover that some people's names just don't work as awards. We're excited about a site full of fictional timelines. And we ponder troubling jinni paternity questions.

We don't want you to steal cats (not even books, really), just to take home the exhibit from the Museum of Science Fiction. We'll explain! Plus, you must cast your vote for the classic or the new! Will you vote against Veronica?

We look for authors who satisfy like Scalzi, find out how dirty the new dirty editions of The Magicians are and discuss an ethical question regarding library books.

We praise the underrated and print books, and we get into the dog-eat-dog world of Fire Upon the Deep!

The Hugos are in, for 2016 and 1941! And although the Thorn of Emberlain is delayed, we understand. We also pick our favorite wizard school and wrap up The Last Wish.

This week we dive into our (non-spoilery) thoughts on the Witcher and get excited about a movie based on Ted Chiang's story and a TV series based on George R. R. Martin's Wild Cards. But Brad poses a question about how one tells if they're reading too much.

We talk with Dave Barrett, author of Inkshares book It's All Fun and Games and Zac Linville author of Inkshares book Welcome to Deadland. One has zombie-like inhabitants based on theme park patrons and the other finds a LARP outing becoming all too real.

We have an excellent conversation about great character names and revel in the news of rising print book sales. But the big question is, which Witcher is canon?

We're excited about American Gods. We have mixed feelings about Time Traders. And we definitely understand why you might have to judge a book by its cover, but there's a good reason to try not to. Except in one particular case.

G. Derek Adams, author of Asteroid Made of Dragons, knows his title is over the top. He meant it that way, and it's part of the genius of his stories. Find out which rules he breaks, why, and how it made for a wonderful cast of characters in a fascinating world.

Looks like your old bookstore is getting into fancy dinners, plus the rise of book-based card games and how Time Traders proves you live in the wrong time.

Fran Wilde talks to us about Updraft, how she was inspired to create the bone city, and why she doesn't mind the young adult label but it doesn't always mean what people say it means.

American Gods nails the casting, John W. Campbell Award nails the nominees, and we nail the true origin of the world of Updraft as we wrap up this month's book pick. OK, we're probably wrong about the hedgehog (but we do wrap up Updraft).

Ramez Naam talks about his Nexus trilogy, nanotechnology, and when to worry about AI getting too smart!

You may be surprised to learn Gillian Anderson's role in American Gods. You may be surprised that China did not previously have official SciFi awards. But you should not be surprised at all to think of Shakespeare as an SFF author.

We talk with Jason Greene and Alex Berg from Hardcore Game of Thrones, a show that tells the history of Westeros in the style of Dan Carlin's Hardcore History.

We are excited for a new space opera from John Scalzi, not new but awesome Nebula Award winners, and we get teary-eyed over an A.I. as we wrap up Kim Stanley Robinson's Aurora.

Wheel of Time is getting a TV series and Veronica has one thing (well, more than one thing) that she expects to see. Would that make it the "boob tube?" (Ed. note -- Jesus, Tom... c'mon) Meanwhile we discuss how Aurora masterfully balances hard science and literary storytelling.

The Hugos are out! We leave the drama to the side for this one and celebrate the novel nominees. But we didn't waste the drama... we just saved it for our evaluations of TV show and movie-based SFF books! We even brought a little to season our conversation about The Fifth Season and A Darker Shade of Magic. It's OK to like different styles of writing, folks!

Magician and TV star Andrew Mayne has managed to become a successful published author. How? Not magic. Well some magic. But magic isn’t required. Plus Tom loves his latest novel Station Breaker.