The Sword and Laser

I love The Eye of the World. I just finished reading it but I'll read it again and I can't wait to see what other people think.

I guess I should restart The Eye of the World, I couldn't get through it before for some reason. You really should try reading A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin, its not overly fantasy like but its a great book. (and series)

Tom, if you like the randomness of the Lew, you might like a book I just read by Mark Leyner - "My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist." Hard to say what goes on there, but even more fun to read than Memoirs, which I happened to love (guess that means I'm in the Tom camp, sorry Veronica) - I am a huge fan of quirky post-modern fiction.

I am not keen on quest books, or maybe just hate the series concept. I have read the first three or four of WoT before, but became annoyed that nothing really seemed to happen until the last chapter, all leading up to you wanting to purchase the next book, only to find nothing happens until the last chapter.... to me it is a marketing ploy! I do like the idea of reading more fantasy with the Sword and Laser because I feel like I know even less about it than I do about science fiction - I'd love if someone could suggest a series that wouldn't annoy me, or prove me wrong about quests. :)

P.S. Love the monthly podcast idea!

I think I'll sit this one out. I'm actually rereading Anathem (I think I missed a lot the first time) and trying to read a couple of non-fiction books also.

Also, I don't know if you saw this but Kevin Rose is talking about starting his own book club and was looking for a format (http://seesmic.com/#/video/7yQfZ9aC3w/watch). I suggested talking to you all, what you're doing with SwordandLaser.com rocks! :D

Veronica, I think you need to invest in a pop screen...

love the audio format, its like having one of you on either side of me. Are you sure you want to do Wheel of time? the author recently passed away without completing the series.

I agree, and fear, what you said about the possibility of getting sucked in. After the Arthur C Clark book, I read like 7 of his others, including all the 2001 odyssey books. At least they were all pretty short. We'll see what happens here...

Go team Veronica! Another book along the cold war theme that I recently read and enjoyed is "Alas, Babylon". A far easier read then Lem.

The monthly podcast sounds good. Also, in regards to Kevin Rose's video post mentioned by ChiliMac, he brings up an interesting idea, a meeting time. This of course is more difficult with people from many time zones, but it could be fun to meet in a live chat room of sorts to talk with others from S+L. I will be watching to see what Kevin and the hive mind that will respond comes up with.

I am looking forward to the next book, it sounds interesting, and I agree with the idea that video games are a great way to tell an epic story. You spend hours on them, when the story pulls you in it's a great feeling. Talking about games, one of my favorites on the PC is "psychonauts", check it out if you haven't already.

[...] Get the episode at Sword and Laser.com. [...]

We'll just have to do a live chat session then! Maybe at the end of this book.

If anyone was going to check out the audio version of the Eye of the World, don't hesitate, Michael Kramer and Kate Reading do an excellent job. They also do the audio versions of the whole series so you won't have any discontinuities.

Great podcast! Would it be possible to not have 1 voice per channel? Having one person talk into one ear gives me a headache.

I love the WoT series & have been reading & re-reading it for years. I got sucked into the series via a short story. I love character rich stories & this is definitely that. Many people, including myself, found that the series grows stale & long in the middle of the series. Due to a major driving spell, I recently decided to listen to the unabridged audio version. It was fantastically done and unfortunately kept me up some nights. I believe since I didn't have to wait for a year or two between books, I felt none of the boredom I had felt on previous re-reads. It is a great series so don't let the length & breadth of it dissuade you.

Yes Robert Jordan died in '07 but he worked on the book (especially all main plot points, just in case) until his death. Tor and Robert's wife (who was also his editor) picked Brandon Sanderson to finish the twelfth and last book A MEMORY OF LIGHT.
http://www.dragonmount.com/News/?p=326

Eye of the World is pretty decent, as are about the first 3 books in the series. Then they get very repetitive and he seems to spend 1/4 of the book rehashing the earlier one. Personally, I think the series should have been a trilogy, max.

*ducks and hides*

Tom, if you like your SF with a large side order of politics, you'd really enjoy the work of Iain M. Banks. Ever read his stuff? If not, I would start with "Player of Games". Am certainly curious to read this Polish novel you're talking about. Sounds highly Orwellian...

Welcome back to the podcast! I think the new "once a month" format you guys are going to move to will be great...as long as there aren't any more crazy "oh my gosh look what's going on in the tech/nerd industry this month" months. ;)

Interesting choice for the book this time around, I'll probably join in even though I've already read it (multiple times). For anybody who is daunted by the length of the book, or the verbosity of Jordan, I recommend you try to get it in audio format. It lets you pay attention to the good parts but means you don't have to feel like you're slogging through 12 page descriptions of a blade of grass (ok, it's not quite that bad).

Once I'm done reading "New Moon," I'll jump over to The Eye of the World. :)

Tom, I really kinda enjoyed this book. It is interesting how one's mind tends to try to make a logical connection amidst chaos. I absolutely had to finish the book, even though it plodded in some parts because I started getting paranoid myself.

Lem made a very intricate sequence of events that I interpreted as a parallel for life. You have that Big Brother aspect to the book, signifying a higher power. There was also, the aspect of finding a purpose for his exsistence (or, in this case, his mission). Because of the nature of the book I noted a vast amount or symbolisms and parallels. To spare everyone, I won't mention any more that I noticed.

I like that the podcast will be monthly! That will be exciting. You guys are both amazing, and I enjoy keeping up with your respective podcasts :). I can't wait to sink my teeth into the new book pick! Take care everyone!

@Mike I had the same experience but I'll try to start Eye of the World again. It's been a few years since I last attempted.

@Veronica I love all of Eddings books. I started them on your recommendation and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire series! Thanks!!

Actually there was a Wheel of Time video game done back in 1999 for the PC using the Unreal engine. At the time i though it was odd to put out a video game with the series not finished yet, but whatever.

The Wheel of time series started off great, but bogged down after the 5th book or so to the point that i just skim the new books in the library instead of reading them fully. If there was ever a series that needed a different editor, it was this one.

I liked the Mallorean and the Belgariad alot. Unfortunately the more series I read of his, the more I realize he is just writing the same characters and changing the names.

Good Sci Fi = good social commentary. Lem's fiction suffers somewhat from being dated. If you read it keeping in mind the context of when it was written it's even more amazing.

WoT starts to tail off in book 5. Plot threads in the story start to take too long to develop and the resurrection of various characters pad the story as well.

I think that George R R Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series is far superior. That characters at in very believable ways. I just hope he is able to finish it someday.

Eddings work on the Belgariad was great. The Mallorean becomes very repetitive as it is a rehashing of the Belgariad and Eddings admits it in the fourth book. However the follow ups Belgarath and Polgara were quite good.

V & T, great to hear things will be more regular (no toilet humor intended).
I wasn't taken with MFIABT. Considering it is only 200 pages it took me about 3 mons to get through. It was like a rollercoaster one min I was loving it, the next putting off reading it. My overall impression = PANTS. Sorry Tom.

Cheers guys, keep up the good work.

PS I don't like the binaural audio. Unless you talk over each other a lot (which you don't) there is no point.

PPS give Iain M Banks a go. Consider Phlebas, the first of his "Culture" novels will rock your world.

Hey I'm looking forward to the podcast because I sure wouldn't want to pronounce all the names! I guess the glossary is good for that, but would take practice. :)

ok well i kinda started this book late so this is pretty belated you guys already read another book and are starting dune now lol but anyways i thought i should comment on this book assuming anyone still reads this thread. anyways i dont really understand why everyone seems to have hated this book from what i heard from the podcast it sounded like tom was the only one who liked it and i thought i should give a little support. ok while i do agree this book is a bit dated, i mean the idea that there is no paper on earth and thats supposed to be some big horrible thing doesnt really work in the digital age with computers and such. i still have to say i was intrugued about this book from the very start, unlike anathem for me this book did not take even 1 page before i was totally into it. mabey its cause im more of a laser kind of guy rather than the sword. i mean its not a total laser book either, i guess if i had to specify itd be more of a paranoid spy thriller lol
i guess i can understand why people didnt like it, the ending kinda leaves you wanting more , i guess it truly is just like picking up someones memoirs and reading them, at some point they end abruptly and who knows what happens from there , perhaps he uses the razor himself. regardless of that it still kept my interest the whole way through so i say good pick tom.