The Sword and Laser

Well folks it's wrap-up time for The Moon is Harsh Mistress and... sadly... Veronica hasn't finished.  But we wrap up anyway and Tom makes a shocking revelation that lets Veronica off the hook.  And he finished Moon, so it's not that.

QUICK BURNS        
        
New ‘Game of Thrones’ teaser (video)   
        
Why a universe-hopping entrepreneur may be your next big hero       
        
William Gibson reveals a "secret experiment" in his Bridge Trilogy, and ponders A.I.      

Gibson dropped some hints about a little stealth tie-in to Zero History  that's going to happen on Twitter soon. Let's just say that you should keep an eye on the Twitter accounts @gaydolphin1 and @gaydolphin2 - those of you who've read the novel know what those accounts are related to.
       
BARE YOUR SWORD - feedback from the audience        
        
Why did he die? (SPOILERS)
        
Human Judgment vs. Machines
        
The City & The City is a missed opportunity (SPOILERS)   
        
BOOK WRAP-UP      
        
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

Veronica still has not finished, she's prepared for her flogging. Tom's thoughts?    

NEW BOOK

We're taking suggestions from Classic Fantasy on Goodreads then we'll put it up to a vote.  
        
EMAILS      
        
Hi Veronica, Tom
I will try and keep it pithy but I get "wordy" sometimes. :) I asked
the question at dragon con if future podcasts could contain a 5 minute
segment looking back at classic epic fantasy of the 70s and 80s when
readers were starving for good reads. I was thinking of producing my
own podcast on this subject but you guys have built a nice listener
base so you can do more with this than I.

In October, Stephen R. Donaldson will be releasing his newest novel,
"Against All Things Ending", the third book in a four book series that
completes the tale of Thomas Covenant he began in 1977 with the book
"Lord Foul's Bane". In the 70s & 80s Donaldson sold over 40 million
copies and was second only to Tollkien at one time. These books are
GOLD.

Another retro author with an impending release is Katherine Kurtz, who
will soon release the third book of her "Chylde Morgan" trilogy. This
is also a tale that began back in the 70s.

These two great authors have been overshadowed by Jordan and Martin
but are easily their equals or better. Please put these on your
reading list and introduce this generation's readers to some classic
epic fantasy.

If I can be of any assistance in the production of this segment please
don't hesitate to let me know.

Regards,
Roman Thompson 

************

Veronica and Tom,
A late addition, but just finished reading Accelerando by Charles Stross. The Earth and the inner planets are completely deconstructed and rebuilt into data storage and processing power for the digital needs of the human race. So, voluntary, resource savvy, non-Armageddon style Earth recycling.

Regards,
Peter Hourigan

The following is an excerpt from the Wikipedia page.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerando_(novel)

Plot concepts
In Accelerando, the planets of the solar system are dismantled to form a Matrioshka brain, a vast computational device inhabited by minds inconceivably more complex than naturally evolved intelligences such as human beings. This proves to be a normal stage in the life cycle of an inhabited solar system; the galaxies are filled with Matrioshka brains, communicating via wormhole networks. Lesser intelligences may live unmolested around brown dwarf stars.
 

************ 

I just listened to #40. I highly recommend Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell in the audio version. I got this at my library and it was very good. Don't give up on the somewhat boring beginning, it's a superb story.
 
Thanks for the great podcasts!
 
Peggy Poellot

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We suggested:

The City and The City, by China Mieville, read by John Lee

Zero History, by William Gibson Narrated by Robertson Dean

And by our Partner Sticker Fu.  Use the code Sword1 and get 10% off the stickers at www.stickerfu.com     

Veronica gets spoiled - The S&L Podcast #42

We loved A Game of Thrones, but you'll have to listen to find out why. We also get into fantasy metal songs with a metal expert, and report some news on the Game of Thrones on HBO.

ADDENDUMS
Game of Thrones Wikis
Unnoficial Songs of Ice and Fire
A Wiki of Ice and Fire
But Tower of the Hand is much much better! Thanks Padwen!

Game of Thrones being shot for HBO Sean Bean cast as Lord Eddard.

A Game of Thrones card game.

BARE YOUR SWORD - feedback from the audience
What Was Robert's Rebellion Really About (Minor Spoilers, Major Speculation)

Check out these lizards they've discovered that swim through sand in the Sahara. They didn't mention it, but I'm guessing they smell like cinnamon. :)

Love the Show,
Dave in Portland

Abner Senires sings amazing parody songs... this one is about the Kwisatz Haderach.

ENGAGE - Interviews with interesting characters
Talking to Charles Davis, from Metal Gamer and the Chizzle and Dizzle show.

Holy Thunder Force: Charles dares you not to air guitar to this one.

Rain of a Thousand Flames: This the one that has a nude woman in it, but Charles assures us, it is definitely the most ridiculous one they have made.

Unholy WarCry: 10 minutes long and the one that has Christopher Lee dressed in a giant king costume.

Magic of the Wizard's Dream: Charles says it's not that interesting of a music video, but it's the one he mentioned that has Christopher Lee singing on it.

QUICK BURNS - unrelated news of the month
Download DroidMaker for free

1969 Hugo Awards. Neil Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin and Michael Collins received a Hugo Award in 1969 for The Best Moon Landing Ever. Also Novella "Dragonrider" by Anne McCaffrey [Analog Dec 1967,Jan 1968]

Tagline Contest
Come up with a tagline for The Sword and Laser! The winner will have their words emblazoned on the back of our new t-shirts, which will be making their debut at Dragon*Con this September!" Email theswordandlaser@gmail.com by Wednesday July 29.

#021 – The S&L Podcast: A Game of Thrones