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PODCAST

The Sword and Laser

Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont

Read along with the Sword and Laser book club! From classic science fiction to the latest gritty fantasy, we cover it. Subscribe for book discussions, author interviews, hot releases, and news from the genre fiction world!

arts literature

All Episodes

00:52:40

#520 - Alternate Batman

The Sword and Laser ·

2025/09/25

Tom reports from the Matt Dinniman book event in LA, we kick off our Interview with the Vampire read, and share our last spoilery thoughts on The Hexologists and why we think the writing doorway is the strongest one for this book.

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00:31:02

#519 - No Stomach for Old Salad

The Sword and Laser ·

2025/09/11

#519 - No Stomach for Old Salad by Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont

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00:55:00

#518 - Hugo Bump Yourself

The Sword and Laser ·

2025/09/05

#518 - Hugo Bump Yourself by Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont

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00:39:51

#515 - The Details in the Devils

The Sword and Laser ·

2025/07/17

We cast The Devils, try to apologize to Ruth, and recall other food-related romantasy. Plus, Veronica has a shameful tequila revelation.

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01:09:39

#514 - The Rebirths of Wesley Chu

The Sword and Laser ·

2025/07/04

Wesley Chu joins us to talk about The Lives of Tao and Jan is back, so we have loads of news including Locus Award Winners and the British Fantasy Society shortlist. Plus Tom sings. We're all sorry about that. Also, we almost named this episode The Lives of Wesley Chu until we realized we had already done that in 2014.

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00:36:00

#510 - A New Theseus

The Sword and Laser ·

2025/05/10

From Hugo admins resigning over AI panel vetting to the latest award winners and a fresh Murderbot clip—to set the stage for our book club pick. Then we dig into Mickey 7’s Ship of Theseus dilemma, sharing listener takes (yes, even foot‑fetishting AIs) and the questions that keep us up at night.

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00:52:04

#509 - New Achievement!

The Sword and Laser ·

2025/04/25

We wrap up Dungeon Crawler Carl, including our horrible imitations of Jeff Hays. Plus, we announce the next pick for May and ponder data-driven determinations of the best SFF books of Tom’s life.

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00:54:00

#508 - Sexy, Sexy, Mind Palace

The Sword and Laser ·

2025/04/10

We have Murderbot trailer! And we like it! Plus, the Hugo nominees are out and we wrap up our thoughts on The City and the City and begin our April dungeon crawl.

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00:50:35

#505 - The Roman Empire is My Roman Empire

The Sword and Laser ·

2025/02/13

The nominations have begun for our March Tournament! Why do we care if eBooks and print books are the same? And our first thoughts on The Will of the Many.

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00:46:01

#503 - Tapeworms and Time Travel

The Sword and Laser ·

2025/01/15

Tom is safe. Stephen has had three New Years, and we all love Graham Gore. But the best part of the show is Veronica's parade of diseases.

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01:00:54

swordlaser500

The Sword and Laser ·

2024/11/29

We celebrate our 500th episode in the best way we know how—by asking ChatGPT to get our stats wrong. PLUS, announcing the book pick for December and sharing our final thoughts on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

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00:39:49

#499 - Hugs for Your Ears

The Sword and Laser ·

2024/11/13

We decided to take a break from the usual format and recommend some BIPOC and LGBTQIA authors. Plus, we kick off The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in case you need some comic relief.

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00:43:25

#498 - Weird Things With Burritos

The Sword and Laser ·

2024/10/17

We wrap up our thoughts on A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny. Tom lays down some very obscure hints about the next pick. And why we’re glad Andy Weir got fired.

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00:36:05

#495 - All The News That's Fit to Squee

The Sword and Laser ·

2024/09/05

We have Dragon Awards and Hugo Awards, we kick off Some Desperate Glory, and wrap up our final thoughts on The Spear That Cuts Through Water. Also, we determine we might need to squee more.

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00:38:12

#492 - Smokey and the Narrator

The Sword and Laser ·

2024/07/11

We debate whether we want dead celebrities to read our audiobooks. How long is too long for a series? And our non-spoilery takes on Cursed Bunny.

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00:56:37

#491 - Next Month, Trauma!

The Sword and Laser ·

2024/06/27

It's awards season and we cover them all, including a Martha Wells sweep! We wrap up our thoughts on Sword of Kaigen and get excited (read: trigger warnings) for Cursed Bunny, our July pick.

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00:48:14

#490 - Cosy Adjacent

The Sword and Laser ·

2024/05/31

Are we living in a Maas society? Veronica has recommendations in joining on the Sarah J. Maas train. Independent bookstores are on the rise. We kick off The Sword of Kaigen and give our spoilery thoughts on Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett.

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00:33:37

#489 - Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Veronicas

The Sword and Laser ·

2024/05/17

We have Locus Award and Arthur C. Clarke award nominees. We share our non-spoilery thoughts on Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. And Tom discovers Birria Ramen!

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00:48:35

#485 - Triangles Are Stronger

The Sword and Laser ·

2024/03/27

The Nebula Award nominees are out! Should we re-read Neuromancer? Veronica explains Type I, II, and III fun. The truth behind Cordelia's Honor. And our final thoughts on Iron Widow.

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19 results

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