Category Archives: Sword and Laser

FEATURED REVIEW: The Blue Blazes by Chuck Wendig

Welcome to our Featured Reviews! In this series, we’ll be highlighting book reviews by the S&L audience. If you want to submit a review, please check out the guidelines here! -Veronica

Review by Kaleb Russell

TheBlueBlazes-7001.jpg

After reading this book, I‘ve realized how amazing Chuck Wendig is. Somehow he manages to write great books and give out even greater writing advice through his blog at www.terribleminds.com, which you should definitely check out after reading this review.

Deep down, under the streets of New York City, lies the Great Below, the Descent, or the Underworld. It is a great expanse of deadly denizens, monstrous cults, and even the Gods themselves who are trapped in the eternal hell.  That is until the humans, accidentally, open the gates to hell; allowing said creatures into the infinite above to rape and kill any and all the humans who reside there; to feed on their pain and make the world for humans a living hell. And these deadly creatures don’t care if they used us up completely; they only want to cause chaos on the world above them. 

Then there is The Organization. A variety of different gangs, formed together in order to keep control of prostitution, crime, and drug trade in the city of New York. The main drug being Cerulean, otherwise known as The Blue Blazes. One of the Five Occulted Pigments originating from the Great Below; it gives the user enhanced strength and allows them to strip away the veil the monsters use to hide themselves from anyone who hunts them.  One of whom happens to be one of the strongest, most vicious thug of The Organization.

He goes by the name of Mookie Pearl. Butcher, bar owner, breaker of bones (both human and demon). Don’t let the name fool you. He’s an intimidating, hulking figure who is only good at bashing the heads of anyone who trifles with The Organization. Or his estranged daughter, Nora, who comes to Mookie telling him she plans to change the game and become the next big crime boss of New York. Right after that Mookie learns the boss of The Organization, Konrad Zoladski, has terminal lung cancer. The Boss knows he doesn’t have much time left on this earth, so he decides that his grandson, Casimir, will become his successor and take control of The Organization and all that comes with it. But Casimir is not ready and he knows it. It’s then that Casimir comes to Mookie for help. He asks Mookie to find another one of the Five Occulted pigments, a purple substance known as Death’s Head, which is said to cure any disease or even bring the user back to life. The fact that no one has even seen this Pigment makes Mookie skeptical, but when he starts searching for it he finds more than he’s looking for and chaos ensues. 

The Blue Blazes was a spectacular book. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but after I continued reading it I fell in love. The world building in the book was good. We learn the origin of the Organization, the monsters that inhabit the Great Below and the Five Occulted Pigments from Mookie as he goes around the city, searching for something that might not even exist. Most of the information is given to us through the means of a journal entry by a man named John Atticus Okes, a man who delved into the Great Below and never returned, at the beginning of every chapter. I found it helpful and felt eager to read John’s story as he slowly goes mad in the Great Below. With those we could move on in the story rather than have most of it introducing the world and more time was spent developing the characters. 

Another thing I loved about the book were the action scenes. I felt they were fast paced and well executed. It felt like I was actually there to witness the battle between Mookie and all the creatures of the night. My favorite thing about The Blue Blazes was the family dynamic between Mookie and his daughter Nora who is constantly at her dad’s throat for abandoning her and her mother. I don’t believe Nora’s character was as fleshed out as I’d liked it. She acts like a spoiled brat throughout most of the novel and even admits it from time to time. But even with that I still enjoyed how Mookie was always willing to save his daughter even with all the things she’d done. Some fathers wouldn’t go through that much trouble to help their children when they are in dire need of help. It made my heart warm when reading it. Mookie isn’t the big bad monster everyone makes him out to be. In truth, he’s a man who loves his family and friends. I sympathized with him whenever something went wrong with him on his journey. 
Honestly, I have nothing to gripe about. This was a great book and when I try to think of any negatives, my mind draws a blank. 

Final Verdict: Why are you still here?! Stop reading this review and go out to buy The Blue Blazes this minute! It’s an amazing book and you’d have to be doped up on the Blue not to see it. 

And please let me know if you found this review helpful as well as what you feel like I need to work on. Thank you for reading.

S&L Podcast – #184 – Threeways to Save Humanity

There’s so much you can do with us this week, including bringing Neil Gaiman to the stage, discovering 20th century high fantasy, and saving humanity. And how we can save humanity makes Tom blush. Plus, we wrap up this month’s pick, Dawn by Octavia Butler!

Download direct link here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?    

Tom: Original Sorghum Malt Beer – Bard’s Tale Beer Company, LLC    
Veronica: Racer5    

QUICK BURNS 
    
“After extensive research, the Jane Austen Centre in Bath has determined what Jane really looked like and it’s Mary Robinette Kowal – successful Rothuss impersonator, puppeteer, and regency author”    

    
A TV series based on The Elfstones Of Shannara has been greenlit.
    
    
Daniel Abraham has an update on The Expanse TV show, including first casting news and the creative team behind the television adaptation.
    
There is currently a kickstarter campaign for a theatrical adaptation of 5 of Neil Gaiman’s short stories, a bunch of the backer rewards are various books and things signed by Neil Gaiman and he’s in the video so check it out if you’re a fan.
    
World Fantasy Award nominees were announced, as were two Lifetime Achievement Award winners.     

PICKS    

Killian: Finished The City and the City by China Miéville earlier today and was absolutely blown away by it. Here’s my review: I think I’ll read a Feist book next for some light, mindless fun.   
    
Rabindranauth – Finished Royal Assassin earlier, dived headlong into Assassin’s Quest immediately. I will forever kick myself for not reading these incredibly brutal books before now.
Here’s my review.    
     
COMING SOON

July 29
Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch is out in paperback

July 31
Equoid: A laundry Novella by Charles Stross

August 6
The Widow’s House (The Dagger and the Coin) by Daniel Abraham
Rise of the King: Companion Codex, II (Companions Codex) by R. A. Salvatore
The Magician’s Land: A Novel by Lev Grossman”    
    
Find more upcoming releases at swordandlaser.com/calendar    
    
BARE YOUR SWORD 
    
A Suggestion for New Topics on Club Picks    
Are there any “high fantasy” books that take place in the 20th century?   
Local Group Meetups     
Amazon Unlimited    
    
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION    
    
Wrap-up Dawn by Octavia Butler    
What did you think? (full spoilers)    
What Makes Us Human?    
Ending issues (here be spoilers)    

Next Month’s Book: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is our August book    

S&L Podcast – #183 – The Damon Inside Me

We ponder on Matt Damon’s role in The Martian, why we love to hate villains, and the role of philosophy and ideology in Octavia Butler’s Dawn. Join us, before Veronica falls into the hellmouth.

Download direct link!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Red Stripe
Veronica: 2011 Canoe Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon The Expedition

QUICK BURNS

And the Martian is…
The Wertzone: Update on Scott Lynch’s THE THORN OF EMBERLAIN
WINNERS: 2014 Locus Awards – SF Signal
J.K. Rowling has released a new ‘Harry Potter’ story online
S&L and Open Road heading to Loncon 3!

PICKS

FEATURED REVIEW: Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
Find more upcoming releases at swordandlaser.com/calendar

BARE YOUR SWORD

Tor founder Tom Doherty on publishing without DRM
Do we love to hate villains?
Duty to self-publishing authors?

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Unequal Relationships

S&L Podcast – #181 – The Promise of More Blood

We break down our June book pick, Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan, and find out why its actually four or five books and its gods are not what they seem. Also we set up our July pick from Octavia Butler and decide whether warp speed is actually coming or not.  

Download direct here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?    
Tom: Boddington’s Pub Ale    
Veronica: Earl Grey Tea    
    
QUICK BURNS  

3 more Expanse novels announced – Ben    
IXS Enterprise (IXS-110) – Bookshelf
Every Game Of Thrones Scene Broken Down By Book, Chapter And Episode  
WINNERS: 2014 Campbell and Sturgeon Awards
 

PICKS    

Tom: Cibola Burn by James S A CoreyTraveling in Space by Steven Paul Leiva     
Veronica: Shattered by Kevin Hearne, though I’m still a book behind!   
  
Sandi – I finished listening Hollow World this morning. I really liked it. Kind of a modern H.G. Wells/Jonathan Swift vibe. I’m now starting On the Steel Breeze. I love the narrator, Adjoa Andoh. She played Martha’s mother on Doctor Who and was one of the narrators of Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor.     
    
Find more upcoming releases at swordandlaser.com/calendar    

BARE YOUR SWORD    

Monthly meetups!    
Uncharted-esk Books by Josh    
How do you find new books to read? by Alexander   
Should We Read Comics/Graphic Novels As Group Reads by Killian    

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION    

July Book is Dawn by Octavia Butler       
Wrap up Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan    
“The revolution will not be…?” by Sean    
Let’s talk about the ending by Joanna    
    
ADDENDUMS

Looking for something ELSE to read? Wish you could read 20 books in the space you usually read one? Can’t decide between scifi and fantasy? WE HAVE SOLVED ALL YOUR PROBLEMS. The Sword and Laser Anthology combines 10 great scifi and 10 great fantasy stories from new authors found RIGHT HERE in our audience. And the stories are fantastic. Even Patrick Rothfuss thinks so. Head on down to your favorite online bookseller and search Sword and Laser Anthology or point your favorite Web browser to swordandlaser.com/store.   

Listeners who complete the survey will be entered in an ongoing 
monthly raffle to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card. 
 

Survey!
Take the listeners survey at podsurvey.com/laser

FEATURED REVIEW: Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

Welcome to our Featured Reviews! In this series, we’ll be highlighting book reviews by the S&L audience. If you want to submit a review, please check out the guidelines here! -Veronica

Review by Derek Brown

It turns out that you can go home again. Or at least you can if you’re Stephen King.

I just finished this, King’s sequel to a much earlier work. The Shining is the story of a small child, trapped in a world so much more dangerous than the one other kids inhabit, because he has a special talent. A power that supernatural forces want to consume. In Doctor Sleep, we get to see that small child, now grown, haunted by the same affliction that nearly drove his own father to murder his wife and son. Not his power, but the drinking problem he now has, the only thing he has yet found to suppress his terrible, awesome power, and keep the ghosts of his childhood quiet. 

To me, this story is largely about demons. Recognizing the worst of them for what they are, and realising that you are never alone with them.

Its also a story about another small child, afflicted (or gifted) with her own set of abilities, and because ka is a wheel, and it always turns, this little girl is also chased by supernatural forces eager to consume her. 

I can’t overstate how much I enjoyed this book. I first read The Shining over 20 years ago, and its one that’s always really resonated with me. Getting to revisit the landscape of that work with King, seeing what happened to Danny Torrance after the events at the Overlook Hotel, and finding out how his life turned out because of it was a lot of fun. 

Fans of King’s other novels will find a healthy helping of the usual Easter eggs here as well. If you’ve read any of his other books, you’ll enjoy the many references to King’s integrated universe. 

The only item to note (and it’s not a negative, but it is a warning), would be that I consider either reading The Shining or seeing the original Kubrick movie a definite prerequisite to reading this book. Preferably both, so you’ll know the correct version of the story that King uses to jump from, but also so that you’ll have the awesome imagery from the movie to help light the way. 

S&L Podcast – #179 – Flintpunk and Geekomancy

Would you like to be in a George R. R. Martin Book? Got $20K? Don’t mind being killed? Good. You can help wolves. Also we give our first impressions of Brian McClellan’s The Promise of Blood and talk Geekomancy with Michael Underwood

Direct download!

QUICK BURNS   
    
Maddadam TV Series – Chris    
    
2014 Audie Winners (Audible) – Daniel
    
WINNERS: 2014 Ditmar Awards
    
Author Jay Lake has passed away – Joe Informatico
    
GEORGE R.R. MARTIN WILL KILL YOU GAME OF THRONES-STYLE FOR $20,000

PICKS    
    
Tom’s Reading On The Steel Breeze by Alistair Reynolds    
    
Veronica is reading Marie Brennan’s The Tropic of Serpents (a Memoir by Lady Trent) and just finished Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig, and Lions of Al-Rassan by GGK.    
    
What Else Are you Reading June    

Find more upcoming releases at swordandlaser.com/calendar    
    
BARE YOUR SWORD
    
Anyone else find reading about sex (in fiction) and/or reading profanity to be awkward? – Eric
    
Summer climate fiction – “cli fi” for short – genre reading list – Nokomis.FL
 
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION    

July book pick is up for a vote. We’re reading Octavia E. Butler. Voting ends June 22. 
    
The Promise of Blood

WARNING: Hachette and Amazon are having a fight which may affect shipping times for print copies. Might want to buy print copies elsewhere for the time being.    
    
Everyone’s favorite hobby: casting – John    
    
People and Places for $200, Alex – Daniel (rhymes with Taniel) 
    
First Impressions – Rabindranauth    
    
ADDENDUMS

Buy the Sword and Laser Anthology!    
    
Cross-promo Boing Boing podcast