It’s all about the beans on this Sword and Laser. Chili, chowder, and more. We also find time to talk about books, specifically Mark Lawrence’s book that wouldn’t burn. But we don’t want to burn the beans either.

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The Floating Hotel was a great deal, and we really enjoyed it when we checked in. During our stay we met some really interesting folks, and the staff was fabulous. There was some murder, but in the end we were more concerned with the identity of the Lamplighter. And the cocktails were quite delicious. We enjoyed the continental breakfast, because it included so many continents.

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Should the Floating Hotel be called a “space cruise ship”? Why Veronica can't make change. Tom tries not to insult Stephen's intelligence. And hoorah for N. K. Jemisin!

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Robert Jackson Bennett deserves more kudos. We clarify it's a tapas bar, not a topless bar. And our thoughts on the new book, Floating Hotel, and the wrap-up of Interview with the Vampire.

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We revel in the Lammy Awards, follow the tale of root beer, and discuss our first, or most recent, impressions of Interview with the Vampire.

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

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

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We get a history listen and revisit accents. And the clean blade battle is confirmed for WorldCon 2029. Plus our non-spoilery first impressions of She Who Became the Sun.

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Why taste in books is like taste in food. Plus, our final thoughts on Joe Abercrombie's The Devils. And the Ruth-Veronica feud heats up. Also, Tom likes fish sticks. Literally.

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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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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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Everything is out of context. But we do have interesting thoughts about The Lives of Tao and lots of congrats for the winners and nominees of the Nebulas and more.

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We speculate on how James Cameron will make The Devils and whether Frankenstein will be too scary for Veronica. And we further kick off The Lives of Tao.

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We discuss the return of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files and Frank Herbert’s posthumous SFWA Infinity Award, Audible’s AI narration plans and Amazon’s cancellation of The Wheel of Time—while nominating hamburg steak and vegan enchiladas and sharing listener stories from Matt Dinniman’s event. We round out the show with in-depth discussions of The Lives of Tao and Mickey 7.

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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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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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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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Tom forgot to write the intro to the show this week, so you’re stuck with the Veronica Edition. March is still full of madness, which makes sense because it’s a full moon eclipse coming up and Venus is in retrograde. Or something! We check in on The City and The City by China Miéville, and we see and unsee your perspectives on the book thus far.

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March Madness has begun, so get your votes in now. Plus do we like Alexander Skarsgard as Murderbot? And our final thoughts on Will of the Many and non-spoiler intro to The City and the City.

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