The Sword and Laser discussion

New thread for 2026.

Post your SFF Book news for consideration to be included in the next podcast

Over at HumbleBundle you can get a 14 book bundle by Adrian Tchaikovsky (if you liked Children of time) that ends in 4 days.
It's two series: Shadows of the Apt, Echoes of the Fall and the novel Guns of the Dawn.

There is a Johnscalzi in the asteroid belt! 💫
He is chuffed.😊
https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/01/1...

It's that time of year... Registration for LACon V where the next WorldCon is being held, ends January 31. If you just want to nominate and vote for the Hugo Awards, WSFS Membership Only is $50, and you will receive the Voting Packet with copies of many nominated works.

Best Fancast: Awarded for any non-professional audio- or video-casting with at least four (4) episodes that had at least one (1) episode released in the previous calendar year.

https://www.lacon.org/register/

Via Locus:

The 2026 Philip K. Dick Award nominees have been announced:

Sunward, William Alexander (Saga)

Outlaw Planet, M.R. Carey (Orbit UK; Orbit US)

Casual, Koji A. Dae (Tenebrous)

The Immeasurable Heaven, Caspar Geon (Solaris UK)

Uncertain Sons and Other Stories, Thomas Ha (Undertow)

Scales, Christopher Hinz (Angry Robot UK)

City of All Seasons, Oliver K. Langmead & Aliya Whiteley (Titan)

https://locusmag.com/2026/01/2026-phi...

Matt Dinniman, of Dungeon Crawler Carl fame, is the guest and subject of the latest episode of the Barnes and Nobel podcast: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/c...

The Immeasurable Heaven sounds like a crazy space opera.