We’re excited about American Gods. We have mixed feelings about Time Traders. And we definitely understand why you might have to judge a book by its cover, but there’s a good reason to try not to. Except in one particular case.

G. Derek Adams, author of Asteroid Made of Dragons, knows his title is over the top. He meant it that way, and it’s part of the genius of his stories. Find out which rules he breaks, why, and how it made for a wonderful cast of characters in a fascinating world.

Looks like your old bookstore is getting into fancy dinners, plus the rise of book-based card games and how Time Traders proves you live in the wrong time.

Fran Wilde talks to us about Updraft, how she was inspired to create the bone city, and why she doesn’t mind the young adult label but it doesn’t always mean what people say it means.

American Gods nails the casting, John W. Campbell Award nails the nominees, and we nail the true origin of the world of Updraft as we wrap up this month’s book pick. OK, we’re probably wrong about the hedgehog (but we do wrap up Updraft).

Ramez Naam talks about his Nexus trilogy, nanotechnology, and when to worry about AI getting too smart!

You may be surprised to learn Gillian Anderson’s role in American Gods. You may be surprised that China did not previously have official SciFi awards. But you should not be surprised at all to think of Shakespeare as an SFF author.

We talk with Jason Greene and Alex Berg from Hardcore Game of Thrones, a show that tells the history of Westeros in the style of Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History.

We are excited for a new space opera from John Scalzi, not new but awesome Nebula Award winners, and we get teary-eyed over an A.I. as we wrap up Kim Stanley Robinson’s Aurora.

Wheel of Time is getting a TV series and Veronica has one thing (well, more than one thing) that she expects to see. Would that make it the “boob tube?” (Ed. note — Jesus, Tom… c’mon) Meanwhile we discuss how Aurora masterfully balances hard science and literary storytelling.