Sci-fi weapons

In my space opera, I use the words "blaster bolts" pretty consistently. The dual hard "b" sound gives it more impact than the sibillance of "laser", and "bolt" evokes the short' brutal impact of ballistas and lightning, rather than the continuous soft stream of a laser "beam".

You might want to take a look at Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space series. It came out in 2000, but it's pretty much SOA in terms of exotic weapons. Instead of handwaving them, Reynolds tries to have a "theory of operation" for each of them. The result is creepy and effective.