Shows
Hugonauts: The Best Sci-Fi Books of All TimeDouble Star - A hilarious, lighthearted book that is a perfect introduction to Robert Heinlein!The story is told from the first person perspective of Laurence Smith—the self-styled “The Great Lorenzo”—a down-and-out actor who spends most of his time in bars. He's approached by a space-pilot who offers him a drink and, despite some trepidation about Lorenzo’s high opinion of himself, offers him a dangerous job at a very high pay rate. One of the solar system's most important politicians has been kidnapped, and they need someone to impersonate him until he's rescued. Lorenzo is quickly pulled deeper and deeper into the conspiracy, and has to keep up the act to avoid his...
2023-01-0323 min
Hugonauts: The Best Sci-Fi Books of All TimeParable of the Sower - A very real dystopia that helped launch Afrofuturism!It’s the year 2025, and society is descending into anarchy in the face of climate change and other disasters. We see the world through the diary entries of Lauren Olamina, a teenager living in a walled-in neighborhood in the exurbs of Los Angeles. Jobs are scarce, food and water are increasingly expensive, and armed gangs and drug addicts control the streets outside. Lauren’s father, a pastor and professor at a local college, tries to keep their little community safe, but Lauren feels things going to pieces and is always preparing for things to get worse. When it all come...
2022-12-0628 min
Hugonauts: The Best Sci-Fi Books of All TimeBehind the scenes with Seth Fishman - agent for Cixin Liu, Ann Leckie & more!Seth Fishman is one of the biggest movers and shakers in the world of sci-fi publishing, representing Cixin Liu, Ann Leckie, Mary Robinette Kowal, Becky Chambers, Mur Lafferty, River Solomon, P Djeli Clark, and many others (plus huge names in lots of other genres too, like Randall Munroe, the creator of XKCD). We had a great time talking with him about what's happening behind-the-scenes in sci-fi, what the publishers like are looking for, and an honestly inspiring speech about how to talk about your own work.After this episode we’re taking a break for the...
2022-10-2545 min
Hugonauts: The Best Sci-Fi Books of All TimeRanking the best sci-fi books of 2021! Who are the frontrunners to win the Hugo award?Ranking and reviewing the best speculative fiction books of 2021! Here's the extremely abridged version of the list, with a one sentence summary of each:6. Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark - A murder mystery set in a steampunk version of Cairo with lots of genies. 5. The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers - A bunch of aliens are stuck at an interstellar truck stop, hanging out with a cute kangaroo. 4. She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan - Mulan, but Mulan acts more like Walter White from Breaking Bad...
2022-07-2639 min
Hugonauts: The Best Sci-Fi Books of All TimeThe Machine Stops - Complete Short Story Audiobook with Full Cast!A world where everyone occupies a tiny cell, connected to each other only by machines, and where a parent's responsibility to their child ends at birth. Where all knowledge and experience comes secondhand, through the machine. A world where the machine rules everyone's lives.We absolutely love this classic short story, and we're lucky it's old enough to have entered the public domain so we can release this complete audiobook for free! We did a full cast recording with Kiran Subramaniam joining Cody and Brent to voice all the parts.Let us know if you...
2022-06-281h 07
Hugonauts: The Best Sci-Fi Books of All TimeChildren of Time - A book so good it makes you root for the giant spiders! In this episode we review Adrian Tchaikovosky's most popular book, talk about how he pulled off making giant spiders likeable, discuss how the book started off so strong, and debate whether a book's optimism or pessimism should impact how we view it. We're also joined by a guest - Hasan, a listener who reached out and we invited to guest host an episode - shoot us a message at hugonautspodcast@gmail.com if you're interested in apply to guest host a future episode! As always, we also recommend and discuss some similar stories if you're looking for mo...
2022-02-2231 min