Hugonauts: The Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

Red Schuhart is a stalker, one of the young rebels who venture illegally into the Zone, one of six areas on Earth that have been profoundly changed by the visitation of aliens to Earth. But when he and his friend Kirill go into the Zone together to pick up a “full empty,” something goes wrong. And despite the danger, the news he gets from his girlfriend upon his return makes it inevitable that he’ll keep going back to the Zone, again and again, until he finds the answers he's been looking for. Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer videoSimilar books we recommend: Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke (https://hugonauts.simplecast.com/episodes/rendezvous-with-rama)No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthyAnxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom by Ted Chiang (https://hugonauts.simplecast.com/episodes/ted-chiang)

Space ships whip across the solar system, ice haulers burn in from the gas giants, stolen Martian corvettes sneak behind enemy lines, and very human characters tie it all together and make the incredible journey worth the ride. Miraculously all 9 books (plus a collection of short stories) are fun, well-done adventures that will keep you turning the pages and racing to find out what happens next. Seriously, if you haven’t read the Expanse yet, it’s time for a treat that goes down easy.Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer videoSimilar books we recommend: House of Suns – Alastair Reynolds (https://hugonauts.simplecast.com/episodes/house-of-suns)Children of Time – Adrian Tchaikovsky (https://hugonauts.simplecast.com/episodes/children-of-time)Memories Legion – James S.A. Corey

In the One State of the great Benefactor, there are no individuals, only numbers. Life is an ongoing process of mathematical precision, a perfectly balanced equation. Primitive passions and instincts have been subdued. Even nature has been defeated, banished behind the Green Wall. But one frontier remains: outer space. Now, with the creation of the spaceship Integral, that frontier -- and whatever alien species are to be found there -- will be subjugated to the beneficent yoke of reason. Unless D-503 can find a space within himself - that disease the ancients called a soul.Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer videoSimilar books we recommend: 1984 by George Orwell (https://hugonauts.simplecast.com/episodes/1984)Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (https://hugonauts.simplecast.com/episodes/brave-new-world)One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

A starship is taking off from Mars, and just before it does one of the crewman arrives with a strange new creature. What will the Wub bring to those on board, and the headstrong captain who can't stop thinking with his stomach?Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!PS We by Yevgeny Zamyatin is still coming soon, but Brent had a family emergency, so Cody stepped up to bring y'all this gem in the meantime.

Rumors are swirling about a species of super-intelligent octopus living off the coast of Vietnam. As corporations and other non-state actors begin to investigate, it becomes clear that we are not alone in the universe - alien life has evolved right here on earth. DIANIMA, a giant tech company known for its machine learning prowess, buys the islands to study the octopuses and try to monopolize their unique brains for profit. They send Evrim, the world’s first true android / AI, and Dr. Ha Nguyen, a brilliant marine biologist, to study the octopuses, and Altantsetseg, a battle-hardened drone operator, to defend the islands from rapacious automated fishing vessels. Can they learn to communicate with the octopuses? Or will this new intelligent life be destroyed by global corporations run amok?Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer videoCheck out Ray Nayler's answers to your questions about the book!Similar books we recommend: Children of Ruin - Adrian TchaikovskyStory of Your Life - Ted Chiang (https://hugonauts.simplecast.com/episodes/ted-chiang)The Windup Girl - Paolo Bacigalupi (https://hugonauts.simplecast.com/episodes/the-windup-girl)

Ranking the top 15 sci-fi books of all time, from Contact by Carl Sagan to Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu. Exploring post-apocalyptic worlds, AI consciousness, and themes of military life, society, and dystopia. Delving into influential works like Ender's Game and Snow Crash, while discussing the impact on the genre and exploring science, faith, and humanity's place in the universe.

Dive into the thought-provoking realms of consciousness and digital immortality. Explore the challenges of identity when cloning blurs the lines between self and simulation. Contemplate the ethical implications of self-copying through intriguing character narratives. Discover visionary ideas from a 1994 sci-fi classic while examining the mystique of its reclusive author. Enjoy recommendations that provoke reflection on existence in digital contexts, inviting listeners to ponder the deeper meaning of life and legacy.

In this engaging conversation with Peter Watts, a notable science fiction author and former marine biologist, he reveals why he traded lab coats for literature. He discusses the real science behind his groundbreaking novel, Blindsight, and the intriguing vampire elements that drive its existential themes. Watts also shares exciting news about upcoming film adaptations and hints at a sequel to Echopraxia. His journey from science to fiction highlights the fascinating intersection of narrative and scientific exploration.

Tyler, Jason, and Diane are growing up together in the suburbs of Washington, DC. One night, as they are outside looking up at the sky, something shocking happens - all the stars go out at once. The 'Hypotheticals' have wrapped the earth in a spin membrane that isolates the Earth, making time move millions of times slower inside the barrier than outside. In Tyler, Diane, and Jason's lifetime the sun will turn into a red giant and consume the earth - unless they can figure out how to escape the Spin!Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer videoThis week we were joined by Jonathan from Words in Time - check out his channel on YouTube!Similar books we recommend: Contact - Carl Sagan (https://hugonauts.simplecast.com/episodes/contact)Childhood's End - Arthur C. ClarkeThree Body Problem - Cixin Liu (https://hugonauts.simplecast.com/episodes/the-three-body-problem)

Winston Smith is a Party member living in London. He, like every other member of the Party, is under constant surveillance. Despite the risk, he dares to buy a blank book and begin to write down his thoughts. From the first moment he writes “down with Big Brother” he believes he is doomed to die in the torture chambers below the Ministry of Love. Will his deviance be caught, or will Winston succeed in finding a way to resist the totalitarian control of the Party?Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer videoSimilar books we recommend: Animal Farm - George OrwellCat's Cradle - Kurt VonnegutBrave New World - Aldous Huxley (https://hugonauts.simplecast.com/episodes/brave-new-world)