Hugonauts: The Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

Brent Gaisford, Cody Troyer

Explore the best of sci-fi with Brent and Cody. Each episode dives into a single book or series in the sci-fi cannon. Author interviews, reviews and analysis, and related book recommendations. Happy reading y'all!

  1. The Best Space Operas Ever Written - the biggest stories and the best characters!

    FEB 3

    The Best Space Operas Ever Written - the biggest stories and the best characters!

    We've got 18 books and series we highly recommend, so there's something here for all kinds of readers - and at the end of the episode we rank our top 3 to bring you the best of the best.  What is space opera? Books with big characters and a bigger world - they usually even come with big 'ol wordcounts. Space opera is often multi-pov, with interstellar travel and the fate of the galaxy at stake.  No spoilers anywhere in this episode. Join the Hugonauts book club on discordOr you can watch our episodes on YouTube if you prefer videoThis episode is sponsored by indie sci-fi publisher Lil' Factory All the books we recommend, plus timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:36 Sponsor - Lil' Factory 1:24 What is a space opera? 2:58 The Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold 4:45 The Expanse - James S.A. Corey 6:38 Hyperion - Dan Simmons 9:51 House of Suns - Alistair Reynolds 11:32 Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky 13:11 Fire Upon the Deep - Vernor Vinge 15:04 The Culture - Iain M. Banks 17:17 Peter F. Hamilton's whole discography 20:19 Embassytown - China Mieville 21:45 A Memory Called Empire - Arkady Martine 23:34 Dune - Are you happy now? 24:47 Ancillary Justice - Ann Leckie 26:34 Downbelow Station - C.J. Cherryh 26:05 The Mote in God's Eye - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle 29:24 Startide Rising - David Brin 31:16 The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet - Becky Chambers 33:01 Foundation - Isaac Asimov 35:22 Rankings: 3rd best Space Opera 37:27 Rankings: 2nd best Space Opera 38:50 Rankings: 1st best Space Opera

    42 min
  2. The Myths that Inspired Fantasy and Sci-Fi

    12/16/2025

    The Myths that Inspired Fantasy and Sci-Fi

    From Sumeria, to Greece, to India, to the depths of the dark ages we explore the stories that have inspired everything that came later with a professor of mythology and medieval literature. This particular professor also happens to be Cody's mom, so this is also a great episode to explore Cody's psyche, for those brave enough to explore a dark and twisted place.  Join the Hugonauts book club on discordOr you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer videoIf you want to do some reading, here are our suggestions on the best translations of these myths (and even a couple great graphic novels):  Epic of Gilgamesh, trans. Andrew George, Penguin ClassicsThe Odyssey, trans. Robert FaglesThe Odyssey, Gareth Hinds graphic novelThe Iliad, Penguin ClassicsThe Aeneid, trans. Robert Fagles Penguin ClassicsAge of Bronze Series, Eric Shanower (series of graphic novels on Trojan War)Hercules, Fred Van LenteMonkey, trans. Arthur WaleyBeowulf, trans. Seamus HeaneyThe Popul Vuh, trans. Michael Bazzett, Milkweed EditionsThe Nibelungenlied, trans. AT Hatto, PenguinChretien de Troyes, Arthurian Romances, trans. William W. Kibler, PenguinLe Morte D’Arthur, Sir Thomas Malory, Penguin ClassicsTales from the Thousand and One Nights, trans. N.J. Dawood, Penguin ClassicsSindbad and Other Stories from Arabian Nights, trans Husain HaddowySinbad the Sailor, Penguin ClassicsThe Ramayana, Abridged and Translated by Arshia Sattar, Penguin Classics OR any children’s/YA book to get started. There are hundredsIf you want to jump around, here are the timestamps for all the books we talked about:  0:00 - Intro1:45 - The Epic of Gilgamesh6:35 - The Odyssey10:12 - The Iliad12:09 - The Aeneid14:12 - Hercules15:53 - Monkey (Excerpts from Journey to the West)21:00 - Beowulf25:25 - The Popul Vuh28:23 - The Nibelungenlied33:21 - King Arthur Myths (Malory, De Troyes)36:56 - Tales From the Thousand and One Nights41:40 - Sinbad the Sailor45:10 - The Ramayana49:55 - Our Top 3 favorite myths

    54 min
  3. Best Starter Science Fiction Books

    11/25/2025

    Best Starter Science Fiction Books

    Whether you like ripping page turners, incredible characters, books that make you laugh out loud, exploring unforgettable new worlds, or literary books that will make you see the world in a new way, there's a great intro to scifi out there for everyone! Join the Hugonauts book club on discord to tell us about your favorite time travel booksOr you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer videoIf you want to jump around, here are the timestamps for all the books we talked about:  00:00 Intro 00:38 Incredible Characters - Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold 3:07 A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers 4:04 Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes 4:52 Unforgettable Worlds - The Expanse by James S.A. Corey 6:58 Hyperion by Dan Simmons 8:24 House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds 9:20 Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky 10:56 The Forever War by Joe Haldeman 12:22 Funny SF - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams 13:36 Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson 14:50 Old Man's War by John Scalzi 16:01 Page turners - Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir 17:43 Dark Matter or Recursion by Blake Crouch 18:52 All Systems Red by Martha Wells 20:01 Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card 21:35 Ready Player One by Ernest Cline 22:34 Literary SciFi - The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin 24:55 Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro 26:26 The Road by Cormac McCarthy 27:49 Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut 28:40 Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

    30 min
  4. The Best Time Travel Books... of all time

    10/14/2025

    The Best Time Travel Books... of all time

    There's scientifically plausible time travel, fantasy / sci fi time travel, 'traditional' time travel centered around real history, people trapped in time loops, time travel romance, and we even threw in a couple of great time travel kids books - something here for every reader to love! As we were editing the episode we realized we forgot an incredible, recent time travel book from the list that we'd meant to include - it's one we've mentioned in a previous episode. Drop us a line on discord if you think you know what we forgot (or if you've got a time travel book you love that you think should have been on the list)! Join the Hugonauts book club on discord to tell us about your favorite time travel booksOr you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer videoThis episode is sponsored by Maya: Seed Takes Root, which you can get here on kickstarter If you want to jump around, here are the timestamps for all the books we talked about:  00:00 Intro 1:03 Sponsor - MAYA: Seed Takes Root 1:34 Fantastical / far future time travel 2:04 Night Watch by Terry Pratchett 3:15 The Dark Tower series by Stephen King 4:36 Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons 6:10 Scientifically plausible time travel 6:50 Tau Zero by Poul Anderson 9:20 Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang 10:38 The Forever War by Joe Haldeman 12:15 Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky 13:47 Looping time travel stories 14:14 The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton 14:44 All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka 17:31 Great Time Travel Kids Books 20:25 Kindred by Octavia Butler 22:09 Lightning by Dean Koontz 23:48 11/22/63 by Stephen King 25:50 The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North 29:18 The Rise and Fall of DODO by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland 31:40 Time and Again by Jack Finney 35:00 The Life of Chuck by Stephen King 36:30 Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut 40:43 The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger 44:05 Our top 3 favorite time travel books

    47 min
4.8
out of 5
65 Ratings

About

Explore the best of sci-fi with Brent and Cody. Each episode dives into a single book or series in the sci-fi cannon. Author interviews, reviews and analysis, and related book recommendations. Happy reading y'all!

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