Hugonauts: The Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

Brent Gaisford, Cody Troyer
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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. I Who Have Never Known Men - Review and Analysis

    23 SEP

    I Who Have Never Known Men - Review and Analysis

    Seen through the eyes of a main character who can't remember anything from life before the prison, you get to explore this strange, grim world from first principles. Its an alien way to explore an alien place, and the mystery just keeps getting deeper all the way through. The ending makes this a stylistically divisive book - you're gonna love it or you're gonna hate it.  Join the Hugonauts book club on discordOr you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer videoAs always, no spoilers until the end when we get into the full plot explanation and discussion. Similar books we recommend:  The Buried Giant by Kazuo IshiguroThe Handmaid's Tale by Margaret AtwoodThe Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg ElisonThis episode is sponsored by Mindstock by Richard Yonk, available here.  If you want to jump around, here are the timestamps for the episode:   00:00 Intro01:00 Book setup01:45 Sponsor - Mindstock by Richard Yonck2:17 Our review 4/53:50 Must be dystopia, journal time5:00 Environmental storytelling8:21 Hyper rational main character?11:29 Harpman's family in the holocaust17:15 Shadow of the Colossus18:15 The Buried Giant19:02 The Handmaid's Tale19:46 Book of the Unnamed Midwife20:54 Spoilers section - book summary22:44 Spoilers section - discussion

    32 min
  2. Interview with Robert Jackson Bennett - Author of The Tainted Cup!

    2 SEP

    Interview with Robert Jackson Bennett - Author of The Tainted Cup!

    We got to interview Robert fresh from his Hugo win for The Tainted Cup - by far the best SFF book of last year! We couldn't be more excited to talk about it with him and get our burning questions answered - will there be more about the leviathans in the rest of the series?!  Join the Hugonauts book club on discordOr you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer videoNext episode we'll be discussing the classic dystopia I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman - subscribe so you don't miss it.  We talked with Robert about:  00:00 Intro 1:07 Winning the Hugo for best novel 3:04 Brent the hat-eater 4:22 Why plant life as technology? 7:58 Bringing modernity into fantasy 10:49 A fantasy empire that's the good guys 16:05 Ana Dolabra's origins 19:26 Will we learn more about the titans? 21:07 Teasers about the 3rd book 22:08 RJB's other fantasy series 23:53 Mild spoilers - Din and Ana's quirks

    33 min
  3. The Culture Series by Iain M. Banks - would utopia make you happy?

    12 AGO

    The Culture Series by Iain M. Banks - would utopia make you happy?

    The Culture is Iain M. Banks' sci fi masterpiece - a futuristic society where benevolent AI minds provide humans whatever life they choose. Across the nine books you explore the Culture through their interactions, conflicts, and meddling with other space-faring civilizations. When the series is at its best it's full of action and adventure, and once the dust settles you're left with some extremely interesting ideas about what it means to be happy and have agency in a utopian society. Join the Hugonauts book club on discordOr you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer videoAs always, no spoilers until the end when we get into the full plot explanation and discussion.   Similar books we recommend:  House of Suns by Alastair ReynoldsThe Salvation Sequence by Peter F. HamiltonFire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge  This episode is sponsored by Moonrising by Claire Barner, published by Simon and Schuster and available here.   If you want to jump around, here are the timestamps for the episode:   00:00 Intro 1:04 What is The Culture? 4:13 Which book should you read first? 12:21 Why do billionaires love this series so much? 14:44 Iain M. Banks tragic early death 17:23 References to the romantic poets 20:31 Similar books we recommend 22:56 SPOILERS SECTION - PLAYER OF GAMES 32:35 SPOILERS SECTION - USE OF WEAPONS 42:04 The Culture as nation builders

    47 min
  4. Ranking the 2025 Hugo nominees plus 4 more of the best sci-fi and fantasy books of the year!

    22 JUL

    Ranking the 2025 Hugo nominees plus 4 more of the best sci-fi and fantasy books of the year!

    In addition to ranking the six nominees, we also talk about four more amazing books that deserve to be in contention for the best speculative fiction novels of the year. Join the Hugonauts book club on discordOr you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer videoThis episode is sponsored by Doppelgänger: An Orphan, A Prodigy, and a Murder by Chip Walter. A computer scientist awakens in a robotic body—next to his own murdered corpse, with only 72 hours to stop a conspiracy that threatens the human race. William Shatner calls it “quite a ride.” Learn more at chipwalter.com/ If you want to jump around, here are the timestamps for all the books we talked about:  00:00 Intro1:26 Episode Sponsor - Doppelgänger by Chip Walter2:03 6 - A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher4:58 5 - The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley7:51 4 - Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell9:12 3 - Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky12:49 - Four more great books that deserved a nomination22:36 2 - Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky27:15 1 - The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

    32 min
  5. 2025 Nebula winner and nominees - the best fantasy books of the year?

    1 JUL

    2025 Nebula winner and nominees - the best fantasy books of the year?

    In addition to ranking all the nominees, we talk about why the entire shortlist this year was all fantasy, no sci-fi.  This episode is sponsored by The Boy, the Cube, and the Elf by Brent Golembiewski, which is available in print or kindle edition here Join the Hugonauts book club on discordOr 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 Intro1:50 Episode Sponsor - The Boy, The Cube, and the Elf2:21 #6 - Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera6:33 #5 - Sleeping Worlds Have no Memory by Yaroslav Barsukov10:42 #4 - The Book of Love by Kelly Link15:28 Why are all the nominees fantasy?18:46 #3 - Asunder by Kerstin Hall23:22 #2 - A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher27:53 #1 - Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell

    33 min
  6. The 10 Best Fantasy Books and Series of all time!

    10 JUN

    The 10 Best Fantasy Books and Series of all time!

    As sci-fi lovers who are looking to read more fantasy we could not be more excited to know what's good. Thanks to all y'all Hugonauts who filled out the survey, this list rocks. And a special thank you to Gordon Burroughs for joining us as our resident expert on the books we haven't read, plus for putting the whole survey together in the first place! Join the Hugonauts book club on discord to see the full survey results, including the undiscovered gemsOr you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer videoIf you want to jump around, here are the timestamps for all the books / series we talked about:  00:00 Intro2:58 Novel #10 - The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson6:11 Series #10 - The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin7:57 Novel #9 - Babel by R.F. Kuang10:30 Series #9 - The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie13:33 Novel #8 - The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle15:40 Series #8 - His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman19:18 Novel #7 - The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin21:20 Series #7 - Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson23:50 Novel #6 - A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin25:37 Series #6 - Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling28:16 Novel #5 - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke30:36 Series #5 - The Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson34:18 Novel #4 - The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien37:18 Series #4 - The Broken Earth by N.K. Jemisin38:38 - Our 3 favorites that didn't make the list43:46 Novel #3 - The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss46:19 Series #3 - Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin47:37 Novel #2 - Perdido Street Station by China Miéville50:04 Series #2 - The Dark Tower by Stephen King53:55 Novel #1 - The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien55:32 Series #1 - The Lord of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

    59 min
  7. Redshirts by John Scalzi - funny, rule-breaking scifi!

    20 MAY

    Redshirts by John Scalzi - funny, rule-breaking scifi!

    As always, no spoilers until the end when we do our plot explainer and discussion. Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer videoSimilar books we recommend:  Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas AdamsThe Murderbot Diaries by Martha WellsMonk and Robot series by Becky Chambers

    27 min
  8. The God's Themselves - Asimov answering the biggest question in the universe!

    29 ABR

    The God's Themselves - Asimov answering the biggest question in the universe!

    That said, there are some problems with this book too, which made this a fun one to talk about - Brent liked it a lot more than Cody did. Plus, love em or hate em, Asimov thought up some very alien aliens. As always, no spoilers until the end when we get into the full plot explanation and discussion.  NEW THRU 2025-05-15: Fill out our listener survey to tell us your favorite fantasy novels and series, and see them covered in an episode soon! Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer videoSimilar books we recommend:  The Foundation trilogy by Isaac AsimovThe Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry PournelleThe Expanse by James S.A. Corey

    35 min
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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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