Hugonauts: The Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

We also each rank our top three first contact books at the end of the episode.

This episode is sponsored by The Pythagorean by Alexander Morpheigh, which is available in print or kindle edition here.

• Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!
• Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer video

All the books in the episode (with YT links to those we've got full episodes on, or search for them in your podcast app): 

• Contact by Carl Sagan
• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
• The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
• The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
• Embassytown by China Miéville
• Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky Brothers
• The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
• Blindsight by Peter Watts
• The Expanse by James S.A. Corey
• The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin
• Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
• The Mote in God's Eye by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven
• Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
• The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu

The book somehow manages to be optimistic at the same time that it realistically portrays horrific climate catastrophes - the opening chapter will stick with you forever. That said, it also suffers from some of KSR's usual writing quirks: weak characters and a pretty loosely defined plot. We talk about it all, the good, the bad, and the terrifyingly hot!

As always, no spoilers until the end when we get into the full plot explanation and discussion. 

This episode is sponsored by The Pythagorean by Alexander Morpheigh, which is available in print or kindle edition here.

• Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!
• Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer video

Similar books we recommend: 

• The Value of Everything by Mariana Mazzucato
• Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson 
• The Great Transition by Nick Fuller Googins

The book is shocking, disturbing, entertaining, and unbelievably thought provoking all at once - no wonder Stanley Kubrick decided to turn the book into a movie (which is a must-watch classic in its own right). It's also an unforgettable masterwork of language, as the narrator, Alex, and his droogs speak in slang that is somehow entirely novel and comprehensible at the same time.

As always, no spoilers until the end when we get into the full plot explanation and discussion. 

This episode is sponsored by I Am Machine by Lex Van Der Ploeg, which is available in print or kindle edition here.

• Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!
• Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer video

Similar books we recommend: 

• Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
• 1984 by George Orwell

Neuromancer is an incredible science fiction classic, a page turner full of gripping action sequences, wild futuristic ideas, and a unique, techno-criminal world populated by wildly imaginative characters. 

As always, no spoilers until the end when we get into the full plot explanation and discussion. 

This episode is sponsored by Mythos: The Origin of Gods by A.A., which is available on print, audiobook, or kindle here

• Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!
• Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer video

Similar books we recommend: 

• Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
• Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
• The sequels to Neuromancer: Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive

 As always, no spoilers until the end when we clearly call it out before getting into the full plot explanation and discussion.

• Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!
• Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer video

This episode is sponsored by The Song of Immaru: Earth's Door by PJ Dudek, which you can get on print, audiobook, or kindle here.

Similar media we recommend:

• Fallout: New Vegas (game)
• Horizon Zero Dawn (game)
• The Thirteenth Floor (movie)
• Severance (TV show)

This episode is sponsored by The Dawn series by Ray N. Kuili, which you can get on print, audiobook, or kindle here.

• Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!
• Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer video

All the books in the episode (with YT links to those we've got full episodes on, or search for them in your podcast app): 

• The Hunger Games
• Red Rising
• Ready Player One
• The Giver
• Never Let Me Go
• The Children of Men
• The Machine Stops
• Clockwork Orange
• A Scanner Darkly
• Kallocain
• Fahrenheit 451
• The Handmaid's Tale
• Brave New World
• 1984
• We

The Mercy of Gods follows a team of research scientists trying to survive an alien invasion. The Carryx are ruthless - killing 1/8 of the population immediately as they arrive to encourage the survivors to cooperate. Our team, along with many others, are then abducted and brought to a Carryx planet, where they are set loose in an open-air prison populated by hundreds of other alien races. They’re told that if they want to survive they must be useful to the Carryx. Will they resist, or decide to serve the alien overlords? And what does service even mean to aliens who think totally differently?

• Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!
• Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer video

Similar books we recommend:

• Shards of Earth - Adrian Tchaikovsky
• Startide Rising - David Brin
• A Fire Upon the Deep - Vernor Vinge

A radio astronomer discovers a signal coming from Alpha Centauri - strange, beautiful alien voices, singing. While the rest of the world is transfixed by the broadcast, a catholic order, the Jesuits, take action and launch a mission to the planet of Rakhat. But from the outset we know the mission is doomed to tragedy, because a second storyline follows Emilio Sandoz after his return to Earth. The only survivor of the mission, he struggles to heal his wounds and to reconcile his faith with the deaths of his friends, and prepare to tell the world the truth of what happened on Rakhat.

• Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!
• Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer video

Similar books we recommend:

• Children of God - Maria Doria Russel (Sequel)
• Chronicle of a Death Foretold - Gabriel García Márquez
• Anathem - Neal Stephenson
• Contact - Carl Sagan
• A Canticle for Liebowitz - Walter M. Miller Jr.

In the 23rd century Johnny Rico enlists in the Mobile Infantry, the heart of the human military. As he nears completion of an intensely rigorous training program to learn how to fight and use his power armor, war breaks out between humanity and the bugs. The bugs are aliens with a hive mind, who attack and destroy Buenos Aires, and Johnny and his friends must strive to survive and defend humanity through the brutal war. 

It's also full of deeply interesting (and controversial) ideas about duty, service, crime and punishment, and so much more. If you like military sci-fi this is a must-read, and if you are into philosophical SF you are going to be pleasantly surprised how much it will stick with you and make you think.

• Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!
• Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer video

Similar books we recommend:

• The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (listen to our interview with Joe)
• Columbus Day by Craig Alanson
• The Parafaith War by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

We rank the nominees for the 2024 Hugo award, plus 6 more from last year!

• Join the book club on discord and read The Sparrow! https://discord.gg/fHejh3PpR2
• Video version of the show on YouTube https://youtube.com/@hugonautspod

The books:

• The Witch King - Martha Wells
• The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi - Shannon Chakraborty
• Some Desperate Glory - Emily Tesh
• The Saint of Bright Doors - Vajra Chandrasekera
• Starter Villain - John Scalzi
• Translation State - Ann Leckie
• Chain Gang All Stars - Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
• The Great Transition - Nick Fuller Googins
• Titanium Noir - Nick Harkaway
• The Marriage Act - John Marrs
• Red Team Blues - Cory Doctorow
• The Ferryman - Justin Cronin