Hugonauts: The Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

The Myths that Inspired Fantasy and Sci-Fi


Listen Later

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 discord
  • Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer video

If 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 Classics
  • The Odyssey, trans. Robert Fagles
  • The Odyssey, Gareth Hinds graphic novel
  • The Iliad, Penguin Classics
  • The Aeneid, trans. Robert Fagles Penguin Classics
  • Age of Bronze Series, Eric Shanower (series of graphic novels on Trojan War)
  • Hercules, Fred Van Lente
  • Monkey, trans. Arthur Waley
  • Beowulf, trans. Seamus Heaney
  • The Popul Vuh, trans. Michael Bazzett, Milkweed Editions
  • The Nibelungenlied, trans. AT Hatto, Penguin
  • Chretien de Troyes, Arthurian Romances, trans. William W. Kibler, Penguin
  • Le Morte D’Arthur, Sir Thomas Malory, Penguin Classics
  • Tales from the Thousand and One Nights, trans. N.J. Dawood, Penguin Classics
  • Sindbad and Other Stories from Arabian Nights, trans Husain Haddowy
  • Sinbad the Sailor, Penguin Classics
  • The Ramayana, Abridged and Translated by Arshia Sattar, Penguin Classics OR any children’s/YA book to get started. There are hundreds

If you want to jump around, here are the timestamps for all the books we talked about: 

  • 0:00 - Intro
  • 1:45 - The Epic of Gilgamesh
  • 6:35 - The Odyssey
  • 10:12 - The Iliad
  • 12:09 - The Aeneid
  • 14:12 - Hercules
  • 15:53 - Monkey (Excerpts from Journey to the West)
  • 21:00 - Beowulf
  • 25:25 - The Popul Vuh
  • 28:23 - The Nibelungenlied
  • 33:21 - King Arthur Myths (Malory, De Troyes)
  • 36:56 - Tales From the Thousand and One Nights
  • 41:40 - Sinbad the Sailor
  • 45:10 - The Ramayana
  • 49:55 - Our Top 3 favorite myths
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Hugonauts: The Best Sci-Fi Books of All TimeBy Brent Gaisford, Cody Troyer

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

62 ratings


More shows like Hugonauts: The Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

View all
99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,257 Listeners

Clarkesworld Magazine by Clarkesworld Magazine

Clarkesworld Magazine

1,040 Listeners

Overdue by Headgum

Overdue

2,247 Listeners

Democracy Now! Audio by Democracy Now!

Democracy Now! Audio

5,780 Listeners

The Flop House by MaximumFun, Dan McCoy, Stuart Wellington, Elliott Kalan

The Flop House

4,442 Listeners

Imaginary Worlds by Eric Molinsky | QCODE

Imaginary Worlds

1,994 Listeners

Behind the Bastards by Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts

Behind the Bastards

15,617 Listeners

Colors of the Dark by FANGORIA Podcast Network

Colors of the Dark

485 Listeners

WHAT WENT WRONG by Sad Boom Media

WHAT WENT WRONG

3,399 Listeners

The Town with Matthew Belloni by The Ringer

The Town with Matthew Belloni

1,121 Listeners

The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast - Vintage Sci-Fi Short Stories by Scott Miller

The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast - Vintage Sci-Fi Short Stories

310 Listeners

One Song by Hartbeat

One Song

1,196 Listeners

Better Offline by Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts

Better Offline

584 Listeners

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever* by Ayesha Khan

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

212 Listeners

Star Trek: Khan by Star Trek

Star Trek: Khan

416 Listeners