Thumbing Through Yesterday

A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge is the (pre) sequel to A Fire Upon the Deep, which we visited in episode 91. Although a first read, Tom chose this because he couldn't bear to abandon Vinge's Qeng Ho series. And what a worthy prequel! Typical Vinge, with lots of Big Ideas, compelling plots, and characters he clearly wants you to like. TTYpodcast.com Thumbingthroughyesterday.com

Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg is Tony's pick this time. A lengthy science fantasy tome, it follows the adventures of Valentine, an amnesiac juggler, as he uncovers the mystery of his identity and his destiny. The first novel in the Majipoor series, this was quite a read! TTYpodcast.com Thumbingthroughyesterday.com

The Peace War, by Vernor Vinge, is a favorite that Tom hasn't revisited in decades. Talk about dusting off a long-forgotten classic! Turns out that "forgotten" really applies in this case. Other than bobbles, neither of us remembered much about this book. But what a fun read! TTYpodcast.com Thumbingthroughyesterday.com

Podkayne of Mars is one of Robert Heinlein's juvenile series and Tony's pick for this episode. Join us as we explore Heinlein’s take on growing up in the stars, the clash between idealism and cynicism, and whether this “juvenile” novel has more bite than expected. Is Podkayne a proto-feminist hero or a relic of her author’s era? And what’s up with that ending? TTYpodcast.com Thumbingthroug...

Lord of the Flies, the debut novel of William Golding, is something you probably encoutered in grade school. Tom did, and it stuck with him over the decades. Join us as we visit this iconic vision of youth gone wild! TTYpodcast.com Thumbingthroughyesterday.com

Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis is Tony’s pick this time around, and definitely not Tom’s usual fare. This insider look at the world of 1980s Wall Street is fast-paced, brash, and unapologetically chaotic. Lewis takes us deep into the bond trading boom, where arrogance and ambition collide in a game that’s part strategy, part swagger. Did Tom survive the ride? Tune in and see. TTYpodcast.com Thumbin...

Moby Dick by Herman Melville is Tom’s pick for this episode, and let’s just say… the whale wasn’t the only one dragging. Tony hadn’t read it since his English Lit days and didn’t make it to the end this time, while Tom powered through on deadline. The result? Probably not our most polished review, but a fun and honest one nonetheless. Join us as we harpoon what we can from this literary leviathan....

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge is Tony’s pick this time; a long-time favorite of his and a first read for Tom. And wow… mind blown. From galaxy-spanning civilizations to pack-mind aliens and zones of thought, this book throws big ideas at you from page one and never lets up. Join us as we explore one of the most ambitious space operas ever written. TTYpodcast.com Thumbingthroughyesterday.com

Dream Park by Larry Niven & Steven Barnes is Tom’s pick this time around, a favorite from his high school days. What brought it back to mind? A parody of the Beatles’ Norwegian Wood, of all things. (Yes, he still sings it.) This early blend of LARPing, sci-fi, and mystery takes us into a futuristic amusement park where the games are immersive, the stakes are high, and the lines between play an...

The Magicians by Lev Grossman is Tony's pick this time, the first of a trilogy about some of the worst people you'll ever encounter. Brilliant, bitter, and brimming with magic, this book asks what happens when power isn’t given to heroes… but to real, damaged, deeply flawed humans. A tough read for Tom, this one made both hosts ask: What happens when you strip fantasy of its wonder and fil...

Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton is Tom's pick. Is it really "the least Crichtony Crichton novel?" Maybe. But both Tom and Tony love this, Crichton's response to a dare to make the epic poem Beowulf entertaining. Does he succeed? Not, perhaps, in the way you might expect. TTYpodcast.com Thumbingthroughyesterday.com

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling is Tony's pick this time around. The third book in the series, this one shows a depth and complexity that was missing from the first two. Plus, we begin to dance with some actual darkness. A first read for Tom, Azkaban starts to explore some of the potential the earlier books ignored. TTYpodcast.com Thumbingthroughyesterday.com

On The Beach by Nevil Shute is an early,chilling tale of nuclear warning. After just 30 days of missles and bombs, the entire northern hemisphere is irradiated and lifeless. Radioactive dust drifts slowly south... and the rest of the world waits to die. A first read for Tony, this hauntingly beautiful and depressing book is a favorite of Tom's. TTYpodcast.com Thumbingthroughyesterday.com

The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers is a mind-bending blend of historical fiction and fantasy, where 20th-century scholar Brendan Doyle is unexpectedly transported back to 19th-century London. Amid a world of magic, time travel, and intrigue, Doyle must navigate a city brimming with strange powers and dangerous figures, all while trying to survive and find a way back to his own time. A favorite of Tony...

The Good Shepherd by CS Forester is a thrilling, tension-packed story set during WWII. Commander George Krause heads a 4-ship defense force escorting a convoy of 37 unarmed merchant ships across the Atlantic. They run afoul of a German submarine wolf pack, and are harried for days as Krause struggles to save both ships and lives for the Allies. A first-read for Tony, Tom loves this action-pack adv...

Roger Zelazny's Roadmarks is a bizarre book about time travel. And magic. And dragons. And sentient AI. And cars. And dinosaurs. A favorite of Tony's, this is a first-read for Tom. What an adventure! TTYpodcast.com Thumbingthroughyesterday.com

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is one of Phillip K. Dick's best-known novels, and the basis for the Bladerunner film franchise. Tom loves this book, but what's Tony's take? And how do the big ideas from 1968 hold up in the 21st century? TTYpodcast.com Thumbingthroughyesterday.com

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut is probably his best-known novel, a quasi-autobiographical account of the fire-bombing of Dresden mixed with a typically bizarre tale of alien abductions and time travel. What's not to like? TTYpodcast.com Thumbingthroughyesterday.com

Watchmen by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins, is one of the finest graphics novels ever made. Perhaps the best? A favorite to both Tony & Tom, revisiting this was an absolute joy! TTYpodcast.com Thumbingthroughyesterday.com

The Legacy of Heorot by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes, is Tony's pick this time around, a book that is also on Tom's list. We had very different experiences, revisiting this old friend! TTYpodcast.com Thumbingthroughyesterday.com #larryniven #jerrypournelle #stevenbarnes #nivenpournellebarnes #thelegacyofheorot #grendel #samlon #beowulf #thumbingthroughyesterday #podcast #books #...

Who Goes Here? by Bob Shaw is a quirky Sci-Fi adventure. Our protagonist, Warren Peace (yes, Warren Peace!) awakens in a doctor's office with literally no memory of who he is, why he's there, or anything about himself. The memory erasure is a "perk" of having enlisted in the Space Legion. Warren quickly realizes that the only way to survive is to regain his lost memory and flee the Legion. It's a...

Hyperion by Dan Simmons is a Hugo Award-wining novel that Tony loves and Tom hasn't read before. It's structured like Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, but in space! Full of big ideas and complex characters, this book is a deep dive into an astoundingly well-built future. TTYpodcast.com Thumbingthroughyesterday.com

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne is often regarded as a classic of early science fiction, but is it any good? Tom has fond memories of reading this as a child, but what happens when we revisit this book so many decades later? TTYpodcast.com Thumbingthroughyesterday.com

Robert Heinlein's Tunnel in the Sky kicks off our 4th year of continuous podcasting. One of Heinlein's juvenille series, this is a fast-paced page-turner about a group of high school students accidentally marooned on an alien world, left to survive on their own. One of Tony's favorites, this was a first-read for Tom. TTYpodcast.com Thumbingthroughyesterday.com

This episode, we talk a bit about making Thumbing Through Yesterday. No novel to discuss, just an exploration of the podcast itself. Why did we start it? How successful is it? What have we learned? What are its secrets? TTYpodcast.com Thumbingthroughyesterday.com