Hugonauts: The Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

We cover the legendary classics like Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers, Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War, and Orson Scott Card's Ender’s Game, while exploring modern masterpieces like John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War, Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice, and the later books of The Expanse series. Whether you are a fan of high-stakes space battles or deep philosophical military themes, this ultimate sci-f...

We are breaking down the entire short-list and ranking, review, and digging into the 2026 Nebula Novel nominees from worst to best. We dive deep into the writing styles, the structure, the highs, the frustratingly bad endings, and reveal exactly who took home the final trophy. Are these books actually masterclasses in modern sci-fi and fantasy, or did the hype train leave the tracks?  Here is our...

In this episode of the Hugonauts we’re breaking down what truly defines great Young Adult fiction and answering the ultimate question: do these books actually hold up when you read them for the first time as an adult? We look at the core guidelines of YA literature—from exploring the human condition through a young protagonist's eyes to (ideally) teaching profound stuff that resonates beyond teenh...

In this episode we dive into The Devils by Joe Abercrombie. It’s a departure from the grim world of The First Law, leaning into a "monsters vs. monsters" heist set in a supernatural, alternate-history Europe. If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like if the Vatican recruited a werewolf, a vampire, and a deathless soldier to save the world - well, you're in luck. We discuss the shift in tone,...

This is exactly the kind of philosophical sci-fi we love - something new, something fresh, and something that will make you think. We wish the second half had been as good as the premise, but there's still no doubt this is one we'll be thinking about for years to come (and weirdly it already feels like we've been thinking about it for years).  If you’ve ever fallen down an SCP Foundation wiki rabb...

If you thought The Martian was intense, let's just go ahead and raise the stakes.  We break down the movie version of Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary, comparing the film with the fun technical problem solving of the original novel. We take a close look at how the movie brings the "astrophage" threat and and action to life, more importantly, whether it is possible to have your hair tousled 100% of th...

We had so much fun revisiting Mid-World for this episode – it’s the first series that brought us together as book nerds twenty years ago, and it’s absolutely just as good as the first day we read it. So thankful it helped tie our friendship together, and laid the foundation for meeting all the rest of you Hugonauts all these years later!  The Dark Tower defies (or bridges) genres, with elements of...

We’ve got 15 books and series here, so there should be something to love for almost every reader (although we need some traditional fantasy page turners – send us some recommendations in the comments please)! Plus, at the end of the episode we each rank our personal top 3. We intentionally excluded YA and military sci-fi books, although those are often also page-turners - look out for episodes abo...

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.  N...

This might be the best sci-fi book out there about nanotechnology. But Stephenson has so many good ones that this one isn't his best book - some of the characters lose their way, and it drags in the middle.  Oh, and one more good recommendation we forgot while we were recording - check out Blood Music by Greg Bear if you want a biological twist on nanotech! Join the Hugonauts book club on discord...

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 di...

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 books Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer vid...

With six interconnected stories (in a narrative style that broke all kinds of new ground), it's hard not to find at least a few characters you love. And even for those you don't personally love, the voices are unforgettable - it's wild that all these characters with such distinct personalities were created by a single person. Join the Hugonauts book club on discord Or you can watch the episode on...

Really though we just wanted to do something scary for Halloween - put on a skin-tight leotard. Yes, Brent really did read this sitting next to bubbling pumpkins.

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 w...

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 cl...

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 discord Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer video Next episode we'll be di...

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...

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 discord Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer video This episode is sponsored by Doppelgänger: An Orphan, A Prodigy, and a Murder by Chip Walter. A computer scientist awakens in a ro...

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 discord Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer video If you want to jump around, here are the timest...

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...

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 video Similar books we recommend:  Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells Monk and Robot series by Becky Chambers

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 ser...

If you like gritty cyberpunk settings, a page-turning, action-driven plot, and a lot of visceral explorations of violence and sexuality, this one's for you. If you're looking for deep characters, a carefully crafted plot, or philosophical ideas, this might not be your next read. As always, no spoilers until the end when we get into the full plot explanation and discussion.  This episode is sponsor...

Solid characters, amazing worldbuilding, and an epic plot that will keep you interested all the way through (and that's no mean feat in such a long book). If you've been thinking about trying out Peter F. Hamilton this is the right place to start. 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 Alexand...