I've been enjoying the Hugonauts podcast, it has inspired me to re-read some old favorites and explore some new books too.

What are some other good printsf podcasts that you enjoy?

I love Kim Stanley Robinson's books, and am reading (in some case re-reading) his books in order. At some point, I'm going to get to Green Earth, but since it's a reworking of the Science in the Capitol trilogy, I wanted to find out just how much it adds/leaves out/changes.

Is the difference significant enough to merit a "re-read", or is it only really worth for people who haven't read the trilogy?

Thanks!

I am looking for others' recommendations for the best Spec Fic stories centered around covert organizations and their dealings/activities. Intelligence agencies, special units, black operations, etc.

Some examples that spring to mind are Special Circumstances from The Culture series and Section 8 from Star Trek.

I'm open to most anything. I've finished all of the Expanse, Bobbiverse, wheel of time, First Law, Powder Mage, Jade city, and loved them all. Looking for something with a good performance, maybe not top 5 most popular since I've probably read it but something solid.

https://bookwyrm.social/

I'm new to Lemmy but I like the idea, so I went looking for other platforms using the "fediverse" and found this Goodreads replacement.

Are any of you using it? Do you have any tips or tricks? I noticed there are a lot of "duplicate" books that seem tied to different editions and ISBNs, and while the site gives me the ability to edit, I've mostly only been adding the occasional cover, since I don't want to mess up entries people have already put reviews on. There doesn't seem to be any "master" entry for the book in general, with the different ISBNs and editions being linked to that central entry.

(But the book nerd in me wants to totally get publishing date/cover it was published with/publisher each edition was published with/etc. updated.)

Most nominations are expected, as they follow the trend from the last decade. I'll be skipping the voting this year, but I think I'll still pick up some of the more interesting sounding titles, especially from people I don't see too often on the Hugo ballots.

I am thoroughly sick and tired of zombies. And while this isn't a book, I watched and enjoyed The Last of Us recently and enjoyed it a lot.

Scratching my head, I eventually realized that the little human stories, the rich characterization and complex human relationships, were what overcome my resistance this particular rendition of the zombie apocalypse. So while the stories are set in a zombie apocalypse, the storytelling wasn't all about zombies and whether the zombies were cool or gross or super-powered or whatever.

It was about the people--all sorts of people. Not just the cool people, not just the ones that died in gruesome ways. Joel is basically the daddest of dads, and Ellie is a smart-mouthed kid scared to be abandoned yet again.

I still won't pick up other zombie media by choice. But I do respect a story with strong characters. And I respect a premise that can get out of its own way to instead provide a framework where stories about people can be told.

Have you guy

I am thoroughly sick and tired of zombies. And while this isn't a book, I watched and enjoyed The Last of Us recently and enjoyed it a lot.

Scratching my head, I eventually realized that the little human stories, the rich characterization and complex human relationships, were what overcome my resistance this particular rendition of the zombie apocalypse. So while the stories are set in a zombie apocalypse, the storytelling wasn't all about zombies and whether the zombies were cool or gross or super-powered or whatever.

It was about the people--all sorts of people. Not just the cool people, not just the ones that died in gruesome ways. Joel is basically the daddest of dads, and Ellie is a smart-mouthed kid scared to be abandoned yet again.

I still won't pick up other zombie media by choice. But I do respect a story with strong characters. And I respect a premise that can get out of its own way to instead provide a framework where stories about people can be told.

Have you guy

This is open to indie too--there's a lot more great indie work out there than people talk about.

I think for me, I've really loved Gideon the Ninth. It's such a FUN book, and I think it's the first science fiction book I've encountered that's also fantasy but also set in "our future".

(Star Wars doesn't count. It's in a galaxy far, far away after all.)

The two sequels are great too. The most recent one, Nona the Ninth, kinda put to rest my fears that the author couldn't write a gentler, kinder viewpoint or world. (The first two books are kinda grimdark in some ways. Like--everything's shit then we all die, then our corpses get raised from the dead and used in necromancer fights. Nona shows us a more hopeful world.)

Just finished reading this novel and I want to recommend it. No big spoilers.

Here's the blurb:

On a warm March night in 2083, Judy Wallach-Stevens wakes to a warning of unknown pollutants in the Chesapeake Bay. She heads out to check what she expects to be a false alarm--and stumbles upon the first alien visitors to Earth. These aliens have crossed the galaxy to save humanity, convinced that the people of Earth must leave their ecologically-ravaged planet behind and join them among the stars. And if humanity doesn't agree, they may need to be saved by force.

The watershed networks aren't ready to give up on Earth. Decades ago, they rose up to exile the last corporations to a few artificial islands, escape the dominance of nation-states, and reorganize humanity around the hope of keeping their world liveable. By sharing the burden of decision-making, they've started to heal the wounded planet.

But now corporatio

Has anyone read The Wandering Inn? I keep reading good things but I've never read a web serial and the length seems daunting. If I commit to this series I feel like I won't be able to read anything else for years.

https://wanderinginn.com/

I am a fan of Arthurian legend and was about to start Taliesin, the first book of the Pendragon series by Steven Lawhead. But then I was reading some background and sounds like he recast a lot of the Arthur/Merlin legend in a Christian light? I'm atheist but not opposed to reading CS Lewis-style Christian allegory if it's still interesting in a literary way. But not interested in backdoor Christian proselytizing. What do you all think? Worth a try or not?

I'm about a third of the way through this book and loving it. First time reading Tchaikovsky and he's now one of my new favorites (along with Alastair Reynolds). Do the other books in the the Children of Time series hold up as well?

I just finished reading this series by Fonda Lee. I really liked the generation aspect to this story, it really feels like you travelled a lifetime with these characters (it's a bit like Realm of the Elderlings in that way).

Overall I really liked it, the only thing that I found disappointing were the Fantasy elements. Besides the Jade abilities there wasn't really much to it, and the setting mainly seemed to be "generic Asian", without much fantastical elements.

Recommended!

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