Hugonauts: The Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

This series is beloved by its fans, but doesn't get enough recognition in the wider world. These are incredible, character-driven stories that are a breeze to read but beneath the surface have so much to say about what's most important in life and the meaning and definition of personal identity. That makes them the perfect intro to sci fi for anyone new to the genre, and a refreshing read for any longtime sci fi fan. 4.25 / 5 stars. The Vorkosigan Saga is a series of 16 books by Lois McMaster Bujold, three of which won the Hugo award in 1991, 1992, and  1995. The Vor Game, Barrayar, Mirror Dance, and the rest of the saga follow the members of the Vorkosigan family, one of the feudal ruling families on the planet Barrayar. The books are digestible and concise by sci fi standards (350-600 pages, 11-18 hours of audiobook). The series is also loosely episodic, so you don't have to read them in order. These are character-driven stories, and you're sure to remember these characters for years. The most important of them, Miles Vorkosigan, is clearly the inspiration for George R.R. Martin's Tyrion Lannister, and is even more likable than the knock-off Lannister version. He's a dwarf who suffers from several physical disabilities, but he's wildly brilliant, funny, and imperious, and is constantly throwing himself into danger to protect his friends and family (or just get himself out of a jam of his own making). Across the generations, the Vorkosigan family are the main advisers to generations of Barrayaran emperors, and have to use their wits and intellect to get the empire out of trouble and slowly push Barrayaran society out of its backward nature. These are books about people, the stories that make them who they are, and how they create and define their identities in an unfriendly universe.

A Canticle for Leibowitz is set in the aftermath of a horrible nuclear war. The survivors blamed science, and killed intellectuals and burned all the books they could get their hands on. A monastery in the desert of the western US is one of the few places on earth to preserve any knowledge, and the book follows the monks of the monastery in three sections over the following thousand years.The monks are witty, wry, and funny as hell, and they make the book into an incredibly fun read.It's an amazing exploration of the nature of knowledge and religion. The book is also an incredible window in the late 50s and early 60s, when nuclear weapons felt very real and we had to begin to come to terms with the horrible weapons we'd invented. That's two for the price of one folks - spend some time in the nuclear wasteland, and spend some time in 1959 too.And, as always, a few related books we love that we recommend: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, The Forever War by Joe Haldeman, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, and Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein (and Heinlein's Double Star too for good measure).

This is a no-spoiler review. In advance of the new Dune movie, we thought it would be fun to revisit Dune and remember what made it great (and the things that aren't so great).The names are incredible - who can forget the Fremen, the Gom Jabbar, or the Reverend Mother? The writing, on the other hand - we wish we could forget the constant repetition, horrific dialogue, and ending that comes so fast it's over before you know it was even really happening.If you haven't the read Dune and want to decide whether to read it - this one's for you. Or, if you want to dig back into the book without re-reading the whole thing - this one's for you too.And, if you like Dune, we also recommend a few related books at the end of the episode: The Void Trilogy, Ender's Game, and The Vorkosigan Saga.