Click table headers to sort.
| # | Author | Book/Topic | Series | SFBRP Rating |
Length | Date | External Links | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 597 | The SFBRP Must-Read Science Fiction List Wrap Show | – | 1:23:24 | Sep 2026 | ||||
| 596 | Iain M Banks | The Player of Games | Culture #2 | 5 | 1:03:56 | Sep 2026 | W | G |
| 595 | Robert A Heinlein | Double Star | 3.5 | 59:55 | Sep 2026 | W | G | |
| 594 | Matt Dinniman | Dungeon Crawler Carl | Dungeon Crawler Carl #1 | 1.5 | 1:08:31 | Aug 2026 | W | G |
| 593 | Douglas Adams | The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy | H2G2 #1 | 2.5 | 1:05:20 | Aug 2026 | W | G |
| 592 | qntm | There Is No Antimemetics Division | 4 | 52:32 | Jul 2026 | W | G | |
| 591 | H G Wells | The War of the Worlds | 4.5 | 47:45 | Jul 2026 | W | G | |
| 590 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | Lives of Bitter Rain and Days of Shattered Faith | Tyrant Philosophers #2.5 & #3 | 4 | 36:34 | Jun 2026 | W | G |
| 589 | Robert A Heinlein | Have Space Suit – Will Travel | 4 | 1:26:37 | May 2026 | W | G | |
| 588 | Silvia Park | Luminous | 5 | 1:15:40 | May 2026 | W | G | |
| 587 | Barbara Truelove | Of Monsters and Mainframes | 1 | 57:38 | Apr 2026 | W | G | |
| 586 | Iain M Banks | Inversions | Culture #5 | 5 | 1:13:19 | Apr 2026 | W | G |
| 585 | Shannon Chakraborty | The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi | Amina al-Sirafi #1 | 0.1/DNF | 35:56 | Apr 2026 | W | G |
| 584 | Alastair Reynolds | Halcyon Years | 2.5 | 23:17 | Mar 2026 | W | G | |
| 583 | Claire North | Slow Gods | 2.5 | 47:30 | Mar 2026 | W | G | |
| 582 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | Shroud | 4.5 | 59:44 | Feb 2026 | W | G | |
| 581 | Neal Stephenson | Anathem | 4.9 | 1:00:04 | Feb 2026 | W | G | |
| 580 | Alix E Harrow | The Everlasting | 1/DNF | 1:10:40 | Jan 2026 | W | G | |
| 579 | Ann Leckie | Ancillary Justice | Imperial Radch #1 | 4 | 47:04 | Jan 2026 | W | G |
| 578 | David Brin | Startide Rising | Uplift Saga #2 | 2 | 31:47 | Dec 2025 | W | G |
| 577 | E J Swift | When There Are Wolves Again | 4.5 | 53:39 | Dec 2025 | W | G | |
| 576 | Derek Künsken | The Quantum Magician | Quantum Evolution #1 | 4.5 | 35:37 | Nov 2025 | W | G |
| 575 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | City of Last Chances and House of Open Wounds | Tyrant Philosophers #1 & #2 | 4.5 | 1:18:28 | Nov 2025 | W | G |
| 574 | Robert Silverberg | A Time of Changes | 2.5 | 32:36 | Nov 2025 | W | G | |
| 573 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | One Day All This Will Be Yours | 4 | 23:10 | Oct 2025 | W | G | |
| 572 | Nnedi Okorafor | Death of the Author | 1/DNF | 1:14:42 | Sep 2025 | W | G | |
| 571 | Becky Chambers | The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet | Wayfarers #1 | 2.5/DNF | 1:16:37 | Sep 2025 | W | G |
| 570 | Stanisław Lem | Solaris | 4.5 | 46:43 | Jul 2025 | W | G | |
| 569 | Kaliane Bradley | The Ministry of Time | 3 | 1:14:32 | Jun 2025 | W | G | |
| 568 | Orson Scott Card | Speaker for the Dead | Ender’s Saga #2 | 4 | 1:09:31 | Jun 2025 | W | G |
| 567 | Emily Tesh | Some Desperate Glory | 1.5 | 1:14:00 | Jun 2025 | W | G | |
| 566 | J R R Tolkien | The Return of the King | The Lord of the Rings #3 | 4.5 | 1:22:58 | May 2025 | W | G |
| 565 | J R R Tolkien | The Two Towers | The Lord of the Rings #2 | 4.5 | 1:25:58 | May 2025 | W | G |
| 564 | J R R Tolkien | The Fellowship of the Ring | The Lord of the Rings #1 | 4.5 | 1:19:17 | May 2025 | W | G |
| 563 | Tolkien | The Silmarillion | 5 | 1:19:02 | Apr 2025 | W | G | |
| 562 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | Alien Clay | 4.5 | 1:05:11 | Mar 2025 | W | G | |
| 561 | Alastair Reynolds | Terminal World | 4 | 59:58 | Mar 2025 | W | G | |
| 560 | David Zindell | Neverness | A Requiem for Homo Sapiens | 4.5 | 55:35 | Feb 2025 | W | G |
| 559 | George R Stewart | Earth Abides | 4.5 | 48:25 | Jan 2025 | W | G | |
| 558 | Micaiah Johnson | Those Beyond the Wall | Space Between Worlds #2 | 0.5/DNF | 44:11 | Jan 2025 | W | G |
| 557 | Dune: Part Two (2024) | Dune #2 | – | 1:02:38 | Dec 2024 | W | I | |
| 556 | Frederik Pohl | Gateway | Heechee Saga #1 | 3 | 1:03:35 | Dec 2024 | W | G |
| 555 | C J Cherryh | Heavy Time | Company Wars #4 | 3.5 | 47:21 | Dec 2024 | W | G |
| 554 | Arkady and Boris Strugatsky | Roadside Picnic | 4 | 50:20 | Nov 2024 | W | G | |
| 553 | Robert A Heinlein | Starship Troopers | 3.5 | 1:00:37 | Nov 2024 | W | G | |
| 552 | Mary Doria Russell | The Sparrow | The Sparrow #1 | 4.5 | 53:14 | Oct 2024 | W | G |
| 551 | Joe Haldeman | The Forever War | Forever War #1 | 2 | 1:16:02 | Sep 2024 | W | G |
| 550 | The SFBRP Must-Read Science Fiction List | – | 1:31:00 | Sep 2024 | ||||
| 549 | Ursula K LeGuin | The Left Hand of Darkness | Hainish Cycle #4 | 4.5 | 35:50 | Aug 2024 | W | G |
| 548 | Ursula K LeGuin | The Eye of the Heron | 3 | 17:32 | Aug 2024 | W | G | |
| 547 | David Brin | Sundiver | Uplift Saga #1 | 2.5 | 40:27 | Jul 2024 | W | G |
| 546 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | Service Model | 3.5 | 37:40 | Jul 2024 | W | G | |
| 545 | Alastair Reynolds | Chasm City | Revelation Space #0.5 | 4.5 | 59:12 | Jul 2024 | W | G |
| 544 | Emma Törzs | Ink Blood Sister Scribe | 2 | 59:00 | Jun 2024 | W | G | |
| 543 | Algis Budrys | Rogue Moon | 1.5 | 25:52 | Jun 2024 | W | G | |
| 542 | Alastair Reynolds | Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days | Revelation Space #1.5 | 3.5 | 18:39 | Jun 2024 | W | G |
| 541 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | The Expert System’s Brother & Champion | Expert System #1 & 2 | 3.75 | 19:37 | May 2024 | W | G |
| 540 | Karin Tidbeck | Amatka | 2.5 | 1:08:48 | Apr 2024 | W | G | |
| 539 | Jacqueline Harpman | I Who Have Never Known Men | 4.5 | 37:15 | Apr 2024 | W | G | |
| 538 | Herman Melville | Moby-Dick | – | 1:09:39 | Mar 2024 | W | G | |
| 537 | Andrew Krivak | The Bear | 2 | 49:35 | Mar 2024 | W | G | |
| 536 | Cormac McCarthy | The Road | 0.5/DNF | 48:49 | Mar 2024 | W | G | |
| 535 | Alexander C Kane | Scum of the Earth | 3.5 | 30:46 | Mar 2024 | W | G | |
| 534 | Alastair Reynolds | Machine Vendetta | Prefect Dreyfus Emergency #3 | 3.5 | 59:37 | Feb 2024 | W | G |
| 533 | Virtual Voice Narration in 2024 | – | 1:30:39 | Feb 2024 | ||||
| 532 | Ursula K LeGuin | Rocannon’s World | Hainish Cycle #1 | 2.5 | 42:55 | Feb 2024 | W | G |
| 531 | M R Carey | Infinity Gate | Pandominion #1 | 1.5 | 55:48 | Jan 2024 | W | G |
| 530 | Sandra Newman | Julia | 1984 | 4 | 59:44 | Dec 2023 | W | G |
| 529 | Martha Wells | System Collapse | Murderbot Diaries #7 | 1 | 50:41 | Dec 2023 | W | G |
| 528 | Ned Beauman | Venomous Lumpsucker | 4 | 59:13 | Dec 2023 | W | G | |
| 527 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | Lords of Uncreation | Final Architecture #3 | 3 | 39:02 | Dec 2023 | W | G |
| 526 | R F Kuang | Babel | 3 | 1:21:35 | Nov 2023 | W | G | |
| 525 | Greg Bear | Eon | The Way #1 | 1 | 44:31 | Oct 2023 | W | G |
| 524 | Ursula K LeGuin | The Unreal and the Real | 4 | 50:39 | Oct 2023 | W | G | |
| 523 | Adam Roberts | The This | 3 | 1:11:02 | Sep 2023 | W | G | |
| 522 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | Eyes of the Void | Final Architecture #2 | 3.5 | 47:59 | Sep 2023 | W | G |
| 521 | Peter F Hamilton | The Naked God | Night’s Dawn #3 | 4 | 1:27:02 | Aug 2023 | W | G |
| 520 | Lessons Learned from SFBRP Listening | Lessons #1 to #25 | – | 1:25:05 | Jul 2023 | |||
| 519 | Simon Jimenez | The Spear Cuts Through Water | 3.5 | 57:00 | Jul 2023 | W | G | |
| 518 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | Shards of Earth | Final Architecture #1 | 4 | 58:50 | Jun 2023 | W | G |
| 517 | K J Parker | A Practical Guide to Conquering the World | Siege #3 | 3.5 | 21:26 | May 2023 | W | G |
| 516 | Ray Nayler | The Mountain in the Sea | 1/DNF | 59:47 | May 2023 | W | G | |
| 515 | Jules Verne | Journey to the Center of the Earth | 2 | 1:06:03 | Apr 2023 | W | G | |
| 514 | Isaac Asimov | The Naked Sun | Robot #2 | 3.5 | 1:11:23 | Apr 2023 | W | G |
| 513 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | Children of Ruin | Children of Time #2 | 4.5 | 21:21 | Apr 2023 | W | G |
| 512 | Peter F Hamilton | The Neutronium Alchemist | Night’s Dawn #2 | 4 | 1:06:08 | Apr 2023 | W | G |
| 511 | Leigh Bardugo | Shadow and Bone | Grishaverse #1 | 2 | 1:04:08 | Mar 2023 | W | G |
| 510 | Audrey Niffenegger | The Time Traveller’s Wife | 1/DNF | 51:34 | Feb 2023 | W | G | |
| 509 | Peter F Hamilton | The Reality Dysfunction | Night’s Dawn #1 | 4 | 50:11 | Feb 2023 | W | G |
| 508 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | Children of Memory | Children of Time #3 | 2 | 59:21 | Jan 2023 | W | G |
| 507 | Ben Bova | Mars | Grand Tour #4 | 0.5 | 49:44 | Jan 2023 | W | G |
| 506 | K J Parker | How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It | Siege #2 | 4 | 20:02 | Jan 2023 | W | G |
| 505 | Emily St John Mandel | Sea of Tranquility | 3 | 1:25:05 | Dec 2022 | W | G | |
| 504 | Ursula K LeGuin | City of Illusions | Hainish Cycle #3 | 2.5 | 43:46 | Dec 2022 | W | G |
| 503 | Ryka Aoki | Light from Uncommon Stars | 1.5 | 48:34 | Dec 2022 | W | G | |
| 502 | Alastair Reynolds | Eversion | 4.5 | 13:02 | Dec 2022 | W | G | |
| 501 | Brandon Sanderson | Rhythm of War | Stormlight Archive #4 | 3.5 | 1:15:33 | Nov 2022 | W | G |
| 500 | Isaac Asimov | It’s Such a Beautiful Day | – | 1:23:42 | Nov 2022 | W | G | |
| 499 | Stanislaw Lem | The Invincible | 3 | 47:15 | Oct 2022 | W | G | |
| 498 | Rebecca Roanhorse | Fevered Star | Between Earth and Sky #2 | 3.5 | 34:55 | Sep 2022 | W | G |
| 497 | Ursula K LeGuin | Planet of Exile | Hainish Cycle #2 | 4.25 | 13:49 | Sep 2022 | W | G |
| 496 | Rebecca Roanhorse | Black Sun | Between Earth and Sky #1 | 3.5 | 1:21:13 | Aug 2022 | W | G |
| 495 | Martha Wells | Network Effect | Murderbot Diaries #5 | 2 | 1:26:05 | Jul 2022 | W | G |
| 494 | Daniel Rigby | Isaac Steele and the Forever Man | 4 | 47:42 | Jul 2022 | W | G | |
| 493 | Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone | This Is How You Lose the Time War | 1/DNF | 18:46 | Jul 2022 | W | G | |
| 492 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | Elder Race | 4 | 14:41 | Jun 2022 | W | G | |
| 491 | George Alec Effinger | A Fire in the Sun | Marid Audran #2 | 4 | 1:09:55 | Jun 2022 | W | G |
| 490 | Becky Chambers | A Psalm for the Wild-Built | Monk and Robot #1 | 5/DNF | 28:12 | May 2022 | W | G |
| 489 | Theodore Sturgeon | More Than Human | 4 | 44:58 | May 2022 | W | G | |
| 488 | Adam Oyebanji | Braking Day | 4 | 1:07:03 | May 2022 | W | G | |
| 487 | Ben Counter | Galaxy in Flames | Horus Heresy #3 | 2.5 | 15:35 | Apr 2022 | W | G |
| 486 | Pierre Boulle | Planet of the Apes | 3.5 | 23:59 | Apr 2022 | W | G | |
| 485 | Emily St John Mandel | Station Eleven | 3 | 35:05 | Mar 2022 | W | G | |
| 484 | Robert Silverberg | Majipoor Chronicles & Valentine Pontifex | Majipoor #2 & 3 | 3.5 | 1:03:39 | Mar 2022 | W | G |
| 483 | K J Parker | Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City | Siege #1 | 3.5 | 48:02 | Feb 2022 | W | G |
| 482 | Lois McMaster Bujold | Mirror Dance | Vorkosigan Saga #8 | 1 | 1:07:23 | Feb 2022 | W | G |
| 481 | Samuel R Delany | Babel-17 | 3 | 1:11:47 | Jan 2022 | W | G | |
| 480 | S B Divya | Machinehood | 2.5 | 1:11:35 | Jan 2022 | W | G | |
| 479 | James White | All Judgment Fled | 3 | 58:48 | Dec 2021 | W | G | |
| 478 | Yoon Ha Lee | Phoenix Extravagant | 1/DNF | 1:08:16 | Dec 2021 | W | G | |
| 477 | Janet Kagan | Hellspark | 1.5/DNF | 45:41 | Dec 2021 | W | G | |
| 476 | Samuel R Delany | The Einstein Intersection | 4.5 | 1:02:17 | Dec 2021 | W | G | |
| 475 | Rosemary Kirstein | The Lost Steersman | Steerswoman #3 | 3.5 | 43:57 | Dec 2021 | W | G |
| 474 | Arkady Martine | A Desolation Called Peace | Teixcalaan #2 | 4 | 53:09 | Dec 2021 | W | G |
| 473 | Derek Künsken | The Quantum War | Quantum Evolution #3 | 2.5 | 48:16 | Nov 2021 | W | G |
| 472 | Alastair Reynolds | Inhibitor Phase | Revelation Space #4 | 4 | 1:06:32 | Nov 2021 | W | G |
| 471 | Dune: Part One (2021) | Dune #1 | – | 49:34 | Nov 2021 | W | I | |
| 470 | Brandon Sanderson | Oathbringer | Stormlight Archive #3 | 3.5 | 1:13:11 | Nov 2021 | W | G |
| 469 | Alastair Reynolds | Absolution Gap | Revelation Space #3 | 4.75 | 59:59 | Oct 2021 | W | G |
| 468 | Fritz Leiber | The Big Time | 2 | 35:12 | Oct 2021 | W | G | |
| 467 | David Brin | The Postman | 3.5 | 56:52 | Oct 2021 | W | G | |
| 466 | Nathan Lowell | Quarter Share | Golden Age of the Solar Clipper #1 | 3 | 54:28 | Sep 2021 | W | G |
| 465 | Susanna Clarke | Piranesi | 4 | 1:16:07 | Aug 2021 | W | G | |
| 464 | Scott Meyer | Grand Theft Astro | 1.5 | 1:10:46 | Aug 2021 | W | G | |
| 463 | Elizabeth Bear | Ancestral Night | White Space #1 | 3 | 44:57 | Aug 2021 | W | G |
| 462 | Neal Asher | Polity Agent | Agent Cormac #4 | 3.75 | 1:00:59 | Aug 2021 | W | G |
| 461 | For All Mankind – Seasons 1 & 2 | – | 1:00:10 | Jul 2021 | W | I | ||
| 460 | David Wellington | The Last Astronaut | 0.5/DNF | 1:25:42 | Jun 2021 | W | G | |
| 459 | Kim Stanley Robinson | Pacific Edge | Three Californias Triptych #3 | 4 | 59:34 | Jun 2021 | W | G |
| 458 | Susanna Clarke | Piranesi | 4 | 49:56 | Jun 2021 | W | G | |
| 457 | Ben Bova | Venus | Grand Tour #18 | 3.5 | 1:19:04 | Jun 2021 | W | G |
| 456 | Andy Weir | Project Hail Mary | 2.5 | 1:16:23 | May 2021 | W | G | |
| 455 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | The Doors of Eden | 3 | 1:08:28 | May 2021 | W | G | |
| 454 | Lois McMaster Bujold | Brothers in Arms | Vorkosigan Saga #5 | 3 | 52:56 | Apr 2021 | W | G |
| 453 | Rosemary Kirstein | The Outskirter’s Secret | Steerswoman #2 | 4 | 59:55 | Apr 2021 | W | G |
| 452 | Rosemary Kirstein | The Steerswoman | Steerswoman #1 | 4 | 43:37 | Apr 2021 | W | G |
| 451 | Kate Hope Day | In the Quick | 0.5 | 1:32:48 | Apr 2021 | W | G | |
| 450 | Subgenres and Expectations | – | 1:40:54 | Apr 2021 | ||||
| 449 | Samuel R Delany | Nova | 3.5 | 1:20:16 | Mar 2021 | W | G | |
| 448 | Kim Stanley Robinson | The Wild Shore | Three Californias Triptych #1 | 5 | 59:53 | Mar 2021 | W | G |
| 447 | Micaiah Johnson | The Space Between Worlds | Space Between Worlds #1 | 4.5 | 1:02:21 | Feb 2021 | W | G |
| 446 | Ann Leckie | The Raven Tower | 3.75 | 1:03:59 | Feb 2021 | W | G | |
| 445 | Lois McMaster Bujold | Borders of Infinity | Vorkosigan Saga #5.1 – 5.3 | 3.5 | 55:23 | Jan 2021 | W | G |
| 444 | Richard Matheson | I Am Legend – The Novel vs The Movie | 4.5 | 1:01:12 | Jan 2021 | W | G | |
| 443 | Megan E O’Keefe | Velocity Weapon | The Protectorate #1 | 3.25 | 58:17 | Jan 2021 | W | G |
| 442 | Ben Bova | New Earth | Grand Tour #21 | 3 | 56:12 | Jan 2021 | W | G |
| 441 | Christopher Brookmyre | Places in the Darkness | 2.5 | 46:07 | Jan 2021 | W | G | |
| 440 | Graham McNeill | False Gods | Horus Heresy #2 | 3.5 | 53:12 | Dec 2020 | W | G |
| 439 | Tenet | – | 54:45 | Dec 2020 | W | I | ||
| 438 | James P Hogan | Inherit the Stars | Giants #1 | 2 | 1:00:45 | Dec 2020 | W | G |
| 437 | Peter F Hamilton | The Saints of Salvation | Salvation Sequence #3 | 5 | 1:16:45 | Nov 2020 | W | G |
| 436 | Gareth L Powell | Fleet of Knives | Embers of War #2 | 2 | 1:03:38 | Nov 2020 | W | G |
| 435 | Lois McMaster Bujold | Ethan of Athos | Vorkosigan Saga #3 | 2 | 48:02 | Nov 2020 | W | G |
| 434 | Ian Tregillis | The Mechanical | Alchemy Wars #1 | 4 | 57:49 | Nov 2020 | W | G |
| 433 | Martha Wells | Network Effect | Murderbot Diaries #5 | 3.5 | 51:24 | Oct 2020 | W | G |
| 432 | Dan Simmons | Hyperion | Hyperion Cantos #1 | 4 | 1:18:10 | Oct 2020 | W | G |
| 431 | Lois McMaster Bujold | Cetaganda | Vorkosigan Saga #9 | 3 | 37:40 | Sep 2020 | W | G |
| 430 | Simon Jimenez | The Vanished Birds | 4 | 55:56 | Sep 2020 | W | G | |
| 429 | Dan Abnett | Horus Rising | Horus Heresy #1 | 4 | 1:13:08 | Sep 2020 | W | G |
| 428 | How and Why We SFBRP | – | 1:21:05 | Aug 2020 | ||||
| 427 | Peter F Hamilton | Salvation Lost | Salvation Sequence #2 | 4.25 | 49:05 | Aug 2020 | W | G |
| 426 | John Scalzi | The Last Emperox | Interdependency #3 | 1 | 1:23:06 | Jul 2020 | W | G |
| 425 | Peter F Hamilton | Salvation | Salvation Sequence #1 | 5 | 1:14:29 | Jul 2020 | W | G |
| 424 | Tamsyn Muir | Gideon the Ninth | The Locked Tomb #1 | 3 | 1:05:26 | Jul 2020 | W | G |
| 423 | Neal Asher | Brass Man | Agent Cormac #3 | 3.75 | 59:58 | Jun 2020 | W | G |
| 422 | Emma Newman | Atlas Alone | Planetfall #4 | 4.5 | 1:32:50 | May 2020 | W | G |
| 421 | Emma Newman | Before Mars | Planetfall #3 | 4.25 | 1:18:49 | Apr 2020 | W | G |
| 420 | Homer and Emily Wilson | The Odyssey | – | 1:19:11 | Mar 2020 | W | G | |
| 419 | Emma Newman | After Atlas | Planetfall #2 | 3.75 | 1:05:58 | Mar 2020 | W | G |
| 418 | Emma Newman | Planetfall | Planetfall #1 | 3.5 | 52:35 | Feb 2020 | W | G |
| 417 | Derek Künsken | The Quantum Garden | Quantum Evolution #2 | 4.5 | 40:04 | Feb 2020 | W | G |
| 416 | Kameron Hurley | The Light Brigade | 5 | 1:08:11 | Jan 2020 | W | G | |
| 415 | Tade Thompson | The Rosewater Insurrection and The Rosewater Redemption | Wormwood #2 and 3 | 4 | 56:01 | Dec 2019 | W | G |
| 414 | Sue Burke | Interference | Semiosis Duology #2 | 2.5 | 46:07 | Dec 2019 | W | G |
| 413 | Arkady Martine | A Memory Called Empire | Teixcalaan #1 | 4 | 29:20 | Nov 2019 | W | G |
| 412 | Vernor Vinge | A Deepness in the Sky | Zones of Thought #2 | 3 | 1:20:12 | Nov 2019 | W | G |
| 411 | The Adventure Zone | Amnesty | – | 1:25:19 | Nov 2019 | W | G | |
| 410 | Blake Crouch | Recursion | 2.5 | 1:17:12 | Oct 2019 | W | G | |
| 409 | Sue Burke | Semiosis | Semiosis Duology #1 | 4 | 36:38 | Oct 2019 | W | G |
| 408 | Michel Faber | Under the Skin | 4 | 59:53 | Sep 2019 | W | G | |
| 407 | Gareth L Powell | Embers of War | Embers of War #1 | 3 | 29:16 | Sep 2019 | W | G |
| 406 | Martha Wells | Artificial Condition | Murderbot Diaries #2 | 2 | 10:41 | Aug 2019 | W | G |
| 405 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | Children of Ruin | Children of Time #2 | 4.5 | 44:29 | Aug 2019 | W | G |
| 404 | Neal Asher | The Line of Polity | Agent Cormac #2 | 4 | 52:04 | Jul 2019 | W | G |
| 403 | John Scalzi | The Consuming Fire | Interdependency #2 | 3 | 1:04:48 | Jun 2019 | W | G |
| 402 | Sam J Miller | Blackfish City | 3.25 | 49:56 | Jun 2019 | W | G | |
| 401 | Becky Chambers | Record of a Spaceborn Few | Wayfarers #3 | 2/DNF | 59:39 | May 2019 | W | G |
| 400 | Living Our Best Science Fiction Lives | – | 1:18:21 | May 2019 | ||||
| 399 | Dennis E Taylor | Outland | Quantum Earth #1 | 2.5 | 1:08:53 | May 2019 | W | G |
| 398 | Claire North | The Sudden Appearance of Hope | 4 | 55:13 | May 2019 | W | G | |
| 397 | Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 3 – Infinity War and Endgame | Marvel Cinematic Universe #3 | – | 1:12:27 | May 2019 | W | I | |
| 396 | Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 3 – Civil War to Captain Marvel | Marvel Cinematic Universe #3 | – | 1:14:21 | May 2019 | W | I | |
| 395 | Stanislaw Lem | His Master’s Voice | 4 | 49:01 | Apr 2019 | W | G | |
| 394 | Kameron Hurley | The Light Brigade | 5 | 1:02:12 | Apr 2019 | W | G | |
| 393 | Julian May | The Many-Colored Land | Saga of the Pliocene Exile #1 | 3 | 51:28 | Apr 2019 | W | G |
| 392 | Alastair Reynolds | Revenger | Revenger #1 | 3 | 28:48 | Mar 2019 | W | G |
| 391 | Robert Dickinson | The Tourist | 4.5 | 58:26 | Mar 2019 | W | G | |
| 390 | Iain M Banks | Against a Dark Background | 2.5 | 50:03 | Mar 2019 | W | G | |
| 389 | Derek Künsken | The Quantum Magician | Quantum Evolution #1 | 4.5 | 48:43 | Feb 2019 | W | G |
| 388 | Richard K Morgan | Thin Air | 3.5 | 47:04 | Jan 2019 | W | G | |
| 387 | The Fast and the Furious Marathon | Fast and Furious #1-8 | – | 1:17:36 | Dec 2018 | W | I | |
| 386 | Tade Thompson | Rosewater | Wormwood #1 | 4 | 41:10 | Dec 2018 | W | G |
| 385 | Mary Robinette Kowal | The Calculating Stars | Lady Astronaut #1 | 0.5 | 1:28:22 | Nov 2018 | W | G |
| 384 | Madeleine L’Engle | A Wrinkle in Time | Time Quintet #1 | 1.5 | 1:18:35 | Nov 2018 | W | G |
| 383 | C J Cherryh | Cyteen | 3.5 | 1:03:44 | Nov 2018 | W | G | |
| 382 | Kim Stanley Robinson | Red Mars | Mars Trilogy #1 | 4.5 | 1:28:49 | Oct 2018 | W | G |
| 381 | Maureen F McHugh | China Mountain Zhang | 4.5 | 39:36 | Oct 2018 | W | G | |
| 380 | Michael J Sullivan | Rise of Empire | Riyria Revelations #3 & 4 | 3.5 | 21:57 | Sep 2018 | W | G |
| 379 | Arthur C Clarke | 2001: A Space Odyssey – The Novel vs The Movie | Space Odyssey #1 | 4 | 1:06:57 | Sep 2018 | W | G |
| 378 | Scott Hawkins | The Library at Mount Char | 4.5 | 33:11 | Aug 2018 | W | G | |
| 377 | Neal Asher | Gridlinked | Agent Cormac #1 | 3.5 | 29:34 | Aug 2018 | W | G |
| 376 | Yoon Ha Lee | Revenant Gun | Machineries of Empire #3 | 3 | 56:02 | Aug 2018 | W | G |
| 375 | Clifford D Simak | City | 3.5 | 22:15 | Aug 2018 | W | G | |
| 374 | Patricia A McKillip | Harpist in the Wind | Riddle-Master #3 | 4 | 22:39 | Aug 2018 | W | G |
| 373 | Martha Wells | All Systems Red | Murderbot Diaries #1 | 3.75 | 50:02 | Jul 2018 | W | G |
| 372 | Neal Asher | Prador Moon | Polity #1 | 3 | 30:18 | Jul 2018 | W | G |
| 371 | Peter Watts | The Freeze-Frame Revolution | Sunflowers | 4.5 | 1:18:25 | Jun 2018 | W | G |
| 370 | Greg Egan | Diaspora | 5 | 27:19 | Jun 2018 | W | G | |
| 369 | Patricia A McKillip | Heir of Sea and Fire | Riddle-Master #2 | 4 | 15:48 | May 2018 | W | G |
| 368 | John Scalzi | The Collapsing Empire | Interdependency #1 | 3 | 29:54 | May 2018 | W | G |
| 367 | William Gibson | Pattern Recognition | Blue Ant #1 | 3 | 46:10 | May 2018 | W | G |
| 366 | C J Cherryh | Downbelow Station | Company Wars #1 | 2.5 | 56:42 | May 2018 | W | G |
| 365 | Joan D Vinge | The Snow Queen | 2 | 36:56 | Apr 2018 | W | G | |
| 364 | Vernor Vinge | Marooned in Realtime | Across Realtime #2 | 3 | 31:32 | Mar 2018 | W | G |
| 363 | Patricia A McKillip | The Riddle-Master of Hed | Riddle-Master #1 | 4 | 27:29 | Mar 2018 | W | G |
| 362 | Annihilation – The Novel vs The Movie | Southern Reach #1 | – | 53:53 | Mar 2018 | W | I | |
| 361 | Altered Carbon – The Novel vs The Netflix Show | Takeshi Kovacs #1 | – | 1:23:10 | Feb 2018 | W | I | |
| 360 | Ada Palmer | The Will to Battle | Terra Ignota #3 | 2 | 20:24 | Feb 2018 | W | G |
| 359 | Alastair Reynolds | Elysium Fire | Prefect Dreyfus Emergency #2 | 4 | 40:11 | Feb 2018 | W | G |
| 358 | Andy Weir | Artemis | 3.75 | 1:05:47 | Jan 2018 | W | G | |
| 357 | Steven Erikson | Memories of Ice | Malazan Book of the Fallen #3 | 4.5 | 35:36 | Jan 2018 | W | G |
| 356 | Neal Asher | Orbus | Spatterjay #3 | 3.5 | 18:28 | Jan 2018 | W | G |
| 355 | Peter Clines | Paradox Bound | 1.5/DNF | 25:31 | Dec 2017 | W | G | |
| 354 | Isaac Asimov | The Caves of Steel | Robot #1 | 4.5 | 55:50 | Dec 2017 | W | G |
| 353 | N K Jemisin | The Killing Moon | Dreamblood #1 | 3 | 26:52 | Dec 2017 | W | G |
| 352 | Ann Leckie | Provenance | 1 | 1:03:36 | Nov 2017 | W | G | |
| 351 | A Lee Martinez | Emperor Mollusk versus The Sinister Brain | 3.5 | 20:10 | Nov 2017 | W | G | |
| 350 | Equal Gender Representation In Science Fiction Reading Habits | – | 59:59 | Nov 2017 | ||||
| 349 | Carolyn Ives Gilman | Dark Orbit | Twenty Planets | 3.5 | 21:00 | Nov 2017 | W | G |
| 348 | Annalee Newitz | Autonomous | 2 | 1:10:00 | Nov 2017 | W | G | |
| 347 | R Scott Bakker | The Unholy Consult | Aspect-Emperor #4 | 2.5 | 28:45 | Oct 2017 | W | G |
| 346 | Mur Lafferty | Six Wakes | 3.5 | 21:35 | Oct 2017 | W | G | |
| 345 | M R Carey | The Girl with all the Gifts | The Girl with all the Gifts #1 | 3 | 15:20 | Sep 2017 | W | G |
| 344 | Ada Palmer | Seven Surrenders | Terra Ignota #2 | 4.5 | 34:35 | Sep 2017 | W | G |
| 343 | N K Jemisin | The Stone Sky | The Broken Earth #3 | 2 | 53:15 | Sep 2017 | W | G |
| 342 | Ada Palmer | Too Like the Lightning | Terra Ignota #1 | 4.5 | 40:15 | Aug 2017 | W | G |
| 341 | The Adventure Zone | The Balance Arc | – | 35:05 | Aug 2017 | W | G | |
| 340 | Yoon Ha Lee | Raven Stratagem | Machineries of Empire #2 | 2.5 | 45:55 | Aug 2017 | W | G |
| 339 | Dan Moren | The Caledonian Gambit | 4 | 27:05 | Aug 2017 | W | G | |
| 338 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | Children of Time | Children of Time #1 | 4 | 26:55 | Jul 2017 | W | G |
| 337 | Kameron Hurley | The Stars Are Legion | 3 | 28:15 | Jul 2017 | W | G | |
| 336 | Arrival | – | 1:33:40 | Jun 2017 | W | I | ||
| 335 | Peter Watts | Blindsight | Firefall #1 | 4.25 | 1:32:55 | Jun 2017 | W | G |
| 334 | Stephen King as Richard Bachman | The Running Man | 4 | 31:04 | Jun 2017 | W | G | |
| 333 | Yoon Ha Lee | Ninefox Gambit | Machineries of Empire #1 | 4.5 | 1:29:55 | May 2017 | W | G |
| 332 | Sylvain Neuvel | Sleeping Giants | Themis Files #1 | 1.5 | 31:50 | May 2017 | W | G |
| 331 | Neil Gaiman | Anansi Boys | American Gods #2 | 3 | 59:00 | May 2017 | W | G |
| 330 | Mishell Baker | Borderline | Arcadia Project #1 | 2.5 | 25:00 | Apr 2017 | W | G |
| 329 | Fran Wilde | Updraft | Bone Universe #1 | 2 | 38:35 | Apr 2017 | W | G |
| 328 | Alastair Reynolds | Poseidon’s Wake | Poseidon’s Children #3 | 3.5 | 38:25 | Apr 2017 | W | G |
| 327 | Ken Grimwood | Replay | 2.5 | 1:30:20 | Mar 2017 | W | G | |
| 326 | Margaret Atwood | MaddAddam | MaddAddam #3 | 2.5 | 28:50 | Mar 2017 | W | G |
| 325 | Peter F Hamilton | A Night Without Stars | Commonwealth: Chronicle of the Fallers #2 | 4 | 36:15 | Feb 2017 | W | G |
| 324 | Charlie Jane Anders | All the Birds in the Sky | 2.5 | 1:12:55 | Jan 2017 | W | G | |
| 323 | Margaret Atwood | The Year of the Flood | MaddAddam #2 | 4.5 | 41:40 | Jan 2017 | W | G |
| 322 | Becky Chambers | A Closed and Common Orbit | Wayfarers #2 | 2.5 | 59:05 | Jan 2017 | W | G |
| 321 | Rogue One | Star Wars #3.5 | – | 30:53 | Dec 2016 | W | I | |
| 319 | Dennis E Taylor | We Are Legion (We Are Bob) | Bobiverse #1 | 2 | 40:45 | Dec 2016 | W | G |
| 320 | Yoon Ha Lee | Ninefox Gambit | Machineries of Empire #1 | 5 | 40:35 | Dec 2016 | W | G |
| 318 | Nnedi Okorafor | The Book of Phoenix | Who Fears Death #0.1 | 4 | 25:25 | Dec 2016 | W | G |
| 317 | Marvel Cinematic Universe – Phase 2 | Marvel Cinematic Universe | – | 1:40:10 | Dec 2016 | W | I | |
| 316 | Marvel Cinematic Universe – Phase 1 | Marvel Cinematic Universe | – | 1:01:45 | Nov 2016 | W | I | |
| 315 | Yevgeny Zamyatin | We | 3.5 | 27:00 | Nov 2016 | W | G | |
| 314 | Nnedi Okorafor | Who Fears Death | Who Fears Death #1 | 4 | 34:10 | Nov 2016 | W | G |
| 313 | N K Jemisin | The Obelisk Gate | The Broken Earth #2 | 2 | 49:05 | Sep 2016 | W | G |
| 312 | Keith Roberts | Pavane | 4.5 | 58:55 | Sep 2016 | W | G | |
| 311 | N K Jemisin | The Fifth Season | The Broken Earth #1 | 4 | 38:10 | Aug 2016 | W | G |
| 310 | R Scott Bakker | The Great Ordeal | Aspect-Emperor #3 | 2.5 | 35:20 | Aug 2016 | W | G |
| 309 | R Scott Bakker | The White-Luck Warrior | Aspect-Emperor #2 | 4.5 | 28:00 | Jul 2016 | W | G |
| 308 | R Scott Bakker | The Judging Eye | Aspect-Emperor #1 | 3.5 | 16:00 | Jul 2016 | W | G |
| 307 | Helene Wecker | The Golem and the Jinni | 3.5 | 25:50 | Jun 2016 | W | G | |
| 306 | Eric James Stone | Unforgettable | 3.5 | 30:05 | Jun 2016 | W | G | |
| 305 | Becky Chambers | The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet | Wayfarers #1 | 2.5 | 35:55 | May 2016 | W | G |
| 304 | Mary Doria Russell | Children of God | Sparrow #2 | 3 | 31:15 | May 2016 | W | G |
| 303 | Alastair Reynolds | Redemption Ark | Revelation Space #2 | 4.5 | 1:20:55 | Apr 2016 | W | G |
| 302 | Robert J Sawyer | Quantum Night | 0.5 | 1:54:40 | Mar 2016 | W | G | |
| 301 | Jack Vance | The Dying Earth | Dying Earth #1 | 4 | 26:00 | Mar 2016 | W | G |
| 300 | 300 SFBRP Episodes | – | 2:10:50 | Feb 2016 | ||||
| 299 | Ann Leckie | Ancillary Mercy | Imperial Radch #3 | 4 | 32:45 | Feb 2016 | W | G |
| 298 | Scott Sigler | The Starter | Galactic Football League #2 | 3.5 | 33:30 | Feb 2016 | W | G |
| 297 | Mary Doria Russell | The Sparrow | Sparrow #1 | 5 | 50:30 | Jan 2016 | W | G |
| 296 | Peter V Brett | The Warded Man | Demon Cycle #1 | 2.5 | 40:05 | Jan 2016 | W | G |
| 295 | Roger Zelazny | Nine Princes in Amber | The Chronicles of Amber #1 | 2.5 | 27:50 | Jan 2016 | W | G |
| 294 | Elizabeth Moon | Trading in Danger | Vatta’s War #1 | 1.75 | 51:05 | Dec 2015 | W | G |
| 293 | The Mission Impossible Marathon | Mission Impossible #1 – 5 | – | 1:08:15 | Dec 2015 | W | I | |
| 292 | The Force Awakens | Star Wars #7 | – | 1:49:35 | Dec 2015 | W | I | |
| 291 | Octavia E Butler | Dawn | Xenogenesis #1 | 2.5 | 21:15 | Dec 2015 | W | G |
| 290 | Steven Erikson | Deadhouse Gates | Malazan Book of the Fallen #2 | 4 | 50:05 | Dec 2015 | W | G |
| 289 | Ann Leckie | Ancillary Sword | Imperial Radch #2 | 3.5 | 34:55 | Nov 2015 | W | G |
| 288 | Claire North | The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August | 3.5 | 43:15 | Oct 2015 | W | G | |
| 287 | Kim Stanley Robinson | Aurora | 4 | 1:17:45 | Oct 2015 | W | G | |
| 286 | The Martian – The Novel vs The Movie | – | 1:05:40 | Oct 2015 | W | I | ||
| 285 | Tim Powers | The Anubis Gates | 2.5/DNF | 40:15 | Oct 2015 | W | G | |
| 284 | Michael Crichton | Jurassic Park | 2 | 54:55 | Oct 2015 | W | G | |
| 283 | Adam Roberts | Twenty Trillion Leagues Under The Sea | 3.5 | 29:55 | Oct 2015 | W | G | |
| 282 | Neil Gaiman | The Sandman | 4.5 | 48:10 | Sep 2015 | W | G | |
| 281 | Tad Williams | City of Golden Shadow | Otherland #1 | 4.25 | 1:03:10 | Aug 2015 | W | G |
| 280 | Grant Naylor | Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers | Red Dwarf #1 | 4.5 | 44:10 | Aug 2015 | W | G |
| 279 | Neal Stephenson | Seveneves | 1.5/DNF | 1:11:35 | Aug 2015 | W | G | |
| 278 | Jeff VanderMeer | Acceptance | Southern Reach #3 | 4 | 36:40 | Jul 2015 | W | G |
| 277 | Jeff VanderMeer | Authority | Southern Reach #2 | 4 | 32:10 | Jul 2015 | W | G |
| 276 | Katherine Addison | The Goblin Emperor | 2 | 1:00:20 | Jun 2015 | W | G | |
| 275 | Alastair Reynolds | Slow Bullets | 3 | 44:25 | Jun 2015 | W | G | |
| 274 | James Tiptree Jr | Her Smoke Rose Up Forever | 5 | 1:30:10 | Jun 2015 | W | G | |
| 273 | Ian McDonald | Desolation Road | -/DNF | 29:50 | Jun 2015 | W | G | |
| 272 | Greg Egan | Permutation City | Subjective Cosmology #2 | 3 | 29:35 | May 2015 | W | G |
| 271 | Luke Burrage | Minding Tomorrow | Minding Tomorrow #1 | 4.5 | 1:31:30 | May 2015 | W | G |
| 270 | R Scott Bakker | The Thousandfold Thought | Prince of Nothing #3 | 2 | 33:33 | Apr 2015 | W | G |
| 269 | R Scott Bakker | The Warrior Prophet | Prince of Nothing #2 | 4.5 | 33:05 | Apr 2015 | W | G |
| 268 | Iain M Banks | Culture series read-through wrap-up | Culture | 5 | 59:50 | Mar 2015 | W | G |
| 267 | James S A Corey | Leviathan Wakes | Expanse #1 | 2.75 | 1:22:20 | Mar 2015 | W | G |
| 266 | R Scott Bakker | The Darkness That Comes Before | Prince of Nothing #1 | 4.5 | 46:00 | Feb 2015 | W | G |
| 265 | William Hertling | Avogadro Corp | Singularity #1 | 2 | 39:15 | Feb 2015 | W | G |
| 264 | Perry Rhodan | Enterprise Stardust | Perry Rhodan #1 | 2 | 59:55 | Feb 2015 | W | G |
| 263 | Iain M Banks | Look to Windward | Culture #7 | 4.75 | 1:03:15 | Feb 2015 | W | G |
| 262 | Liu Cixin | The Three-Body Problem | Remembrance of Earth’s Past #1 | 1.5 | 56:45 | Jan 2015 | W | G |
| 261 | Neal Asher | The Voyage of the Sable Keech | Spatterjay #2 | 3 | 24:55 | Jan 2015 | W | G |
| 260 | Iain M Banks | The Hydrogen Sonata | Culture #10 | 4.25 | 1:13:05 | Dec 2014 | W | G |
| 259 | Brandon Sanderson | Words of Radiance | Stormlight Archive #2 | 3 | 1:03:15 | Dec 2014 | W | G |
| 258 | Nancy Kress | Beggars in Spain | Sleepless #1 | 2/DNF | 29:55 | Nov 2014 | W | G |
| 257 | Interstellar | – | 48:55 | Nov 2014 | W | I | ||
| 256 | Peter F Hamilton | Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained | Commonwealth Saga #1 & 2 | 4 | 53:15 | Nov 2014 | W | G |
| 255 | Ernest Cline | Ready Player One | 2.25 | 1:19:10 | Nov 2014 | W | G | |
| 254 | Peter F Hamilton | The Abyss Beyond Dreams | Commonwealth: Chronicle of the Fallers #1 | 3.5 | 39:35 | Oct 2014 | W | G |
| 253 | Jeff VanderMeer | Annihilation | Southern Reach #1 | 4 | 26:10 | Oct 2014 | W | G |
| 252 | The Hugulas – Every novel that won both a Hugo and Nebula | – | 46:20 | Oct 2014 | ||||
| 251 | Tobias S Buckell | Hurricane Fever | Arctic Rising #2 | 2.5 | 25:30 | Oct 2014 | W | G |
| 250 | Listener Suggestions for the Special 250th Episode | – | 1:42:20 | Oct 2014 | ||||
| 249 | Connie Willis | Blackout and All Clear | Blackout #1 & 2 | -/DNF | 13:50 | Oct 2014 | W | G |
| 248 | Michael Chabon | The Yiddish Policemen’s Union | -/DNF | 24:15 | Oct 2014 | W | G | |
| 247 | Isaac Asimov | The Gods Themselves | 3.5 | 37:15 | Sep 2014 | W | G | |
| 246 | Connie Willis | Doomsday Book | 0.1/DNF | 56:25 | Sep 2014 | W | G | |
| 245 | Peter Watts | Echopraxia | Firefall #2 | 4.5 | 39:05 | Sep 2014 | W | G |
| 244 | Orson Scott Card | Speaker for the Dead | Ender’s Saga #2 | 4 | 1:00:00 | Sep 2014 | W | G |
| 243 | John Steakley | Armor | 1.5 | 40:55 | Sep 2014 | W | G | |
| 242 | Iain M Banks | Surface Detail | Culture #9 | 4.25 | 1:10:15 | Aug 2014 | W | G |
| 241 | Arthur C Clarke | The Fountains of Paradise | 4 | 50:00 | Jul 2014 | W | G | |
| 240 | Lois McMaster Bujold | Paladin of Souls | World of the Five Gods #3 | 2 | 1:05:50 | Jul 2014 | W | G |
| 239 | Joe Haldeman | Forever Peace | Forever War #2 | 1.5 | 55:55 | Jul 2014 | W | G |
| 238 | David Brin | Startide Rising | Uplift Saga #2 | 4 | 39:35 | Jul 2014 | W | G |
| 237 | Larry Niven | Ringworld | Ringworld #1 | 2 | 1:03:21 | Jun 2014 | W | G |
| 236 | Guy Gavriel Kay | A Song for Arbonne | 4 | 1:07:35 | Jun 2014 | W | G | |
| 235 | Neil Gaiman | American Gods | American Gods #1 | 1.5/DNF | 35:45 | Jun 2014 | W | G |
| 234 | Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons | Watchmen | 4 | 1:21:25 | May 2014 | W | G | |
| 233 | Lois McMaster Bujold | The Curse of Chalion | World of the Five Gods #2 | 1 | 1:18:20 | May 2014 | W | G |
| 232 | Iain M Banks | Matter | Culture #8 | 4 | 1:00:25 | May 2014 | W | G |
| 231 | Orson Scott Card | Ender’s Game Shadow Alive Movie | Ender’s Saga | – | 1:22:50 | Apr 2014 | W | G |
| 230 | Jo Walton | Among Others | 0.5/DNF | 41:30 | Apr 2014 | W | G | |
| 229 | Vonda N McIntyre | Dreamsnake | 3.5 | 35:05 | Apr 2014 | W | G | |
| 228 | Spoilers | – | 59:00 | Apr 2014 | ||||
| 227 | Rudy Rucker | Software and Wetware | Ware Tetralogy #1 & 2 | 1.5 | 42:05 | Apr 2014 | W | G |
| 226 | Alexander Peachock | We Have Seen Better Days | 2.75 | 35:15 | Apr 2014 | W | G | |
| 225 | Hugh Howey | Dust | Silo #3 | 1 | 42:15 | Mar 2014 | W | G |
| 224 | Iain M Banks | Inversions | Culture #6 | 5 | 1:16:20 | Mar 2014 | W | G |
| 223 | Robert A Heinlein | Have Space Suit – Will Travel | 4 | 1:18:00 | Mar 2014 | W | G | |
| 222 | Daniel Keyes | Flowers for Algernon | 4.75 | 1:24:25 | Mar 2014 | W | G | |
| 221 | Iain M Banks | The State of the Art | Culture #4 | 3.5 | 1:05:35 | Feb 2014 | W | G |
| 220 | Clifford D Simak | Way Station | 4 | 30:50 | Feb 2014 | W | G | |
| 219 | Christopher Priest | The Inverted World | 3 | 38:45 | Feb 2014 | W | G | |
| 218 | Ann Leckie | Ancillary Justice | Imperial Radch #1 | 3.5 | 58:15 | Feb 2014 | W | G |
| 217 | Jason M Hough | The Plague Forge and the Dire Earth Cycle | Dire Earth Cycle #3 | 4 | 55:35 | Jan 2014 | W | G |
| 216 | Walter M Miller Jr | A Canticle for Leibowitz | 3.5 | 1:17:25 | Jan 2014 | W | G | |
| 215 | Jason M Hough | The Exodus Towers | Dire Earth Cycle #2 | 3.5 | 25:45 | Jan 2014 | W | G |
| 214 | Alastair Reynolds | On the Steel Breeze | Poseidon’s Children #2 | 3 | 40:20 | Jan 2014 | W | G |
| 213 | Iain M Banks | Use of Weapons | Culture #3 | 4.75 | 1:20:25 | Jan 2014 | W | G |
| 212 | Andy Weir | The Martian | 5 | 1:08:10 | Jan 2014 | W | G | |
| 211 | David Mitchell | Cloud Atlas | 4.5 | 1:29:35 | Dec 2013 | W | G | |
| 210 | Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples | Saga volume 1 and volume 2 | Saga #1 & 2 | – | 42:10 | Dec 2013 | W | G |
| 209 | Iain M Banks | Excession | Culture #5 | 3.5 | 1:13:10 | Nov 2013 | W | G |
| 208 | Jason M Hough | The Darwin Elevator | Dire Earth Cycle #1 | 3.5 | 38:50 | Nov 2013 | W | G |
| 207 | Scott Lynch | Red Seas Under Red Skies | Gentleman Bastard #2 | 2 | 45:25 | Oct 2013 | W | G |
| 206 | Neal Asher | The Skinner | Spatterjay #1 | 3.5 | 49:35 | Oct 2013 | W | G |
| 205 | Alastair Reynolds | The Prefect | Prefect Dreyfus Emergency #1 | 4.75 | 1:01:15 | Oct 2013 | W | G |
| 204 | Iain M Banks | Consider Phlebas | Culture #1 | 3.25 | 1:04:20 | Sep 2013 | W | G |
| 203 | Joe Abercrombie | Last Argument of Kings | First Law Trilogy #3 | 3 | 49:05 | Sep 2013 | W | G |
| 202 | Iain M Banks | The Player of Games | Culture #2 | 5 | 1:13:35 | Aug 2013 | W | G |
| 201 | Iain M Banks | Culture series introduction | Culture | – | 35:20 | Aug 2013 | W | G |
| 200 | Top Science Fiction Novels and Series | – | 1:37:15 | Aug 2013 | ||||
| 199 | Joe Abercrombie | Before They Are Hanged | First Law Trilogy #2 | 3 | 39:25 | Aug 2013 | W | G |
| 197 | Lois McMaster Bujold | The Vor Game | Vorkosigan Saga #6 | 1.75 | 1:27:55 | Aug 2013 | W | G |
| 198 | Philip K Dick | Galactic Pot-Healer | 3.5 | 39:25 | Jul 2013 | W | G | |
| 196 | Hannu Rajaniemi | The Quantum Thief | Jean le Flambeur #1 | 3.5 | 59:59 | Jul 2013 | W | G |
| 195.5 | Independence Day | – | 27:30 | Jun 2013 | W | I | ||
| 195 | Lois McMaster Bujold | The Warrior’s Apprentice | Vorkosigan Saga #2 | 2.75 | 1:25:15 | Jun 2013 | W | G |
| 194 | Alastair Reynolds | Pushing Ice | 3 | 37:55 | Jun 2013 | W | G | |
| 193 | Lois McMaster Bujold | Barrayar | Vorkosigan Saga #7 | 3 | 48:15 | Jun 2013 | W | G |
| 192 | Arthur C Clarke | Rendezvous with Rama | Rama #1 | 3.5 | 1:04:05 | May 2013 | W | G |
| 191 | Hugh Howey | Shift Omnibus | Silo #2 | 3 | 48:40 | May 2013 | W | G |
| 190 | Steven Erikson | Gardens of the Moon | Malazan Book of the Fallen #1 | 3 | 52:45 | May 2013 | W | G |
| 189 | Scott Meyer | Off To Be The Wizard | Magic 2.0 #1 | 2 | 48:15 | May 2013 | W | G |
| 188 | Stanislaw Lem | Solaris – The Novel vs The Movies vs The Audio Drama | 4.5 | 1:36:30 | Apr 2013 | W | G | |
| 187 | Lois McMaster Bujold | Shards of Honor | Vorkosigan Saga #1 | 4 | 51:20 | Apr 2013 | W | G |
| 186 | Harry Turtledove | Worldwar – In The Balance | Worldwar #1 | 4 | 1:04:10 | Apr 2013 | W | G |
| 185 | Peter F Hamilton | Manhattan In Reverse | – | 34:10 | Apr 2013 | W | G | |
| 184 | Yahtzee Croshaw | Mogworld | 3 | 46:45 | Apr 2013 | W | G | |
| 183 | John Wyndham | The Day of the Triffids | 4.5 | 1:09:03 | Apr 2013 | W | G | |
| 182 | Lois McMaster Bujold | Falling Free | Vorkosigan Saga #4 | 3.5 | 43:05 | Mar 2013 | W | G |
| 181 | J R R Tolkien | The Hobbit | 4 | 1:12:10 | Mar 2013 | W | G | |
| 180 | Philip K Dick | The Man in the High Castle | 5 | 1:40:50 | Feb 2013 | W | G | |
| 179 | Michael J Sullivan | Theft of Swords | Riyria Revelations #1 & 2 | 3.5 | 30:40 | Jan 2013 | W | G |
| 178 | Peter F Hamilton | Great North Road | 4.5 | 1:00:55 | Jan 2013 | W | G | |
| 177 | Christopher Priest | The Prestige | 5 | 1:04:00 | Dec 2012 | W | G | |
| 176 | David Brin | Kiln People | 3.5 | 44:30 | Dec 2012 | W | G | |
| 175 | Shlok Vaidya | The Rise of Siri | 3 | 46:30 | Dec 2012 | W | G | |
| 174 | Frank Herbert | Dune | Dune Saga #1 | 4.5 | 1:39:50 | Dec 2012 | W | G |
| 173 | Philip K Dick | The Simulacra | 4 | 38:35 | Dec 2012 | W | G | |
| 172 | Iain M Banks | The Hydrogen Sonata | Culture #10 | 4 | 1:15:20 | Nov 2012 | W | G |
| 171 | Robert A Heinlein | Space Cadet | 3.5 | 51:55 | Oct 2012 | W | G | |
| 170 | H Beam Piper | Little Fuzzy | 2.5 | 30:35 | Oct 2012 | W | G | |
| 169 | Caitlin Sweet | Pattern Scars | 4 | 39:00 | Sep 2012 | W | G | |
| 168 | Dan Simmons | Hyperion | Hyperion Cantos #1 | 4 | 1:13:20 | Sep 2012 | W | G |
| 167 | Gene Wolfe | Book of the New Sun series | Book of the New Sun #4 & 5 | 3 | 51:30 | Aug 2012 | W | G |
| 166 | Hugh Howey | Wool Omnibus | Silo #1 | 4.5 | 39:50 | Aug 2012 | W | G |
| 165 | Alan Dean Foster | Splinter of the Mind’s Eye | Star Wars | 1.5 | 34:10 | Aug 2012 | W | G |
| 164 | Brandon Sanderson | The Alloy of Law | Mistborn #4 | 4 | 41:55 | Jul 2012 | W | G |
| 163 | Andrew Eckhart | Last Mage | 3.5 | 34:55 | Jul 2012 | W | G | |
| 162 | John Scalzi | Redshirts | 2 | 1:12:20 | Jun 2012 | W | G | |
| 161 | Sergey and Marina Dyachenko | The Scar | 4.9 | 50:45 | Jun 2012 | W | G | |
| 160 | Stephen King | The Stand | 3.5 | 51:40 | Jun 2012 | W | G | |
| 159 | Brandon Sanderson | The Way of Kings | Stormlight Archive #1 | 3.5 | 1:32:20 | May 2012 | W | G |
| 158 | Alastair Reynolds | Chasm City | Revelation Space #0.5 | 4 | 42:45 | Apr 2012 | W | G |
| 157 | Lauren Beukes | Zoo City | 4 | 43:45 | Apr 2012 | W | G | |
| 156 | N K Jemisin | The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms | Inheritance Trilogy #1 | 2 | 1:01:25 | Apr 2012 | W | G |
| 155 | Alastair Reynolds | Blue Remembered Earth | Poseidon’s Children #1 | 3.5 | 47:55 | Mar 2012 | W | G |
| 154 | Ted Chiang | Stories of Your Life and Others | – | 1:03:00 | Feb 2012 | W | G | |
| 153 | Tobias S Buckell | Arctic Rising | Arctic Rising #1 | 3.5 | 1:26:10 | Feb 2012 | W | G |
| 152 | Isaac Asimov | The End of Eternity | 3.5 | 1:05:10 | Jan 2012 | W | G | |
| 151 | Mark Twain | A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court | 4 | 53:20 | Jan 2012 | W | G | |
| 150 | Reading Novels | – | 1:15:55 | Jan 2012 | ||||
| 149 | Vernor Vinge | The Children of the Sky | Zones of Thought #3 | 2 | 1:07:30 | Jan 2012 | W | G |
| 148 | Roger Zelazny | Lord of Light | 4.5 | 46:05 | Jan 2012 | W | G | |
| 147 | David Weber | On Basilisk Station | Honor Harrington #1 | 1 | 1:12:35 | Dec 2011 | W | G |
| 146 | Larry Niven | Destiny’s Road | 2.5 | 45:15 | Dec 2011 | W | G | |
| 145 | Peter Watts | Behemoth | Rifters #3 | 3.5 | 25:00 | Nov 2011 | W | G |
| 144 | Cory Doctorow | Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom | 2 | 46:45 | Nov 2011 | W | G | |
| 143 | Vernor Vinge | A Fire Upon the Deep | Zones of Thought #1 | 4.5 | 50:40 | Nov 2011 | W | G |
| 142 | Robert Charles Wilson | Spin | Spin #1 | 4 | 44:15 | Oct 2011 | W | G |
| 141 | Blake Charlton | Spellwright | Spellwright #1 | 3 | 51:05 | Oct 2011 | W | G |
| 140 | Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle | The Mote in God’s Eye | Moties #1 | 2.5 | 51:40 | Oct 2011 | W | G |
| 139 | Clifford D Simak | Why Call Them Back From Heaven? | 4 | 39:40 | Sep 2011 | W | G | |
| 138 | Gene Wolfe | The Sword of the Lictor | Book of the New Sun #3 | 3.5 | 25:25 | Sep 2011 | W | G |
| 137 | Robert Silverberg | Lord Valentine’s Castle | Majipoor #1 | 3.5 | 51:30 | Sep 2011 | W | G |
| 136 | R Scott Bakker | The White-Luck Warrior | Aspect-Emperor #2 | 4.5 | 1:05:15 | Aug 2011 | W | G |
| 135 | Gordon Bell | Total Recall | -/DNF | 39:40 | Aug 2011 | W | G | |
| 134 | Science Fiction Book Review Podcast Review Podcast | – | 1:03:25 | Aug 2011 | ||||
| 133 | Alastair Reynolds | Terminal World | 4.5 | 1:03:50 | Jul 2011 | W | G | |
| 132 | Stanislaw Lem | Solaris | 4 | 48:15 | Jul 2011 | W | G | |
| 131 | R Scott Bakker | The Judging Eye | Aspect-Emperor #1 | 4 | 20:00 | Jul 2011 | W | G |
| 130 | P D James | The Children of Men | 3.5 | 53:45 | Jul 2011 | W | G | |
| 129 | Iain M Banks | Surface Detail | Culture #9 | 4 | 54:40 | Jun 2011 | W | G |
| 128 | George Alec Effinger | When Gravity Fails | Marid Audran #1 | 4 | 37:35 | Jun 2011 | W | G |
| 127 | Richard Matheson | I Am Legend | 4.9 | 31:05 | May 2011 | W | G | |
| 126 | Philip K Dick | Ubik | 3 | 38:10 | May 2011 | W | G | |
| 125 | Peter Watts | Maelstrom | Rifters #2 | 4.5 | 35:45 | Apr 2011 | W | G |
| 124 | Patrick Rothfuss | The Wise Man’s Fear | Kingkiller Chronicle #2 | 3.5 | 43:20 | Apr 2011 | W | G |
| 123 | Stephen Donaldson | Forbidden Knowledge | Gap #2 | 3 | 38:25 | Mar 2011 | W | G |
| 122 | Pat Frank | Alas, Babylon | 3.5 | 37:50 | Mar 2011 | W | G | |
| 121 | Michael Flynn | Eifelheim | 2 | 47:40 | Feb 2011 | W | G | |
| 120 | Joe Abercrombie | The Blade Itself | First Law Trilogy #1 | 2 | 50:00 | Feb 2011 | W | G |
| 119 | Arthur C Clarke | The City and The Stars | 2.5 | 57:50 | Feb 2011 | W | G | |
| 118 | Robert A Heinlein | Starship Troopers | 3.5 | 56:00 | Jan 2011 | W | G | |
| 117 | Ayn Rand | Atlas Shrugged | -/DNF | 1:07:05 | Jan 2011 | W | G | |
| 116 | Daniel Keyes | Flowers for Algernon | 5 | 54:45 | Jan 2011 | W | G | |
| 115 | Elizabeth Moon | The Speed of Dark | 3.5 | 1:02:05 | Dec 2010 | W | G | |
| 114 | Brandon Sanderson | The Final Empire | Mistborn #1 | 3.5 | 53:50 | Dec 2010 | W | G |
| 113 | George Orwell | 1984 | 4.9 | 1:14:00 | Dec 2010 | W | G | |
| 112 | Suzanne Collins | The Hunger Games | Hunger Games #1 | 4 | 1:03:25 | Dec 2010 | W | G |
| 111 | Stephen Baxter | Flood | Flood #1 | 1.5 | 1:05:00 | Nov 2010 | W | G |
| 110 | Kurt Vonnegut | Slaughterhouse-Five | 5 | 57:00 | Nov 2010 | W | G | |
| 109 | Gene Wolfe | The Claw of the Conciliator | Book of the New Sun #2 | 2.5 | 22:35 | Oct 2010 | W | G |
| 108 | Peter F Hamilton | The Evolutionary Void | Void #3 | 3.5 | 54:35 | Sep 2010 | W | G |
| 107 | Mike Resnick | Starship Mutiny | Starship #1 | 1.5 | 47:35 | Sep 2010 | W | G |
| 106 | George R Stewart | Earth Abides | 4.5 | 1:53:35 | Sep 2010 | W | G | |
| 105 | Jack Mcdevitt | Deepsix | Academy #2 | 1.5 | 48:05 | Aug 2010 | W | G |
| 104 | Alastair Reynolds | House of Suns | 4.5 | 43:55 | Aug 2010 | W | G | |
| 103 | Scott Lynch | The Lies of Locke Lamora | Gentleman Bastard #1 | 3 | 35:25 | Jul 2010 | W | G |
| 102 | Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias S Buckell | The Alchemist and the Executioness | 4.5 | 41:10 | Jul 2010 | W | G | |
| 101 | Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle | Lucifer’s Hammer | 3.5 | 39:25 | Jul 2010 | W | G | |
| 100 | Science Fiction and Personal Philosophy | – | 54:40 | Jul 2010 | ||||
| 099 | Patrick Rothfuss | The Name of the Wind | Kingkiller Chronicle #1 | 3 | 42:25 | Jul 2010 | W | G |
| 098 | Alfred Bester | The Stars My Destination | 2.5 | 1:04:45 | Jun 2010 | W | G | |
| 097 | Robert A Heinlein | The Moon is a Harsh Mistress | 4 | 56:20 | Jun 2010 | W | G | |
| 096 | John Wyndham | The Chrysalids | 4.5 | 42:40 | Jun 2010 | W | G | |
| 095 | George R R Martin | A Game of Thrones | A Song of Ice and Fire #1 | 2.5 | 50:50 | May 2010 | W | G |
| 094 | Robert J Sawyer | Calculating God | 1 | 1:03:00 | May 2010 | W | G | |
| 093 | Vernor Vinge | Rainbows End | 4.2 | 55:55 | May 2010 | W | G | |
| 092 | Robert Sheckley | The Status Civilization | 3.5 | 35:00 | May 2010 | W | G | |
| 091 | Peter Watts | Starfish | Rifters #1 | 3.5 | 21:30 | Apr 2010 | W | G |
| 090 | Mike Resnick | Kirinyaga | A Fable of Utopia #1 | 4 | 40:20 | Apr 2010 | W | G |
| 089 | Dani and Eytan Kollin | The Unincorporated Man | Unincorporated Man #1 | 3 | 45:15 | Apr 2010 | W | G |
| 088 | Arkady and Boris Strugatsky | Roadside Picnic | 4 | 28:00 | Apr 2010 | W | G | |
| 087 | Daniel Suarez | Daemon | Daemon #1 | 1 | 51:10 | Mar 2010 | W | G |
| 086 | Gene Wolfe | The Shadow of the Torturer | Book of the New Sun #1 | 1.5 | 40:45 | Mar 2010 | W | G |
| 085 | Iain Banks | Transition | 3 | 37:35 | Mar 2010 | W | G | |
| 084 | R Scott Bakker | The Prince of Nothing series | Prince of Nothing | 3.5 | 49:55 | Mar 2010 | W | G |
| 083 | China Mieville | The City and The City | 3.5 | 33:00 | Mar 2010 | W | G | |
| 082 | Paolo Bacigalupi | The Windup Girl | 4 | 41:10 | Feb 2010 | W | G | |
| 081 | Alastair Reynolds | Revelation Space | Revelation Space #1 | 4.5 | 53:40 | Feb 2010 | W | G |
| 080 | Peter Watts | Blindsight | Firefall #1 | 4 | 40:15 | Jan 2010 | W | G |
| 079 | Donald Westlake | Smoke and more invisible men | – | 57:40 | Jan 2010 | W | G | |
| 078 | H G Wells | The Invisible Man | 3.5 | 58:25 | Jan 2010 | W | G | |
| 077 | Scott Sigler | The Rookie | Galactic Football League #1 | 4.5 | 41:50 | Jan 2010 | W | G |
| 076 | Luke’s fantasy reads in 2009 | – | 1:16:35 | Dec 2009 | ||||
| 075 | Neal Stephenson | Anathem | 4.9 | 1:19:05 | Dec 2009 | W | G | |
| 074 | Cory Doctorow | Makers | 1.5 | 58:20 | Dec 2009 | W | G | |
| 073 | Douglas Adams | The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy | H2G2 #1 | 3.5 | 48:30 | Nov 2009 | W | G |
| 072.5 | Luke and Jesse in Conversation | – | 1:44:05 | Nov 2009 | ||||
| 072 | Ursula K LeGuin | The Dispossessed | Hainish Cycle #6 | 3.5 | 48:35 | Nov 2009 | W | G |
| 071 | Richard Morgan | Market Forces | 4 | 53:40 | Oct 2009 | W | G | |
| 070 | Greg Egan | Schild’s Ladder | 4 | 39:30 | Oct 2009 | W | G | |
| 069 | Edgar Rice Burroughs | A Princess of Mars | Barsoom #1 | 3.5 | 43:00 | Oct 2009 | W | G |
| 068 | Ursula K LeGuin | The Left Hand of Darkness | Hainish Cycle #4 | 4.5 | 43:55 | Oct 2009 | W | G |
| 067 | Aldous Huxley | Brave New World | 2 | 42:55 | Sep 2009 | W | G | |
| 066 | John Varley | Steel Beach | Eight Worlds #2 | 3.5 | 57:25 | Sep 2009 | W | G |
| 065 | Olaf Stapledon | Last and First Men | -/DNF | 33:45 | Aug 2009 | W | G | |
| 064 | Ray Bradbury | Fahrenheit 451 | 3.5 | 39:35 | Aug 2009 | W | G | |
| 063 | Jules Verne | From The Earth To The Moon | 4 | 29:35 | Jul 2009 | W | G | |
| 062 | Stephen Donaldson | The Real Story | Gap #1 | 2 | 23:30 | Jul 2009 | W | G |
| 061 | John Barnes | The Sky So Big And Black | Century Next Door #4 | 4.5 | 31:20 | Jul 2009 | W | G |
| 060 | Luke Burrage | Minding Tomorrow | Minding Tomorrow #1 | 3.5 | 29:55 | Jul 2009 | W | G |
| 059 | Kim Stanley Robinson | The Gold Coast | Three Californias Triptych #2 | 3.5 | 30:35 | Jul 2009 | W | G |
| 058 | Orson Scott Card | Ender’s Game | Ender’s Saga #1 | 4.5 | 40:20 | Jul 2009 | W | G |
| 057 | John Scalzi | Old Man’s War | Old Man’s War #1 | 3 | 44:20 | Jun 2009 | W | G |
| 056 | A E van Vogt | Slan | Slan #1 | 2.5 | 29:00 | Jun 2009 | W | G |
| 055 | Dan Simmons | The Fall of Hyperion | Hyperion Cantos #2 | 0.5/DNF | 30:50 | Jun 2009 | W | G |
| 054 | Cory Doctorow | Little Brother | 4 | 43:55 | May 2009 | W | G | |
| 053 | Tobias S Buckell | Crystal Rain | Xenowealth #1 | 2 | 39:25 | May 2009 | W | G |
| 052 | Charles Stross | Halting State | Halting State #1 | 4 | 40:50 | May 2009 | W | G |
| 051 | Joe Haldeman | The Accidental Time Machine | 2.5 | 33:00 | May 2009 | W | G | |
| 050 | Philip Jose Farmer | To Your Scattered Bodies Go | 3 | 42:40 | Apr 2009 | W | G | |
| 049.5 | answering questions live from the chatroom | – | 26:40 | Apr 2009 | ||||
| 049 | Dan Simmons | Hyperion | Hyperion Cantos #1 | 4 | 48:20 | Apr 2009 | W | G |
| 048 | Charles Stross | Accelerando | 2.5 | 37:50 | Apr 2009 | W | G | |
| 047 | Karl Schroeder | Ventus | 3.5 | 41:45 | Apr 2009 | W | G | |
| 046 | many science fiction series | – | 53:15 | Mar 2009 | ||||
| 045 | H G Wells | The Time Machine | 4.3 | 37:05 | Mar 2009 | W | G | |
| 044 | Iain M Banks | Matter | Culture #8 | 3 | 46:55 | Feb 2009 | W | G |
| 043 | Alastair Reynolds | Century Rain | 2 | 45:25 | Feb 2009 | W | G | |
| 042 | Richard Morgan | Altered Carbon | Takeshi Kovacs #1 | 4 | 40:40 | Feb 2009 | W | G |
| 041 | Walter M Miller Jr | A Canticle for Leibowitz | 3 | 47:05 | Feb 2009 | W | G | |
| 040 | Frederik Pohl | Gateway | Heechee Saga #1 | 4.2 | 28:35 | Jan 2009 | W | G |
| 039 | Peter F Hamilton | The Temporal Void | Void #2 | 3.5 | 27:50 | Jan 2009 | W | G |
| 038 | Looking back at 2008 | – | 48:55 | Jan 2009 | ||||
| 037 | Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg | Nightfall | 2 | 36:10 | Jan 2009 | W | G | |
| 036 | Robert J Sawyer | Hominids | Neanderthal Parallax #1 | 1 | 51:30 | Dec 2008 | W | G |
| 035 | Robert Reed | The Well of Stars | Marrow #2 | 2.5 | 31:15 | Dec 2008 | W | G |
| 034 | China Mieville | Perdido Street Station | Bas-Lag #1 | 2.5 | 38:55 | Dec 2008 | W | G |
| 033 | Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson | Paul of Dune | Heroes of Dune #1 | 0.5 | 36:05 | Nov 2008 | W | G |
| 032 | John Wyndham | The Day of the Triffids | 4.5 | 28:10 | Nov 2008 | W | G | |
| 031 | William Gibson | Neuromancer | Sprawl Trilogy #1 | 2.5 | 34:50 | Nov 2008 | W | G |
| 030 | Peter F Hamilton | The Dreaming Void | Void #1 | 4 | 48:40 | Oct 2008 | W | G |
| 029.5 | accidental feedback show | – | 19:40 | Oct 2008 | ||||
| 029 | Neal Stephenson | Snow Crash | 0.9 | 43:40 | Oct 2008 | W | G | |
| 028 | Robert Reed | Down the Bright Way | 4.2 | 36:15 | Sep 2008 | W | G | |
| 027 | John Varley | Red Thunder | Thunder and Lightning #1 | 1.5 | 32:20 | Sep 2008 | W | G |
| 026 | Iain M Banks | Use of Weapons | Culture #3 | 5 | 29:25 | Sep 2008 | W | G |
| 025 | Richard Morgan | Black Man | 1.5 | 39:30 | Sep 2008 | W | G | |
| 024 | A A Attanasio | The Last Legends of Earth | Radix #4 | 2 | 26:00 | Aug 2008 | W | G |
| 023 | Spider Robinson | Callahan’s Secret | Callahan’s #3 | 2.5 | 20:20 | Jul 2008 | W | G |
| 022 | John Brunner | The Crucible of Time | 4 | 23:00 | Jul 2008 | W | G | |
| 021 | Buzz Aldrin and John Barnes | Encounter With Tiber | 2 | 25:55 | Jul 2008 | W | G | |
| 020 | Joe Haldeman | The Forever War | Forever War #1 | 4 | 28:45 | Jun 2008 | W | G |
| 019 | Alastair Reynolds | The Prefect | Prefect Dreyfus Emergency #1 | 4 | 30:30 | Jun 2008 | W | G |
| 018 | Greg Bear | Moving Mars | Queen of Angels #3 | 3.5 | 21:00 | Jun 2008 | W | G |
| 017 | Kim Stanley Robinson | Antarctica | 4 | 21:50 | May 2008 | W | G | |
| 016 | David Evans | Time Station Berlin | Time Station #3 | 0.5 | 21:10 | May 2008 | W | G |
| 015 | Vernor Vinge | The Peace War | Across Realtime #1 | 4.5 | 21:15 | Apr 2008 | W | G |
| 014 | Robert A Heinlein and Spider Robinson | Variable Star | 4 | 23:30 | Apr 2008 | W | G | |
| 013 | Charles Stross | Singularity Sky | Eschaton #1 | 2.5 | 16:45 | Apr 2008 | W | G |
| 012 | Ken MacLeod | Learning the World | 3 | 13:40 | Feb 2008 | W | G | |
| 011 | Frank Herbert | Dune | Dune Saga #1 | 4.5 | 29:30 | Feb 2008 | W | G |
| 010 | Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson | Hunters of Dune | Dune Saga #7 | 0.5 | 16:30 | Feb 2008 | W | G |
| 009 | Carl Sagan | Contact | 1 | 16:40 | Feb 2008 | W | G | |
| 008 | Robert Reed | Marrow | Marrow #1 | 2.5 | 11:40 | Feb 2008 | W | G |
| 007 | Peter F Hamilton | Fallen Dragon | 4 | 18:12 | Feb 2008 | W | G | |
| 006 | Stuart Gordon | Fire in the Abyss | 4 | 13:07 | Feb 2008 | W | G | |
| 005 | Alastair Reynolds | Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days | Revelation Space #1.5 | 3.5 | 13:54 | Jan 2008 | W | G |
| 004 | Robert A Heinlein | The Door Into Summer | 4.2 | 12:19 | Jan 2008 | W | G | |
| 003 | Pamela Sargent | Venus of Dreams | Venus #1 | 2.5 | 10:41 | Jan 2008 | W | G |
| 002 | Joan D Vinge | The Outcasts of Heaven Belt | Heaven Chronicles #1 | 3.5 | 12:49 | Jan 2008 | W | G |
| 001 | Introduction to the SFBRP | – | 11:47 | Jan 2008 | ||||
For episode #550 of the SFBRP, Luke and Juliane compiled their list of 52 “must-read” science fiction novels that had been reviewed on the SFBRP so far. Then, after reading 41 novels that were already on the list or “under consideration” to be added, they returned in episode #597 to settle the “final” version, with a handful of novels added and a couple removed.
Click table headers to sort.
| Year | Author | Book/Topic | Series | SFBRP Episodes | SFBRP Rating |
Goodreads Rating |
Linked Topic | External Links |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction to the SFBRP Must-Read List | #550 | – | W | G | |||||
| The final version of the SFBRP Must-Read List | #597 | – | W | G | |||||
| 1895 | H G Wells | The Time Machine | #45 | 4.3 | 3.89 | Deep Future | W | G | |
| 1898 | H G Wells | The War of the Worlds | #591 | 4.5 | 3.83 | Alien Invasion | W | G | |
| 1948 | George Orwell | 1984 | #113 | 4.9 | 4.21 | Dystopia | W | G | |
| 1949 | George R Stewart | Earth Abides | #559 #106 | 4.5 | 3.94 | Post-Apocalypse | W | G | |
| 1951 | John Wyndham | The Day of the Triffids | #183 #32 | 4.5 | 4.01 | Plants vs Zombies | W | G | |
| 1953 | Isaac Asimov | The Caves of Steel | Robot #1 | #354 | 4.5 | 4.19 | Detective Science Fiction | W | G |
| 1954 | Richard Matheson | I Am Legend | #127 #444 | 4.9 | 4.00 | Plants vs Zombies | W | G | |
| 1958 | Robert A Heinlein | Have Space Suit – Will Travel | #589 #223 | 4 | 3.92 | Engineering Competence Porn | W | G | |
| 1959 | Robert A Heinlein | Starship Troopers | #553 #118 | 3.5 | 4.00 | Military Science Fiction | W | G | |
| 1961 | Stanisław Lem | Solaris | #570 #132 #188 | 4.5 | 3.98 | Aliens are Very Alien | W | G | |
| 1962 | Philip K Dick | The Man in the High Castle | #180 | 5 | 3.58 | Alternate History/Historical | W | G | |
| 1965 | Frank Herbert | Dune | Dune Saga #1 | #174 #11 | 4.5 | 4.29 | Space Opera | W | G |
| 1966 | Daniel Keyes | Flowers for Algernon | #222 #116 | 4.75 | 4.25 | Unreliable Narrator | W | G | |
| 1966 | Ursula K LeGuin | Planet of Exile | Hainish Cycle #2 | #497 | 4.25 | 3.72 | SciFi POV vs Fantasy POV | W | G |
| 1967 | Samuel R Delany | The Einstein Intersection | #476 | 4.5 | 3.55 | Deep Future | W | G | |
| 1968 | Keith Roberts | Pavane | #312 | 4.5 | 3.71 | Alternate History/Historical | W | G | |
| 1968 | Arthur C Clarke | 2001: A Space Odyssey | Space Odyssey #1 | #379 | 4 | 4.18 | Uplift and Aliens | W | G |
| 1969 | Ursula K LeGuin | The Left Hand of Darkness | Hainish Cycle #4 | #68 #549 | 4.5 | 4.09 | Stranger in a Non-Gendered Land | W | G |
| 1969 | Kurt Vonnegut | Slaughterhouse-Five | #110 | 5 | 4.10 | Soldier Unstuck in Time | W | G | |
| 1972 | Arkady and Boris Strugatsky | Roadside Picnic | #554 #88 | 4 | 4.11 | Aliens are Very Alien | W | G | |
| 1984 | Kim Stanley Robinson | The Wild Shore | Three Californias Triptych #1 | #448 | 5 | 3.74 | Post-Apocalypse | W | G |
| 1985 | Orson Scott Card | Ender’s Game | Ender’s Saga #1 | #58 | 4.5 | 4.31 | Military Science Fiction | W | G |
| 1986 | Orson Scott Card | Speaker for the Dead | Ender’s Saga #2 | #568 #244 | 4 | 4.12 | Religious Order on Another Planet | W | G |
| 1988 | David Zindell | Neverness | A Requiem for Homo Sapiens | #560 | 4.5 | 4.03 | Space Opera | W | G |
| 1988 | Iain M Banks | The Player of Games | Culture #2 | #596 #202 | 5 | 4.28 | Board Game Diplomacy | W | G |
| 1989 | Dan Simmons | Hyperion | Hyperion Cantos #1 | #432 #49 #168 | 4 | 4.28 | Canterbury Tales with Portals | W | G |
| 1990 | Iain M Banks | Use of Weapons | Culture #3 | #213 #26 | 4.75 | 4.16 | Military Science Fiction | W | G |
| 1990 | James Tiptree Jr | Her Smoke Rose Up Forever | #274 | 5 | 4.17 | Stranger in a Non-Gendered Land | W | G | |
| 1992 | Vernor Vinge | A Fire Upon the Deep | Zones of Thought #1 | #143 | 4.5 | 4.13 | Uplift and Aliens | W | G |
| 1992 | Maureen F McHugh | China Mountain Zhang | #381 | 4.5 | 3.96 | Slice of Sci-Fi Life | W | G | |
| 1992 | Kim Stanley Robinson | Red Mars | Mars Trilogy #1 | #382 | 4.5 | 3.85 | Mars | W | G |
| 1995 | Christopher Priest | The Prestige | #177 | 5 | 3.92 | Alternate History/Historical | W | G | |
| 1995 | Jacqueline Harpman | I Who Have Never Known Men | #539 | 4.5 | 4.03 | Post-Apocalypse | W | G | |
| 1996 | Tad Williams | City of Golden Shadow | Otherland #1 | #281 | 4.25 | 3.93 | What year is this? | W | G |
| 1996 | Mary Doria Russell | The Sparrow | The Sparrow #1 | #552 #297 | 4.5 | 4.13 | Religious Order on Another Planet | W | G |
| 1997 | Greg Egan | Diaspora | #370 | 5 | 4.10 | Deep Future | W | G | |
| 1998 | Iain M Banks | Inversions | Culture #5 | #586 #224 | 5 | 3.96 | SciFi POV vs Fantasy POV | W | G |
| 2000 | Alastair Reynolds | Revelation Space | Revelation Space #1 | #81 | 4.5 | 3.99 | Space Opera | W | G |
| 2002 | Richard Morgan | Altered Carbon | Takeshi Kovacs #1 | #42 #361 | 4 | 4.03 | Detective Science Fiction | W | G |
| 2004 | David Mitchell | Cloud Atlas | #211 | 4.5 | 4.01 | What year is this? | W | G | |
| 2004 | Peter F Hamilton | Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained | Commonwealth Saga #1 & 2 | #256 | 4 | 4.22 | Alien Invasion | W | G |
| 2006 | Peter Watts | Blindsight | Firefall #1 | #335 #80 | 4.25 | 4.00 | Aliens are Very Alien | W | G |
| 2006 | Dan Abnett | Horus Rising | Horus Heresy #1 | #429 | 4 | 4.26 | Military Science Fiction | W | G |
| 2007 | Alastair Reynolds | The Prefect | Prefect Dreyfus Emergency #1 | #205 #19 | 4.75 | 4.17 | Detective Science Fiction | W | G |
| 2008 | Neal Stephenson | Anathem | #581 #75 | 4.9 | 4.17 | Religious Order on Another Planet | W | G | |
| 2011 | Hugh Howey | Wool Omnibus | Silo #1 | #166 | 4.5 | 4.22 | Dystopia | W | G |
| 2011 | Andy Weir | The Martian | #212 #286 | 5 | 4.42 | Engineering Competence Porn | W | G | |
| 2013 | Ann Leckie | Ancillary Justice | Imperial Radch #1 | #579 #218 | 4 | 3.99 | Stranger in a Non-Gendered Land | W | G |
| 2015 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | Children of Time and Children of Ruin | Children of Time #1 & 2 | #338 #405 #513 | 4 | 4.30 | Uplift and Aliens | W | G |
| 2016 | Yoon Ha Lee | Ninefox Gambit | Machineries of Empire #1 | #320 #333 | 5 | 3.79 | Board Game Diplomacy | W | G |
| 2018 | Derek Künsken | The Quantum Magician | Quantum Evolution #1 | #389 #576 | 4.5 | 3.98 | Space Opera | W | G |
| 2018 | Peter F Hamilton | Salvation | Salvation Sequence #1 | #425 | 5 | 4.12 | Canterbury Tales with Portals | W | G |
| 2019 | Kameron Hurley | The Light Brigade | #394 #416 | 5 | 3.88 | Soldier Unstuck in Time | W | G | |
| 2019 | Emma Newman | Atlas Alone | Planetfall #4 | #422 | 4.5 | 4.10 | Unreliable Narrator | W | G |
| 2020 | Micaiah Johnson | The Space Between Worlds | Space Between Worlds #1 | #447 | 4.5 | 3.92 | Dystopia | W | G |
| 2021 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | Elder Race | #492 | 4 | 4.08 | SciFi POV vs Fantasy POV | W | G | |
| 2022 | Alastair Reynolds | Eversion | #502 | 4.5 | 3.95 | What year is this? | W | G | |
| 2025 | Silvia Park | Luminous | #588 | 5 | 3.62 | Robot or Not | W | G | |
In 2014 Luke made sure he’d read and reviewed every novel that had won both a Hugo and a Nebula Award. Since then a few more novels have become “Hugula Winners” and those have episodes too. This list includes all the Hugo/Nebula winners that have been reviewed on the podcast. Due to the Hugo and Nebula awards using different timelines and eligibility windows, the books are listed with publication year not award year.
Show:
Click table headers to sort.
| Award | Year | Author | Book/Topic | Series | SFBRP Episodes | SFBRP Rating |
Goodreads Rating |
External Links |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugo+Nebula | The Hugulas – Every novel that won both a Hugo and Nebula | #252 | – | W | G | ||||
| Hugo | 1940 | A E van Vogt | Slan | Slan #1 | #56 | 2.5 | 3.69 | W | G |
| Hugo | 1956 | Robert A Heinlein | Double Star | #595 | 3.5 | 3.92 | W | G | |
| Hugo | 1958 | Fritz Leiber | The Big Time | #468 | 2 | 3.25 | W | G | |
| Hugo | 1959 | Walter M Miller Jr | A Canticle for Leibowitz | #216 #41 | 3.5 | 3.99 | W | G | |
| Hugo | 1959 | Robert A Heinlein | Starship Troopers | #553 #118 | 3.5 | 4.00 | W | G | |
| Hugo | 1962 | Philip K Dick | The Man in the High Castle | #180 | 5 | 3.58 | W | G | |
| Hugo | 1963 | Ray Bradbury | Fahrenheit 451 | #64 | 3.5 | 3.97 | W | G | |
| Hugo | 1963 | Clifford D Simak | Way Station | #220 | 4 | 4.03 | W | G | |
| Hugo+Nebula | 1965 | Frank Herbert | Dune | Dune Saga #1 | #174 #11 | 4.5 | 4.29 | W | G |
| Hugo | 1966 | Robert A Heinlein | The Moon is a Harsh Mistress | #97 | 4 | 4.15 | W | G | |
| Nebula | 1966 | Daniel Keyes | Flowers for Algernon | #222 #116 | 4.75 | 4.25 | W | G | |
| Nebula | 1966 | Samuel R Delany | Babel-17 | #481 | 3 | 3.72 | W | G | |
| Hugo | 1967 | Roger Zelazny | Lord of Light | #148 | 4.5 | 4.05 | W | G | |
| Nebula | 1967 | Samuel R Delany | The Einstein Intersection | #476 | 4.5 | 3.55 | W | G | |
| Hugo+Nebula | 1969 | Ursula K LeGuin | The Left Hand of Darkness | Hainish Cycle #4 | #549 #68 | 4.5 | 4.09 | W | G |
| Hugo+Nebula | 1970 | Larry Niven | Ringworld | Ringworld #1 | #237 | 2 | 3.93 | W | G |
| Hugo | 1971 | Philip Jose Farmer | To Your Scattered Bodies Go | #50 | 3 | 3.93 | W | G | |
| Nebula | 1971 | Robert Silverberg | A Time of Changes | #574 | 2.5 | 3.68 | W | G | |
| Hugo+Nebula | 1972 | Isaac Asimov | The Gods Themselves | #247 | 3.5 | 4.08 | W | G | |
| Hugo+Nebula | 1973 | Arthur C Clarke | Rendezvous with Rama | Rama #1 | #192 | 3.5 | 4.12 | W | G |
| Hugo+Nebula | 1974 | Ursula K LeGuin | The Dispossessed | Hainish Cycle #6 | #72 | 3.5 | 4.26 | W | G |
| Hugo+Nebula | 1974 | Joe Haldeman | The Forever War | Forever War #1 | #551 #20 | 2 | 4.14 | W | G |
| Hugo+Nebula | 1977 | Frederik Pohl | Gateway | Heechee Saga #1 | #556 #40 | 3 | 4.05 | W | G |
| Hugo+Nebula | 1978 | Vonda N McIntyre | Dreamsnake | #229 | 3.5 | 3.88 | W | G | |
| Hugo+Nebula | 1979 | Arthur C Clarke | The Fountains of Paradise | #241 | 4 | 3.95 | W | G | |
| Hugo | 1980 | Joan D Vinge | The Snow Queen | #365 | 2 | 3.94 | W | G | |
| Nebula | 1981 | Gene Wolfe | The Claw of the Conciliator | Book of the New Sun #2 | #109 | 2.5 | 4.00 | W | G |
| Hugo | 1981 | C J Cherryh | Downbelow Station | Company Wars #1 | #366 | 2.5 | 3.90 | W | G |
| Hugo+Nebula | 1983 | David Brin | Startide Rising | Uplift Saga #2 | #578 #238 | 2 | 4.04 | W | G |
| Hugo+Nebula | 1984 | William Gibson | Neuromancer | Sprawl Trilogy #1 | #31 | 2.5 | 3.89 | W | G |
| Hugo+Nebula | 1985 | Orson Scott Card | Ender’s Game | Ender’s Saga | #231 #58 | 4.5 | 4.31 | W | G |
| Hugo+Nebula | 1986 | Orson Scott Card | Speaker for the Dead | Ender’s Saga #2 | #568 #244 | 4 | 4.12 | W | G |
| Nebula | 1988 | Lois McMaster Bujold | Falling Free | Vorkosigan Saga #4 | #182 | 3.5 | 3.84 | W | G |
| Hugo | 1988 | C J Cherryh | Cyteen | #383 | 3.5 | 4.00 | W | G | |
| Hugo | 1989 | Dan Simmons | Hyperion | Hyperion Cantos #1 | #432 #168 #49 | 4 | 4.28 | W | G |
| Hugo | 1990 | Lois McMaster Bujold | The Vor Game | Vorkosigan Saga #6 | #197 | 1.75 | 4.27 | W | G |
| Hugo | 1991 | Lois McMaster Bujold | Barrayar | Vorkosigan Saga #7 | #193 | 3 | 4.30 | W | G |
| Hugo | 1992 | Vernor Vinge | A Fire Upon the Deep | Zones of Thought #1 | #143 | 4.5 | 4.13 | W | G |
| Hugo+Nebula | 1992 | Connie Willis | Doomsday Book | #246 | 0.1 | 4.03 | W | G | |
| Nebula | 1992 | Kim Stanley Robinson | Red Mars | Mars Trilogy #1 | #382 | 4.5 | 3.85 | W | G |
| Nebula | 1993 | Greg Bear | Moving Mars | Queen of Angels #3 | #18 | 3.5 | 3.85 | W | G |
| Hugo | 1994 | Lois McMaster Bujold | Mirror Dance | Vorkosigan Saga #8 | #482 | 1 | 4.32 | W | G |
| Hugo+Nebula | 1997 | Joe Haldeman | Forever Peace | Forever War #2 | #239 | 1.5 | 3.75 | W | G |
| Hugo | 1999 | Vernor Vinge | A Deepness in the Sky | Zones of Thought #2 | #412 | 3 | 4.32 | W | G |
| Hugo+Nebula | 2001 | Neil Gaiman | American Gods | American Gods #1 | #235 | 1.5 | 4.10 | W | G |
| Hugo | 2002 | Robert J Sawyer | Hominids | Neanderthal Parallax #1 | #36 | 1 | 3.81 | W | G |
| Nebula | 2002 | Elizabeth Moon | The Speed of Dark | #115 | 3.5 | 3.99 | W | G | |
| Hugo+Nebula | 2003 | Lois McMaster Bujold | Paladin of Souls | World of the Five Gods #3 | #240 | 2 | 4.19 | W | G |
| Hugo | 2005 | Robert Charles Wilson | Spin | Spin #1 | #142 | 4 | 4.04 | W | G |
| Hugo | 2006 | Vernor Vinge | Rainbows End | #93 | 4.2 | 3.77 | W | G | |
| Hugo | 2006 | Liu Cixin | The Three-Body Problem | Remembrance of Earth’s Past #1 | #262 | 1.5 | 4.08 | W | G |
| Hugo+Nebula | 2007 | Michael Chabon | The Yiddish Policemen’s Union | #248 | – | 3.72 | W | G | |
| Hugo+Nebula | 2009 | Paolo Bacigalupi | The Windup Girl | #82 | 4 | 3.75 | W | G | |
| Hugo+Nebula | 2010 | Connie Willis | Blackout and All Clear | Blackout #1 & 2 | #249 | – | 3.86 | W | G |
| Hugo+Nebula | 2011 | Jo Walton | Among Others | #230 | 0.5 | 3.72 | W | G | |
| Hugo | 2012 | John Scalzi | Redshirts | #162 | 2 | 3.87 | W | G | |
| Hugo+Nebula | 2013 | Ann Leckie | Ancillary Justice | Imperial Radch #1 | #579 #218 | 4 | 3.99 | W | G |
| Nebula | 2014 | Jeff VanderMeer | Annihilation | Southern Reach #1 | #253 | 4 | 3.80 | W | G |
| Hugo | 2015 | N K Jemisin | The Fifth Season | The Broken Earth #1 | #311 | 4 | 4.28 | W | G |
| Hugo | 2016 | N K Jemisin | The Obelisk Gate | The Broken Earth #2 | #313 | 2 | 4.28 | W | G |
| Nebula | 2016 | Charlie Jane Anders | All the Birds in the Sky | #324 | 2.5 | 3.59 | W | G | |
| Hugo+Nebula | 2017 | N K Jemisin | The Stone Sky | The Broken Earth #3 | #343 | 2 | 4.32 | W | G |
| Hugo+Nebula | 2018 | Mary Robinette Kowal | The Calculating Stars | Lady Astronaut #1 | #385 | 0.5 | 3.95 | W | G |
| Hugo | 2019 | Arkady Martine | A Memory Called Empire | Teixcalaan #1 | #413 | 4 | 4.10 | W | G |
| Hugo+Nebula | 2020 | Martha Wells | Network Effect | Murderbot Diaries #5 | #495 #433 | 2 | 4.46 | W | G |
| Hugo | 2021 | Arkady Martine | A Desolation Called Peace | Teixcalaan #2 | #474 | 4 | 4.29 | W | G |
| Nebula | 2022 | R F Kuang | Babel | #526 | 3 | 4.12 | W | G | |
| Hugo | 2023 | Emily Tesh | Some Desperate Glory | #567 | 1.5 | 4.05 | W | G | |
| Hugo | 2025 | Alix E Harrow | The Everlasting | #580 | 1 | 4.14 | W | G | |
In what order should one read the Iain M. Banks Culture series? Check out our SFBRP Recommended Reading Order of the Culture Series! Scroll down to see how we came up with this reading order, and additional notes on each book.
Click table headers to sort.
| SFBRP Order | Year | Book/Topic | SFBRP Episodes | SFBRP Rating |
Goodreads Rating |
External Links |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Culture series introduction | #201 | – | W | G | |||
| 1 | 1988 | The Player of Games | #202 #596 | 5 | 4.28 | W | G |
| 2 | 1987 | Consider Phlebas | #204 | 3.25 | 3.84 | W | G |
| 3 | 1996 | Excession | #209 | 3.5 | 4.19 | W | G |
| 4 | 1990 | Use of Weapons | #213 #26 | 4.75 | 4.16 | W | G |
| 5 | 1989 | The State of the Art | #221 | 3.5 | 3.82 | W | G |
| 6 | 1998 | Inversions | #224 #586 | 5 | 3.96 | W | G |
| 7 | 2008 | Matter | #232 #44 | 4 | 4.11 | W | G |
| 8 | 2010 | Surface Detail | #242 #129 | 4.25 | 4.27 | W | G |
| 9 | 2012 | The Hydrogen Sonata | #260 #172 | 4.25 | 4.21 | W | G |
| 10 | 2000 | Look to Windward | #263 | 4.75 | 4.23 | W | G |
| Culture series read-through wrap-up | #268 | 5 | W | G | |||
How did we get here?
The obvious reading order is publication order, which is also almost identical to the internal chronological order.
But the problem with this order is that Consider Phlebas, the first novel, is by far the weakest book, and isn’t a good representation of the overall series due to the viewpoint character being an enemy of the Culture and an outsider. I’ve heard from a lot of people who say something similar to “Oh, the Culture series? I tried that but the first book didn’t really grab me so I didn’t continue.”
The other problem is that Bank planned to end the series once, with Look to Windward, but then later picked the series up again… and then died suddenly without writing another natural ending point.
I’ve seen some people suggest the short story collection and novella The State of the Art as a good starting point. However, this frames the Culture in relation to the planet Earth in the 20th century which, while fun, is a limiting perspective to approach the rest of the series. It’s best to get to know the Culture from the inside first, and then see it from a 20th century Earth point of view.
So when re-reading the entire series for us to review on the podcast, I put together an order that starts with the strongest early book, then moves mostly chronologically. However, it separates a few books by tone (putting some fun books between the heavy books) and groups a few books by theme, like putting The State of the Art with Inversions. It also moves Look to Windward to the end of the series, to its natural place as an ending to the Culture series, and also to go with the “death and afterlife” group.
The SFBRP Recommended Reading Order
1. Player of Games. Probably the best introduction to the Culture, laying out the Contact and Special Circumstances factions and what they get up to, which makes up the bulk of the series. It’s also one of the best novels in terms of writing, and it’s not too “heavy”. Viewpoint: normal culture citizen.
2. Consider Phlebas. The war in this book is the main threat threat the Culture experiences at its own level, and not massively overpowered or underpowered compared to their opponents. It’s also the first book chronologically, so it makes sense to go near the start. Warning: almost universally considered the weakest book in the series, so once you get through this it’s trending up in the future! Viewpoint: outside enemy of the Culture.
3. Excession. The best introductions to the Culture ships, one of the most memorable and fun aspects of the series. While there are human-level characters, it’s really all about the ships. It’s also super fun! You need a break after some of the heavier books.
4. Use of Weapons. Really heavy stuff, showing how war isn’t all about ship minds having fun. It has an internal story structure that some readers might find challenging, but it’s worth it. Viewpoint: outsider being used by the Contact and Special Circumstances elements of the Culture.
5. The State of the Art. Once the Culture has been established, it’s good to see where the Earth fits in with it. We also get to see more of Diziet Sma, a character from Use of Weapons. Viewpoint: Culture insider looking at Earth.
6. Inversions. A Culture novel without any viewpoint characters knowing about the Culture. This fits well with State of the Art, as you can imagine what it would be like for someone on Earth to be in the same situation. Warning: this will make ZERO sense if you’ve not read the previous books.
7. Matter. This is probably the most “minor” Culture book in the series, in my opinion. It’s okay, and that’s about it. At least after Inversions it’ll get you back into the swing of spending time with ships and drones.
8. Surface Detail. The first on the list of three “death and afterlife” Culture novels. This shows “man’s” attempt at creating an afterlife.
9. The Hydrogen Sonata. This shows the “science” of a true kind of afterlife on a civilization level, with much talk of subliming, or not subliming, and what life actually means when faced with something better after death.
10. Look to Windward. This is quite out of sequence chronologically and by publishing date, but should be the best way to finish off the series. Most of the action takes place within the Culture, rather than, like most of the novels, outside of it. It completes the “death and afterlife” series in the most satisfying way. It also pairs well with Consider Phlebas, so it’s good to have these two topping (almost) and tailing this list. Viewpoint: an alien visiting the Culture.