Podcast #4- The Hugo Novels

Our new podcast is live, just in time for us to load our bikes up and head to Wiscon! This episode, we talk about some more science fiction & fantasy theater in Chicago, then launch into a brief discussion of all 6 Hugo novels on the 2017 shortlist.

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• 0- Introduction & What We've Been Reading (Hugo Nominations & C.J. Cherryh's Rimrunners)
• 4:00- Upcoming Events
• 6:18- What we're looking forward to at Wiscon & BikeCon
• 10:55- Theatrical Discussion: Lifeline's A Wrinkle in Time, Edge of Orion's Illyria, and a bit more discussion of New Millennium's The Incredible Hank and Otherworld's The Rogue Aviator
• 16:27- Hugo overview & voting mechanics
• 20:51- Novel discussion!
• Ada Palmer's Too Like The Lightning
• N.K. Jemisin's The Obelisk Gate
• Cixin Liu's Death's End
• Charlie Jane Ander's All the Birds in the Sky
• Becky Chamber's A Closed and Common Orbit
• Yoon Ha Lee's Ninefox Gambit
• 43:51- Overall Hugo thoughts
• 53:52- Credits

(Extended show notes after we return from Wiscon!)

Thanks to our events reader this episode, Chelsea Fiddyment from Unreal.

Our music is provided by Pelafina. Check them out on Facebook and Bandcamp!

Hope you like the show! Questions, comments? Sound off in the comments, or drop us a line at positronchicago@gmail.com.

Windycon Phandemonium Discussion- "The Three-Body Problem"

I recently had the pleasure of attending the 42nd Windycon (appropriately, Hitchhiker-themed), and as a result I got to attend two bookclubs as well as a few fun panels.

First on deck was Cixin Liu's "The Three-Body Problem", hosted by Phandemonium, the folks who run Capricon in the spring as well as SF/F book clubs in Evanston & Elgin. It's the most recent winner of the Hugo Award for best novel; notable for being the first translated work so honored. Lots of fascinating drama around that, actually, but enough! To the book itself!

"The Three-Body Problem" is the story of Earth's contact with an advanced and (currently) distant alien race, and how that contact will inevitably bring about great change. It's also steeped in Chinese culture, particularly the fallout from the Cultural Revolution.

It's an interesting, somewhat tough read, with our most frequent questions revolving around issues of translation and culture--what was being lost with the idiom, how much was Cixin's personal style versus SF or fiction norms in its original language. A wonderful discussion. Notes in brief and possible spoilers below: