Pagenerd

This week, the Pagenerd crew tackles hyper pigs, consensual cannibalism, corpse-eating architecture, a freaky little child AI, planetary genocide, and a supervillain called “The Clockmaker.” Alastair Reynolds Aurora Rising (originally called The Prefect) is a fever dream of a detective novel that somehow manages to jam all those things into a single story. Sarah, Tommy, Rick, and Andrew attempt to untangle a future powered by quickmatter, debate whether anyone actually understands what's happening, and marvel at Alastair Reynolds' ability to make the absolutely absurd feel strangely plausible. This episode starts as a detective story and rapidly descends into chaos. We recommend surrendering to the experience. If you’d like to support the pod you can find us on Patreon at patreon.com/cw/Pagenerd

The Pagenerds are back with part two of The Dispossessed, where Ursula K. Le Guin somehow takes an already brilliant book and makes it hit even harder. This section gets deeply personal. We follow Shevek as he wrestles with fame, isolation, intellectual ego (and the consolidation of publishing power), and the very messy reality of trying to build a better world with other humans. The political conversations get bigger, and at least one Pagenerd starts sounding like they’re on the verge of joining an anarchist moon colony (it’s me, Sarah). There’s a lot in here about who gets access to knowledge, who controls it, and what we owe each other when systems stop serving people. You know, fun light podcast stuff. Thank you for spending your finite life minutes with us. We adored this book and honestly could have talked about it for another six hours. If you like your sci-fi thoughtful, political, and painfully human, Le Guin remains undefeated.

The Forever War is a book that asks "Who hurt author Joe Haldeman?” and the answer is: The United States Military. This book is about a futuristic war fought by soldiers in power armour, but really it's about every war and every soldier. It was written in 1974, but feels disturbingly current. Haldeman wrote this book after his experience as a combat engineer in the Vietnam War. So it reads as a scathing critique of American imperialism, the futility of war, and what it does to the people sent to fight it— and the ones left behind. It’s the kind of book we need in April of 2026. Tommy recorded this episode from the bathroom of a truly gross San Francisco hotel, which feels spiritually aligned with the time we’re living in. Haldeman’s writing is sharp, disorienting, and surprisingly human. If you like your sci-fi with a true disdain for war, queer-stuff before its time, and a side of existential whiplash, this one delivers.

Wild Dark Shore is the kind of book that makes you openly weep on the subway. Charlotte McConaghy drops us onto a remote, storm-battered island filled with seals, secrets, and a family holding on a little too tightly to both. In this episode the Pagenerds attempt to unpack it and emotionally survive it, as the story unfolds into something about grief, survival, and what we owe each other at the end of the world. Sarah sobbed into the book. Full, page-wrecking sobs. She also sobbed in the episode, and at one point almost fought Rick, which honestly feels on theme. It’s haunting, tense, and deeply tender. You might finish it and call someone you love. Or start a fight. Honestly, both feel right.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is often called the first science fiction novel for good reason. The problematic goth queen was only 18 when she wrote this novel at a gloomy lakehouse in Switzerland in 1816, but its lessons about scientific hubris and themes of parental abandonment and guilt are forever relevant. Shelley’s prose remains haunting and gorgeous, and her social circle is one of history’s greatest blunt rotations. The Pagenerds take us back to the early 19th Century and look at how Frankenstein and his monster emerged from cutting edge science of the time and look at the real Victor Frankenstein — an actual scientist who actually pumped electricity through severed limbs and heads to make them move.

Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter is like a sci-fi thriller version of Sliding Doors if you needed a basic understanding of quantum mechanics to watch Sliding Doors. The novel asks “what if in a different timeline there’s a version of you that didn’t have a kid, and instead became a famous scientist?”, and “what if you got in a big fight with all the other versions of you?” Pagenerd Sarah read this book when she was deciding whether to have a kid, but she won’t tell us how many other Sarahs she defeated in single combat. Read along with us and see if you end up as a parent, or whether you decide to try fighting your evil twin from another universe!

Pagenerd is a sci-fi book club for people who suck at book clubs. You can read along if you want, but we’ll tell you what happens and have some fun figuring out the science, plot and characters along the way. In each episode we pick a sci-fi novel — current or classic — and explore its world and characters, discussing what it would be like to exist in that novel and how well it's realised on the page. Pagenerd is Sarah Stockdale, Tommy Guy, Richard Vieweg and Andrew Corway. Jay Cockburn is the producer. Pagenerd is Sarah Stockdale, Tommy Guy, Richard Vieweg and Andrew Corway. Jay Cockburn is the producer. New episodes launch every two weeks. If you want to read along with future episodes then you'll find a full list of what we're reading next at pagenerd.com. You can reach the nerds at Pagenerdhq@gmail.com — tell us about your local library or favourite indie book store!