Episode 366: Apocalypse, awards, and others

As usual on this week’s Coode Street, Jonathan and Gary discuss what they’ve been reading lately, with a particular focus on how apocalyptic fiction has evolved over the decades, and how writers like Kim Stanley Robinson have found ways of finding some sort of hope even in the face of what increasingly seems inevitable. This being the start of awards season, they also spend some time discussing the finalists for the Nebula, Stoker, and Spectrum awards, as well as the new Ray Bradbury Prize from the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. Mostly, though, they focus on the Nebulas, and the interesting question of whether Nebula nominees which had a lot of buzz years or decades ago still have impact today. We stop short of guessing which of this year’s nominees will have readers in another decade or so. Among current and forthcoming books, Gary sounds pretty enthusiastic about the new Liz Williams novel Comet Season and James Bradley's forthcoming novel, Ghost Species.