Station Eleven - A character-driven post-apocalyptic survival story! (no spoilers book review)

A fresh take on the post-apocalyptic genre! It almost reads like a zombie survival story without the zombies.

Despite the grim nature of a story about a pandemic that destroys civilization, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel is full of subtle optimism and deep characters. It jumps between timelines and between characters, and builds mystery about how all these people are going to be connected. It tells a tense story about the dangers posed by other survivors in a post-apocalyptic world while its characters try to hold on to art and music. It even manages to explore the narcissism created by celebrity in the 'present' timeline.

The book was first published as sci-fi, but after the release of the TV show has been moved to the general fiction section in most book stores, so this also seemed like the right episode go deep on what exactly counts as sci-fi.

As always, we also recommend and discuss some similar books if you are looking for more great books to read:

Barrayar (or any book in the Vorkosigan Saga) - Lois McMaster Bujold
The Glass Hotel - Emily St. John Mandel
Any book by Mario Vargas Llosa
The Road - Cormac McCarthy

Or search for "Hugonauts" on your podcast app of choice if you prefer to listen to the show.

Timestamps
00:00 Intro
1:19 Summary (no spoilers)
2:34 Yes, that is a hand knit sweatervest
3:28 The review (3.5 / 5)
4:55 The dual-timeline plot
6:25 Zombie survival without the zombies
9:57 The very human characters
15:09 Why post-apocalyptic stories are so appealing
17:20 A couple breaks in the realism
21:52 What makes something sci fi?
30:13 Similar book recommendations

#booktube #StationEleven #hugonauts #scifi #EmilyStJohnMandel #PostApocalypse