Welcome to the seventh episode of The Coode Street Roundtable. The Roundtable is a monthly podcast from Coode Street Productions where panelists James Bradley, Ian Mond, and Jonathan Strahan, joined by occasional special guests, discuss a new or recently released science fiction or fantasy novel. With James busy with housemoving and such, we're joined by award-winning critic Gary K Wolfe.
Lavie Tidhar’s Central StationThis month we discuss Central Station, the latest book from Lavie Tidhar. It’s described by publisher Tachyon as follows:
A worldwide diaspora has left a quarter of a million people at the foot of a space station. Cultures collide in real life and virtual reality. The city is literally a weed, its growth left unchecked. Life is cheap, and data is cheaper.
When Boris Chong returns to Tel Aviv from Mars, much has changed. Boris’s ex-lover is raising a strangely familiar child who can tap into the datastream of a mind with the touch of a finger. His cousin is infatuated with a robotnik—a damaged cyborg soldier who might as well be begging for parts. His father is terminally-ill with a multigenerational mind-plague. And a hunted data-vampire has followed Boris to where she is forbidden to return.
Rising above them is Central Station, the interplanetary hub between all things: the constantly shifting Tel Aviv; a powerful virtual arena, and the space colonies where humanity has gone to escape the ravages of poverty and war. Everything is connected by the Others, powerful alien entities who, through the Conversation—a shifting, flowing stream of consciousness—are just the beginning of irrevocable change.
At Central Station, humans and machines continue to adapt, thrive...and even evolve.
If you’re keen to avoid spoilers, we recommend reading the book before listening to the episode. If you don’t already have a copy, Central Station can be ordered from:
We encourage all of our listeners to leave comments here and we will do our best to respond as soon as possible.
Next monthThe Coode Street Roundtable will return at the end of June with a discussion of Claire North’s The Sudden Appearance of Hope.
PS: During the recording Jonathan incorrectly states this is the sixth Roundtable. It is the seventh. Apologies for any confusion.Episode 511: Ten Minutes with Cecelia Holland
Episode 510: Ten Minutes with Chaz Brenchley
Episode 509: Ten Minutes with Lev Grossman (redux)
Episode 509: Ten Minutes with Lev Grossman
Episode 508: Ten Minutes with Terri Windling
Episode 507: Ten Minutes with Sheree Renée Thomas
Episode 506: Ten Minutes with CSE Cooney
Episode 505: Ten Minutes with Mimi Mondal
Episode 504: Ten Minutes with Veronica Schanoes
Episode 503: Ten Minutes with Suzy McKee Charnas
Episode 502: Ten Minutes with Tim Pratt
Episode 501: Ten Minutes with Chen Qiufan
Episode 500: Second verse...
Episode 499: Ten Minutes with Vandana Singh
Episode 498: Ten Minutes with Elizabeth Knox
Episode 497: Ten Minutes with Karin Tidbeck
Episode 496: Ten Minutes with John Crowley
Episode 495: Ten Minutes with Charles de Lint
Episode 494: Ten Minutes with Christopher Priest
Episode 493: Ten Minutes with Nina Allan
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