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 398: Ten Minutes with Paul McAuley
Episode 397: Ten Minutes with Joe Haldeman
Episode 396: Ten Minutes with Gillian Redfearn and Joe Hill
Episode 395: Ten Minutes with Christopher Rowe
Episode 394: Ten Minutes with Sofia Samatar
Episode 393: Ten Minutes with Charles Stross
Episode 392: Ten Minutes with Cory Doctorow
Episode 391: Ten Minutes with Martha Wells
Episode 390: Ten Minutes with Alastair Reynolds
Episode 389: Ten Minutes with Gwyneth Jones
Episode 388: Ten Minutes with Ian McDonald
Episode 387: Ten Minutes with Fran Wilde
Episode 386: Ten Minutes with Tade Thompson
Episode 385: Ten Minutes with Liz Williams
Episode 384: Ten Minutes with Lavie Tidhar
Episode 383: Ten Minutes with Angela Slatter
Episode 382: Ten Minutes with Alex Irvine
Episode 381: Ten Minutes with Tamsyn Muir
Episode 380: Ten Minutes with Andy Duncan
Episode 379: Ten Minutes with Ellen Klages
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