The Cosmic Codex By cover art

The Cosmic Codex

By: Brian Scott Pauls
Listen for free

  • Summary

  • Living in a science fiction universe...

    www.thecosmiccodex.com
    Brian Scott Pauls
    Show more Show less
activate_primeday_promo_in_buybox_DT
Episodes
  • A funny thing happened on the way to the past

    A funny thing happened on the way to the past
    Jun 27 2024
    My novelette, An Illicit Mercy, is part of a new promotion in June and July, Get the page turners before they’re gone!Nearly 60 books available for free.Get your FREE copy of Wait for MeThis is an intense crossover short, where two of Dawn Chapman’s favorite characters meet the main character from Tailspin. Enjoy! Sometimes, the hardest thing you'll ever do is tell someone you love them.Amid intense helicopter missions, a teenager arrives at Rise Hospital, requiring life-saving yet experimental tech. Nico and Lacy are called in for their expertise, with no clue who this stranger is or how meeting him will change their lives forever. Lacy's skills as a magic healer will be pushed to the limit.For the first time in a long time, Niko and Lacy spend meaningful time together when it matters most to their relationship. Niko realizes that if he never says those words, he might lose Lacy for good.In 1995, Australian genre small-press Chimaera Publications founded the Aurealis Awards to honor “the achievements of Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror writers.”Thanks for reading The Cosmic Codex! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This year, sff author Tansy Rayner Roberts has won the Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel with her time travel comedy Time of the Cat. Roberts holds a doctorate in Classics and reads her work on the podcast Sheep Might Fly. She lives in Tasmania.Thank you for reading The Cosmic Codex. This post is public so feel free to share it.Here’s the description of Time of the Cat from the book’s Kickstarter page:It’s time to take history seriously.The cats and humans of Chronos College know that time travel is the best job in the world, and nothing bad can ever happen to them in the past… except that one time they lost a traveller. And that other time they lost a cat.Now they have a chance to make up for past mistakes by rescuing a long lost legend. If only they could convince Professor Boswell, the grumpiest marmalade tabby of all time, to join their mission to the Swinging Sixties, and save one of their own. (Plus pick up a missing episode or two of their favourite TV show along the way.)Join Ruthven, Boswell, Monterey and Lovelace on the most chaotic time travel adventure of their lives. Featuring special appearances by Cleopatra, Anne Boleyn, famous actress Fleur Shropshire, and the even more famous house where they filmed Cramberleigh between 1964-1986.Way to go, Tansy!Have you read Time of the Cat, or do you plan to? Please share your thoughts!My latest novelette, “Long Night On the Endless City,” appears in Boundary Shock Quarterly 26: Tomorrow’s Crimes:On the vast ring habitat Ouroboros, Jel and her synthetic companion Marcus search for Arja, the third member of their triad. This quest leads them to a cryptic technology cult with questionable motives. When they suffer a vicious attack, Marcus and Jel join forces with one of Ouroboros’most renowned computer and robotics experts to get to the bottom of the mystery.This thought-provoking sf tale explores artificial intelligence, religion, and the ties that bind families together in a fast-paced story full of action, intrigue, and heart.Club Codex is finishing our discussion of the Prometheus Award-winning novel “Cloud-Castles” by Dave Freer in June.Follow along with my thoughts on this novel and contribute your own in the following thread:Click here for more details about Club Codex in 2024. Please join us! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecosmiccodex.com
    Show more Show less
    2 mins
  • Hell on wheels

    Hell on wheels
    Jun 21 2024
    My novelette, An Illicit Mercy, is part of a new promotion in June and July, Get the page turners before they’re gone!Nearly 60 books available for free.My latest novelette, “Long Night On the Endless City,” appears in Boundary Shock Quarterly 26: Tomorrow’s Crimes:On the vast ring habitat Ouroboros, Jel and her synthetic companion Marcus search for Arja, the third member of their triad. This quest leads them to a cryptic technology cult with questionable motives. When they suffer a vicious attack, Marcus and Jel join forces with one of Ouroboros’most renowned computer and robotics experts to get to the bottom of the mystery.This thought-provoking sf tale explores artificial intelligence, religion, and the ties that bind families together in a fast-paced story full of action, intrigue, and heart.Get your FREE preview of Fallen!This is a sneak-peek of the first book of a two-part series. The sequel, Risen, is coming soon.Brendan Murphy nearly died fighting for his country.Now he’s trying to stop a war.Five years ago, alien ship appeared in low orbit all around the world and stayed there, waiting. A highly advanced alien race known as the Sabia lingered with little contact with humanity, and the worlds’ governments have been eager for answers – and access- for years.When combat veteran Brendan Murphy is wounded stopping an attack on a Sabia diplomat, he finds himself whisked aboard one of their ships and given medical aid. This rare opportunity finds him walking a tenuous line between burgeoning friendships and secret agenda that will test his loyalties and sanity in ways he can’t begin to imagine.Club Codex is finishing our discussion of the Prometheus Award-winning novel “Cloud-Castles” by Dave Freer in June.Follow along with my thoughts on this novel and contribute your own in the following thread:Click here for more details about Club Codex in 2024. Please join us!The recent premier of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the latest movie in the Mad Max franchise, provides a good opportunity to correct the record regarding the origin of a couple of popular cinematic characters.A number of science fiction movie franchises have their origins in sf literature. Often, this debt is acknowledged, but sometimes credit doesn’t go the the author who deserves it.Thanks for reading The Cosmic Codex! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The latter appears to be the case for the popular characters Max Rockatansky from the 1979 movie Mad Max, and Snake Plisskin from the 1981 movie Escape from New York. While it may be easy to distinguish between these two charismatic, post-apocalyptic anti-heroes because of their unique settings, they appear to share a common ancestor in Hell Tanner, the protagonist of Roger Zelazny’s 1967 Hugo-nominated novella ”Damnation Alley”.While I can’t prove George Miller, director of Mad Max, and John Carpenter, director of Escape from New York, read “Damnation Alley”, it seems likely.Consider, for example, one of the first scenes in Zelazny’s novella:He saw the roadblock and turned. They were not sure how he had managed it that quickly, at that speed. But now he was heading away from them. He heard the gunshots and kept going. Then he heard the sirens.He blew his horn twice in reply and leaned far forward. The Harley leaped ahead, and he wondered whether they were radioing to someone farther on up the line.He ran for ten minutes and couldn’t shake them. Then fifteen.He topped another hill, and far ahead he saw the second block. He was bottled in.He looked all around him for side roads, saw none. Then he bore a straight course toward the second block. Might as well try to run it.Reading this is like watching a Mad Max movie in my head. A harried protagonist deals with armed attackers while navigating a high speed vehicle down a perilous road. And make no mistake, Hell Tanner’s driving skills are a match for any character Miller ever created for the Mad Max series.Thank you for reading The Cosmic Codex. This post is public so feel free to share it.It turns out Tanner is running from a deal he made in exchange for a full pardon from the national (you read that right) government of California. He’s been serving time for the extensive rap sheet he’s run up in his 25-30 years of life. But now he’s having buyer’s remorse. To earn his pardon, he has to deliver the vaccine for bubonic plague to an infected Boston before all its residents die. The problem is he can only accomplish this in time by running Damnation Alley, the coast-to-coast route across a post-apocalyptic (like Rockatansky’s Australia or Plisskin’s New York) America. The only person to do this successfully was the messenger who delivered the news of the epidemic to California. And he immediately died of the injuries he sustained en route.A prisoner of the national government is coerced into service facing a hellscape for the greater good. If this plot sounds familiar,...
    Show more Show less
    9 mins
  • Space adventure about contemporary problems

    Space adventure about contemporary problems
    Jun 14 2024
    My novelette, An Illicit Mercy, is part of a new promotion in May and June, Science Fiction & Fantasy Reads.Check out over 80 books available for free.My latest novelette, “Long Night On the Endless City,” appears in Boundary Shock Quarterly 26: Tomorrow’s Crimes:On the vast ring habitat Ouroboros, Jel and her synthetic companion Marcus search for Arja, the third member of their triad. This quest leads them to a cryptic technology cult with questionable motives. When they suffer a vicious attack, Marcus and Jel join forces with one of Ouroboros’most renowned computer and robotics experts to get to the bottom of the mystery.This thought-provoking sf tale explores artificial intelligence, religion, and the ties that bind families together in a fast-paced story full of action, intrigue, and heart.Get your FREE copy of Elemental by Liane MahughRaya's ability to control the elements is more than a way of life - it could be her death sentence. Sent on a solo mission to Earth, she runs into trouble when her ship crashes near a small town. Will her supernatural powers be enough to keep her safe on this unfamiliar world?For Raya to make it home, she must learn to trust the teens who befriend her while keeping the truth about her mission a secret from them. It doesn't take long for her new friends to wonder: was she sent to help, or destroy us?Read Elemental now to find out if Raya will triumph or be taken down as a threat to mankind.Elemental is the first in the series. Be sure to follow-up with Book 2 - Down Comes the Dark.The science fiction young adult novel (or “juvenile,” as it used to be called) has been with us since Robert A. Heinlein published Rocket Ship Galileo in 1947. While they may not have been labeled as such, many of Andre Norton’s science fiction novels also read like juveniles. Her protagonist is usually a young adult, almost always an orphan, who has to find his (most are young men) way in the galaxy. In my hometown library, this ambiguity caused Norton’s duology The Zero Stone (1968) and Uncharted Stars (1969) to be cataloged with the children’s books. Meanwhile, I could find the very similar Sargasso of Space (1955), Plague Ship (1956), and Voodoo Planet (1959) in the adult section.While the library may have been confused, sf readers weren’t. In 2005, the year Norton died, the Young Adult Fiction Committee for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association created the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy, since renamed the Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction.Charlie Jane Anders received the 2023 Andre Norton Nebula Award for Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak, the middle book of her Unstoppable space adventure trilogy.Anders tells the story of several teenagers from Earth who’ve been transported to the multi-species galactic civilization known as the Firmament, which is protected by the Royal Fleet. The protagonist is Tina Mains—an adolescent who is also an immature clone of Captain Thaoh Argentian, hero of the Royal Fleet. A procedure to restore Argentian’s memories doesn’t work as expected, so for the most part, Tina must manage using her own resources and those of her friends.The previous volume, Victories Greater than Death, ended with a big win pointing to deeper, darker mysteries. The middle book explores where each of the kids go in their new lives, including their relationships with one another and those they meet along the way.Thanks for reading The Cosmic Codex! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.With this novel, Anders continues her examination of two main themes from the first book and elevates another to primary status.Gender identity is one significant theme, including how languages refer to this characteristic. Members of the Royal Fleet, as well as other citizens of the Firmament, often introduce themselves to new acquaintances by providing both their name and their preferred pronoun. Automatic translation accommodates the gender-fluid by updating those they meet regarding their current pronoun.Informed consent is another theme carried over from the previous novel. This topic comes up frequently in conversations between the teenagers, whether they are close friends or dating one another.Cultural imperialism is the newly-elevated theme. While the first book touched on this idea, developments during the novel’s climax make it a major concern in Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak.This is a lot of territory to cover in a young adult book, and for the most part Anders pulls it off.She aptly handles a large cast without confusing readers about what’s going on or who’s doing it. In this volume, she innovates on the structure of the first book by labeling sections with the name of the current point-of-view character. This helps prevent the reader from getting lost in the details and keeps the overall storyline clear.Anders is talented at describing non-human species in ...
    Show more Show less
    16 mins
Art Literary History & Criticism Science Fiction
Show more Show less

What listeners say about The Cosmic Codex

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com reviews

Amazon reviews
No Reviews are Available