The Intercepts is an excellent beach read if you’re deeply unwell. It’s also the Pagenerds very first horror sci-fi, so thanks T.J. Payne.

The novel drops us into a secret government facility where people are kept underground and understimulated for some… experimentation. We uncover what in the MKUltra is going on through the eyes of a program manager and his teenage daughter. There’s a beige, middle-management, banality-of-evil vibe— and then it gets properly haunted-house scary.

Huge shoutout to Jay, our producer, who is famously squeamish and still edited this episode.

If you like your sci-fi with some gore, this book is for you. If you don’t, let us spoil it for you.

We love you, ‘nerds. Thanks so much for listening!

Pagenerd is Sarah Stockdale, Tommy Guy, Richard Vieweg and Andrew Corway. Jay Cockburn is the producer. New episodes launch every two weeks.

If you want to read along with future episodes then you'll find a full list of what we're reading next at pagenerd.com.

You can reach the nerds at Pagenerdhq@gmail.com — tell us about your local library or favourite indie book store!

Wild Dark Shore is the kind of book that makes you openly weep on the subway.

Charlotte McConaghy drops us onto a remote, storm-battered island filled with seals, secrets, and a family holding on a little too tightly to both. In this episode the Pagenerds attempt to unpack it and emotionally survive it, as the story unfolds into something about grief, survival, and what we owe each other at the end of the world.

Sarah sobbed into the book. Full, page-wrecking sobs. She also sobbed in the episode, and at one point almost fought Rick, which feels on theme.

It’s haunting, tense, and deeply tender. You might finish it and call someone you love. Or start a fight. Honestly, both feel right.

Pagenerd is Sarah Stockdale, Tommy Guy, Richard Vieweg and Andrew Corway. Jay Cockburn is the producer. New episodes launch every two weeks.

You can reach the nerds at Pagenerdhq@gmail.com — tell us about your local library or favourite indie book store!

Murderbot is the patron saint of “please stop talking to me”, and we love that for it.

The pagenerds dives into All Systems Red by Martha Wells and the deeply relatable life of Murderbot— an anxious, rogue security android that saves humans mostly so it can get back to watching its shows. They talk about corporate dystopias, introversion, androgynous (hot) Alexander Skarsgard, and why this novella punches way above its weight.

Tommy, Rick, and Andrew are holding down the fort this week while Sarah is in France, likely overconsuming funky cheese. She’ll be back in two weeks, as will the rest of us.

We love you, nerds, thank you so much for listening!

Pagenerd is Sarah Stockdale, Tommy Guy, Richard Vieweg and Andrew Corway. Jay Cockburn is the producer. New episodes launch every two weeks.

You can reach the nerds at Pagenerdhq@gmail.com — tell us about your local library or favourite indie book store!