Peter Watts is the author of some of the darkest and most thoroughly researched science fiction novels ever written. One of his early fans was horror author Theresa DeLucci, who read his debut novel Starfish while working at Tor Books in the early 2000s. "I had never really read a lot of hard science fiction, but his concepts really intrigued me, and the editor at the time told me that it was really, really dark, and he thought that I would like it, and he was absolutely correct," DeLucci says in Episode 551 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. Watts is best known for his 2006 novel Blindsight, about a crew of augmented humans who are sent to intercept an alien vessel. Science fiction author Sam J. Miller says that Blindsight features some of the best-written aliens in all of science fiction.

HBO's hit series The Last of Us is based on a popular video game from Naughty Dog. Science fiction author Zach Chapman appreciates that the show is a faithful adaptation of one of his favorite games. "The show is in many episodes a shot-for-shot remake of the game," Chapman says in Episode 539 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. "The script is almost exactly the same, you just don't get the gameplay." The Last of Us has a reputation as one of the best video game stories ever told.

The recent Hulu movie Prey, a prequel to the 1987 sci-fi horror film Predator, pits a young Comanche woman against a brutal alien hunter. Science fiction author Zach Chapman loved the new movie. "It's definitely my favorite Predator film," Chapman says in Episode 524 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. "I think it's the only one in the franchise that has a theme--or at least that commits to a theme in a meaningful way--and the action is super awesome." Prey has been a hit with audiences and critics alike, a much-needed boost for the franchise after flops like The Predator and Alien vs. Predator: Requiem.

Horror movies frequently feature a "final girl," a female character who survives to the end of the movie when most--or all--of the other characters do not. Stephen Graham Jones, author of My Heart Is a Chainsaw, is a big fan of the final girl trope. "The final girl is to the slasher as the silver bullet is to the werewolf, as daylight is to the vampire, as a headshot is to the zombie," Jones says in Episode 482 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. Geek's Guide to the Galaxy host David Barr Kirtley says that final girls tap into our natural tendency to root for the underdog. "It's more of an accomplishment for a young woman to defeat the bad guy than if it's some experienced, buff soldier," he says.

The new HBO show Westworld is based on the 1973 feature film of the same name. The movie, which was written and directed by Michael Crichton, explores the idea of a high-tech theme park that goes haywire, an idea Crichton later recycled in his much more famous Jurassic Park. The original Westworld has many fans, but film critic Theresa DeLucci says the new series is a major improvement in terms of quality. "It's an HBO show," DeLucci says in Episode 223 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. "This definitely has that HBO pedigree of cast and acting and music and visuals." Science fiction author Rajan Khanna likes how the show draws inspiration from open world videogames like Red Dead Redemption.