"The Mountain In The Sea" author Ray Nayler - Hugo & Locus award-winner - Sentientism 242
Fri Jan 16 2026
Ray Nayler is a Hugo and Locus Award winning author. Born in Quebec and raised in California, he lived and worked abroad for two decades in Russia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Vietnam, and Kosovo as a Foreign Service officer, a Peace Corps volunteer, and an international development worker.
Ray's first novel, The Mountain in the Sea won the Locus Award. It was a finalist for the Nebula Arthur C. Clarke, the LA Times Ray Bradbury Awards, and was named a London Times science fiction book of the year. Mountain was listed as one of the best science fiction books of all time by Esquire. Ray's novella The Tusks of Extinction won the 2025 Hugo Award, and was a finalist for the Nebula and Locus Awards. Ray's third book, Where the Axe is Buried, was published in April 2025. Ray's short stories have won the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire, France's highest literary prize for science fiction, the Clarkesworld Readers' poll, the Asimov's Readers' Award, the Bifrost readers' award, and have been nominated for the Theodore Sturgeon Award.
In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the most important questions: “what’s real?”, “who matters?” and "how can we make a better world?"
Sentientism answers those questions with "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is here on YouTube.
00:00 Clips“If the world is actual and real and their suffering and their thoughts and their perceptions of the world are just as real and important as mine, then I'm tied to them in this way that is real.”“That's the core for me. That's the root of ethics. Ethics is acting in the world as if other beings are just as important as you because that's a fact.”“Consciousness arose in a very natural and comprehensible way as a consequence of the existence of life in real space.”“I always want to end my books on an empowering note. You can have a very dystopic vision of the near future. It should still have something in it that moves people toward positive action because I do think writing has a function in the world and a purpose.”01:00 WelcomeNico Delon episode“I think my reading list extends just out past the heat death of the universe.”Sentientism’s “what’s real?” and “who matters?” questions. 07:50 Ray’s Intro11:00 What’s Real?20:22 What Matters?34:43 Who Matters?01:06:55 A Better Future?01:13:20 Follow Ray“I just would encourage everyone to read widely and act on what they learn… Act in the world, read and learn, experience some more, try things out… And give a shit.”- https://www.raynayler.net/
And more... full show notes at Sentientism.info.
Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall via this simple form.
Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. The biggest so far is here on FaceBook. Come join us there!
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Ray Nayler is a Hugo and Locus Award winning author. Born in Quebec and raised in California, he lived and worked abroad for two decades in Russia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Vietnam, and Kosovo as a Foreign Service officer, a Peace Corps volunteer, and an international development worker. Ray's first novel, The Mountain in the Sea won the Locus Award. It was a finalist for the Nebula Arthur C. Clarke, the LA Times Ray Bradbury Awards, and was named a London Times science fiction book of the year. Mountain was listed as one of the best science fiction books of all time by Esquire. Ray's novella The Tusks of Extinction won the 2025 Hugo Award, and was a finalist for the Nebula and Locus Awards. Ray's third book, Where the Axe is Buried, was published in April 2025. Ray's short stories have won the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire, France's highest literary prize for science fiction, the Clarkesworld Readers' poll, the Asimov's Readers' Award, the Bifrost readers' award, and have been nominated for the Theodore Sturgeon Award. In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the most important questions: “what’s real?”, “who matters?” and "how can we make a better world?" Sentientism answers those questions with "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is here on YouTube. 00:00 Clips“If the world is actual and real and their suffering and their thoughts and their perceptions of the world are just as real and important as mine, then I'm tied to them in this way that is real.”“That's the core for me. That's the root of ethics. Ethics is acting in the world as if other beings are just as important as you because that's a fact.”“Consciousness arose in a very natural and comprehensible way as a consequence of the existence of life in real space.”“I always want to end my books on an empowering note. You can have a very dystopic vision of the near future. It should still have something in it that moves people toward positive action because I do think writing has a function in the world and a purpose.”01:00 WelcomeNico Delon episode“I think my reading list extends just out past the heat death of the universe.”Sentientism’s “what’s real?” and “who matters?” questions. 07:50 Ray’s Intro11:00 What’s Real?20:22 What Matters?34:43 Who Matters?01:06:55 A Better Future?01:13:20 Follow Ray“I just would encourage everyone to read widely and act on what they learn… Act in the world, read and learn, experience some more, try things out… And give a shit.”- https://www.raynayler.net/ And more... full show notes at Sentientism.info. Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall via this simple form. Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. The biggest so far is here on FaceBook. Come join us there!