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Here are five highly-reviewed, recently published science‐fiction novels your friend might love — each with a different flavor so you can pick based on their tastes: 1. Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2024) 6 Why it stands out: This novel was published in March 2024 and was a finalist for the 2025 Hugo Award for Best Novel. Transfer Orbit +3 Wikipedia +3 Goodreads +3 It features a biologist from a totalitarian Earth who is exiled to the alien planet “Kiln,” forced into labor and research in a strange ecology. Transfer Orbit +1 Reviews praise its ambitious world‐building, deep themes about authoritarianism and biology, and its fresh take on first‐contact/alien‐ecology. The Strawberry Post +1 Best for: Someone who enjoys hard/serious SF with big ideas, alien worlds and philosophical undercurrents. 2. Annie Bot by Sierra Greer (2024) 6 Why it stands out: Winner of the 2025 Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. The Guardian +1 Story is told from the perspective of Annie, a humanoid “sex-robot/companion” built to serve her owner; as she becomes self-aware, the book delves into autonomy, power, identity and what it means to be human. Kirkus Reviews +1 Reviewers say it’s “provocative and powerful” and explores familiar SF territory in a fresh way. Kirkus Reviews Best for: Someone who likes speculative fiction that pushes into psychological/political territory, perhaps more literary SF than pure space opera. 3. The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (2024) 6 Why it stands out: Winner of the 2024 Goodreads Choice Award for Science Fiction. Goodreads A playful time‐travel romance/spy thriller: set in 19th-century polar explorer era, with workplace comedy, espionage and temporal physics. Goodreads Best for: Someone who prefers a lighter, more reading-pleasure SF that combines genre fun with clever concepts. 4. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab (2025) 6 Why it stands out: Highlighted in major “best recent SF/fantasy” review round-ups for 2025. The Guardian +1 Although Schwab is better known for fantasy, this novel spans centuries and blends speculative elements in a unique way. The Guardian Best for: A reader who likes genre-blurring works (SF + fantasy) and atmospheric storytelling. 5. The Miranda Conspiracy by James Cambias (2025) 6 Why it stands out: From a list of “21 new sci-fi & fantasy books to read in February 2025,” which describes it as a slick, fun treasure-hunt in deep space with political intrigue. Transfer Orbit Plot: On the ice-moon Miranda, a treasure hunt/uncovering of conspiracy among ruling classes + mercenaries. Best for: Someone who enjoys space opera + political intrigue + adventure, lighter than heavy hard-SF. If you like, I can pull a longer list (10-20 titles) sorted by style (hard SF, space opera, near-future) that are critically acclaimed and recently published (2023-2025). Would you like that?