Answer Details

Some of the most highly-reviewed and recently published science fiction novels include winners of the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award and the Booker Prize, alongside other notable books released in 2024 and 2025. These titles span a wide range of subgenres, from hard sci-fi to near-future climate fiction and witty explorations of AI. Award-winning and critically acclaimed novels The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (2024): Blending historical fiction, sci-fi, and romance, this novel follows a civil servant tasked with working with "expats" brought to the present day from different historical eras. It was a winner at the Goodreads Choice Awards for Science Fiction. Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (2024): This well-received novel, which won the 2024 Nebula Award for Best Novel, features a protagonist from a militaristic, post-apocalyptic humanity. When a different timeline is discovered, she must question everything she has ever been taught. In Ascension by Martin MacInnes (2024): A finalist for the 2024 Arthur C. Clarke Award and longlisted for the Booker Prize, this is a profound and literary novel about a biologist who ventures into the ocean's depths and then into space. Orbital by Samantha Harvey (2024): Winner of the Booker Prize, this is an elegantly written, high-concept novel about a day in the lives of six astronauts and cosmonauts orbiting Earth on a space station. The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler (2024): This Arthur C. Clarke Award finalist is a thought-provoking tale about the discovery of a species of hyper-intelligent, tool-making octopuses. System Collapse by Martha Wells (2024): The latest installment in the award-winning Murderbot Diaries series, which continues the story of the popular, self-aware security bot who would rather just watch sci-fi shows. Other highly-reviewed recent releases The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (2025): The solo debut from the co-author of the Hugo Award-winning novella This Is How You Lose the Time War. It is a literary fantasy with an ancient magic narrative that is designed to be experienced as an audiobook. Annie Bot by Sierra Greer (2025): This is a witty and unsettling exploration of artificial intelligence and toxic relationships, as a sexbot begins to develop a will of her own. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (2024): From the author of The Martian, this best-selling novel follows an astronaut who wakes up with amnesia and is tasked with saving humanity. Juice by Tim Winton (2024): A work of near-future climate fiction that imagines life in Australia after climate collapse. It is a dystopian tale that is also a gripping yarn. The Drift by C. L. Clark (2024): The Goodreads choice winner for Science Fiction and Fantasy in 2024 is a queer military sci-fi story. Lake of Darkness by Adam Roberts (2024): A mind-bending novel of ideas about two spaceships observing a black hole when a captain claims he is communicating with something inside it. The book is known for its exploration of complex philosophical concepts.