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For a friend looking for highly-reviewed, recently published science fiction, consider these award-winners and critically acclaimed novels from 2024 and 2025. 2024 Hugo Award winner Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh: This award-winning space opera follows a young woman raised on an isolated space station with one goal: to defeat the alien race that destroyed Earth. However, when she's denied a spot in a combat unit, she begins to question everything she's been taught about loyalty, vengeance, and the war. Critically acclaimed recent releases The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (2024): A debut novel praised by the Los Angeles Times as "a smart, gripping work". The story centers on a civil servant in near-future London who must act as a liaison for a time traveler brought from the Victorian era. The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves and China Miéville (2024): This novel is co-written by actor Keanu Reeves. The story follows a very old and lonely warrior who can rip people's arms off. Private Rites by Julia Armfield (2025): Set in a near-future Britain suffering from climate change, this literary sci-fi novel nods to folk horror and a modern retelling of King Lear. It focuses on two sisters dealing with the illness and death of their father. Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2025): From the author of the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning novel Children of Time, this book features a rebellious robot protagonist. The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (2025): The solo debut from the acclaimed co-author of This Is How You Lose the Time War. It's a story of magic and legends narrated by a character who directly addresses the listener. Notable series additions If your friend is interested in starting a series, these recent entries are highly regarded: System Collapse by Martha Wells (2023): The seventh book in the beloved Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Murderbot Diaries series, which follows a socially awkward human/bot construct. Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer (2024): A surprise fourth volume in the popular Southern Reach series, which returns readers to the mysterious, secluded Area X. Translation State by Ann Leckie (2023): Returning to the universe of the Imperial Radch series, this standalone novel follows a diplomat on a mission to find a missing translator for an enigmatic alien race.