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You can recommend several recently published and highly-reviewed science fiction novels to your friend, including Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary, Arkady Martine's A Memory Called Empire series, and Becky Chambers' Wayfarers series. For more specific recommendations, consider what subgenres your friend might prefer. Hard Sci-Fi These novels focus on scientific accuracy, technical detail, and logical speculation. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (2021): A sole survivor awakens on a desperate mission to save Earth, but he can't remember his name or his assignment. He soon discovers he's not alone. The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson (2020): This novel is told through fictional eyewitness accounts, covering hundreds of years as humanity works to combat climate change. Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2024): A story about a genetically resurrected woolly mammoth with a scientist's consciousness uploaded into it, a century after her murder. Social Sci-Fi These books use scientific or technological advancements to explore social and psychological themes. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (2022): This novel connects characters across centuries, from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a moon colony five hundred years later. The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan (2022): In a dystopian society, a mother is sent to a government reform program to prove she can be a good parent. A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (2021): The first book in the Monk and Robot duology follows a tea monk who encounters a robot that vanished centuries earlier. Space Opera These epics combine adventure and romance with sweeping, interplanetary settings. The Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers: The first book, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (2014), introduces a diverse crew on a spaceship that punches wormholes through the galaxy. The series is known for its quiet, character-driven storytelling. The Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells: This series follows the adventures of a socially awkward and independent security unit that calls itself "Murderbot." Later books in the series, including Network Effect (2020) and System Collapse (2023), have won numerous awards. The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey: A popular series set in the near future where humanity has colonized the solar system. The books detail a conspiracy that threatens peace in the system. Speculative Fiction These works explore what-if scenarios that might be magical rather than strictly scientific. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (2020): From the author of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, this book tells the story of a man who lives in a mysterious, labyrinthine house. The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson (2021): In this debut, humans can travel between parallel worlds, but only to those where the other version of themselves is already dead. This premise makes main character Cara, who has very few surviving counterparts, extremely valuable. Dystopian & Post-Apocalyptic These stories typically center on societies in decline or on humanity's struggle after a civilization-ending event. Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon (2021): This Gothic story is an exploration of motherhood, survival, and a body's power. It follows a young mother who escapes a strictly controlling commune. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (2014): After a devastating flu pandemic, a traveling Shakespearean troupe performs in the settlements of a new, broken world.