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This selection of highly-reviewed science fiction novels was published recently, within the last few years, and represents different subgenres . Award-winners and nominees The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (2024): A time-traveling historian in the near-future is tasked with extracting people from the past to study their history firsthand. The novel is a nominee for the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards for Science Fiction. A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (2019): This space opera won the Hugo Award for Best Novel. It follows an ambassador from a small, independent space station who must solve her predecessor's murder while navigating the politics of a vast, interstellar empire. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (2021): A classic "hard sci-fi" adventure from the author of The Martian. The story follows an astronaut who wakes up on a spaceship with no memory of his mission and must piece together his identity to save Earth. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2015): The first book in a trilogy that explores the future of humanity and uplifted species. The final book, Children of Memory, was a nominee for the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (2013): This novel is the first in the Imperial Radch series and swept the genre awards, including the Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke awards. The story is a revenge tale centered on a fragment of a starship's AI, which once controlled thousands of bodies, now inhabiting a single human body. Critically acclaimed recent releases Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (2022): This novel weaves together a story across centuries, from the early 20th-century to a future moon colony. The book links the characters through a shared experience and explores themes of time and parallel universes. The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler (2022): This first-contact story explores the discovery of a highly intelligent, non-human species—in this case, octopuses. It was shortlisted for the 2024 Arthur C. Clarke Award. Gnomon by Nick Harkaway (2017): This intricate and ambitious book is set in a near-future surveillance state where an inspector investigates a woman's death. The narrative is known for its complex structure and philosophical ideas. The Locked Tomb Series by Tamsyn Muir (begun in 2019): A unique series that blends space opera with gothic fantasy. It follows the necromantic adepts of a dying emperor. The first books include Gideon the Ninth and the highly-regarded sequel Harrow the Ninth. Popular series and authors The Expanse by James S.A. Corey (begun in 2011): This popular space opera series is set a few hundred years in the future, when humanity has colonized the solar system. The books were adapted into a successful television series. The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells (begun in 2017): This series of novellas and novels follows a Security Unit (a human-like android) that has hacked its own governor module and just wants to be left alone to watch soap operas. The newest installment, System Collapse, was a nominee for the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards. Red Rising by Pierce Brown (begun in 2014): A sci-fi saga about a class-based society on a terraformed Mars. The series follows a low-caste Darrow, who seeks to topple the ruling elite. Starter Villain by John Scalzi (2023): A fun and fast-paced novel about a man who inherits his estranged uncle's supervillain empire, complete with a lair, minions, and a sardonic cat.