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Some of the most highly reviewed and recently published science fiction novels from 2024 and 2025 include Hugo and Clarke Award winners, compelling dystopian thrillers, and acclaimed work from celebrated authors. Highly reviewed books published in 2024 Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh: The Hugo Award-winning novel is a queer space opera set in a distant future. A young protagonist, Kyr, dreams of escaping her mundane life on a remote planet, but must navigate the complexities of war and identity after an alien invasion. The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley: In this time-travel novel, a civil servant is tasked with assisting a group of "chrononauts"—exiled people from different time periods—in adjusting to 21st-century London. The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett: The first book in the Shadow of the Leviathan series is a fantasy-tinged murder mystery. An eccentric investigator is called upon to solve a murder in a city built on the body of a dead god. Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky: From the author of Children of Time, this book tells the story of two investigators sent to a colony on a dangerous, alien planet, where they must uncover the secrets of the native flora and fauna. The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler: This Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning novel focuses on octopus intelligence and geopolitical espionage. A marine biologist is sent to a remote island to investigate a new species of hyper-intelligent octopus. The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey: In the first book of the Captive's War series, the authors of The Expanse explore a new future after humanity is rescued from destruction by an alien species with unknown motives. Highly anticipated books for 2025 The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar: The co-author of the beloved novella This Is How You Lose the Time War delivers her first solo novel, a story about ancient magic and storytelling. Katabasis by R. F. Kuang: From the author of Babel, this is a dark academia novel inspired by Dante's Inferno, where two rival students at Cambridge venture into the underworld after a recently deceased professor. We Lived On the Horizon by Erika Swyler: A bio-prosthetic surgeon and her personal AI become entangled in a catastrophic war. Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky: In this gripping story, Tchaikovsky creates an alien encounter and survival story on an isolated planet. Where the Axe Is Buried by Ray Nayler: Another political thriller from the author of The Mountain in the Sea, this novel is set in a near-future world where AI governs some nations, and focuses on a protagonist who must navigate political intrigue and authoritarianism.