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For a friend looking for highly-reviewed, recently published science fiction, consider these popular and acclaimed novels from late 2023, 2024, and the start of 2025. New in 2025 The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley: In this time-travel romance, an official from the future recruits a 19th-century Arctic explorer to live in modern London. It was a 2024 Booker Prize winner and a New York Times notable book of the year. Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky: In this post-apocalyptic story, a service robot goes on a journey to find its new purpose after its human master dies, exploring themes of personhood and consciousness. Annie Bot by Sierra Greer: An unnerving yet tender debut that follows a humanoid companion bot who has her understanding of love and existence upended after her owner purchases her an upgrade. The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves and China Miéville: Co-authored by the actor, this novel is based on the BRZRKR comic series. It follows an 80,000-year-old warrior who strikes a deal with a black-ops group to finally find mortality. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid: The author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo branches into historical sci-fi with this novel about the first women astronauts in NASA's space shuttle program during the 1980s. From 2024 The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey: The first book in The Captive's War series, this novel from the co-author of The Expanse is a high-stakes military sci-fi with intricate world-building. Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky: A highly-rated novel from a popular sci-fi author, where a prisoner is sent to a newly terraformed planet that holds a monstrous secret. The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei: A space opera that follows a disgraced treasure hunter on a heist to recover a mythical artifact from the galactic rich, with a compelling found-family plot. Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa: Set in a near-future Nigeria ravaged by climate change, this speculative novel explores class disparities and the fight for truth in a flooded world. Award-Winners from 2023 Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh: Winner of the 2024 Hugo Award for Best Novel. After Earth is destroyed, a teenage girl is raised to seek vengeance, but uncovers truths that shatter everything she knows. The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler: Winner of the 2023 Locus Award for Best First Novel. This book explores the first-contact scenario with a newly discovered species of highly intelligent, sapient octopuses. Translation State by Ann Leckie: A novel set in the popular Imperial Radch universe, it follows three outsiders on a mission of galactic importance who begin to uncover the secrets of their own pasts. Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah: A searing dystopian novel set in a future United States where death-row inmates battle for their freedom in televised gladiator-style competitions.