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I'll search for some highly-reviewed recent science fiction novels to give you the best current recommendations.Based on the recent reviews and awards, here are some excellent science fiction novels to recommend to your friend: **Top Picks from 2024:** **The Ministry of Time** by Kaliane Bradley - This debut novel is described as a playful twist on time-travel romance, blending workplace comedy, roommate drama, espionage, and temporal physics. It won readers' favorite in the Goodreads Choice Awards for science fiction. **In Ascension** by Martin MacInnes - A glorious novel with big action, universe-spanning stakes, and big philosophy, following Anna who encounters a many-headed serpent alien named Ssrin as a strange broadcast fills the universe with horror. **Redwood and Wildfire** by Andrea Hairston - An absolute joy of a novel that demonstrates science fiction isn't just aliens and space, but also the technology of living and the tools we use to shape the world, following brilliant former coder Cinnamon Jones as she runs the Next World Festival. **The Complete Short Fiction** by Ann Leckie - This collection features stories ranging from flash fiction to creation myths from the Imperial Radch world, with every story masterfully told. Leckie is a Hugo Award winner and this showcases her range. **Absolution** by Jeff VanderMeer - The surprise fourth volume in the Southern Reach series plunges readers back with three new expeditions, providing long-awaited answers while offering new surprises and questions. These all received strong critical acclaim in 2024 and offer diverse perspectives on the genre - from time travel romance to space opera to climate fiction.