Answer Details

For recent and highly-reviewed science fiction novels, you can choose from award-winning titles like the 2024 Nebula winner Someone You Can Build a Nest In or critically acclaimed bestsellers such as Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary. Novels from prolific, celebrated authors like Martha Wells and Adrian Tchaikovsky are also excellent options. Award-winning novels from 2024 and 2025 Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (2023): This space opera won the 2024 Hugo Award for Best Novel. It tells the story of a warrior-in-training bred to fight the alien race that destroyed Earth, and what happens when she starts questioning her indoctrination [4.3]. System Collapse by Martha Wells (2023): The latest entry in the popular Murderbot Diaries series, this novel was the 2024 Locus Award winner for Best Science Fiction Novel. Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell (2024): This novel took home the 2024 Nebula Award for Best Novel. It tells the story of a shapeshifting monster who falls in love with a woman he is supposed to eat. The Man Who Saw Seconds by Alexander Boldizar (2025): The 2025 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel went to this book, about a man who, after a freak accident, sees the world in fragmented snapshots. The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera (2023): Nominated for both the 2024 Nebula and Hugo Awards, this "philosophical fantasy" follows a young man seeking revenge on his father while navigating a strange, caste-based society. Critically acclaimed books from 2022–2023 Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (2021): A hard science fiction bestseller, this novel follows an amnesiac astronaut who must save Earth from a solar engineering catastrophe. The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler (2022): This novel, which won the 2023 Locus Award for Best First Novel, explores themes of first contact with a non-human, sentient species. The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi (2022): In this fun and fast-paced adventure, a man joins an animal protection agency and discovers they protect giant, rampaging monsters in another dimension. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (2022): Spanning centuries, this novel investigates a recurring time-travel anomaly from Vancouver Island in the early 1900s to a moon colony in the 25th century. Highly regarded recent works Upgrade by Blake Crouch (2022): From the author of Dark Matter and Recursion, this techno-thriller follows a government agent who undergoes an upgrade that unlocks his genetic potential and makes him a target. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (2022): A take on the classic H.G. Wells story set in 19th-century Mexico, this novel weaves together science fiction, historical fiction, and body horror. A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (2021): A Hugo Award-winning novella, this "cozy sci-fi" story features a traveling monk who befriends a robot that has gained sentience. Translation State by Ann Leckie (2023): A standalone novel set in the same universe as the Hugo-winning Imperial Radch series, this story explores culture and communication through an investigator tracking down a vanished alien translator.