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For a friend who enjoys highly-reviewed, recently published science fiction, consider these award-winners and nominees from 2023–2025. 2025 Hugo Award Winner and Finalists The Hugo Award is one of the most prestigious honors in the science fiction and fantasy genre. The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett: A biopunk detective story that won the 2025 Hugo Award for Best Novel. Detective Ana Dolabra investigates a gruesome, supernatural murder with the help of her magically altered assistant, Din. The book features imaginative world-building, masterful plotting, and dark wit. The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley: A near-future British agency recruits a civil servant to acclimate a time traveler from the doomed 1845 Franklin expedition to the present day. It's a mix of a terrific adventure novel, social commentary, and unexpected romance. Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky: On a desolate prison planet, a xenobiologist discovers that the vanished alien civilization isn't gone—it's lurking. This intelligent, immersive novel explores clashes between species and ideologies. Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky: In a post-apocalyptic world where robot labor has caused human civilization to collapse, a domestic robot achieves sentience and begins a quest for purpose. This is a satirical, entertaining story with a compelling take on the crumbling of an old hierarchy. 2024 Hugo Award Winner Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh: This space opera and 2024 Hugo Award winner follows a young woman raised on a space station to hate the aliens who destroyed Earth. When she's denied her chance at vengeance, she begins to question everything she's been taught. 2024 Arthur C. Clarke Award Winners In Ascension by Martin MacInnes: The winner of the 2024 Arthur C. Clarke Award and a finalist for the Booker Prize, this is a more literary work of science fiction. It tells the story of a deep-sea biologist whose past brings her into a far-future space mission and an investigation into the nature of existence. The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler: A nominee for the 2024 Arthur C. Clarke Award, this debut novel explores consciousness and what happens when humanity discovers a species of intelligent, tool-using octopuses. 2023 Hugo and Nebula Award Winners Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R. F. Kuang: A genre-bending historical fantasy that won the 2023 Nebula Award for Best Novel. It explores colonialism and linguistic history through the eyes of a Chinese orphan studying at Oxford's Royal Institute of Translation. The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi: The winner of the 2023 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and a nominee for the Hugo Award. It's a lighthearted, escapist story about a group of scientists studying gigantic kaiju in a parallel universe. Other highly-regarded recent novels The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey (Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck): The first book in The Captive's War series from the authors of The Expanse. It's a well-regarded space opera with a mystery and a human society at war with an alien race. Translation State by Ann Leckie: Set in the award-winning Imperial Radch universe, this is a standalone novel that follows a young diplomat searching for a long-lost alien translator. It was a nominee for the 2024 Hugo and Locus Awards. The Will of the Many by James Islington: A 2023 Goodreads Choice Award nominee, this is the first book in a Roman-inspired fantasy series. It follows a young protagonist as he navigates a magical school and a hierarchical society.