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Some of the most highly reviewed and recently published science fiction novels from 2024 and 2025 include award-winners, highly anticipated releases from big-name authors, and acclaimed debuts. A standout is Kaliane Bradley's debut novel The Ministry of Time, which won the Booker Prize in 2024. Highly reviewed science fiction from 2024 Award-winning The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera: The winner of the 2024 Nebula Award and nominated for the Hugo Award, this fantasy novel follows a man raised to kill his estranged, god-like father. In Ascension by Martin MacInnes: The winner of the 2024 Arthur C. Clarke Award and longlisted for the Booker Prize, this book explores a deep-sea biologist's journey toward an anomalous organism in the Puerto Rico Trench. Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh: A 2024 Hugo Award winner that follows a young woman raised to be a warrior after Earth's destruction, exploring her quest for identity and vengeance. Translation State by Ann Leckie: Nominated for the 2024 Hugo and Nebula Awards, this novel is a standalone work set in the same universe as the Imperial Radch series, focusing on a character's journey of belonging. Well-regarded by readers and critics The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler: A Nebula Award finalist that explores the first contact with a new, intelligent species: octopuses in the waters of Vietnam. The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey: The first book in the Captive's War series by the authors of The Expanse, this novel follows a captain and his crew caught between warring alien factions. Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky: The author of the award-winning Children of Time returns with a story about an android in a futuristic society who must question his programming to survive. Anticipated and reviewed science fiction for 2025 Highly-acclaimed and anticipated releases The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley: A highly acclaimed debut novel that follows a civil servant tasked with working with a time-displaced Victorian explorer in a high-concept, genre-blending story. Katabasis by R. F. Kuang: A hotly anticipated dark academia book inspired by Dante's Inferno, this follows two students venturing into the underworld after a recently deceased professor. When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi: From the bestselling author of Starter Villain, this humorous novel presents a world dealing with the surreal aftermath of the moon suddenly turning into a wheel of cheese. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab: A horror-tinged science fiction story that follows three women across centuries as they uncover darker connections related to their lives. Critically noted and upcoming titles Annie Bot by Sierra Greer: This debut novel was a Book of the Month selection and examines a complex relationship between a human and an AI. The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar: In her first solo novel, the co-author of This Is How You Lose the Time War delivers a small-town story that blends with fantasy and Faerie elements. Private Rites by Julia Armfield: A folk horror-inflected, near-future novel centered on a climate-ravaged Britain and a family's complex history.