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I'd be happy to help you find some excellent recent science fiction novels to recommend! Let me search for the latest highly-reviewed sci-fi books.Based on the latest reviews and recommendations, here are some **highly-reviewed, recently published science fiction novels** perfect for your friend: ## **Top Recent Science Fiction Novels (2023-2024)** **1. _The Mars House_ by Natasha Pulley (2024)** [lit](https://lithub.com/17-of-the-best-science-fiction-fantasy-and-horror-of-2024/) A climate refugee from a flooded London becomes a principal ballerina who must flee to Mars. There, he enters an arranged marriage with a xenophobic politician in this twisty, soapy sci-fi romance that explores power, persecution, and ethics. Features talking mammoths! **2. _Beautyland_ by Marie-Helene Bertino (2024)** [lit](https://lithub.com/17-of-the-best-science-fiction-fantasy-and-horror-of-2024/) A heartwarming story about a young girl growing up in Philadelphia who believes she's an alien reporting back on what it means to be human. Described as "the single most heartwarming thing you'll read this year" and a book that will restore your hope in humanity. **3. _The Book That Broke the World_ by Mark Lawrence (2024)** [gdm](https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/the-best-fantasy-horror-and-sci-fi-books-of-2024/) The second in the Library Trilogy, this is described as "a triumph of imagination" that meditates on memory, knowledge, and self-determination. Features the legendary Athenaeum library as both literal and figurative battleground. **4. _The End and the Death Volume 3_ by Dan Abnett (2024)** [gdm](https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/the-best-fantasy-horror-and-sci-fi-books-of-2024/) For Warhammer 40K fans, this concludes the Horus Heresy saga after 30 years. It's 40K at its bleakest, most arcane, and most achingly human all at once. **5. _The Escher Man_ by T.R. Napper (2024)** [gdm](https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/the-best-fantasy-horror-and-sci-fi-books-of-2024/) A cyberpunk thriller about Endel "Endgame" Ebbinghaus, a violent enforcer whose memories are constantly being wiped and rewritten. Features brilliant memory manipulation comparable to _Memento_, creating an untrustworthy reading experience that's completely unputdownable. **6. _In Universes_ by Emet North (2024)** [lit](https://lithub.com/17-of-the-best-science-fiction-fantasy-and-horror-of-2024/) A novel-in-stories about the multiverse that follows four characters across vastly different lives. Praised for its "bold storytelling and unique imagination" and as "one of the best novels about queering our conception of the world." These books offer a great mix of cyberpunk, space opera, literary sci-fi, and thought-provoking explorations of humanity. What type of science fiction does your friend typically enjoy—hard sci-fi, space opera, near-future, or more literary/philosophical SF?