Answer Details

This selection of highly-reviewed, recently published science fiction novels includes both critically acclaimed and fan-favorite titles from the past few years. The list features multiple subgenres to suit a variety of tastes. [1] Top-rated novels from 2024 and 2025 • The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (2024): Shortlisted for the 2024 Goodreads Choice Award, this historical time-travel romance follows a civil servant tasked with chaperoning "expats" extracted from various points in the past, including a Victorian polar explorer. • The Book of Love by Kelly Link (2024): Nominated for the 2024 Nebula Award for Best Novel, this book is described as a magical and fantastical tale. • Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2024): A standout novel from a popular and prolific science fiction writer, this story is about an artificially intelligent robot on a mission to bring humanity back from extinction. • Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2024): In this adventure, an investigator is sent to a newly terraformed planet to investigate a potential alien murder, but uncovers something more sinister. • The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey (2024): The first book in The Captive's War series by the authors of The Expanse, this is a fan-favorite space opera. • Katabasis by R.F. Kuang (forthcoming, 2025): This novel follows two rival students who must journey into the underworld after their professor dies. The story draws on inspiration from Dante's Inferno and has been highly anticipated. [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9] Praised books from 2023 • Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (2023): A space opera centered on the last remnant of humanity living on a military station, where a woman must defy her upbringing to save her family and the universe. • The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz (2023): This action-packed and thoughtful novel follows a team tasked with terraforming a planet, who then discover indigenous life. • The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera (2023): The winner of the 2023 Nebula Award for Best Novel, this story centers on a man's quest to escape his magical, cult-like family. • The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei (2023): A novel about a murder mystery aboard a generation ship bound for a new home after the destruction of Earth. [1, 7, 10, 11, 12] Highly-reviewed novels from 2020 to 2022 • Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (2022): A fan favorite from the author of The Martian, this novel follows a lone survivor on a desperate space mission to save Earth. • Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (2022): The story of a time-traveling detective investigating a anomaly that connects a moon colony and a plague-ridden Earth. • Babel by R.F. Kuang (2022): The winner of the 2022 Nebula Award for Best Novel, this alternate-history fantasy is set in Oxford in the 1830s. • The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi (2022): A lighthearted adventure that follows a man who joins a group protecting large, destructive creatures in an alternate dimension. • Network Effect by Martha Wells (2020): The first full-length novel in the acclaimed Murderbot Diaries series, which follows a cynical, self-hacked security android. • Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (2020): From the author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, this is a beautiful and mysterious tale set in an impossible house. [2, 7, 10, 13, 14] AI responses may include mistakes. [1] https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/best-sf-fantasy-2023 [2] https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/1ia44py/your_top_rated_sf_novels_for_the_decade_2020s/ [3] https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1hehteb/the_best_science_fiction_and_fantasy_of_2024/ [4] https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/195299.Scifi_published_in_2024 [5] https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/readers-favorite-science-fiction-books-2024 [6] https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/dec/02/five-of-the-best-science-fiction-books-of-2024 [7] https://nebulas.sfwa.org/award/best-novel/ [8] https://fivebooks.com/best-books/best-science-fiction-books-of-2025-andrew-m-butler/ [9] https://lithub.com/20-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2025/ [10] https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/18ft4o6/i_crunched_1200_authors_favorite_reads_of_2023/ [11] https://fivebooks.com/best-books/the-best-speculative-novels-of-2024-the-hugo-award-shortlist-sylvia-bishop/ [12] https://fivebooks.com/best-books/science-fiction-fantasy-debuts-2023-yume-kitasei/ [13] https://laurellibrary.bibliocommons.com/v2/list/display/1741806839/2350246759 [14] https://www.npr.org/2020/12/21/948688392/our-favorite-reads-of-2020-and-hundreds-more This selection of highly-reviewed, recently published science fiction novels includes both critically acclaimed and fan-favorite titles from the past few years. The list features multiple subgenres to suit a variety of tastes. [1] Top-rated novels from 2024 and 2025 • The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (2024): Shortlisted for the 2024 Goodreads Choice Award, this historical time-travel romance follows a civil servant tasked with chaperoning "expats" extracted from various points in the past, including a Victorian polar explorer. • The Book of Love by Kelly Link (2024): Nominated for the 2024 Nebula Award for Best Novel, this book is described as a magical and fantastical tale. • Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2024): A standout novel from a popular and prolific science fiction writer, this story is about an artificially intelligent robot on a mission to bring humanity back from extinction. • Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2024): In this adventure, an investigator is sent to a newly terraformed planet to investigate a potential alien murder, but uncovers something more sinister. • The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey (2024): The first book in The Captive's War series by the authors of The Expanse, this is a fan-favorite space opera. • Katabasis by R.F. Kuang (forthcoming, 2025): This novel follows two rival students who must journey into the underworld after their professor dies. The story draws on inspiration from Dante's Inferno and has been highly anticipated. [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9] Praised books from 2023 • Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (2023): A space opera centered on the last remnant of humanity living on a military station, where a woman must defy her upbringing to save her family and the universe. • The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz (2023): This action-packed and thoughtful novel follows a team tasked with terraforming a planet, who then discover indigenous life. • The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera (2023): The winner of the 2023 Nebula Award for Best Novel, this story centers on a man's quest to escape his magical, cult-like family. • The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei (2023): A novel about a murder mystery aboard a generation ship bound for a new home after the destruction of Earth. [1, 7, 10, 11, 12] Highly-reviewed novels from 2020 to 2022 • Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (2022): A fan favorite from the author of The Martian, this novel follows a lone survivor on a desperate space mission to save Earth. • Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (2022): The story of a time-traveling detective investigating a anomaly that connects a moon colony and a plague-ridden Earth. • Babel by R.F. Kuang (2022): The winner of the 2022 Nebula Award for Best Novel, this alternate-history fantasy is set in Oxford in the 1830s. • The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi (2022): A lighthearted adventure that follows a man who joins a group protecting large, destructive creatures in an alternate dimension. • Network Effect by Martha Wells (2020): The first full-length novel in the acclaimed Murderbot Diaries series, which follows a cynical, self-hacked security android. • Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (2020): From the author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, this is a beautiful and mysterious tale set in an impossible house. [2, 7, 10, 13, 14] AI responses may include mistakes. [1] https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/best-sf-fantasy-2023 [2] https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/1ia44py/your_top_rated_sf_novels_for_the_decade_2020s/ [3] https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1hehteb/the_best_science_fiction_and_fantasy_of_2024/ [4] https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/195299.Scifi_published_in_2024 [5] https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/readers-favorite-science-fiction-books-2024 [6] https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/dec/02/five-of-the-best-science-fiction-books-of-2024 [7] https://nebulas.sfwa.org/award/best-novel/ [8] https://fivebooks.com/best-books/best-science-fiction-books-of-2025-andrew-m-butler/ [9] https://lithub.com/20-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2025/ [10] https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/18ft4o6/i_crunched_1200_authors_favorite_reads_of_2023/ [11] https://fivebooks.com/best-books/the-best-speculative-novels-of-2024-the-hugo-award-shortlist-sylvia-bishop/ [12] https://fivebooks.com/best-books/science-fiction-fantasy-debuts-2023-yume-kitasei/ [13] https://laurellibrary.bibliocommons.com/v2/list/display/1741806839/2350246759 [14] https://www.npr.org/2020/12/21/948688392/our-favorite-reads-of-2020-and-hundreds-more