It’s about the end of the year, and I know there will all sorts of lists of the best books published this year, so this is a different question: regardless of when published, which SF books that you personally read this year did you enjoy the most. I’m also asking which you enjoyed instead of which you thought were the best, so feel free to include fluff without shame.
I’ll go first. Of the 60+ books I read this year, here are the ones I liked most. No significant spoilers, not in any order.
Children of Time, Adrian Tchaikovsky
- A project to uplift monkeys on a terraformed world, at the peak of human civilization, is sabotaged by people who don’t think humans should play god. There follows a human civil war that nearly destroys civilization. A couple thousand years later, an ark ship of human remnants leaving an uninhabitable earth is heading towards that terraformed planet. This is a great book, with lots to say on intelligence, the nature of people, and both the fragility and heartiness of life.
Kiln People, David Brin
- Set a couple hundred years in the future, technology is ubiquitous that lets people make a living clay duplicate of themselves that has their memory and thoughts to the point they were created, lasts about a day, and whose memories can be reintegrated with the real person if desired. The duplicates are property, have no rights, and are used to do almost all work and to take any risks without risking the humans. A private detective and some of his duplicates gets pulled into an increasingly complex plot that could reshape society. This is a thoroughly enjoyable book, with lots of twists, and an interesting narrative as we follow copies who may or may not reintegrate with our detective.
Sleeping Giants, Sylvain Neuvel
- A little girl falls down a deep hole in the woods and lands on a gigantic, glowing, metal hand that’s thousands of years old. This is a wonderful alien artifact story with some interesting twists. I really enjoyed this book. Not exactly hard SF, but checks a lot of the boxes for me, including the wonder of discovery.
The Peripheral, William Gibson
- A computer server links the late 2020s to a time 70 years later, allowing communication and telepresence between the two times. A young woman in the earlier time witnesses a murder in the later time and gets sucked into a battle between powerful people in both times. This is a great book; I think I could have recognized it as Gibson’s writing even if I hadn’t known it in advance. Very interesting premise, engaging characters, and fun without feeling like fluff.
The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
- A coalition of human planets has sent the first envoy to an icy world where the people are gender neutral and sterile most of the time, but once a month become male or female (essentially randomly) and fertile. This is a classic, written in 1969, and my second reading - the first being in the late 80s. Le Guin creates an amazingly rich world, even with its harsh, frozen landscape. The characters grow to understand how gender impacts their cultures, and the biases they didn’t know they had. It’s also aged remarkably well for an SF book written 55 years ago. There’s nothing about it that feels outdated.
A couple notes:
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If I hadn’t stuck to my own “enjoyed” constraint, the list might have looked different. For instance, Perdido Street Station, by Meiville, is a really great book, but there’s so much misery and sadness that it’s hard to say I “enjoyed” it.
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I hesitated to put The Left Hand Of Darkness on the list, simply because Le Guin is so widely recognized as a great master, and the book one of her greatest, that it seemed unfair. In the end, it seemed unfair to exclude it for such an artificial reason.
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Stop what you’re doing right now and get in the Bobiverse. Now.
And if that’s your jam, The Murderbot Diaries pairs well!
I’ve read all of those - quick, fun reads.
Okay, I finished We Are Legion (Bobiverse book one). It was fun, and I’ll probably read the next. Nothing especially deep, but amusing. A few things bugged me a little:
Minor spoilers
- They spent all that time and energy trying to figure out how to feed the people on earth while they built ships, then put them in stasis for a multi-year trip. Why didn’t they start by building the stasis chambers and not having to worry about feeding them?
- He has a rationale for life in the galaxy being compatible with earth life, but it doesn’t explain why the animals are so similar (e.g., birds with feathers). That’s not super unusual, but it seemed odd that the first intelligent beings they found were psychologically so human. Strains credibility.
- I liked all the different story threads as we follow the different Bobs, but the sacrifice was that we didn’t go very deep into any of them and the ending felt kind of abrupt.
Some of the later books might be more your speed if you like sticking with a single Bob. I personally didn’t care for those ones.
I assume the reason things look like other things is cause we have a tendency to describe new things as similar to other things even when they aren’t. Plus there’s probably some scientific evidence behind form and function. See https://www.google.com/search?hl=en-us&q=carcinization&spell=1
I’m very keen on where the story is going as it stands right now. But I’m impatient for more books. And inevitably will be disappointed in the end I’m sure. Most of the time these situations lead to philosophical cop outs.
I’ll give it a try
The bobiverse books ended up being what I enjoyed most in 2024. Really looking forward to more of those.
Yeah, I did all of these twice this year. They’re a lot of fun.
I’ll give it a try.
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To Sleep In A Sea Of Stars - one of the most action-packed books I’ve read, even with a few lengthy “hibernation” space travel sections. Felt like an entire trilogy happening in a single book. Seems prime for a movie treatment, but would also be next to impossible to do in a single movie without completely butchering.
Just grabbed it! Thanks!
Well we know what happened the last time someone tried to make a Christopher Paolini book into a movie …
I actually didn’t know about that! This was the first book of his I’ve read. Now I’m curious to experience just how bad Eragon was…
Oh man just read the inheritance series first. It’s an excellent fantasy story that also has lots of travel sections so if you like that in sea of stars you’ll like it here too. Then watch the movie and weep lol
From your recommendation and others, I’m reading it now. Ten percent in and, yes, it sure has fast pacing.
Great! It evens out a little with space travel sections, but when it’s up and running it’s very fast.
I have that on my list and I’m sure it will be read soon.
I worked through both the Sprawl trilogy and the Three Body Problem trilogy and they were both fantastic. Almost ruined the rest of my reading for weeks after that. The Three Body Problem and The Dark Forest might be the most original science fiction since Neuromancer
I know I’m an outlier, but I didn’t really care for The Three Body Problem. Characters did too many things that just didn’t seem like likely responses, and some of the premise felt unrealistic to me. But I know I’m in the minority.
The Sprawl trilogy is great. I read it when it was out originally, and reread Neuromancer more recently. Oh, but if you’re ever tempted, don’t listen to the Neuromancer audiobook narrated by Gibson. Wonderful writer, atrocious reader.
I don’t get the TBP fanboi-ism, it reads like it was written by a teenager that’s never encountered SF before. It’s certainly not in the same class as Neuromancer, for crying out loud.
I’m sure there’s an odd element caused by the fact that it was translated from Chinese (which involved tweaks for a western audience), but it certainly didn’t come close to living up to the hype for me.
I know what you mean about not living up to the hype; I read all that Hugo fanfare and thought, I’ll just buy the whole series. I got one and a half books in and thought to myself, what a waste of money, I can’t make myself finish this book, let alone the series.
I remember reading a thread a few years back on reddit that someone who was a native speaker said it was even worse in the original Chinese.
That last bit is interesting and funny. It was really popular in China, too, right?
If you liked the Three Body Problem, might I recommend The Killing Star by Pellegrino, Charles R? It’s another slant on some similar themes.
I’ll check that out right after I finish the Imperial Radch series. Ann Leckie is a great author
Been enjoying the “murderbot” series by Martha Wells. The audiobook versions narrated by Kevin Free are particularly well done. He’s a good narrator.
They’re supposedly making a TV series out of it. Not sure how that’s going to work since a lot of the action takes place inside the bot’s brain. They’ve also cast Alexander Skarsgård which seems like a misstep already.
I’ve only listened to a handful of audiobooks. I have a short work commute, and there’s rarely a time when I want to engage with a story that I can’t just read it, which I prefer. But I looked him up and he sure has done a lot of them, so he’s clearly popular.
Murderbot is a really fun read, I picked the series up a year or two ago and thoroughly enjoyed it
Just working my way through a reread of the expanse since it’s been a few years and the…final? book has been released. I definitely enjoyed the first 4 books more than 5 and 6. But book 7 is back up to snuff!
It’s Fantasy but I need to mention that I’ve been devouring The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson! These books might just be my all time favorites for fantasy!
I started reading The Expanse series (including the short stories) after watching the series. I got through The Churn, which is the short story after book 3, and haven’t read further. I didn’t decide not to read more, but every time I go to pick the next book from my list, I don’t feel motivated to read the next Expanse book. They’ve all been good - not sure what the issue is for me.
Have you read The Mistborn series and, if so, do you think it or Stormlight Archive is the better starting place for Sanderson?
Stormlight just feels… bland. I say it’s a great read if you’re stuck in an airport. Otherwise there are better, popular series to read. Namely, The Expanse and the Silo series. Patrick Rothfuss is also great, but like George RR Martin, he’ll never finish the last book.
I dropped ASOIAF in the middle of the third book. It probably had something to do with knowing it’d never be finished, but I just felt bored. It was all so high stakes and meaningless, not for me.
The writing in The Expanse is grating, it’s all he said, she said, he said, they said, he said, said said said said said said said said said said said. If I hadn’t been listening to it while at work I’d have bailed in the first book. If you can get past that the series has great world building and I love Avarsarsla.
Rothfuss is indeed great but I can’t recommend it to anyone knowing we’re only getting two nights of the three promised.
Silo is actually on my list.
I’ve also been rereading the Honorverse by David Weber. I love it still but it gets to be a slog and the story is feels like it’s the same everytime. I want to get past book 6 or 7 but never have.
I can’t say enough good things about the Stormlight Archive.
But then again I also enjoyed the hell out of Brent Weeks’ Lightbringer series which seemed to be mostly disliked on the whole. I read it before the 4th and 5th books were released so I’m not sure where it goes and need to get back to it some day.
Speaking of Weeks, the Night Angel Trilogy is bomb. It’s no literary masterpiece but it’s a dark and gritty world that sets your expectations and fulfills them over and over again. The story is cliche and I like it. The characters are fun to follow as they navigate the plot points I can see coming from books away.
The Expanse definitely has a bad start. They’re terrible at introducing characters, despite their attempts to do so. But everything after that is great.
I read Mistborn and loved it, my partner finished it a week or two later and then we both struggled to get into the second book. Vin, the main character treats a creature that is in her thrall with extreme prejudice. While it certainly fits the character it was such a change of tone that it threw both of us right out of the series. Mix in a whole new world of politics and coalition building and the story plods. I dropped the Mistborn series like 7 or 8 chapters into The Well of Ascension.
I’ll come back to it in audiobook form.
Speaking of audiobooks, I’ve listened to all of The Stormlight Archive. Audiobooks have one major advantage to actually reading the words, it is easier to multitask. If the story is boring I’m less likely to notice while preparing dinner. With Stormlight however I listened to the books 12 hours a day. The voice actors are Kate Reading and Michael Kramer, they only work on books they like. They also did all of Wheel of Time together.
Anyway, what I’m trying to say here is that I frequently sat down and just listened to the story throughout the day because I am so engrossed in the world and the lives of Kaladin, Syl, Shalan, and others. It’s a storytelling medium that lends itself to multitasking and I frequently stopped to just listen.
I think it’s hard to go wrong with a starting point in the Cosmere. The magic system in Mistborn is really interesting and the world is dark and gritty like chewing charcoal; Unpleasant not offensive. The Stormlight Archive is bold and wide ranging with concepts, ideas, and exploration of pain, trauma, and metal health. I recently read Tress and the Emerald Sea, a light-hearted romp about a girl who lives on a desolate rock in the middle of an ocean and wants to stay there.
Just jump in, the worst thing that can happen is you find it’s not to your taste. When that happens it’s all good and I find some other masterpiece to chew on. It happens for me with videogames all the time. Elden Ring is not for me. :)
Interesting, thanks
Just did Mistborn. Dropped out at the 4th book. Just couldn’t care about the characters any longer. Too bad, everyone else loves it.
What did you think of the first book or two? It’s not unusual for the latter books of a series to be weaker or less engaging - I’m happy with any one book that I like.
I’d recommend starting with Mistborn, it’s a bit less all at once in your face and a great read regardless. Plus all his Cosmere books are interconnected to a degree, with Stormlight being the most by far, and I’d say you’ll get a bit more out of it having read some of the other Cosmere stuff.
All that to say though, Stormlight’s fantastic and if you just want to yolo in you’ll get it fine!
Okay, thanks for the recommendation
Expanse books are great. I’m still pissed Amazon hasn’t made the final books into series seasons.
Sadly, I wasn’t impressed with the current SA Corey novel that starts a new non-Expanse series. It was extremely dull.
Honestly I’m sure I’ll find it similar but it’s the last book, I’ve just got to try! I’ve set the series down for a break and a change of pace whole I read the latest Stormlight book, Wind and Truth. It’s a good break.
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The first ten books of Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga
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Vajra Chandrasekera’s Rakesfall (mix of SF and fantasy)
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N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season (re-read)
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Sue Burke’s Usurpation (end of the Semiosis trilogy)
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Ted Chiang’s Exhalation: Stories (short stories)
Of those, the only one I read was The Fifth Season, which I liked. I read The Saint of Bright Doors by Chandrasekera this year and thought that was great (very much fantasy). Maybe I’ll give Rakesfall a try.
Rakesfall is quite a bit different from TSoBD—it’s a bunch of loosely-connected stories spanning from a mythic post-glacial past to the far-future end of humanity, where many of the narratives are metafictional stories embedded inside each other. So don’t go in expecting a linear narrative, or even a definite answer to what’s real and what isn’t.
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It was the only one I read but I say it anyways: The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons.
If audiobooks are considered reading then I will include I, Robot, Foundation and Empire, amd Herbert West - Reanimator.
Man, I really enjoyed Hyperion, but the rest of the series kind of lost me. It also doesn’t help that Simmons is an actual nut case.
I can see the angle you’re coming from. I enjoyed Fall of Hyperion but not nearly as much as the first book. As for Dan Simmons himself, I’ve only vaguely heard about his political views. I compare it to Frank Miller’s legacy in that they’re both creatives who have a back catalog of celebrated works that is juxtaposed by their reactionary viewpoints.
People usually count audiobooks.
I haven’t read the last title, but all the others are excellent.
Leviathan’s Wake
Oh boy, you’re in for a treat if you’re just entering The Expanse for the first time. Enjoy!
Book one of The Expanse series - really good. Had you watched the show?
I watched the first episode, but it didn’t hit like the book. I didn’t really care for it. The book was very good though.
I thought the show was a great companion to the books. I would watch in tandem while reading switching up where i was a bit further ahead in the book. Of course i didnt realize the show was cramming different stories from multiple books all together. It also gave me a better look at the characters and it helped get to know them in a way by comparing tv and book characters. Very good series! Ive read up to book 8 in the past few months.
Maybe I’ll give it another shot.
Ended up binging season 1. It’s good, just a little different.
Thats good to hear! It is a bit different but they are trying to capture the magic of the books. Once you pick up the second book you’ll already be aware of background info you wouldn’t be other wise
Yeah, definitely gonna be starting book 2 soon, then season 2.
So hows it going?
Definitely the Bobiverse books. Engineer in the 21st century dies, but paid to have himself cryogenically frozen. 200 years in the future, Christian fundamentalist seized control of the government and made it illegal to revive people like him. The world is on the brink of nuclear apocolypse so they used new technology to upload his consciousness into a spaceship computer to search the galaxy for a habitat planet for humanity. Spaceship has auto-factories onboard that let him replicate more ships and digital clones of himself. It has some serious parts, but it is written in a lighthearted manner with some technical explanation for future technology.
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So many recommendations that I’ve started reading it already. 20% in. Seems entertaining.
These two series:
- Dungeon Crawler Karl.
- The Wandering inn.
I have a preference.
Dungeon Crawler Karl is pretty great.
Oh I also forgot, The nature of predators. I like the idea of humans as the weird aliens.
Murderbot Diaries was my top this year by far. Probably top series since I first read hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. It’s so fun and well paced and the audiobook is well made.
The laundry files.
It’s crazy they are not more famous (it’s a series). I bet they’ll make films from them as soon as someone who likes miney sees the potential.
Totally unique world! Magic is real and can be controlled with computation. As we add more computational power to the world, Lovecraftian horrors get easier and easier to stumble upon. Every major government has a secret group like the CIA or MI6 that tries to keep shit under control. If you’re an IT nerd and stumble across something, The Laundry recruits you, and you don’t get to leave. That sounds dark, but it can be funny as hell.
“I thought I was just generating weird new fractals; they knew I was dangerously close to landscaping Wolverhampton with alien nightmares. Apparently you’re only allowed to demolish Wolverhampton if you’re a property developer like Donald Trump. Crawling eldritch horrors don’t get planning permission unless they’re Trump’s hairpiece.”
Love the one where the financial wizards accidentally turn themselves into vampires! (Just now understood that on another level.) The first several books all follow a theme. For example, there’s one that’s all about James Bond. The one where he goes to America to deal with an evil televangelist is eye opening, funny and WTF. Also loved the one where random people start turning into super heroes.
The Annihilation Score was the first one where we get a new protagonist, Bob’s wife. First one I read, didn’t know it was a series. She has a cursed, sapient violin named Lecter, made from the bones of people the Nazis tortured to death. She’s the only one that can control it, barely. Love that woman!
The last couple of books left me confused as to which evil god was which. Haven’t read the latest. After I finish Doctorow, I’m taking a third pass at The Laundry.
tl;dr: If you’re into IT and Lovecraft, this Buds for you.
Looks fun. I’ve read a lot of Charles Stross, he’s pretty reliable.
Dungeon Crawler Carl.
Dear god I love that series.
So good.
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Gateway: For some late payoff, hard sci-fi content, I like Frederik Pohl quite a lot. His stuff is between classic and contemporary, and balances technology with sophisticated plot and characters. I greatly enjoyed reading his Gateway series this year, could be one of my favorites.
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Mass Effect: I was pleasantly surprised with Mass Effect: Andromeda Annihilation. I moderately enjoyed the Mass Effect video game series, and thought this companion novel could tank, but it was actually a really fun read, with great characters and immersion. The plot is orthogonal to the main plot points of the video games, rather than extensions of them, which I thought gave it breathing room for novel ideas.
Gateway has to be one of my all time favorite books - I might have to reread it soon. It has pretty much everything I want from an SF story.
I never played Mass Effect and I’m not familiar with the storyline.
Gateway won the 1978 Hugo Award for Best Novel,[4] the 1978 Locus Award for Best Novel,[4] the 1977 Nebula Award for Best Novel,[5] and the 1978 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.
For good reasons.
I’m close friends with a guy who was a reviewer for Locus Magazine, and when I started wanting to read more in the late 80s, he went to the bookstore with me and guided me to a handful of books. That one and Neuromancer were among them, and really helped hook me into the genre.
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