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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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.
Pretty sure the paper/ebook of 5 should be released early Jan. He always does a thing with Kindle for audiobook only for 6 months so they cover the narrator costs
Stop what you’re doing right now and get in the Bobiverse. Now.
And if that’s your jam, The Murderbot Diaries pairs well!
Micky 7 works on similar lines. a bit longer with a bit more to say, but basically a fun read
I’ve read all of those - quick, fun reads.
I’ll give it a try
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?client=safari&sca_esv=535ce2af5493dab8&hl=en-us&sxsrf=ADLYWILL1F47ohkf2S3ZM119-lKV4yRZmQ:1736139726724&q=carcinization&spell=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjDksS9qOCKAxXDkIkEHbiqNCgQkeECKAB6BAgKEAE&biw=393&bih=659&dpr=3
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.
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
I know murderbot is genderless, but I projected a woman form while reading.
Dungeon Crawler Carl.
Dear god I love that series.
So good.
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?
the Culture series by Iain Banks sucked me in completely! it starts with Consider Phlebas for anyone looking to jump in.
Yes, and it’s a good place to start but it isn’t the strongest book of the series.
hydrogen sonata was my introduction
Oh, that’s the last one, right? Definitively, since he died after writing it? How did you like it?
I tried so hard to like it but it was such a slog with the most annoying sci-fi trope ending. The next book in the “series” also did nothing for me.
They are fantastic books.
The most memorable reads from this year were:
The Broken Earth trilogy by N. K. Jemisin. While at first, the setting appears to be a fairly standard fantasy, there is a sci-fi depth to the world, its climate, cataclysms, history, and orogeny (“magic power” of the world).
And, if you are a fan of heavy-handed dystopian satire, Venomous Lumpsucker by Ned Beauman. It takes place in a not-too-distant future where a somewhat-apathetic researcher and a corporate scammer are trying to find the last living Venomous Lumpsucker, a highly intelligent fish species. There is climate change, corporate greed, half-baked international agreements, hackers, horrible AI, and, of course, delusional megalomaniac billionaires.
I read the first Jemisin book, but not the others. I did enjoy it though.
I LOVE the broken earth trilogy.
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Oh, so many amazing books. Loved the Robot series, loved the Foundation series.
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
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.
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.
The audiobook narrator for these is fantastic, too. I’ve listened to them multiple times. I love the exploration of the personality drift and eventual entire society of replicants. Judging by the typical comments I see, I’m in the minority for loving the parts with Archimedes as much as the rest. I get why some people want to get back to the more sci fi stuff though.
That’s where I’m stuck in the audio books. The Archimedes story is fine but drags on too damn long.
So many recommendations that I’ve started reading it already. 20% in. Seems entertaining.
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!
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.
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
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!
Just did Mistborn. Dropped out at the 4th book. Just couldn’t care about the characters any longer. Too bad, everyone else loves it.
I read the Endymion half of the Hyperion Cantos this year I think the whole series is tied for my favorite Sci Fi series, right next to the Expanse books.
1- Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons
1- Expanse series by James S A Corey
3- Bobiverse by Dennis Taylor
Honorable mentions: Fatherland by Robert Harris; Consider Phelbas by Iain M Banks
Hyperion cantos is so good. Its one of my regular re-reads.
The Hyperion series is great. I read Consider Phlebas this year as well, and I’m glad someone warned be that it’s one of the weaker of the series. I liked the next in the series better.
Livesuit was really good. Though a bit too short
Recently finished and also enjoyed it. Do you know when the next captives war is due out?
That’s a novella in the Captive’s War series, right? Corey seems to like doing novellas and short stories as side stories from the main books.
Yeah I believe you’re correct
I discovered and absolutely devoured The Expanse this year (books first, then series). So that was awesome.
I honestly think I would have enjoyed both more if I had read the books first. The series was so faithful to the books that reading them afterwards doesn’t bring much new to the experience. And the casting of the series was absolutely perfect. I couldn’t imagine Amos being done better.
Same here! I read the full set this year and really enjoyed them. Love the tv series as well. Hopefully they go back and finish the later books with the same actors. They did the setup work on Laconia already.
