Science Fiction Books

The Nebula Awards finalists for best novel are an annual must for fantasy and sci fi fans. We asked our fantasy and sci fi editor Sylvia Bishop to give us a round-up of the seven titles in the running - a particularly hot contest this year, packed with award-winning names and fresh ideas. The winner will be announced on June 6th.

This year's crop of sci fi award-winners encompasses sentient AI, lost species revival, and genetic mutations, with novels, graphic novels and novellas all scooping prizes. Our fantasy and sci fi editor Sylvia Bishop introduces the prize-winning page-turners that have taken this year's top spots.

Fans vote every year for the best of sci fi and fantasy, in both the Hugo Awards and the Nebula Awards, and the Best Novel spot in each is always one to watch. Our fantasy and sci fi editor Sylvia Bishop introduces the sci fi winners of the last decade: from titles that are now classics of the genre, to the newest writers making waves.

There are many ways to approach narrating an audiobook, says award-winning narrator Ray Porter, but whatever the narrator’s method, they must bring conviction to the fantastical tales of sci fi. He introduces his top five choices: sci fi classics and award-winning contemporary novels, read for you by the giants of sci fi narration.

Sci fi dystopias are often, paradoxically, hopeful: they show oppressive systems, but they also show resistance. Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky picks out five titles that deserve more readers, ranging from near-futures to space operas, but all featuring complex humans responding to dire circumstances.

Military sci fi can explore complex questions about the military as an institution, without sacrificing any of the action, says Nebula winner A.D. Sui. She introduces five of the most imaginative and exciting examples, from classics to contemporary fiction – featuring bug-aliens, mecha suits, AI, and some highly questionable regimes.

The best sci-fi explores humanity’s anxieties and concerns and is, in some sense, about the future—but it doesn’t try to predict what’s to come. Literature professor and sci-fi writer Adam Roberts, author of The History of Science Fiction, recommends five classics of the genre.

The Hugo Awards are an annual celebration of fantasy and sci fi work, chosen by fans. Our fantasy editor Sylvia Bishop introduces this year’s winners, with something for everyone to escape into – from the short story winner for a busy day, to the epic series for long winter evenings.

If you're looking for audiobooks that will make a good book even better, AudioFile magazine's best of the year lists are a great place to start. Here's their list of best audiobooks for 2025 in the science fiction and fantasy genres—from retellings of mythical tales to the hell of dark academia.

“The best science fiction is heavy on science and light on fiction,” Professor Chris Mason told us in his interview on science fiction and space travel. A geneticist and computational biologist at Cornell, he is just one of several scientists who have recommended the best sci-fi books on our site. Below, we've collected all our sci-fi books recommended by scientists—good choices for readers who love their fiction scientific.