There are several excellent Science fiction books published in the last 10 years that are among the best science fiction stories. It can often be difficult to select the best science fiction stories –the genre has a rich history of compelling storiesfrom books to movies and TV shows. Some of the best science fiction TV shows are based on books, although there are science fiction films that legitimately dominate the awards shows, such as Everything everywhere at the same time. There is always a wide selection to choose from, regardless of the decade's selection.
Science fiction is also a broad topic that contains several subgenres, including dystopia, space operas, aliens, and time travel. Additionally, there are excellent stories that mix science fiction with other genres, including books that perfectly mix science fiction and romance. Some science fiction books contain more science than fiction, but that doesn't make the narrative any less compelling. In the last decade, many incredible science fiction stories have emerged, but There are 10 books that stand out as the best in science fictionmore than anyone else.
10
Red Rise, by Pierce Brown (2014)
The first book in the Red Rising saga
Red Rise is the first installment of Red Rising Saga by Pierce Brown. This ambitious science fiction book series is set in a dystopian future where humanity has effectively colonized the Solar System. While all the books are excellent, the first installment is exceptional. The protagonist, Darrow, infiltrates the upper-class Golden society to free his fellow Reds and other low-ranking colors. The scientific system in Red Rising Saga is a creative imagination of what the Solar System would be like if the worst of humanity took over.
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Red Rising Saga By Pierce Brown |
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|---|---|---|
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Book title |
Publication date |
Narrative timeline |
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Red Rise |
January 28, 2014 |
The events of the book take place over the course of a year |
|
Golden Son |
January 6, 2015 |
Starts two years later Red Rise; book events take place over several months |
|
Morning Star |
February 9, 2016 |
Starts a year later Golden Son; Events in the book take place over two years |
|
Iron Gold |
January 16, 2018 |
Starts ten years later Morning Star; book events take place over two months |
|
Dark Ages |
July 30, 2019 |
Starts six weeks later Iron Gold; The events of the book take place over the course of a few months |
|
Light Bearer |
July 25, 2023 |
Starts in the same year as Dark Ages; The events of the book take place over the course of a few months |
|
Red God |
TBD |
N/A |
Red Rise It's an incredible book. The narrative covers several themes, including love, loss, freedom, oppression, resistance, caste systems and betrayal against the backdrop of a colonized Solar System. Darrow represents millions of disenfranchised people who struggle every day under the rule of oppressors in power – in this case, Society. There are many fantasy and science fiction books that tell similar stories of oppression. However, Pierce Brown brings something new by using a colonized Solar System and having Darrow infiltrate the oppressor class to defeat them..
9
The Long Road to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (2014)
The first Wayfarers book Series
THE Travelers The Becky Chambers series is impressive in its own right - four books that can be read as standalone novels, but all interconnected in Chambers' universe, the Galactic Commons. Each novel explores themes of found family, interspecies dynamics, internal conflicts, multiculturalism, and trials and tribulations. Although each book in the Travelers the series is unique and well written in its own way, The long road to a small, angry planet It's the original story that has the biggest impactlike the crew of the Traveler endure many unexpected twists and turns along your journey.
The long road to a small, angry planet is one of the best novels of the last 10 years because, unlike most science fiction and fantasy novels, This book prioritizes character interiority and complex relationships over plot-driven storytelling. It's difficult to write a compelling science fiction story where the main driving factor is the characters, but Becky Chambers is exceptionally talented. Of course, exciting events occur in the book, but the narrative is fascinating because of the way the characters deal with them. The long road to a small, angry planet is the quintessential space opera romance of the last decade.
8
Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel (2014)
A standalone romance
Eleven Station is a standalone novel by Emily St. John Mandel that revolves around a group of ordinary people whose lives become intertwined due to the deadly pandemic, the Georgia Flu. The novel was a huge success and even became a miniseries on MAX in December 2021. However, Eleven Station It is not among the best science fiction novels of the last 10 years due to its popularity. Eleven Station explores themes of family, faith and survival as humanity faces a catastrophic and life-altering pandemic. Eleven Station was also a finalist for the National Book Awarda testament to this ingenious book.
7
Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2015)
The first book in the Children Of Time trilogy
Children of Time is a science fiction space opera by Adrian Tchaikovsky that revolves around humanity's attempt to genetically engineer other planets. However, the experiment does not go as planned, and humanity's genetic engineering ends up affecting spiders instead of monkeys, genetically advancing arachnids to humanity's level over millennia. Although two more books follow Children of Time-Children of Ruin and Children of Memory—the first installment is the most powerful, taking space operas to new heights by exploring genetic engineering among spiders.
In 2016, Children of Time won the Arthur C. Clarke Award. This prestigious award began with holder Arthur C. Clarke, a groundbreaking science fiction writer who revolutionized the genre - something Tchaikovsky's award Children of Time carried out. In 2023, the Children of Time the trilogy won the Hugo Award for Best Series, illustrating the impact the series has as a whole. Children of Time it also depicts a society of spiders advancing as humanity descends into corruption, nearly decimating the human race. Science fiction stories that successfully explore the worst of humanity in revolutionary ways certainly belong among the best science fiction books.
6
The Fifth Season of NK Jemisin
The first book in the Broken Earth trilogy
The Fifth Season is the first book in Broken Earth trilogy, and the fact that each book in the series won the Hugo Award for Best Novel is a testament to history. The Fifth Season presents Earth thousands of years from now, on the brink of a Fifth Season - the deadliest type of natural disaster. The Broken Earth is a stunning masterpiece, covering themes of oppression, systemic regimes, motherhood, family, and redemption. The trilogy is certainly one of the best science fiction series of all time, but The Fifth Season It is without a doubt the best novel in the trilogy.
The Fifth Season it accomplishes what many science fiction stories cannot – it is one of the few books that perfectly combines fantasy and science fiction.
The Fifth Season it accomplishes what many science fiction stories cannot – it is one of the few books that perfectly combines fantasy and science fiction. Both genres are dense and often require total focus on one rather than using both to create a story. However, The Fifth Season effortlessly establishes a dystopian sci-fi future entrenched in fantastical elements. NK Jemisin successfully completes this task while providing a compelling narrative with complex characters and dynamics. The Fifth Season It's not just among the best science fiction books of the last 10 years; is one of the best science fiction books of all time.
5
Scythe By Neal Shusterman (2016)
The first book of Arc of a Scythe Series
THE Arc of a Scythe The trilogy explores a futuristic world where humanity has defeated all forms of death and destruction and recruited artificial intelligence – the Thunderhead – to keep up with population growth and eliminate lives when necessary. Now, humans can only die at the hands of the Scythedom, a group of specially trained people who kill - also known as "repiga" - other humans when their time comes. The two protagonists, Citra and Rowan, train with the grim reaper Faraday as everything they believe in regarding life, death, morality and humanity is put to the ultimate test.
Sickle It's not just part TimeThe 100 Best YA Books of All Timebut also received several other accolades. There is a lot of potential in a science fiction story that explores the limits of human life and artificial intelligence, and Neal Shusterman successfully capitalizes on that potential. Sickle is the ideal science fiction novel that deals with the contrasting themes of life and death. This book explores these concepts more than any other science fiction narrative and is essential reading in the genre.
4
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (2019)
An independent soap opera
This is how you lose the time war by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone may be a short novella, but it doesn't diminish the impact of this story. Mohtar and Gladstone wrote the book in epistolary format, telling a beautifully romantic story about two agents from separate enemy weather organizations, Red and Blue, who unexpectedly fall in love after sending messages to each other, initially driven by competition and rivalry. The authors wrote Red and Blue's letters separately—Max Gladstone wrote Red's while Amal El-Mothar wrote Blue's - which maintains a creative level of authenticity in the story.
This is how you lose the time war won the Nebula Award, the Locus Award, and the Hugo Award, some of the most prestigious science fiction and fantasy award organizations. Reading This is how you lose the time war multiple times is essential because the narrative almost tells a different perspective with each reading, making it a unique experience. TThis is how you lose the time war highlights how governments and organizations at war often use their soldiers and civilians as collateral damageand, a critical subject viewed through a science fiction lens.
3
Exhalation: Ted Chiang Stories
A collection of short stories
Ted Chiang is known for his science fiction stories - one of his most popular narratives, "Story of Your Life", was adapted into the 2015 film Arrivalstarring Amy Adams. In the same way as "Story of Your Life", Arrival features a complex timeline that involves humans altering their perspective of time due to contact with aliens. However, "Story of Your Life" is part of Chiang's first collection, and Exhalation is his second collection. Exhalation has several moving narratives that study humanity and its place in the universeespecially as technology advances.
Exhalation has a touch of fantasy with narratives such as "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" and "Omphalos". Otherwise, the tales are rooted in science fiction, focusing particularly on artificial intelligence and the development of scientific technology. Exhalation is another masterpiece by Ted Chiang that illustrates the depths of his creative mind by placing humanity in various precarious positions in his stories. Although Exhalation is not a novel, Ted Chiang's incredible work needs to be among the best science fiction books of the last 10 years.
2
Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro (2021)
A standalone romance
Kazuo Ishiguro has written many genres but is a master of science fiction, as illustrated in his book Never let Me Go. So it's no surprise that her most recent novel, Klara and the Sunanother science fiction narrative, it is one of the best science fiction books of the last decade. In the same way as Never let Me Go, Klara and the Sun studies artificial intelligence and its place in society. The book's narrator is Klara, an AF (Artificial Friend) who faithfully believes in the Sun's ability to heal and nourish life, especially since AFs are powered by solar energy.
Klara and the Sun has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2021, a prestigious literary award. Kazuo Ishiguro uses Klara and the Sun to comment insightfully on how humans use and interact with AI. Although many books and films portray artificial intelligence as AI horror stories, Kazuo Ishiguro constantly defies this expectation with Klara and the Sun, choosing to tell a moving story portraying artificial intelligence as more human and compassionate than some real people. Klara and the Sun is a remarkable book and serves as a reminder of what AI would be like if humans used it for good.
1
Ave Maria Project, by Andy Weir (2021)
A standalone romance
Ave Maria Project is a novel by Andy Weir that follows the protagonist, Ryland Grace, through two different timelines – his final days on Earth and his new life on the spaceship Hail Mary. Ryland is traveling toward a star, Tau Ceti, in search of a cure for the microbes – known as Astrophages – that devour the Sun and other stars. However, Rylands ends up on an unexpected trip with a new species, an Eridian named Rocky, as they both search for a solution to the Astrophage. Ave Maria Project portrays a compelling, character-driven narrative that drives critical issues involving human supremacy, scientific knowledge, home, and morality.
Source: Time Magazine