A huge thank you to everyone who participated in our mid-year poll for the Best Sci-Fi Releases of 2024… So Far.
After two weeks of intense voting and spirited discussions, we’ve tallied the results and ranked them below from ten to one. With so many compelling reads in the poll, competition was fierce, leading to several ties, so you’ll find a few bonus titles on the list.
Ready for the big reveal? Scroll on to uncover the top picks of 2024… so far as decided by Discover Sci-Fi readers!
10. The Forever World by Ethan Rhodes
On a routine border patrol, pilot Zane Lucas encounters a mysterious cluster of drones. When he reports it to the Scorpius head office, they quickly sweep it under the intergalactic rug and place him on leave.
That same night, Zane is contacted by an estate lawyer from the distant planet Earth and learns he’s the sole beneficiary of a person he’s never met. Determined to get answers, he finds himself thrust into a dead man’s quest, along with a resourceful colleague, Julia Rossi.
Zane’s mission is tied to an old myth based on The Forever World book.
His father used to read it at bedtime, before he went missing during a bloody war with the Gral twenty years earlier. Their alliance is on the brink of collapse and the revolution is just beginning.
Can Zane find The Forever World, if it in fact exists?
Would this fabled planet help restore the balance?
Time is running out, and the drones are multiplying.
Grab The Forever World here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.
9a. Traditions of Courage (Grimm's War Book 7) by Jeffery H. Haskell
Join the fight for freedom on Alliance's newest member.
When Cordoba fell and his officer was murdered, Jacob T. Grimm vowed the fight wasn't over. With the help of DesRon 12 and the stalwart spacers of the USS Interceptor, he's going to bring the Guild to their corporate knees.
On Cordoba, things aren't going well for the Marines. Local infantry are eager to attack, while refugees are forced out of the capital city on the verge of winter. The Spanish planet is in trouble. However, not all is as it seems.
The ground forces aren't Guild and they have more advanced tech than the Alliance Marines. Gunny Jennings and Bravo-Two-Five will need to muster every ounce of courage to fight overwhelming odds in a battle they never planned for.
As the fate of the planet unfolds, ex-spy Nadia Dagher and a ragtag group of former Interceptor crew must infiltrate the Guild and find the true location of their home planet.
Jacob faces off against a superior enemy, one as ruthless as he is compassionate. If he can't find a way to win, all the people on Cordoba will pay the price.
Get your copy of Traditions of Courage here on Amazon.
9b. To Challenge Heaven by David Weber and Chris Kennedy
The third entry into the New York Times bestselling series, To Challenge Heaven brings another thrilling adventure from the masters of military science fiction, David Weber and Chris Kennedy.
In a universe teeming with predators, humanity needs friends. And fast.
We've come a long way in the forty years since the Shongairi attacked Earth, killed half its people, and then were driven away by an alliance of humans with the other sentient bipeds who inhabit our planet.
We took the technology they left behind, and rapidly built ourselves into a starfaring civilization. Because we haven't got a moment to lose. Because it's clear that there are even more powerful, more hostile aliens out there, and Earth needs allies.
But it also transpires that the Shongairi expedition that nearly destroyed our home planet ... wasn't an official one. That, indeed, its commander may have been acting as an unwitting cats-paw for the Founders, the ancient alliance of very old, very evil aliens who run the Hegemony that dominates our galaxy, and who hold the Shongairi, as they hold most non-Founder species, in not-so-benign contempt.
Indeed, it may turn out to be possible to turn the Shongairi into our allies against the Hegemony. There's just the small matter of the Shongairi honor code, which makes bushido look like a child's game. We might be able to make them our friends -- if we can crush their planetary defenses in the greatest battle we, or they, have ever seen...
Get your copy of To Challenge Heaven here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.
8a. Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Murderbot meets Redshirts in a delightfully humorous tale of robotic murder from the Hugo-nominated author of Elder Race and Children of Time.
To fix the world they must first break it, further.
Humanity is a dying breed, utterly reliant on artificial labor and service.
When a domesticated robot gets a nasty little idea downloaded into its core programming, they murder their owner. The robot discovers they can also do something else they never did before: They can run away.
Fleeing the household they enter a wider world they never knew existed, where the age-old hierarchy of humans at the top is disintegrating into ruins and an entire robot ecosystem devoted to human wellbeing is having to find a new purpose.
Sometimes all it takes is a nudge to overcome the limits of your programming.
Grab
Service Model here
on Amazon. Also available
on audiobook.
8b. Rendezvous with Corsair by Jack Campbell
Jack Campbell’s New York Times bestselling The Lost Fleet sci-fi adventure series has transported legions of fans out of this world and into the heat of battle. Now, readers will discover how it all began—not only for John “Black Jack” Geary and his descendant Commander Michael Geary, but for those who fought and sacrificed so much alongside them.
Spanning from before the Alliance/Syndicate war to the devastating initial conflagration that would lead to decades of unremitting conflict and beyond into full-blown war, from the Geary’s own epic heroics to where their surviving compatriots found their own fates, this volume reveals the triumphs, tragedies, and life-altering events that made these warriors living legends in their universe.
Packed with high-stakes military action and drama as well as humor and humanity, this volume explores the foundations of The Lost Fleet series as well as past exploits of its most popular characters—and also includes the novelization of the Lost Fleet graphic novel Corsair, which was praised as “a Tom Clancy thriller in space” (Publishers Weekly).
Grab Rendezvous with Corsair here on Amazon.
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8c. Sunken Spaceship by Anthony J. Melchiorri
An unlikely hero is swept up intointergalactic affairs when he stumbles upon a crashed starship.
Ex-Army paratrooper Griffin “Fin” Brooks thought he left danger behind when his battlefield injuries forced him to pursue a new career in marine biology. But one fateful night off the coast of South Africa a ship nearly crashes into him and his loyal golden retriever, Jacques.
Not just any ship. A starship.
Though its alien pilot is dead, the rare extraterrestrial animal inside is not. Fin learns the creature is being smuggled across the galaxy when a pair of interstellar visitors respond to the crash. But those same investigators accuse Fin and his dog of crimes he didn’t even know existed.
The only way to clear his name is to take the strange creature to its home planet and find out who’s responsible for killing the starship’s pilot. Which means Fin quickly needs to learn how to fly a spacecraft and navigate a galaxy teeming with intelligent life beyond his wildest dreams.
And he’s not the only one with designs for the crashed starship and its cargo. Fin will need every skill he’s honed as a paratrooper and a marine biologist if he—and his dog—are to survive.
Get your copy of Sunken Spaceship here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.
7. Beyond the Ranges by John Ringo and James Aidee
For Jason Graham, the world ends not with a bang, not even with much of a whimper.
One second, he's sitting in a restaurant in Mobile, Alabama, chatting with a server, the next he finds himself in a strange room, rescued by mysterious alien benefactors. Seems the world did end, though how and why are something of a mystery.
Now, Jason—and five hundred million other humans—are in orbit around an Earthlike world that is abundant in natural resources and totally untamed. For the newly awakened humans, this is a chance to start society with a clean slate and a bright future. For Jason, who has knocked about aimlessly in several different careers in his Earth life, it’s an opportunity to unleash his creativity and ambition and see what he can really do.
Grab Beyond the Ranges here on Amazon.
6a. Blackheart: Terran Scout Fleet Book 6 by Joshua Dalzelle
Viper
It’s a name that is infamous within the galactic quadrant. A name that inspires awe.
… and fear.
For nearly a century the famed assassin has struck terror within the hearts of those she has been hired to terminate. In that time the Viper, a human cyborg named Carolyn Whitney, has been a lone wolf. She prefers being on her own, neither requiring nor desiring the company of others. She has very few people she can consider a friend, and now one of those is coming for her.
The Viper’s latest hit has put her in Earth’s crosshairs and Captain Jacob Brown has been tasked with bringing her in. Or, barring that, putting her down. Captain Brown, a genetic augment, has tangled with the Viper before… and lost. Will he prevail in the rematch?
Dive into Blackheart here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.
6b. The Last Steward: Galaxy in Flames Book 1 by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
From the embers of a galaxy in flames, destiny calls upon an unknown guardian.
Captain Axel Finn has spent his life running salvage missions with an alien crew and their war bot. This motley group has found refuge on his ship from their own tumultuous pasts. But little do any of them know, beneath his gentle demeanor, their steadfast captain is far from the peace following, adventure seeking giant of a man they all love. His pacifist ethos meant to safeguard them has edged them to the brink of financial ruin and drawn dangerous enemies.
Forced into a risky salvage operation, the crew uncovers an alien relic not of this galaxy.
Expecting treasure to pay their debts, they instead find an artifact of the Wrath, an extraterrestrial species that once decimated entire worlds. To decipher the true nature of their discovery, Axel seeks Rangnar Soki, a deadly bounty hunter famous for his pursuit of the Stewards—legendary warriors who stood against the Wrath in bygone days. But as the mystery of this artifact deepens, and hunters close in, an old enemy threatens to set the galaxy ablaze.
Axel must choose: accept his legacy and unleash the monster within or watch everything he loves burn.
Kick off a thrilling quest of adventure with NYT and USA Today bestselling Author Nicholas Sansbury Smith in this new science fiction saga. Readers that enjoy galactic combat, snarky droids, ancient aliens, lost starships, and underdogs facing daunting odds, this story is for you!
Get your copy of The Last Steward
here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.
5. Toll of Honor (Honor Harrington Book 20) by David Weber
A NEW SOLO NOVEL IN DAVID WEBER'S NYT BEST-SELLING HONORVERSE
“It is our duty to pay for our liberty with our own blood. The freedom that we shall win through our sacrifice and exertions, we shall be able to preserve with our own strength.” —Subhas Chandra Bose
Lieutenant Brandy Bolgeo has come home from the Battle of Hancock station wounded in both body and spirit. She will need months to regenerate her lost leg, but how long will it take to heal her heart?
She’s come home to find that her wounds, her ship’s brutal damage, the deaths of so many friends, were the fault of an arrogant, aristocratic coward who broke and ran in the face of the enemy. Who left her ship to pay the price for his craven desertion under fire. And whose powerful political allies are determined to protect and preserve him at any price.
They have held hostage the declaration of war until Lord Pavel Young escaped the consequences of his cowardice. They didn’t care what it cost the Navy. They didn’t care what it cost the entire Star Kingdom of Manticore. Their tactics have cost the Royal Navy the priceless initiative as revolution and military purges wrack the People’s Republic of Haven, and that lost window of opportunity will cost the Star Kingdom seventeen years of bloody warfare and hundreds of thousands of deaths.
Now Young is free to seek vengeance on the people he feels have “wronged” him. People like Paul Tankersley and Honor Harrington. Paid duelists, smear tactics, hired assassins in public restaurants . . . nothing is beneath Pavel Young. But Captain Harrington can look after herself, and Pavel Young is about to face the fury of the woman the newsies call the “Salamander.” Yet who will save the Star Kingdom from the repercussions of his actions?
Women and men like Brandy Bolgeo are about to pay the toll for the Star Kingdom of Manticore’s honor.
Get your copy of Toll of Honor here on Amazon.
4. Extinction by Douglas Preston
With Extinction, #1 New York Times bestselling author Douglas Preston has written a page-turning thriller in the Michael Crichton mode that explores the possible and unintended dangers of the very real efforts to resurrect the woolly mammoth and other long-extinct animals.
Erebus Resort, occupying a magnificent, hundred-thousand acre valley deep in the Colorado Rockies, offers guests the experience of viewing woolly mammoths, Irish Elk, and giant ground sloths in their native habitat, brought back from extinction through the magic of genetic manipulation. When a billionaire's son and his new wife are kidnapped and murdered in the Erebus back country by what is assumed to be a gang of eco-terrorists, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Frances Cash partners with county sheriff James Colcord to track down the perpetrators.
As killings mount and the valley is evacuated, Cash and Colcord must confront an ancient, intelligent, and malevolent presence at Erebus, bent not on resurrection—but extinction.
Grab Extinction here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.
3. Mushroom Blues (The Hofmann Report: Book One) by Adrian M. Gibson
“A fascinating merging of oppressive imperialism and disconcerting alienation.”—Adrian Tchaikovsky, award-winning author of Children of Time & Shadows of the Apt
ENTER THE FUNGALVERSE. BEAT THE WINTER BLUES. Blade Runner, True Detective and District 9 meld with the weird worlds of Jeff VanderMeer, Philip K. Dick and China Miéville in Adrian M. Gibson’s hallucinatory, fungalpunk noir debut.
Two years after a devastating defeat in the decade-long Spore War, the island nation of Hōppon and its capital city of Neo Kinoko are occupied by invading Coprinian forces. Its fungal citizens are in dire straits, wracked by food shortages, poverty and an influx of war refugees. Even worse, the corrupt occupiers exploit their power, hounding the native population.
As a winter storm looms over the metropolis, NKPD homicide detective Henrietta Hofmann begrudgingly partners up with mushroom-headed patrol officer Koji Nameko to investigate the mysterious murders of fungal and half-breed children. Their investigation drags them deep into the seedy underbelly of a war-torn city, one brimming with colonizers, criminal gangs, racial division and moral decay.
In order to solve the case and unravel the truth, Hofmann must challenge her past and embrace fungal ways. What she and Nameko uncover in the midst of this frigid wasteland will chill them to the core, but will they make it through the storm alive?
Dive into Mushroom Blues here on Amazon.
2. The Thief: A Cosmic Shores Novel by G.S. Jennsen
* A stand-alone adventure set in the Amaranthe universe *
The Hesgyr are thieves. “Scavengers,” to hear their victims tell it; “repurposers” by their own reckoning.
As Chief of Intelligence for Non-Anaden Affairs, Eren Savitas’ job is to protect the Advocacy from all manner of alien threats: sabotage, assassination, insurgency and, way down the list, theft. So when he spots a Hesgyr running off with valuable technology, he follows the alien home—and discovers a civilization unlike any he’s ever encountered.
Yes, the Hesgyr are thieves. But they are also being hunted. Systematically exterminated by an insidious enemy they can’t see, touch or find. Eren finds himself drawn ever deeper into the Hesgyr’s fascinating yet labyrinthine world as he races against time to solve the mystery of the deadly attacks. What he discovers is a complex web of loyalties and betrayals, of grudges and grievances millennia old—and beneath it all, a secret that may hold the key to the survival of more than one civilization.
The Thief is a humorous, pulse-pounding sci-fi adventure about alien culture clashes, the flaws and foibles that transcend species, and the satisfaction that comes from breaking all the rules to save the day.
Get your copy of The Thief here on Amazon.
1. NecroTek by Jonathan Mayberry
From New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry, NecroTek is a gripping sci-fi thriller full of ghosts, gods, and a battle for the soul of humanity.
Neither cosmic philosopher Lars Soren, hotshot pilot Bianca Petrescu, nor the high priestess Jessica McHugh—Lady Death herself—can say quite where in the galaxy they are. But after an experiment gone horribly wrong, one thing is clear: Asphodel Station isn’t in orbit around Jupiter any longer. Worse, the monsters that live out here—ancient eldritch beings thought only to exist in stories and nightmares—have now been alerted to Earth’s existence.
Their army of Shoggoths is coming for us next.
Humanity’s only hope for survival lies on the surface of the alien world of Shadderal, where a ghost named Lost, the last of an ancient race, still haunts the vast plains of the Field of Dead Birds. But hope has a cost. Lost tells Soren about ancient derelict spacecraft awaiting on Shadderal, shapeshifting machines that blend ultra-advanced technology with the dark powers of necromancy. These ships might just be nimble enough to defend mankind against the coming invasion.
But there’s a catch: they can only be piloted by the dead.
As human starfighters fall in battle, their spirits can be called back from death to pilot these ghost ships of a fallen race. But will this new necromantic technology—NecroTek—allow humanity to stand against the vast armies of the Shoggoths? And even if it can, is the war to save the human race worth the cost of its pilots’ immortal souls?
Get your copy of NecroTek
here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.
And there you have it, sci-fi aficionados!
These are the incredible books that have captivated our community so far this year. How many have you read? Which will you be adding to the top of your TBR? And are there any sci-fi books from the first half of 2024 that you think didn't get their due? Let us know here in the comments, or over in the Discover Sci-Fi Facebook group!
Once again, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated in the voting. Your enthusiasm and passion for science fiction continue to inspire us. Stay tuned for more exciting polls, reviews, and discussions as we explore the ever-expanding universe of sci-fi literature together.
Until next time, happy reading and may your adventures be out of this world!
*All book-related copy in this post was pulled from Amazon, Goodreads & Wikipedia, unless otherwise credited.
