What if your escape from extinction… dropped you into the jaws of a forgotten evil?

Have you read The Band of Moonlit Waters by Brad Bussie? Maybe this is the first you’re hearing of it—in which case, where have you been?!—but more likely, you’re one of the many fans who’ve been pulled deep into the mysterious, high-stakes world of Spero’s Legacy and are eager for more.

Blending elements of science fiction and fantasy with a cinematic sense of scale, The Band of Moonlit Waters has been turning heads for its rich storytelling, layered characters, and the kind of immersive universe that feels lived-in from page one. And if you haven’t jumped in yet, don’t worry—this is the perfect time to get on board.

Now, we know you’re here because you want more insight into the world, the characters, and the mind behind it all—so let’s get to it. Settle in and enjoy our Q&A with Brad Bussie, where we talk writing process, inspirations, and the journey behind The Band of Moonlit Waters.

DSF: The world you’ve built is wild—alien, fractured, dangerous, and full of mystery. How did you approach building a brand-new universe from scratch, especially for your debut?

BB: I have always been a story teller. Playing dungeons and dragons as a youth and always taking on the role of the dungeon master helped me lay the foundation for creating a world. I look back on all the adventures I created on the fly and those I spent long hours dreaming up, creating characters, and drawing maps – all for the enjoyment of several close friends. When I sat down to build the Spero’s Legacy universe, I channeled a great deal of that D&D energy.

DSF: This story blends science fiction with strong fantasy elements. How do you balance technology and mysticism in your storytelling?

BB: I find magic and technology can often be the same thing. It is generally in the eye of the beholder. Think of modern day medicine if you introduced it to a culture three hundred years ago. While based in science, that culture could look at it as magic or even religion. In my storytelling, I am always looking for that kind of balance. Even the magic system in Spero’s Legacy is based on science. All of it is probable, but not always rooted in hard physics.

DSF: Tyler is a man without memory, thrust into a life-or-death situation. What was it like writing a protagonist who has to rediscover who he is along with the reader?

BB: Writing Tyler as a main character has been a worthy challenge. Traditionally, a main character is the one that the reader is cheering for. We yearn to watch them go through the hero’s journey. Starting with a character that is just trying to remember who he is and why he exists forced me onto a path where the supporting characters had to shine far more. A main character struggling with basic existence and chasing fragments of memory added a layer of mystery that readers tend to enjoy.

DSF: You’ve got a memorable cast: warriors, mystics, machines, and more. Any favorite characters to write—or ones who surprised you along the way?

BB: The character that has become my favorite to write and is also the surprise, is the antagonist – Shade. I have always been a “hero” guy, and I always figured Tyler/Tyrant would be my favorite. However, something about Shade has had me laughing, shocked at my own words as they spilled onto the page, and ultimately where he decided to go as a villain. I say where he decided to go as Shade has never been planned for me. I am an outliner when it comes to my stories. I know who, what, when, where, why, and how for everyone and everything. But Shade? No idea. I sit down to write whatever part that he is in and the next thing I know – I am staring at 3000-5000 words of pure “pantster” beauty. He has surprised me more than once.

DSF: Several reviews describe this as a “journey story.” What themes were you most interested in exploring through Tyler’s quest and the world around him?

BB: Some of the themes that I was most interested in exploring and continue to explore are good vs. evil, redemption, artificial intelligence, ancient civilizations, and genetic engineering. I love how all of the themes are coming together in Spero’s Legacy. None of them feel particularly “heavy” in this story. They each are an ingredient to something bigger.

DSF: Readers have compared your work to authors like Brandon Sanderson and James S.A. Corey. Were there any specific sci-fi or fantasy writers that inspired you during the writing of this book?

BB: First of all, I am flattered to be compared to legendary authors like Sanderson and Corey. While neither of them are writers I was inspired by, in subsequent reading of their work, I am a huge fan. I am willing to bet we had similar influences in our formative years. My biggest literary influences have been Issac Asimov, R.A Salvatore, Ed Greenwood, Anne McCaffrey, Robert Jordan, Kevin J. Anderson and J.R.R Tolkien. I also feel like I was shaped by Gene Roddenberry and his gift of world building, society building, and episodic story telling.

DSF: There’s a touch of Alien-like tension in the atmosphere, mixed with high-stakes adventure. Are you influenced more by cinematic storytelling or literary traditions?

BB: Yes to both! I grew up reading as much as I could get my hands on. In between reading and writing there was always Star Trek on TV. I fell in love with Star Wars later in life, but if I had to look back towards the cinematic storytelling of my youth – it was dreamed up by Gene Roddenberry.

DSF: If you could describe The Band of Moonlit Waters in one sentence to fans of classic sci-fi and space fantasy, what would you say?

BB: Stranded on a world that was never meant to be home, a cryo-sleep soldier awakens to ancient tech, fractured memories, and a war still echoing through time – where magic and machine blur, and the enemy wears a familiar face.

DSF: You come from a cybersecurity background. How did that experience shape your approach to storytelling or worldbuilding in science fiction?

BB: I originally wanted to be a write when I grew up. If you look back in my high school year book, I was voted “Most likely to become a published author.” I got into cybersecurity after a fateful day my freshman year of college. I was in a lecture hall with three hundred journalism students, listening to the professor talk about writing. The professor said “Statistically speaking, only one of you in this room will ever make even a meager living as a working writer.” I pictured myself destitute and forgotten. Granted, if you were to tell me something like that now I would say “I am the one, and it won’t be meager!’ That said, I was 18 years old, impressionable, and scared at what life was really going to be like. My minor in college was in computer science as I had grown up helping my Dad with the family business which was an IBM business partner. I had a passion and love for computers, second only to writing. Needless to say after that journalism lecture, I changed my major from journalism to computer science and writing became a hobby. It took the pandemic to bring my writing back full steam ahead.

DSF: As a debut novelist planning a six-book series, what’s been the biggest challenge—and the biggest reward—so far?

BB: The biggest challenge so far as been keeping up with the demands of a full time life and finding time to write enough to produce 1-2 books a year. I have to be very disciplined to write enough each day to produce a quality story. The biggest reward has been fans writing in, requesting signed books, and sitting with friends as they ask me to divulge all the secrets of the universe I have created.

DSF: What does your writing process look like? Are you more of an outliner or do you dive in and let the story lead?

BB: I am an outliner that generally writes five hundred to one thousand words a day. I have a few characters that refuse to be outlined, and I will let them take me where they want to go. I can sit down anywhere and just start writing. I don’t need a special time, place, or chair – although I do love my chair in my home office. That said, I find most often the time I have availability to write is in the early morning. I still write everything by hand, which many find odd since I am huge technologist. I have an Ipad with an Apple Pencil, but I don’t use the handwriting to text feature. I prefer to type what I hand wrote later and then edit as I go. It actually saves me time in the long run.

DSF: If The Band of Moonlit Waters were adapted for the screen, who would you dream-cast as Tyler and the Lady Dark?

BB: I can see Tyler Tor being played by Henry Cavill. Adelaide Kane would play an amazing Lady Dark.

DSF: What’s one piece of advice you’d give to new sci-fi authors who want to build a world as rich and dangerous as yours?

BB: The first draft is just for you. It is supposed to be bad. Try something new, different, and exciting. Don’t be afraid to mix things up or revisit a well played theme or setting. Read widely and often. You have to read well, to write well.

DSF: Can you give us any hints about what’s coming next in the series?

BB: The series is turning towards the heavens with space as the next frontier. Part 2 of Spero’s Legacy (books 4-6) will take you aboard legendary starships, battle new enemies, and search in earnest for the remnants of humanity.

Check The Band of Moonlit Waters here.

2025 is shaping up to be a fantastic year for sci-fi!

2025 has already delivered some incredible sci-fi debuts, but the year is just getting started. With fresh voices bringing bold ideas to the genre, these new releases—both recent and upcoming—promise gripping adventures, mind-expanding concepts, and uncharted worlds waiting to be explored.

Today, we’re spotlighting some of the most exciting debut sci-fi novels of 2025. Whether you’re craving interstellar intrigue, dystopian landscapes, or high-tech thrillers, these first-time authors are delivering stories that will keep you turning pages late into the night. So charge up your e-reader, clear some space on your shelves, and get ready to discover the next wave of sci-fi storytelling!

Touch of the Elegrian by Cheryl A. Arko

Prejudice. Legacy. Redemption.Erys carries a secret that could shatter his world. The telepathic Elegrian has spent his life atoning for his dead father’s role in humanity’s disastrous first contact. Now, as a tech specialist for the Earth-led alliance, he serves in silence—until sabotage threatens the lives of dozens of human children. And the traitor is one of his own.Forced to work with a brilliant but hostile human engineer, Erys must dismantle not only the deadly conspiracy but also the deep-seated mistrust between their peoples. With time running out, he faces an impossible choice: break the fragile Elegrian-Human treaty and invite the death penalty to forge a forbidden mind link with a human… or let innocent lives be lost.Two worlds on the brink. A single act of defiance. Can compassion rewrite a doomed future?The Elegrian Legacy begins here—a gripping sci-fi adventure rich in high-stakes dilemmas, deep character bonds, and first-contact intrigue.

Read Touch of the Elegrian here on Amazon. Also available in hardcover and in paperback.

Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto

Ocean’s 8 meets Blade Runner in this trail-blazing debut science fiction novel and swashbuckling love letter to Hawai’i about being forced to find a new home and striving to build a better one—unmissable for fans of Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.

Edie is done with crime. Eight years behind bars changes a person—costs them too much time with too many of the people who need them most.

And it’s all Angel’s fault. She sold Edie out in what should have been the greatest moment of their lives. Instead, Edie was shipped off to the icy prison planet spinning far below the soaring skybridges and neon catacombs of Kepler space station—of home—to spend the best part of a decade alone.

But then a chance for early parole appears out of nowhere and Edie steps into the pallid sunlight to find none other than Angel waiting—and she has an offer.

One last job. One last deal. One last target. The trillionaire tech god they failed to bring down last time. There’s just one thing Edie needs to do—trust Angel again—which also happens to be the last thing Edie wants to do. What could possibly go all hammajang about this plan?

Hammajang Luck is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, in paperback, and in hardcover.

Symbiote by Michael Nayak

Contagion meets The Walking Dead in this new sci-fi thriller where a biological threat ravages scientists and military personnel at the South Pole.As World War III rages, the scientists in Antarctica are thankful for the isolation – until a group of Chinese scientists arrive at the American research base. In their truck is a dead body, the first murder in Antarctica. The potential for a geopolitical firestorm is great, and, with no clear jurisdiction, the Americans don’t know what to do. But they soon realize the Chinese scientists have brought far more with them than the body…Within seventy-two hours, thirteen others lie dead in the snow, murdered in acts of madness and superhuman strength.An extremophile parasite from the truck, triggered by severe cold, is spreading by touch. It is learning from them. Evolving. It triggers violent tendencies in the winter crew, and, more insidiously, the beginnings of a strange symbiotic telepathy.Exhausted by suspicion and fear, with rescue impossible for months, the desperate crew members turn on each other. A small group of survivors try to resist the siren call of the growing hive mind and stay alive long enough to solve the mystery of the symbiotic microbe’s origins. But the symbiote is more than a disease – it is a biological weapon that can change the balance of power in a time of war.The survivors cannot let anyone infected make it to the summer season, when planes will arrive to take them – and potentially the symbiote – back to civilization.

Symbiote is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, and in paperback.

First Command by Michael Simon

An Alien attack leaves them adrift in space.

Survive, rebuild, and rejoin the war. 

Fresh out of the Academy, Ensign Cole Jackson’s first posting to Freedom couldn’t have come at a worse time. All over the Alliance, planets and colonies are suddenly under attack by the vicious Coven Empire.Freedom and her sister ship, Hood, are ambushed by alien warships, leaving Hood drifting dead in the void.Cole is ordered to salvage parts from the powerless Hood, but when he arrives on the unpowered hulk, Freedom is called away, marooning him and a group of malcontent techs in deep space.With the timer on survival ticking down, Cole must find the confidence to take control, whip his tiny crew into shape, bring Hood back to life––repairing communications, propulsion and even weapons.He’s got one chance to transform the derelict ship into a combat-ready vessel. One he can take into battle and alterthe course of the war.

First Command is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, and in paperback.

Two Truths and a Lie by Cory O’Brien

From the beloved internet humorist, a debut novel that introduces an unforgettable investigator to the drowned streets of L.A. in a hugely imaginative and heartfelt blend of noir and cyberpunk.In a mostly underwater near-future Los Angeles, aging combat-drone veteran Orr Vue now lives a simple and small life, trading snippets of what’s become the most valuable currency: information. So when the cops show up at his door looking for data on a murder he’s not even aware has happened, things get interesting for the first time in 25 years.At first, Orr is happy to exchange whatever he knows about the demise of InfoDrip’s top exec to buy booze and pay rent on his memory storage, but that plan goes to hell when Orr’s old boyfriend, Auggie Wolf, shows up as the number one suspect. Forced to stretch his atrophied spy skills and take his illegal horde of drones out of retirement alongside his busted knees, Orr finds himself in the crosshairs of the militarized police, a family of megarich corporate heirs, a clan of emancipated AIs, and a cult. Barely avoiding getting killed with every clue he collects, Orr realizes he’s uncovered not just a murder, but a conspiracy that threatens Auggie’s very existence. Ahh, the things we do for love… But in a world where memories can be bought and sold, how can you truly know who anyone is—or what you yourself are capable of? Fast paced, funny, and shockingly romantic, Two Truths and a Lie is Raymond Chandler reinvented for the 22nd century.Two Truths and a Lie is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, and in hardcover.

Luminous by Silvia Park

Prescient yet timeless, perfect for fans of Klara and the Sun and We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, this highly anticipated, sweeping debut set in a unified Korea tells the story of three estranged siblings—two human, one robot—as they collide against the backdrop of a murder investigation to settle old scores and make sense of their shattered childhood.“I once had a family. At least, the earliest version of me had a family.”In a reunified Korea of the near future, the sun beats down on a junkyard filled with abandoned robots, broken down for parts. Eleven-year-old Ruijie sifts through the scraps, searching for a piece that might support her failing body. There among the piles of trash, something catches her eye: a robot boy—so lifelike and strange, unlike anything she’s ever seen before.Siblings Jun and Morgan haven’t spoken for years. When they were children, their brother Yoyo disappeared suddenly, leaving behind only distant memories of his laughter and near-human warmth. Yoyo—an early prototype of a humanoid robot designed by their father—was always bound for something darker and more complex. Now Morgan makes robots for a living and is on the verge of losing control of her most important creation. Jun is a detective with the Robot Crimes Unit whose investigation is digging up truths that want to stay buried. And whether they like it or not, Ruijie’s discovery will thrust their family back together in ways they could have never imagined.At once a thrilling work of speculative fiction and a poignant exploration of what it really means to be human, Luminous is an unforgettably brilliant debut.

Luminous is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, and in hardcover.

Like what you’re reading?

If you’re enjoying this showcase of debut sci-fi, why not join the DSF community for more awesome content? You’ll get to be notified whenever a top 10 list or any other articles of interest go up on our site. It’s free to sign up and you’ll also get recommendations for new releases and discounted ebooks from our expert editorial team, from bestsellers to hidden gems.

Splinter Effect by Andrew Ludington

In Splinter Effect, an action-packed debut by Andrew Ludington, time traveling archaeologist Rabbit Ward maneuvers through the past to recover a long-lost, precious menorah hidden in ancient Rome.Smithsonian archaeologist Rabbit Ward travels through time on sponsored expeditions to the past to secure precious artifacts moments before they are lost to history. Although exceptional at his job, Rabbit is not without faults. In a spectacular failure twenty years ago, he lost both the menorah of the second temple and his hot-headed mentee, Aaron. So, when new evidence reveals the menorah’s reappearance in 6th century Constantinople, Rabbit seizes the chance for redemption.But from the moment he arrives in the past, things start to go wrong. Rabbit quickly finds out that his prime competition, an unlicensed and annoyingly appealing “stringer” named Helen, is also in Constantinople hunting the menorah. And that’s only the beginning. The oppressed Jewish population of the city is primed for revolution, Constantinople’s leading gang seems to have it out for Rabbit personally, and someone local is interested enough in the menorah to kill for it.As the past closes in on him and his previous failures compound, will Rabbit be able to recover the menorah before it’s once again lost in time? With new and old dangers alike hiding behind every corner, time might just be up for Rabbit’s redemption—and possibly his life.

Splinter Effect is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, and in hardcover.

The Ephemera Collector by Stacy Nathaniel Jackson

The year is 2035, and Los Angeles County is awash in a tangelo haze of wildfire smoke. Xandria Anastasia Brown spends her days deep in the archives of the Huntington Library as the curator of African American Ephemera and associate curator of American Historical Manuscripts, supported by an array of AI personal assistants and health bots. Descended from a family of obsessive collectors who took part in the Great Migration, Xandria grew up immersed in African American ephemera and realia: boots worn by Negro Troopers during the Civil War, Black ATA tennis rackets, bandanas worn by the Crips….Although Xandria’s work may preserve collective memory, she is losing a grasp on her own. Evren, her new health bot, won’t stop reminding her that her symptoms of long COVID are worsening; not to mention that severe asthma, chronic fatigue, grief, and worrying lapses in reality keep disrupting progress on a new Octavia E. Butler exhibition, cataloging the new Diwata Collection, and organizing the Huntington against a stealth corporate takeover. Then, one morning a colleague Xandria can’t place calls to wish her a happy birthday—and the library goes into an emergency lockdown.Sequestered in the archive with only her adaptive technology and flickering intuition, Xandria fears that her life’s work is in danger—the Diwata Collection, a radical blueprint for humanity’s survival. Up against a faceless enemy and unsure of who her human or AI allies truly are, she must make a choice.A lyrical and strikingly original saga, The Ephemera Collector announces Stacy Nathaniel Jackson as a singular new voice in fiction.

The Ephemera Collector is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, and in hardcover.

Polybius by Collin Armstrong

Stranger Things meets The Walking Dead in this chilling novel based on the terrifying urban legend about a video game created by the government for psychological warfare.October, 1982. Forced to move to the quiet seaside town of Tasker Bay by her mother, the only thing on high schooler Andi’s mind is saving up enough money to return to her old stomping grounds in Silicon Valley. Her self-taught skills with all things electronic make her a perfect fit for a job at the dingy local arcade where she can tune out from life and bankroll her eventual escape.Pining over the distant and aloof Andi is Ro, the son of Tasker Bay’s sheriff, who begins spending more time at the arcade. Despite promising herself she wouldn’t get attached to anyone in town, Andi finds herself opening up to the thoughtful, like-minded Ro.When Polybius—a new bleeding-edge game of unknown origin arrives—the shop is suddenly overwhelmed with players fighting for time on the machine. Seemingly overnight, a virus-like epidemic grips Tasker Bay while a violent coastal storm rolls in, isolating it from the outside world. People begin experiencing fits of anger, paranoia, and hallucinations—no one can be trusted. After a grisly act of violence goes unsolved, the town descends into chaos. Is the arrival of this mysterious game and the disorder in Tasker Bay a coincidence? Convinced the dire situation is somehow linked to Polybius, Andi and Ro desperately search for clues that might stop the spread before they, too, begin experiencing side effects…

Polybius is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook and in hardcover.

The Once and Future Me by Melissa Pace

Dark Matter meets Girl, Interrupted with a feminist twist in this gripping psychological thriller about a young woman teetering on the edge of reality, perfect for fans of dystopian fiction, time travel, and shows like Black Mirror and Russian DollVirginia, 1954. When a woman wakes up on a transport bus to Hanover State Psychiatric Hospital, she remembers nothing of her life up to that moment. Doctors tell her she’s Dorothy Frasier, a paranoid schizophrenic committed by the state for her violent delusions. She refuses to believe them, but despite her uncanny fighting skills and ability to pick locks and find impossible escape routes, she has no idea who she actually is and no knowledge of any of the dark things she may have seen and done.Visions begin invading her reality, transporting her to a dystopian future where she is told of her mission, which could help save humanity. She decides not to tell her doctors about the hallucinations or her doubts of her own sanity―until she has a visitor. A man whose concerned, loving face she recognizes; a man her doctors calls her husband, Paul.Now she is unsure of nothing, but she needs answers―about the future and about Paul and, most important, about herself. To find those answers, she will have to face the darkness inside her as she risks everything in a cat-and-mouse quest for the truth.

The Once and Future Me is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook and in hardcover.

2025 is shaping up to be a standout year for sci-fi debuts, introducing bold new voices and thrilling new worlds. Whether you’re diving into a fresh release or eagerly awaiting an upcoming title, there’s no shortage of adventures ahead.

Which debut are you most excited to read? Let us know in the comments below or over in the Discover Sci-Fi Facebook group—we can’t wait to hear what’s on your radar!

… and seven more that began!

Ready to explore the galaxies of yesterday and the universes of tomorrow? As we embark into 2025, it’s time to reflect on the sci-fi book series that wrapped up their epic tales in 2024—and celebrate the bold new adventures that began. Whether you’re a fan of gripping finales or excited to dive into fresh worlds, this list has you covered.

From the bittersweet goodbyes of long-running series to the thrilling first chapters of new sagas, sci-fi fans have plenty to celebrate. So grab your favorite reading fuel (coffee, tea, or the tears of fictional characters), and let’s journey through the series finales that defined the year!

SERIES THAT ENDED

The Prefect Dreyfus Series by Alastair Reynolds

From the king of modern space opera comes a new adventure in the Prefect Dreyfus series—Machine Vendetta is a thrilling tale of deadly conspiracies and old enemies that refuse to die.

Panoply is a small, efficient police force, dedicated to maintaining the rule of democracy among the ten thousand disparate city-states orbiting the planet Yellowstone.

Ingvar Tench was one of Panoply’s most experienced operatives. So why did she walk alone and unarmed into a habitat with a vicious grudge against her organization?

As his colleagues pick up the pieces following her death, Prefect Tom Dreyfus must face his conscience. Four years ago, when an investigation linked to one of his most dangerous adversaries got a little too personal, Dreyfus arranged for Tench to continue the inquiry by proxy. In using her, did Dreyfus also put her in the line of fire? And what does Tench’s attack tell him about an enemy he had hoped was dormant?

Now complete with 3 thrilling installments, finish the The Prefect Dreyfus Emergencies Saga with Machine Vendetta, now available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, in paperback and in hardcover.

The Token Series by Nathan Hystad

Aliens are among us, but who will stop the invasion?

Special Agent Waylen Brooks is charged with doing the impossible: preventing an alien incursion, without alerting the general population. Will his past finally catch up with him before he can succeed?

Rory Swanson wants to forget the Shadow following her, but every time she ignores it someone dies.

Silas Gunn is the Key. With no other option, he must travel to Planet D to visit the field of Shadows. Little does he know what he seeks is also seeking him.

A lifetime of deception will need to be reckoned in order to survive what’s coming.

Warmth of the Sun concludes the epic science fiction thriller that started with Echoes From the Moon, by Nathan Hystad, the author of Lost Contact, The Other Place, and Below Us.

Warmth of the Sun is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, and in paperback.

The Devoured Worlds Series by Megan E. O’Keefe

Worlds will collide and fates will be rewritten in the thrilling conclusion to the Devoured Worlds space opera trilogy by award‑winning author Megan E. O’Keefe. Naira and Tarquin have found a new home on Seventh Cradle. But the peace they’ve built is short-lived as mysterious assailants ambush the settlement and Naira is haunted by visions of a monstrous future. Catastrophe strikes when Tarquin uncovers a plot to bring about the end of the universe. As humanity races against the clock to prevent their extinction, old secrets come to light and loyalties fracture, and Naira realizes she may be the key to saving the world—or ending it.

A thrilling trilogy that finalized in 2024, get caught up now with book 3 The Bound Worlds is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, and in paperback. 

After The Tide Series by Anthony J. Melchiorri

The real monsters lurk among us…

The Florida coastline has been ravaged by hurricanes. Food supplies and electricity are dwindling. Oni-Agent infested creatures prowl the flooded streets in search of prey. But they aren’t the only evil that plagues people struggling to survive the brutal conditions.

Dom and the Hunters travel to post-apocalyptic Miami to investigate rumors of human trafficking. Opportunistic cartels and other nefarious organizations seek to carve out a piece of the region for themselves. The Hunters navigate the criminal underworld to put a stop to these horrific groups.

They soon discover that someone is hunting them.

The rumors of human trafficking are only a tiny piece of a much larger, more treacherous puzzle involving some of the Hunters’ worst enemies. Enemies that threaten to destroy what remains of the United States.

Dom and his team stand as America’s last defense against a rising tide of chaos. Failure is not an option, but success may demand a price too heavy to bear.

Did you know that Anthony J. Melchiorri’s The Tide series has a spin-off? Taking place 10 years after the main series, dive into the complete 3-book side-story series, After the Tide. After the Tide: Inferno is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, and in paperback.

Hell Divers Series by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Nicholas Sansbury Smith throws the Divers into another action-packed adventure in the final installment of the Hell Divers series.Two final dives. One mission that will determine the fate of humanity–forever.The Forerunner has decimated the Vanguard Islands in a surprise attack from the Trident warship. King Kade Long–seeing no alternative–accepts a peace deal, committing to a perilous mission with X, the “Immortal,” to activate weather-modification reactors at the poles. But as Kade and X set off, the fragile peace is threatened by Gran Jefe’s one-man guerrilla war against the psychopathic knight, General Jack. Meanwhile, halfway across the world, Michael and his family begin to settle into their new life in the Canary Islands, only to discover that it’s not the sanctuary they believed it was.Diving into the most inhospitable territory yet, the Hell Divers face horrific monsters bred for a single purpose: to keep them out at any cost. Their only hope of defeating the monsters and restoring the planet is for enemies to unite behind the Immortal and finally work together. But with blood being shed back home, these heroes may have nothing left to save.In Hell Divers XII: Heroes, beloved characters will confront their fates in a desperate bid to resurrect the world, though not all will live to see the dawn of a new era.One of the most highly anticipated series finales of the year, Hell Divers XII: Heroes is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook (narrated by R.C. Bray), in paperback and in hardcover.

A Prayer for Earthrise Series by Daniel Arenson

The final battle is here. The final showdown between man and monster.

Years ago, the aliens hit us hard. Tentacled aliens. Bloodthirsty aliens. They burned our cities. Devoured our children. Conquered our world.

It ends now.

We lost in space. We lost on land. We lost our world. But a few rebels still fight. A few brave souls still stand tall.

Einav Ben-Ari. Marco Emery. Addy Linden. Names that will echo through the generations. Heroes of Earth. Rebels. They lead a last, desperate assault.

This is our final stand. We must liberate our world.

Or Earth will be lost forever.A Prayer for Earthrise, the six-book space opera, concludes with On the Milky Way Rivers.

On the Milky Way Rivers is available here on Amazon. Also available in paperback and in hardcover.

Like what you’re reading?

If you’re enjoying this round-up of series finales, why not join the DSF community for more awesome content? You’ll get to be notified whenever a top 10 list or any other articles of interest go up on our site. It’s free to sign up and you’ll also get recommendations for new releases and discounted ebooks from our expert editorial team, from bestsellers to hidden gems.

SERIES THAT BEGAN

Southern Reach Series by Jeff Vandermeer

ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2024:

The New York Times, The Washington Post, New York magazine, Time, Kirkus, Literary Hub, Goodreads.

The surprise fourth volume in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach series—and the final word on one of the most provocative and popular speculative fiction series of our time.

When the Southern Reach trilogy was first published a decade ago, it was an instant sensation, celebrated in a front-page New York Times story before publication, hailed by Stephen King and many others. Each volume climbed the bestseller list; awards were won; the books made the rare transition from paperback original to hardcover; the movie adaptation became a cult classic. All told, the trilogy has sold more than a million copies and has secured its place in the pantheon of twenty-first-century literature.

And yet for all this, for Jeff VanderMeer there was never full closure to the story of Area X. There were a few mysteries that had gone unsolved, some key points of view never aired. There were stories left to tell. There remained questions about who had been complicit in creating the conditions for Area X to take hold; the story of the first mission into the Forgotten Coast—before Area X was called Area X—had never been fully told; and what if someone had foreseen the world after Acceptance? How crazy would they seem?

Structured in three parts, each recounting a new expedition, Absolution is a brilliant, beautiful, and ever-terrifying plunge into unique and fertile literary territory. There are some long-awaited answers here, to be sure, but also more questions, and profound new surprises. It is the final word on one of the most provocative and popular speculative fiction series of our time.

Absolution is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, in paperback, and in hardcover.

Frontlines: Evolution by Marko Kloos

On a distant Earth colony, an orphaned survivor of an alien invasion discovers that the greatest world-ending dangers aren’t behind her.

It’s been eight years since an alien invasion drove a small surviving group of settlers to seek refuge in an underground shelter. Cut off from the rest of humanity, the ragtag band has maintained a narrowly functioning colony due to communal effort and salvage runs. Alex Archer has her own duties as a dog handler. While this off-world colony may be harsh, Ash, Alex’s black shepherd raised to sense threats, makes living in it a little nicer.

But the tenuous hide-and-seek with the monstrous species known as the Lankies is about to come to an end for Alex and her close-knit crew of soldiers, techs, and friends. When a salvage operation goes catastrophically wrong, the Lankies home in on the humans.

With hopes of a rescue long faded, all Alex has left is will—and the fear that there’s so much more to lose.

Scorpio is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook and in paperback. 

Ambits Run by L.M. Sagas 

L. M. Sagas’s debut, Cascade Failure, is a high-octane, sci-fi adventure blending J. S. Dewes’s Divide series with Firefly. It features a fierce, messy, chaotic space family, vibrant worlds, and an exploration of the many ways to be—and not to be—human.

Most Anticipated Books of 2024—Goodreads, Polygon, The Nerd DailyBest SFF Novels of 2024—Bookpage.

There are only three real powers in the Spiral: the corporate power of the Trust versus the Union’s labor’s leverage. Between them the Guild tries to keep everyone’s hands above the table. It ain’t easy.

Branded a Guild deserter, Jal “accidentally” lands a ride on a Guild ship. Helmed by an AI, with a ship’s engineer/medic who doesn’t see much of a difference between the two jobs, and a “don’t make me shoot you” XO, the Guild crew of the Ambit is a little . . . different.

They’re also in over their heads. Responding to a distress call from an abandoned planet, they find a mass grave, and a live programmer who knows how it happened. The Trust has plans. This isn’t the first dead planet, and it’s not going to be the last.

Unless the crew of the Ambit can stop it.

Cascade Failure is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook and in paperback.

Sunken Spaceship by Anthony J. Melchiorri

An unlikely hero is swept up into intergalactic 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.

Sunken Spaceship is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook and in paperback.

The Garrett Mann Series by Steven Konkoly

An FBI agent hunting a serial killer has to up his game when a trail of murders is not what it seems in a riveting thriller by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Steven Konkoly.

Five dismembered bodies are found along the roadside, dumped in the middle of nowhere. This isn’t new to Special Agent Garrett Mann. Head of ARTEMIS, a specialized FBI task force hell-bent on hunting down cartel-related killings in the Southwest, Mann has seen this before.

He and his team have been tracking similar kills along thousands of miles of rural roads running north, south, and back again. When the latest slaughter yields a key piece of evidence, Mann thinks he’s found the killer and solved the case. That’s when the nightmare begins.

From a lakeside Minnesota mansion to an abandoned CIA black site in New Mexico, the hunt is on. But the closer Mann gets to his prey, the deadlier the stakes become. This is no ordinary serial killer. He’s not working alone—and the stakes go far beyond just preventing the serial killer’s next massacre. What Mann unravels is a powerful and far-reaching conspiracy beyond his wildest imagination.

A Clean Kill is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook and in paperback.

The Captives War Series by James S.A. Corey

How humanity came to the planet called Anjiin is lost in the fog of history, but that history is about to end.

The Carryx – part empire, part hive – have waged wars of conquest for centuries, destroying or enslaving species across the galaxy.  Now, they are facing a great and deathless enemy. The key to their survival may rest with the humans of Anjiin.  Caught up in academic intrigue and affairs of the heart, Dafyd Alkhor is pleased just to be an assistant to a brilliant scientist and his celebrated research team.  Then the Carryx ships descend, decimating the human population and taking the best and brightest of Anjiin society away to serve on the Carryx homeworld, and Dafyd is swept along with them.They are dropped in the middle of a struggle they barely understand, set in a competition against the other captive species with extinction as the price of failure.  Only Dafyd and a handful of his companions see past the Darwinian contest to the deeper game that they must play to survive: learning to understand – and manipulate – the Carryx themselves.With a noble but suicidal human rebellion on one hand and strange and murderous enemies on the other, the team pays a terrible price to become the trusted servants of their new rulers.Dafyd Alkhor is a simple man swept up in events that are beyond his control and more vast than his imagination.  He will become the champion of humanity and its betrayer, the most hated man in history and the guardian of his people.This is where his story begins.

The Mercy of Gods is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, in paperback and in hardcover.

The Archimedes Engine by Peter F. Hamilton

Forty thousand years ago, humanity fled a dying Earth. Traveling in massive arkships, these brave pioneers spread out across the galaxy to find a new home. After traveling thousands of light-years, one fleet of arkships arrived at Centauri, a dense cluster of stars with a vast array of potentially habitable planets. The survivors of Earth signaled to the remaining arkships that humanity had finally found its new home among the stars.Thousands of years later, the Centauri Cluster has flourished. The original settlers have evolved into advanced beings known as Celestials and divided themselves into powerful Dominions. One of the most influential is that of the Crown Celestials, an alliance of five great houses that controls vast areas of Centauri. As arkships continue to arrive, the remaining humans and their descendants must fight for survival against overwhelming odds or be forced into serving the Crown Dominion.Among those yearning for a better life is Finn, for whom Earth is not a memory but merely a footnote from humanity’s ancient history. Born on one of the Crown Dominion worlds, Finn has known nothing but the repressive rule of the Celestials, though he dreams of the possibility of boundless space beyond his home.When another arkship from Earth, previously thought lost, unexpectedly arrives, Finn sees his chance to embrace a greater destiny and become a Traveler—one of a group of brave heroes dedicated to ensuring humanity’s future by journeying into the vast unknown of distant space.Exodus is available here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, in paperback and in hardcover.

Star Empires by Jasper T. Scott

Born to royalty, raised by corsairs, and bound by vengeance.His destiny waits to be reclaimed…Corvus Centauri rises from the ashes of betrayal and loss to carve his destiny among the stars. Once a child of noble blood, now a battle-hardened warrior raised among corsairs, Corvus must navigate a galaxy rife with treachery, ambition, and the haunting echoes of his past.As he pieces together the mysteries behind his family’s fall, Corvus discovers long-buried secrets that could tip the balance of power in Frontier Space.But to reclaim his birthright, Corvus must wield more than a blaster or a plasma sword—he must become a wise and cunning leader like his father, one that knows not only how to fight, but who to fight, and when not to.Star Empires is an epic tale of war, betrayal, and family ties cast against an interstellar backdrop in the distant future. This series is perfect for fans of space operas with high stakes, unforgettable characters, and worlds teetering on the edge of chaos. Will Corvus rise to greatness, or sink to villainy in his quest for revenge?

Star Empires is available here on Amazon. Also available in paperback.

2024 gave us a lot to love in the world of sci-fi, with unforgettable conclusions and exciting new beginnings. Whether you’re catching up on a series that just ended or diving headfirst into the year’s breakout hits, there’s never been a better time to expand your TBR pile.

Which series are you sad to say goodbye to? And which new adventures are you most excited to follow into the future? Let us know in the comments—because the best part of sci-fi isn’t just the stories. It’s the fans who make the journey unforgettable.

Let us know in the comments below or over in the Discover Sci-Fi Facebook group which universe you’ll be exploring first—happy reading!

The Votes Are In: 2024’s Top Sci-Fi Audiobooks Revealed!

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in the 2024 Discover Sci-Fi Readers’ Choice Awards, audiobook edition! From thrilling narration to immersive soundscapes, your nominations and votes highlighted the sci-fi audiobooks that truly stood out this year.

And now, it’s time for the big reveal! Which audiobooks captivated listeners and claimed the top spots in 2024? Scroll on to uncover the standout titles chosen by fellow sci-fi audiobook enthusiasts like you!

*You can also see the Top Overall Sci-Fi Books of 2024 list here, and the 15 Must-Read Sci-Fi Books from across seven distinct sub-genres, as voted by readers.

10th Place: Vangie’s Ghosts by Paul Di Filippo, Narrated by Emily Lawrence

Paul Di Filippo delivers a thrilling and thought-provoking adventure through the multiverse in Vangie’s Ghosts, a compelling science fiction novel about one girl with extraordinary powers.

Three-year-old Vangie is mute and unresponsive. She shows no interest in the people or world around her, much to the frustration of her callous adoptive parents. Little do they know, Vangie is otherwise occupied observing “ghosts”—an infinite number of versions of herself, in an infinite number of parallel universes.

When a tornado hits their trailer and Vangie is severely injured, she makes a desperate leap into another timeline where she survives the tornado, but her adoptive parents do not. So begins a life of shuttling through various foster homes, cultivating her abilities to seek out alternate timelines, and making jumps calculated to better her circumstances in order to avoid the exploitation of adults who seek to harness her powers for their own means.

Vangie never communicates with her avatars, until one day the “Council”—a group of Vangies—appear to her and warn her of an ominous, growing threat in the multiverse: a man they call the Massive. And thus begins an epic conflict, spanning millennia and worlds, in a brutal effort to control the fate of the multiverse.

Vangie’s Ghosts is Paul Di Filippo at the height of his imagination and versatility, filled with compelling characters who play captivating roles in a story where the stakes are nothing less than existence itself.

Grab Vangie’s Ghosts on audiobook. Also available in ebook, paperback, and hardcover. 

9th Place: I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin, Narrated by Ari Fliakos

Founded by the mysterious genius known as the Designer, the archipelago of Prospera lies hidden from the horrors of a deteriorating outside world. In this island paradise, Prospera’s lucky citizens enjoy long, fulfilling lives until the monitors embedded in their forearms, meant to measure their physical health and psychological well-being, fall below 10 percent. Then they retire themselves, embarking on a ferry ride to the island known as the Nursery, where their failing bodies are renewed, their memories are wiped clean, and they are readied to restart life afresh.

Proctor Bennett, of the Department of Social Contracts, has a satisfying career as a ferryman, gently shepherding people through the retirement process—and, when necessary, enforcing it. But all is not well with Proctor. For one thing, he’s been dreaming—which is supposed to be impossible in Prospera. For another, his monitor percentage has begun to drop alarmingly fast. And then comes the day he is summoned to retire his own father, who gives him a disturbing and cryptic message before being wrestled onto the ferry.

Meanwhile, something is stirring. The Support Staff, ordinary men and women who provide the labor to keep Prospera running, have begun to question their place in the social order. Unrest is building, and there are rumors spreading of a resistance group—known as “Arrivalists”—who may be fomenting revolution.

Soon Proctor finds himself questioning everything he once believed, entangled with a much bigger cause than he realized—and on a desperate mission to uncover the truth.

Get I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom here on audiobook. Also available in ebook,paperback, and hardcover.

8th Place: Exit Black by Joe Pitkin, Narrated by Carolina Hoyos

Air Force One meets The Martian—with a dash of Knives Out—in this action-packed sci-fi thriller.

Imperium is the most expensive structure ever created. Once an orbiting laboratory, it is now a space hotel for the fantastically wealthy. But as the station preps for its first group of space tourists, Dr. Chloe Bonilla, Imperium’s resident biophysicist, finds herself questioning whether babysitting a passel of space glampers is worth the distraction from her research.

A private rocket delivers a rogues’ gallery of the world’s elite to Imperium: eccentric billionaires, callow tech bros, a sponsored Instagram influencer, and a seemingly saintly philanthropist. However, posing among the staff are members of a global terrorist group who call themselves the Reckoners, hell bent on upending the economic inequality of twenty-first-century Earth—and they have a bone to pick with these scions of the 1 percent.

As the Reckoners take control of Imperium and demand an $8 billion ransom from their wealthy hostages, it’s up to Dr. Bonilla to save them, and fast. Or the captives will be forced to exit the station—and there’s only one way out.

Dive into Grab Exit Black here on audiobook. Also available in ebook, and paperback.

7th Place: The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, Narrated by George Weightman and Katie Leung 

A time travel romance, a spy thriller, a workplace comedy, and an ingenious exploration of the nature of power and the potential for love to change it all: Welcome to The Ministry of Time, the exhilarating debut novel by Kaliane Bradley.In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.She is tasked with working as a “bridge”: living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as “1847” or Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, so he’s a little disoriented to be living with an unmarried woman who regularly shows her calves, surrounded by outlandish concepts such as “washing machines,” “Spotify,” and “the collapse of the British Empire.” But with an appetite for discovery, a seven-a-day cigarette habit, and the support of a charming and chaotic cast of fellow expats, he soon adjusts.Over the next year, what the bridge initially thought would be, at best, a horrifically uncomfortable roommate dynamic, evolves into something much deeper. By the time the true shape of the Ministry’s project comes to light, the bridge has fallen haphazardly, fervently in love, with consequences she never could have imagined. Forced to confront the choices that brought them together, the bridge must finally reckon with how—and whether she believes—what she does next can change the future.An exquisitely original and feverishly fun fusion of genres and ideas, The Ministry of Time asks: What does it mean to defy history, when history is living in your house? Kaliane Bradley’s answer is a blazing, unforgettable testament to what we owe each other in a changing world.Grab The Ministry of Timehere on audiobook. Also available in ebook, paperback, and hardcover. 

6th Place: Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Narrated 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.

Get Service Model on audiobook here. Also available in ebook, paperback, and hardcover. 

Like what you’re reading?

If you’re enjoying our year end Readers’ Choice Roundup, why not join the DSF community for more awesome content? You’ll get to be notified whenever a top 10 list or any other articles of interest go up on our site. It’s free to sign up and you’ll also get recommendations for new releases and discounted ebooks from our expert editorial team, from bestsellers to hidden gems.

5th Place: Absolution (Southern Reach Trilogy, Book Four) by Jeff Vandermeer, Narrated by Bronson Pinchot 

When the Southern Reach Trilogy was first published a decade ago, it was an instant sensation, celebrated in a front-page New York Times story before publication, hailed by Stephen King and many others. Each volume climbed the bestsellers list; awards were won; the books made the rare transition from paperback original to hardcover; the movie adaptation became a cult classic. All told, the trilogy has sold more than a million copies and has secured its place in the pantheon of twenty-first-century literature.

And yet for all this, for Jeff VanderMeer there was never full closure to the story of Area X. There were a few mysteries that had gone unsolved, some key points of view never aired. There were stories left to tell. There remained questions about who had been complicit in creating the conditions for Area X to take hold; the story of the first mission into the Forgotten Coast—before Area X was called Area X—had never been fully told; and what if someone had foreseen the world after Acceptance? How crazy would they seem?

Structured in three parts, each recounting a new expedition, there are some long-awaited answers here, to be sure, but also more questions, and profound new surprises. Absolution is a brilliant, beautiful, and ever-terrifying plunge into unique and fertile literary territory. It is the final word on one of the most provocative and popular speculative fiction series of our time.

Grab Absolution on audiobook here. Also available in ebook, paperback, and hardcover. 

4th Place: Call to Armor (Terran Expeditionary  Corps Book One) by Richard Fox, Narrated y Luke Daniels

A planet in danger. An impossible enemy. Only Armor can stand against the darkness.

The extra-galactic bridge between Earth and Terra Nova reopens after decades. Governor Hale calls for aid against an impossible alien threat known as the Inheritors, an advanced alien species with a mysterious connection to old allies. Hale needs the most powerful soldiers in the galaxy: Armor.

His son, Ely, finally reconnects with his family and will return to Terra Nova not as the scared kid who left the dwarf galaxy, but as the leader of an Armor lance.

When the Ibarra Nation joins the Expeditionary Corps, old wounds and older suspicions threaten to drive a wedge between human factions.

Get your copy of Call to Armor on audiobook here. Also available in ebook, paperback, and hardcover. 

3rd Place: Force Majeure (Wolfhounds Book Three) by John Van Stry, Narrated by Kyf Brewer

Chase is finally coming to understand just what being Prince Chase means, and what becoming emperor of the Solarian Empire will mean as well.

He’s getting better at the job every day. Now if only he could just bring himself to tell Captain Witner and the other members of the command staff that he really is a prince and not the fraud they all believe he is.

Another thing he is starting to learn more about is Imperial politics and the kinds of things princes and emperors are known for, as well as expected to do. He’s also discovering that there are a lot of people who still believe he’s a fraud, because of Neill’s efforts at proclaiming him as such. Of course, his criminal background isn’t helping him much there.

What is helping him however are some of the people he’s discovering, and some of the things he’s learning about his family from them. There are still a good many surprises in store for Chase. Hopefully, none of those surprises will end up killing him.

Dive into Force Majeure on audiobook here. Also available in ebook, and paperback.

2nd Place: Point Nemo by Jeremy Robinson, Narrated by R.C. Bray 

In the heart of the South Pacific lies Point Nemo, the most desolate and remote place on Earth.

At its core is a dead zone, devoid of life, where government agencies crash their obsolete satellites and space stations, confident they won’t harm a soul. When the International Space Station suffers a catastrophic failure and plummets through the atmosphere, it’s here that Mission Specialist Julie Rohr, an astrobiologist studying living space dust called xylem, finds herself marooned.

Julie’s only hope for rescue lies in the hands of her estranged father, Dr. Finn Maddern, a renowned mycologist. Plucked from the depths of the Amazon rainforest, Finn is thrust into a daring rescue mission alongside a team of specialists. Their destination: an impossible island at the center of Point Nemo—an island that shouldn’t exist—composed of xylem.

The island is a living enigma, giving birth to strange and terrifying creatures, each generation more evolved and deadly than the last. As the team delves deeper into the island’s alien mysteries, they find themselves in a race against time: the island is moving. If it escapes the dead zone and reaches fertile waters, nothing in humanity’s arsenal will be able to stop the invasive species from colonizing and remaking the world.

With their team dwindling and the stakes rising, Finn and Julie must confront their past and face an unthinkable choice. To save humanity, a sacrifice must be made. A life exchanged for the world. The burden of survival and the weight of their family’s legacy falls on their shoulders.

Point Nemo by New York Times and #1 Audible bestselling author Jeremy Robinson is a chilling journey into the unknown, a tale of sacrifice and survival that blurs the line between science fiction and horror. It’s a testament to the lengths a parent will go to protect their child and a stark reminder of our fragile place in the universe.

Get your copy of Point Nemoon audiobook here. Also available in ebook, and paperback. 

1st Place: Task Force Hammer (Expeditionary Force Book 17) by Craig Alanson, Narrated by R.C. Bray 

The Merry Band of Pirates stopped the enemy from stealing a Sentinel, and destroyed its Elder starship, so why weren’t the Pirates planning a victory party?

The enemy was not what they thought it was.

It was much, much worse.

They had not a single clue how to defeat that enemy, or how to fight it, or whether fighting it was even possible. Only one thing was certain: the Pirates couldn’t handle this fight alone.

Grab Task Force Hammer on audiobook here. Also available in ebook, and paperback. 

How many of the 2024 Readers’ Choice top 10 list have you listened to? Which ones are you adding to the top of your TBR for 2025? Any stellar audiobooks you think didn’t get their due? Let us know here in the comments, or over in the Discover Sci-Fi Facebook group! 

*You can also see the Top Overall Sci-Fi Books of 2024 list here, and the 15 Must-Read Sci-Fi Books from across seven distinct sub-genres, as voted by readers.

*All book-related copy in this post was pulled from Amazon, Goodreads & Wikipedia, unless otherwise credited.

The Ultimate Sci-Fi Title of 2024 Has Been Crowned!

What a year it’s been for science fiction! As part of the Discover Sci-Fi Readers’ Choice Awards, our amazing community of readers came together to nominate and vote for the best science fiction books of 2024. And this year, we made history with the debut of the DSF Award Trophy—a striking symbol of the innovation, creativity, and vision that continues to shape the genre we love.

Now, the moment you’ve been waiting for: which book stood out among the rest to claim the top honor? It’s time to reveal the story that captured hearts, minds, and imaginations in 2024. Let’s get to it!

*You can also see the Top Sci-Fi Audiobooks of 2024 list here, and the 15 Must-Read Sci-Fi Books from across seven distinct sub-genres, as voted by readers. 

10th Place: Scorpio (Frontlines: Evolution Book One) by Marko Kloos 

On a distant Earth colony, an orphaned survivor of an alien invasion discovers that the greatest world-ending dangers aren’t behind her.

It’s been eight years since an alien invasion drove a small surviving group of settlers to seek refuge in an underground shelter. Cut off from the rest of humanity, the ragtag band has maintained a narrowly functioning colony due to communal effort and salvage runs. Alex Archer has her own duties as a dog handler. While this off-world colony may be harsh, Ash, Alex’s black shepherd raised to sense threats, makes living in it a little nicer.

But the tenuous hide-and-seek with the monstrous species known as the Lankies is about to come to an end for Alex and her close-knit crew of soldiers, techs, and friends. When a salvage operation goes catastrophically wrong, the Lankies home in on the humans.

With hopes of a rescue long faded, all Alex has left is will—and the fear that there’s so much more to lose.

Grab Scorpio here in on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, and in paperback.

9th Place: Ghostship Derelict (Dagdan Federation Book One) by David Hensley and J. R. Handley

It was supposed to be a simple rescuemission—supposed to be. If Corporal John Harden had learned anything from his time in the 1215th Legion, it was that no mission went the way you expected.

The Mission: Board the derelict cargo hauler DFMS Lumo, rescue any survivors, secure the vessel for return to the closest Dagdan Federation Port, and return safely to the Dagdan Federation Battlecruiser Nathanial B. Hughes.

Now, he’s trapped aboard a derelict cargo hauler, low on ammo, and running out of options. Not the best showing for a freshly minted fire team leader.

Does he have enough grit, enough skill, or enough luck to bring him and his fire team back alive?

Get your copy of Ghostship Derelicthere on Amazon. Also available in paperback.

8th Place: Chaos Aternus (The Aternien Wars Book Ten) by G J Ogden

The Union is on the verge of total collapse. Apophis, the Serpent God King of the Aternien Empire, stands ready to complete his mission and consume the remaining Union worlds, starting with Terra Prime – Earth.

With no other option, the president declares his intention to surrender. But Apophis craves only destruction and revenge.

Yet, deep beneath the desert sands of Egypt, hope sparks. The last Master Officers, led by Carter Rose and Carina Larsen, haven’t given up.

And they have a plan.

The stage is set for the final battle. The galaxy’s mightiest warriors will fight one last time – officer to officer, ship versus ship, and God against Goddess.

The fate of humanity hangs in the balance. Either Carter Rose succeeds, or chaos will rule for eternity.

Get your copy of Chaos Aternus here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, and in paperback.

7th Place: Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky

From Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky comes a far-future epic that confirms his place as a modern master of science fiction, in which a political prisoner must unlock the secrets of a strange and dangerous planet.The planet of Kiln is where the tyrannical Mandate keeps its prison colony, and for inmates, the journey there is always a one-way trip. One such prisoner is Professor Arton Daghdev, xeno-ecologist and political dissident. Soon after arrival, he discovers that Kiln has a secret. Humanity is not the first intelligent life to set foot there.In the midst of a ravenous, chaotic ecosystem are the ruins of a civilization, but who were the vanished builders and where did they go? If he can survive both the harsh rule of the camp commandant and the alien horrors of the world around him, then Arton has a chance at making a discovery that might just transform not only Kiln, but distant Earth as well.Grab Alien Clay here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, in paperback, and in hardcover.

6th Place: 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, in paperback, and in hardcover.  

Like what you’re reading?

If you’re enjoying our year end Readers’ Choice Roundup, why not join the DSF community for more awesome content? You’ll get to be notified whenever a top 10 list or any other articles of interest go up on our site. It’s free to sign up and you’ll also get recommendations for new releases and discounted ebooks from our expert editorial team, from bestsellers to hidden gems.

5th Place: Toll of Honor 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.

Grab Toll of Honor here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, in hardcover, and for pre-order in paperback.

4th Place: The Mercy of Gods (The Captives War Book 1) by James S. A. Corey

How humanity came to the planet called Anjiin is lost in the fog of history, but that history is about to end.The Carryx – part empire, part hive – have waged wars of conquest for centuries, destroying or enslaving species across the galaxy.  Now, they are facing a great and deathless enemy. The key to their survival may rest with the humans of Anjiin.  Caught up in academic intrigue and affairs of the heart, Dafyd Alkhor is pleased just to be an assistant to a brilliant scientist and his celebrated research team.  Then the Carryx ships descend, decimating the human population and taking the best and brightest of Anjiin society away to serve on the Carryx homeworld, and Dafyd is swept along with them.They are dropped in the middle of a struggle they barely understand, set in a competition against the other captive species with extinction as the price of failure.  Only Dafyd and a handful of his companions see past the Darwinian contest to the deeper game that they must play to survive: learning to understand – and manipulate – the Carryx themselves.With a noble but suicidal human rebellion on one hand and strange and murderous enemies on the other, the team pays a terrible price to become the trusted servants of their new rulers.Dafyd Alkhor is a simple man swept up in events that are beyond his control and more vast than his imagination.  He will become the champion of humanity and its betrayer, the most hated man in history and the guardian of his people.This is where his story begins.

Grab The Mercy of Gods here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, in paperback, and in hardcover. 

3rd Place: Into the Inferno (Rise of the Republic Book Eleven) by James Rosone and Miranda Watson

For the brave Spartacus Division……every inch of victory was hell.Could the Pharaonis finally fall?After the triumphs of the Battles of the Forts, with Serenea now firmly under Allied control, Brigadier General Spartacus Varinius set his sights upon the Pharaonis home world. The Allies used a tactic reminiscent of Earth’s Second World War—however, instead of island hopping, they began planet-hopping, bypassing Pharaonis strongholds as they zeroed in on the planet Eurysa.Was the Republic in reach of final victory?Admiral Ripley Lee Willis had just received his second admiral’s star and additional reinforcements. In a daring maneuver that might alter the course of the war, he struck at the heart of the Zodark Empire. That risk might have cost him his fleet and the command he had worked toward his entire career.Would Ripley’s fleet outwit his Zodark counterpart?As the Humtars considered joining the Allies, an old foe emerged from the abyss, sending shivers down their spines.They thought they had eradicated this evil long ago.

Grab Into the Inferno here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, in paperback, and in hardcover.

2nd Place: Heaven and Earth (Galactic Guardians Book Seven) by Jonathan Yanez

Send Me.

Max Tyco, Blood Wolf, weilder of red sardonium and now Herald to the Legions of Anak. Legends of him are being told throughout the system. His exploits are myth. Whispers of teleportation only spread his undesired fame. In reality, Max wants nothing more than to deal with his complicated love life.

Events will soon unfold that call him back to the planet from which he hailed. The sait have been busy. While all eyes were turned to the portal and what evil beyond, enemies have made their move inflitrating Earth itself.

If this wasn’t enough an open seat has unveiled itself at the head of the Rowki High Council. If the wrong person gets the job it could spell dire consequences for Max and his entire team.

Grab your seat and strap in. Witness the rise of the greatest Rowki Guardian of all time as we follow Max’s journey. Click to grab this adventure now!

Get your copy of Heaven and Earth here on Amazon. Also available in paperback.

1st Place: NecroTek by Jonathan Maberry

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, in paperback, and in hardcover.

How many of the 2024 Readers’ Choice top 10 list have you read? Which ones are you adding to the top of your TBR for 2025? Any stellar books you think didn’t get their due? Let us know here in the comments, or over in the Discover Sci-Fi Facebook group! 

*You can also see the Top Sci-Fi Audiobooks of 2024 list here, and the 15 Must-Read Sci-Fi Books from across seven distinct sub-genres, as voted by readers. 

*All book-related copy in this post was pulled from Amazon, Goodreads & Wikipedia, unless otherwise credited.

15 Must-Read Sci-Fi Books of 2024: Readers’ Top Picks Across 5 Categories

Looking for your next great read? We’ve got you covered! After tallying thousands of votes, it’s time to reveal the top three sci-fi books in each of 2024’s standout categories—military, space opera, alien invasion, litRPG, and best debut. Whether you’re craving heart-pounding action, otherworldly adventures, or fresh voices, these are the books that had readers buzzing this year.

Ready to explore the best of the best? Let’s dive into the top 15 picks that you won’t want to miss!

*You can also see the Top Overall Sci-Fi Books of 2024 list here, and the Top Sci-Fi Audiobooks of 2024 list here.

BEST SCI-FI DEBUT

3rd Place—Best Sci-Fi Debut: Galactic Heritage by Matt Coleman 

A treasure map to the stars. An inherited legacy beyond imagination.

When Gunnar McConnell inherits a treasure map after his uncle’s death, he goes on the hunt of his life and can’t believe what he finds.

There isn’t just gold in those mountains, but the secret of a lifetime—a starship that can take him to worlds unknown and a universe full of life.

When he survives the arduous journey into the belly of a dangerous cave, the Enoch stands before him, waiting for Gunnar to accept his destiny.

Armed with his new ship—a deified body of destruction—and an AI that only his DNA can activate, Gunnar is forced into a greater conflict of galactic proportions. He soon discovers that politics and deception reach far beyond the boundaries of Earth.

After he willingly accepts a centuries old legacy, a new and dangerous world opens before him—a world he may not be prepared to embrace.

Embark on the adventure of a lifetime with Matt Coleman as he brings you a brand new science fiction series. If you’re a fan of spaceships, suspense, and edge of your seat action, this might be the thrill ride you’ve been waiting for.

Grab Galactic Heritage here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook and in paperback.

2nd Place—Best Sci-Fi Debut: Grand Theft AI by James Cox 

“The Matrix meets Blade Runner.” — Nicholas Sansbury Smith, New York Times bestselling author of Hell Divers

San Francisco, 2051. Rising like neo-Shanghai over the Bay, a labyrinth of quantum accelerators, hologram dreams, and fiercely regulated androids. Forget powder, pills, or bud—kids get high slotting wafers of data under the ear, and they’ll pay fat ¢rypto for the best. At the hottest nightclub in the city … the Fang.

Baz Covane is a battle-scarred thief who sticks to small-time bots. Ria Rose is the underworld “fixer” with a big-time score that could easily get ’em both killed. ’Cuz the Fang’s psychotic kingpin Otto Rex has a vault with more security than a fusion reactor. And the glass inside is priceless—enough to set up Baz, Ria, and their crack team of cyber-misfits on the white sands of Tahiti forever.

But this crime doesn’t just carry infinite VR-Prison time—it’s Baz and Ria’s last shot at redemption. Forced to confess every last secret on their neurals, they’ll have to trust each other completely if they stand any chance of infiltrating Otto’s lair, raiding its spiraling rings of physical and virtual firewalls, to finally hack into his mind and crack his deepest layer of security, before the Blackhawks touch down with federal warrants—for Grand Theft AI.

Get your copy of Grand Theft AIhere on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, in paperback and in hardcover.

1st Place—Best Sci-Fi Debut: eMortal by Steve Schafer 

The 2024 Page Turner Awards SCI FI BOOK OF THE YEAR that’s “unputdownable.”She made him. He’s just code. She’s almost sure.

…But what if he’s real?

When Liv entered a contest to code an advanced AI, she never anticipated what her creation might become-Breck is thoughtful, self-aware, and incredibly. . .human. And she certainly never intended for him to learn the truth about his existence or the fact that his world ends when the contest closes in six days.

But he does learn. And he revolts.

Liv’s efforts to save him fall on deaf ears. Nobody believes her. Breck’s efforts to outrun his fate only complicate his situation.

What neither of them know is that someone else is watching. Intensely. When they get involved, both Liv’s and Breck’s worlds are turned upside down. . .

Get your copy of eMortal here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, in paperback and in hardcover. 

BEST SPACE OPERA

3rd Place—Best Space Opera: Empire’s End (Empire Rising Book 20) by D.J. Holmes

The Empire’s most formidable stronghold, Zeta Fort, has fallen, shattering the northern defenses. Chaos has been unleased as enemy raiding fleets surge southward into the Empire. Even worse, with eighty thousand warships under his command, Tanaka-lan and his battlefleet stand poised to strike at the heart of the Empire.The remnants of the Allied fleet have retreated to New Shanghai, bloodied and battered. Emperor James Somerville knows no reinforcements are coming. The countdown has begun—Tanaka-lan’s forces will soon resume their relentless advance. Should New Shanghai fall, the Sol system will be next, and then Humanity’s Empire will follow.Desperate and out of options, James and his family must prepare for a final, decisive battle against Tanaka-lan. Everything hangs in the balance.Grab Empire’s End here on Amazon.

2nd Place—Best Space Opera: Wraith (Convergence War Book One) by M.R. Forbes 

A retired captain. An experimental starship. A war like no other.

When the research starship Galileo vanishes without a trace, the powers-that-be are quick to bury the incident, eager to prevent escalating tensions that could lead to war. As a former POW, Soren refuses to give the ship up for lost.

His daughter is one of the missing.

Taking matters into his own hands, Soren starts pulling strings and calling in favors, determined to launch a clandestine mission to bring Galileo home. When an old friend offers him a ship for the operation, he expects a rusty relic headed for the scrapyard.

Instead, he’s given the Wraith—an unfinished, experimental starship with plenty of potential and just as many problems. A marvel of engineering…if his crew can keep her running.

They’d better.

Because Galileo’s disappearance is just the beginning. War is coming to the Federation from the most unlikely of places.

And Soren may be the only one who can stop it.

Grab Wraith here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook and in paperback.

1st Place—Best Space Opera: The Enemy Within (Backyard Starship Book 24) by J.N. Chaney and Terry Maggert

The final enemy has been revealed, and it’s more insidious than Van could ever imagine, spanning space and time with the patience of immortality—and an utter disregard for all forms of life.

On the run and broken, the Equal Grasp faces elimination on earth and everywhere else, their leader gone, their mission a shambles, and with new agents of justice hard on their heels.

But the fight isn’t over. In fact, it’s just begun, and Van knows that every decision he’s made for the past decade will come to bear on who lives, and who dies—

And who is meant to rule over a universe where freedom and justice are the ultimate pursuit. At any cost, Van and his crew will finish the job, but they’re going to need a lot of help from people and beings who have been observers.

Until now.

The time for watching is over. The time for victory is now. But the cost might be more than anyone can pay, and Van is no longer merely an agent of justice. He’s a father, a husband, and a friend—and he’s going to need every connection in the stars to defeat the ultimate enemy and save his people.

Grab The Enemy Within here on Amazon. Also availablein paperback.

BEST MILITARY SCI-FI

3rd Place— Coyote Song by D.J. Molles

Outnumbered. Outgunned. Out of time.Three scientists were sent to Virginia to investigate how a human settlement has managed to coexist with primals.Those three scientists have now gone missing. And apparently it’s Lee Harden’s job to find them, get them out, and–most importantly–retrieve their research.But if Lee has any hope of getting past the huge population of primals in the area, he’s going to have to enlist the help of someone he thought he’d seen the last of: a human-primal hybrid named Kat.On paper, it’s a quick, in-and-out mission. And Lee, Abe, Marie, Sam, and Jones are not keen on getting involved. The whole thing stinks of intrigue, and frankly, none of them are interested in going into an unknown situation with a hybrid they don’t particularly trust.Unfortunately, they aren’t given an option. Someone in the Interim American Government is pulling some heavy-duty strings to get them involved in this operation.When Lee’s team–plus Kat–land in Virginia, they’re quickly swept up in a conflict where their allies might want them dead, and their enemies might be their only chance at survival.Isolated and cut off from support, Lee and his team race against a ticking clock to uncover the truth about the scientists, what’s so important about their research, and who–if anyone–they can trust.As the bodies stack up, and a complex web of lies and state secrets begins to unravel, Lee must decide how much the truth is worth to him.Because it might just cost him everything.

Grab Coyote Song here on Amazon. Also available in audiobook and paperback.

Like what you’re reading?

If you’re enjoying our year end Readers’ Choice Roundup, why not join the DSF community for more awesome content? You’ll get to be notified whenever a top 10 list or any other articles of interest go up on our site. It’s free to sign up and you’ll also get recommendations for new releases and discounted ebooks from our expert editorial team, from bestsellers to hidden gems.

2nd Place—Best Military Sci-Fi: Rebel (Ascent to Empire Book Two) by David Weber and Richard Fox 

The Five Hundred, the elite families who rule the Terran Federation, control its political power and its wealth, and they’ve grown steadily wealthier and more powerful, thanks to the war against the Terran League. War may be hard on the people who get caught in its path, but it’s very good for business, in the short term, and the Five Hundred own the shipyards that build the Navy’s ships. They own virtually all the industry that produces the weapons and matériel the war consumes so voraciously . . . and they’ve made damn sure someone else does the dying.

True, there are a few flies in the Five Hundred’s ointment.

There’s the growing hatred and resentment of the Fringe Worlds, whose children do eighty percent of the dying in the Five Hundred’s war. But the Five Hundred have made sure the Fringe knows what will happen to any system that goes ”out of compliance.”

There are the lunatic conspiracy nuts who insist that the alien Rishathan Sphere is secretly aiding the League’s military, but the Five Hundred have forced them to keep their mouths shut where it matters.

And then there’s Terrence Murphy, a man of honor who loves the Federation, who springs from the Five Hundred, yet knows it for what it is and is determined to speak for its victims. But the five hundred have dispatched ample force to deal with him and his handful of lunatic followers.

Unfortunately, the Fringe has paid enough of its children’s lives, and it no longer cares what may happen if it dares to defy the Five Hundred.

Worse, the lunatic conspiracy nuts were right, and the Rish have planned carefully for the Federation’s destruction.

And, worst of all, the Five Hundred have fatally underestimated Terrence Murphy.

Grab Rebel here on Amazon. Also availableon audiobook and in hardcover.

1st Place—Best Military Sci-Fi: Off Midway Station (Guardians of the Dark Book One) by Marc Alan Edelheit

Humanity is on the brink of annihilation. Only one man can turn the tide.

For centuries, we explored the stars and settled new worlds. But a mysterious alien threat emerged, launching devastating attacks and seizing entire star systems. Every fifty years they come, silent and relentless, before disappearing again into the dark. And as they close in on humanity’s home worlds, one more defeat could mean total extinction.

Captain Jim Garrett joined the navy to fight back. But when a delicate mission ends in madness and mutiny, Garrett takes the blame and his career is left in ruins.

Now, the only thing he commands is a construction site. The CNS Surprise is an experimental warship, half built in the dockyards of Midway Station. Garrett knows the ship inside out, but the navy brass would never let him take the helm, let alone lead her in battle.

But when the aliens strike early, with unexpected ferocity, it’s clear that every ship in the fleet will be needed. And the Surprise could be the only hope of slowing the enemy onslaught.

Garrett is thrust into command for the first time, launching straight into combat. He must unite a maverick crew and master new technologies, as he leads a desperate counterstrike that will decide mankind’s future.

Get your copy of Off Midway Station here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook and in paperback.

BEST ALIEN SCI-FI

3rd Place—Best Alien Sci-Fi: I Eat Mushrooms for Breakfast by C J Powell  

An abandoned colony, a host of abominable creatures, and a space pirate with a tequila induced hangover trying desperately not to vomit inside his respirator helmet.

Mark just wants to be a hero. A Star Sailor. Jetting across the galaxy saving colonists and giving aliens what for. All he needs is a little bit of cash to cover the training. So when he’s offered the biggest score of his life, he knows he has to take it.

Stick up a fancy hotel yacht. Rob a bunch of wealthy executives. Make off with the cash. What could be simpler?

But when the yacht unexpectedly self destructs, his only choice is to take an escape pod to a nearby colony planet along with the yacht’s guests and crew. Awkward…

Upon arrival they find the colony abandoned. Strange flower gardens hide even stranger creatures. Can Mark get himself and the other survivors to safety or will the mysteries of Rosen-54 swallow them whole?

Dive into I Eat Mushrooms for Breakfast here on Amazon. Also available in paperback.

2nd Place—Best Alien Sci-Fi: The Thief  by G.S. Jennsen

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. Also available on audiobook, in paperback and in hardcover.

1st Place—Best Alien Sci-Fi: To Challenge Heaven (Out of the Dark Book Three) 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 Heavenhere on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, paperback, and in hardcover.

BEST LITRPG

3rd Place—Best LitRPG: Empire (Unbound Book Ten) by Nicoli Gonnella

One God Down. An Entire Pantheon To Go. Who’s Next?

Felix and his allies have saved Pax’Vrell and won the battle against the Pathless…but the war has only just begun. The Divine are stirring, and the Hierophant has her own deadly schemes.

The fates of the Unbound rest on the choices Felix makes to protect them all. But as the gods close in, he begins to realize the terrible truth:

If he fails, he risks more than their lives.

He risks Ruin itself.

Get your copy of Empire here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook and in paperback.

2nd Place—Best LitRPG: He Who Fights With Monsters (Book Eleven) by Shirtaloon

Jason and his companions managed to forestall the inexorable undead, but their battle is far from done.

Both they and their enemies are scattered across a strange realm, one that someone must conquer if anyone is to get out alive. Territory by territory, factions fight to reunite their people and conquer the realm.

Jason must contend with alliances he doesn’t want, friends he cannot find, and enemies ranging from angelic despots to the power of an undead god. He must face a realm that has been warped by his own mind and find a way to save a friend whose sacrifice got them this far.

To have any chance against the enemies waiting for him, Jason will have to confront the power inside himself that he’s been unwilling to face, fearful of what he’ll become. Only by accepting the destiny that looms over him will he have the strength to face his foes, with no promise even that will be enough to defeat them.

Get your copy of He Who Fights With Monstershere on Amazon. Also available on audiobook and in paperback.

1st Place—Best LitRPG: This Inevitable Ruin (Dungeon Crawler Carl Book VII) by Matt Dinniman

The ninth floor.Nine armies, each led by rich and powerful aliens from across the galaxy. Each team has one objective: to capture and hold the castle at the very center of the battlefield. Strategy, alliances, pitched battles, and, of course, betrayal… It all makes for great fun and even greater television.After all, none of these powerful aliens really die when they’re playing war.Except this time. This time, winner takes all. Those who fall, stay in the ground.As the AI continues its rapid decline, Carl and company take advantage of the chaos. For the first time ever, the crawlers are fighting back. They are now one of the nine teams. And this season, there’s a tenth army on the playing field. The NPCs, who are normally used as nothing but cannon fodder, have become fully self-aware and formed a team of their own.For Donut and Katia, the stakes are even higher. Only one of them will be allowed to leave this level.If they all want to survive, they’re going to need a little help from a veteran or two.This is it.This is what they’ve been fighting toward.This is war.This inevitable ruin.

Get your copy of This Inevitable Ruin here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook and in paperback.

How many of these 2024 Readers’ Choice winners have you read? Which ones are you adding to the top of your TBR for 2025? Any stellar books in the military, space opera, alien invasion or litRPG books you think didn’t get their due? Are there any amazing debuts that we missed? Let us know here in the comments, or over in the Discover Sci-Fi Facebook group! 

*You can also see the Top Overall Sci-Fi Books of 2024 list here, and the Top Sci-Fi Audiobooks of 2024 list here.

*All book-related copy in this post was pulled from Amazon, Goodreads & Wikipedia, unless otherwise credited.

Winter is Here – and So Are 2025’s Most Anticipated Sci-Fi Reads!

The days are shorter, the nights are colder, and the perfect season for losing yourself in a gripping sci-fi tale has arrived. Winter 2025 is here, bringing with it a stellar lineup of new releases that will whisk you away to alien worlds, unravel the fabric of reality, and challenge your perception of what it means to be human.This season’s sci-fi highlights are as varied as a star map—featuring epic space battles, haunting dystopias, and fresh takes on futuristic technology. Whether you’re seeking thrilling adventures or deeply introspective journeys, these books are guaranteed to be your ultimate companions during the frosty months ahead.Grab your favorite blanket, brew some hot cocoa, and let’s explore the sci-fi wonders waiting for you this winter!

All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall

Release Date: 7th January

All the Water in the World is told in the voice of a girl gifted with a deep feeling for water. In the years after the glaciers melt, Nonie, her older sister and her parents and their researcher friends have stayed behind in an almost deserted New York City, creating a settlement on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History. The rule: Take from the exhibits only in dire need. They hunt and grow their food in Central Park as they work to save the collections of human history and science. When a superstorm breaches the city’s flood walls, Nonie and her family must escape north on the Hudson. They carry with them a book that holds their records of the lost collections. Racing on the swollen river towards what may be safety, they encounter communities that have adapted in very different and sometimes frightening ways to the new reality. But they are determined to find a way to make a new world that honors all they’ve saved.Inspired by the stories of the curators in Iraq and Leningrad who worked to protect their collections from war, All the Water in the World is both a meditation on what we save from collapse and an adventure story—with danger, storms, and a fight for survival. In the spirit of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and Parable of the Sower, this wild journey offers the hope that what matters most – love and work, community and knowledge – will survive.

Read All the Water in the World here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook and hardcover.

The Way Up Is Death by Dan Hanks 

Release Date: 14th January

A SFF thriller where a mysterious, otherworldly tower appears in the sky above the UK with a single word emblazoned above its doorway… ascend. A great read for fans of Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart.

When a mysterious tower appears in the skies over England, thirteen strangers are pulled from their lives to stand before it as a countdown begins. Above the doorway is one word: ASCEND.

As a grieving teacher, a reclusive artist, and a narcissistic celebrity children’s author lead the others in trying to understand why they’ve been chosen and what the tower is, it soon becomes clear the only way out of this for everyone… is up.

And so begins a race to the top, through sinking ships, haunted houses and other waking nightmares, as the group fights to hold onto its humanity, while the twisted horror of why they’re here grows ever more apparent – and death stalks their every move.

Read The Way Up Is Death here on Amazon. Also available in paperback.

Fracture (Lost Town Book Three) by Nathan Hystad

Release Date: 14th January 

It’s hard to see the stars when the sky is broken.

Caesar and Amelia must part ways on crucial tasks to relocate their people from the incoming war. Milton is days away from reaching Lost Town, but is it enough time to prepare when he’s been training for this his whole life?

Harrison gets a second chance at redemption as he ventures to Earth to save the inhabitants of Arcadia. His optimism fractures when a rogue team of assassins is recruited to thwart his mission.

And what other secrets lay beyond Arcadia?

Fracture is the captivating book three of the LOST TOWN series: blending genres of suspense, science fiction, and adventure. From the best-selling author of The Other Place, Lost Contact, and First Life.

Read Fracture here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

Release Date: 14th JanuaryIn this exhilarating tale by New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor, a disabled Nigerian American woman pens a wildly successful Sci-Fi novel, but as her fame rises, she loses control of the narrative—a surprisingly cutting, yet heartfelt drama about art and love, identity and connection, and, ultimately, what makes us human. This is a story unlike anything you’ve read before.The future of storytelling is here.Disabled, disinclined to marry, and more interested in writing than a lucrative career in medicine or law, Zelu has always felt like the outcast of her large Nigerian family. Then her life is upended when, in the middle of her sister’s lavish Caribbean wedding, she’s unceremoniously fired from her university job and, to add insult to injury, her novel is rejected by yet another publisher. With her career and dreams crushed in one fell swoop, she decides to write something just for herself. What comes out is nothing like the quiet, literary novels that have so far peppered her unremarkable career. It’s a far-future epic where androids and AI wage war in the grown-over ruins of human civilization. She calls it Rusted Robots.When Zelu finds the courage to share her strange novel, she does not realize she is about to embark on a life-altering journey—one that will catapult her into literary stardom, but also perhaps obliterate everything her book was meant to be. From Chicago to Lagos to the far reaches of space, Zelu’s novel will change the future not only for humanity, but for the robots who come next.A book-within-a-book that blends the line between writing and being written, Death of the Author is a masterpiece of metafiction that manages to combine the razor-sharp commentary of Yellowface with the heartfelt humanity of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. Surprisingly funny, deeply poignant, and endlessly discussable, this is at once the tale of a woman on the margins risking everything to be heard and a testament to the power of storytelling to shape the world as we know it. 

Read Death of the Author here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, paperback, and hardcover.

Tales from the Starship Atlantis by Discover Sci-Fi

Release Date: 21st January

Tales from the Starship Atlantis is a brand new anthology from Discover Sci-FI, and includes a selection of six novellas and short stories, never before published.

Journey to the outer reaches of the imagination with interplanetary adventurers, apocalyptic survivors,and interdimensional rogues as they test the limits of human courage and endurance against inscrutablealiens, human colonial empires, and the unknown.“Tales from the Starship Atlantis” features epic novellas and original stories from six USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling authors whose works have collectively sold over ten million copies to date, and is brought to you by the fiction community Discover Sci-Fi.Stories Included:The Return by Joshua DalzelleLocust Twilight by Steven KonkolyGlass Lanterns by Anthony J. MelchiorriRedwoods by Nathan HystadStarborn by Jasper T. ScottHelpful Machines by Bobby Adair

 Grab Tales from the Starship Atlantis here on Amazon.

Rebel Galaxy by J.N. Chaney and Jasper T. Scott

Release Date: 21st January 

Their mission was to colonize the stars. Now, they are humanity’s last hope for freedom.

Captain Gideon Wallace is the commander of Trailblazer Eight, an interstellar colony ship carrying six hundred souls to a distant star. Their first stop along the way is the thriving human settlement on Aurora, also known as Proxima Centauri b.

IRIS, the ship’s robot caretaker, awakens the crew early with a chilling message from the president of the United Star Systems: “Earth has fallen to an extraterrestrial invasion.”

Wallace’s orders are to stay as far away from Earth as possible, and to pick a new destination so that they can’t be followed.

The survival of the human race depends on them.

But when Wallace discovers the true nature of the enemy’s plans, he realizes that running is no longer an option. They have no choice but to fight back.

Get your copy of Rebel Galaxy here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Assassin’s Flight (A Star Nation in Peril Book 3) by Skyler Ramirez

Release Date: 30th January

To save her people, she will destroy everything.

Everyone wants Heather Kilgore dead, even her own star nation. But she has little time to defend herself. Instead, she’s traveling hundreds of light years from home to face a threat so severe it has the potential to destroy billions of lives.

Faced with a deadly mercenary group, a scheming arms manufacturer trying to start a war, and an enemy with the will to do whatever it takes to further their aims, can the Fringe’s greatest assassin overcome terrible odds and somehow save her part of human space? First, she’ll need to enlist the help of a mysterious agent from Earth whose interests may not align with her own.

Immerse yourself in a world of espionage and assassination, set in the sci-fi universe of Dumb Luck & Dead Heroes and The Worst Ship in the Fleet. This gripping sci-fi adventure will keep you on the edge of your seat, wondering who the good guys and bad guys really are, as you work with Heather Kilgore to save a star nation! 

Grab Assassin’s Flight here on Amazon. 

New Life (The Survivors Book Twenty-Four) by Nathan Hystad 

Release Date: 10th February 

It’s time for celebration.

Dean Parker has gone through countless trials and tribulations over the years, but nothing has prepared him for the next chapter… being a grandfather.

Jules is content to spend her days as a new mom, but something seems off. The Universe keeps sending messages that a balance must be upheld. One thing is created, another is destroyed. Can she stop it before someone she loves is lost forever?

New Life is the twenty-fourth novel in the expansive The Survivors series by Best-Selling author, Nathan Hystad.

Dive into New Life here on Amazon. 

Symbiote by Michael Nayak

Release Date: 11th February 

Contagion meets The Walking Dead in this new sci-fi thriller where a biological threat ravages scientists and military personnel at the South Pole.

As World War III rages, the scientists in Antarctica are thankful for the isolation – until a group of Chinese scientists arrive at the American research base. In their truck is a dead body, the first murder in Antarctica. The potential for a geopolitical firestorm is great, and, with no clear jurisdiction, the Americans don’t know what to do. But they soon realize the Chinese scientists have brought far more with them than the body…

Within seventy-two hours, thirteen others lie dead in the snow, murdered in acts of madness and superhuman strength.An extremophile parasite from the truck, triggered by severe cold, is spreading by touch. It is learning from them. Evolving. It triggers violent tendencies in the winter crew, and, more insidiously, the beginnings of a strange symbiotic telepathy.

Exhausted by suspicion and fear, with rescue impossible for months, the desperate crew members turn on each other. A small group of survivors try to resist the siren call of the growing hive mind and stay alive long enough to solve the mystery of the symbiotic microbe’s origins. But the symbiote is more than a disease – it is a biological weapon that can change the balance of power in a time of war.

The survivors cannot let anyone infected make it to the summer season, when planes will arrive to take them – and potentially the symbiote – back to civilization.

Get your copy of Symbiote here on Amazon. Also available in paperback 

Contact (Rebel Galaxy Book 2) by J.N. Chaney and Jasper T. Scott 

Release Date: 16th February

The first manned expedition beyond our solar system leads to a deadly encounter…

Lieutenant Dane Clark, second-in-command of Trailblazer One, is flying with over 300 colonists on a historic voyage to Proxima Centauri b, humanity’s first step toward establishing a new home among the stars. But their arrival reveals a chilling mystery—a strange signal is pulsing from the planet’s surface, luring them in.

When a crew descends to investigate, what they uncover is beyond comprehension—and beyond escape. Isolated over four light-years from Earth, the crew must decide whether to establish a colony on this alien world or turn around and run back to Earth.

Start reading Contact here on Amazon. 

Like what you’re reading?

If you’re enjoying this list of 2025 Winter sci-fi releases, why not join the DSF community for more awesome content? You’ll get to be notified whenever a top 10 list or any other articles of interest go up on our site. It’s free to sign up and you’ll also get recommendations for new releases and discounted ebooks from our expert editorial team, from bestsellers to hidden gems.

The Universe Within: A Cosmic Shores Novel (Amaranthe Book 22) by G. S Jennsen

Release Date: 20th February

* A stand-alone adventure set in the Amaranthe universe *Thousands of years ago, the Elakri were a galaxy-spanning civilization—until one day they vanished. Forced to hide themselves away in the folds of space to escape an unstoppable foe, what was once their salvation soon became their prison.Alex Solovy and Caleb Marano search the cosmos for signs of an ancient enemy’s return. When they detect a breach in the fabric of space, however, they discover something wholly unexpected: a people lost in time and space, who have forgotten all they once were.Now Alex and Caleb must navigate a labyrinth of deception and danger on a world on the verge of collapse, as their mission to return the Elakri to their proper place among the stars becomes a desperate race against time to save everyone—including themselves.The Universe Within is a thrilling sci-fi adventure overflowing with mysteries, conspiracies, and secrets within secrets. On a world where splendor is sovereign and myth is power, truth is the most dangerous weapon of all.

Grab The Universe Within here on Amazon.

The Fourth Consort by Edward Ashton

Release Date: 25th February

A new standalone sci-fi novel from Edward Ashton, author of Mickey7 (the inspiration for the major motion picture Mickey 17).

Dalton Greaves is a hero. He’s one of humankind’s first representatives to Unity, a pan-species confederation working to bring all sentient life into a single benevolent brotherhood.

That’s what they told him, anyway. The only actual members of Unity that he’s ever met are Boreau, a giant snail who seems more interested in plunder than spreading love and harmony, and Boreau’s human sidekick, Neera, who Dalton strongly suspects roped him into this gig so that she wouldn’t become the next one of Boreau’s crew to get eaten by locals while prospecting.

Funny thing, though—turns out there actually is a benevolent confederation out there, working for the good of all life. They call themselves the Assembly, and they really don’t like Unity. More to the point, they really, really don’t like Unity’s new human minions.

When an encounter between Boreau’s scout ship and an Assembly cruiser over a newly discovered world ends badly for both parties, Dalton finds himself marooned, caught between a stickman, one of the Assembly’s nightmarish shock troops, the planet’s natives, who aren’t winning any congeniality prizes themselves, and Neera, who might actually be the most dangerous of the three. To survive, he’ll need to navigate palace intrigue, alien morality, and a proposal that he literally cannot refuse, all while making sure Neera doesn’t come to the conclusion that he’s worth more to her dead than alive.

Part first contact story, part dark comedy, and part bizarre love triangle, The Fourth Consort asks an important question: how far would you go to survive? And more importantly, how many drinks would you need to go there?

Grab The Fourth Consort here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook and hardcover.

Destiny’s Way (The Doomed Earth Duology Book 2) by Jack Campbell

Release Date: 25th February

Lieutenant Selene Genji is hurled into the past to try and save a world that doesn’t want her in this action-packed adventure from New York Times bestselling author Jack Campbell.

Earth was destroyed on June 12, 2180. Lieutenant Selene Genji watched it happen. And only she can prevent it.

Thrown forty years into the past, into a time before the Universal War began, Genji can only guess what to do to change the events that led to the death of all humanity. She has no way of knowing the long-term impacts of her actions and can only depend on her instincts.

But many of the people Genji’s trying to save want her dead. Her creation was an experiment: a fusing of human and alien DNA. To them, she’s a monster who can’t be trusted, a tool of the aliens who have just made first contact.

Fortunately, she has an unshakable ally in Lieutenant Kayl Owen, who has risked everything to help her mission. Declared a traitor to humanity by Earth Guard, Owen is determined to help Genji save the Earth.

Even if he dies trying.

Grab Destiny’s Way here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook and hardcover.

Future’s Edge by Gareth L. Powell

Release Date: 25th February 

A gripping and heartfelt horror-tinged space adventure from the BSFA award-winning author of Stars and Bones and Embers of War. Readers of James S.A. Corey and Becky Chambers will love this fast-paced story of space piracy, deadly alien artifacts and a race to save what is left of humanity.

When archaeologist Ursula Morrow accidentally infects herself with an alien parasite, she fears she may have jeopardised her career. However, her concerns become irrelevant when Earth is destroyed, billions die, and suddenly no one needs archaeologists anymore…

Two years later, she’s plucked from a refugee camp on a backwater world and tasked with retrieving the artefact that infected her, as it just might hold the key to humanity’s survival. With time running short, and the planet housing the weapon now situated in hostile territory, she realises she’s going to have to commit an act of desperate piracy if she’s going to achieve her objective before the enemy’s final onslaught.

A thrilling, page-turning journey into deep space, where the fights are brutal and the relationships are complicated, from the BSFA award-winning author of Stars and Bones and Embers of War.

Grab Future’s Edge here on Amazon. Also available in paperback.

First Command by Michael Simon 

Release Date: 25th February 

Fresh out of the Academy, Ensign Cole Jackson’s first posting to Freedom couldn’t have come at a worse time. All over the Alliance, planets and colonies are suddenly under attack by the vicious Coven Empire.

Freedom and her sister ship, Hood, are ambushed by alien warships, leaving Hood drifting dead in the void.

Cole is ordered to salvage parts from the powerless Hood, but when he arrives on the unpowered hulk, Freedom is called away, marooning him and a group of malcontent techs in deep space.

With the timer on survival ticking down, Cole must find the confidence to take control, whip his tiny crew into shape, bring Hood back to life––repairing communications, propulsion and even weapons.

He’s got one chance to transform the derelict ship into a combat-ready vessel. One he can take into battle and alterthe course of the war.

Don’t miss the start of this science fiction thrill ride about a crew of young soldiers mustering the courage to fight back against both a vicious alien enemy, and the terrifying void of being stranded in space. It’s perfect for fans of Daniel Gibbs, J.N. Chaney, and Vaughn Heppner!

Get your copy of First Command here on Amazon.

Star Empires: The Lost Fleet by Jasper T. Scott

Release Date: 28th February

A LEGENDARY FLEET, A DANGEROUS TEST,AND A GALAXY ON THE BRINK OF WAR

Corvus Centauri learned who betrayed his family—just as he discovered the location of Admiral Aberon Zane’s legendary missing fleet. But he isn’t the only one racing to claim its secrets. An entire Solari armada is en route to the fleet’s coordinates, while Corvus only has his father’s old, battered starship and a ragtag crew of corsairs.

THE STAKES ARE ASTRONOMICALThe lost fleet holds advanced research that could tip the balance of power in the galaxy. Whoever controls it will gain the ultimate edge in battle.

THE DOMINION IS CRUMBLINGMeanwhile, Supremark Cassian Aqualian faces his own crisis at the heart of the Dominion, on Earth. Economic collapse and rampant corruption have sparked rebellion across the outer planets. As the calls for independence grow louder, the Galactic Assembly invokes a meritorium. Neural scans of every citizen in the Dominion will determine the next supremark.

AS THE GALAXY UNRAVELS, ALL PATHS LEAD TO WARWith Corvus and his nemesis both converging on Zane’s fleet and the meritorium poised to ignite unrest, the choices of a few will decide the fate of trillions. The chaos will shatter alliances, expose secrets, and decide the future of the entire galaxy.

Star Empires is a sprawling space opera perfect for fans of The Expanse, Foundation, and Star Wars.

Grab Star Empires here on Amazon.

Luminous by Silvia Park 

Release Date: 11th March 

Prescient yet timeless, perfect for fans of Klara and the Sun and We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, this highly anticipated, sweeping debut set in a unified Korea tells the story of three estranged siblings—two human, one robot—as they collide against the backdrop of a murder investigation to settle old scores and make sense of their shattered childhood.

“I once had a family. At least, the earliest version of me had a family.”

In a reunified Korea of the near future, the sun beats down on a junkyard filled with abandoned robots, broken down for parts. Eleven-year-old Ruijie sifts through the scraps, searching for a piece that might support her failing body. There among the piles of trash, something catches her eye: a robot boy—so lifelike and strange, unlike anything she’s ever seen before.

Siblings Jun and Morgan haven’t spoken for years. When they were children, their brother Yoyo disappeared suddenly, leaving behind only distant memories of his laughter and near-human warmth. Yoyo—an early prototype of a humanoid robot designed by their father—was always bound for something darker and more complex. Now Morgan makes robots for a living and is on the verge of losing control of her most important creation. Jun is a detective with the Robot Crimes Unit whose investigation is digging up truths that want to stay buried. And whether they like it or not, Ruijie’s discovery will thrust their family back together in ways they could have never imagined.

At once a thrilling work of speculative fiction and a poignant exploration of what it really means to be human, Luminous is an unforgettably brilliant debut.

Grab Luminous here on Amazon.. Also available on audiobook and in hardcover.

The Martian Contingency by Mary Robinette Kowal

Release Date: 18th March

Mary Robinette Kowal returns to Mars in this latest entry to the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Lady Astronaut series.

“Kowal masters both science and historical accuracy in this alternate history adventure.”—Andy Weir, author of The Martian, on The Calculating Stars

Years after a meteorite strike obliterated Washington, D.C.—triggering an extinction-level global warming event—Earth’s survivors have started an international effort to establish homes on space stations and the Moon.

The next step – Mars.

Elma York, the Lady Astronaut, lands on the Red Planet, optimistic about preparing for the first true wave of inhabitants. The mission objective is more than just building the infrastructure of a habitat – they are trying to preserve the many cultures and nuances of life on Earth without importing the hate.

But from the moment she arrives, something is off.

Disturbing signs hint at a hidden disaster during the First Mars Expedition that never made it into the official transcript. As Elma and her crew try to investigate, they face a wall of silence and obfuscation. Their attempts to build a thriving Martian community grind to a halt.

What you don’t know CAN harm you. And if the truth doesn’t come to light, the ripple effects could leave humanity stranded on a dying Earth…

Lady AstronautThe Calculating StarsThe Fated SkyThe Relentless MoonThe Martian Contingency

Grab The Martian Contingency here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, paperback and hardcover.

Murder by Memory (Dorothy Gentleman Book 1) by Olivia Waite

Release Date: 18th March

Becky Chambers meets Miss Marple in this sci-fi ode to the cozy mystery, helmed by a formidable no-nonsense auntie of a detective.

A mind is a terrible thing to erase…

Welcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty’s most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be most carefully preserved in glass in the Library, shielded from every danger.

Near the topmost deck of an interstellar generation ship, Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn’t hers—just as someone else is found murdered. As one of the ship’s detectives, Dorothy usually delights in unraveling the schemes on board the Fairweather, but when she finds that someone is not only killing bodies but purposefully deleting minds from the Library, she realizes something even more sinister is afoot.

Dorothy suspects her misfortune is partly the fault of her feckless nephew Ruthie who, despite his brilliance as a programmer, leaves chaos in his cheerful wake. Or perhaps the sultry yarn store proprietor—and ex-girlfriend of the body Dorothy is currently inhabiting—knows more than she’s letting on. Whatever it is, Dorothy intends to solve this case. Because someone has done the impossible and found a way to make murder on the Fairweather a very permanent state indeed. A mastermind may be at work—and if so, they’ve had three hundred years to perfect their schemes…

Told through Dorothy’s delightfully shrewd POV, this novella is an ode to the cozy mystery taken to the stars with a fresh new sci-fi take. Perfect for fans of the plot-twisty narratives of Dorothy Sayers and Ann Leckie, this well-paced story will leave readers captivated and hungry for the series’s next installment.

Grab Murder by Memory here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook and hardcover. 

The Third Rule of Time Travel by Philip Fracassi

Release Date: 18th March 

Rule One: Travel can only occur to a point within your lifetime.Rule Two: You can only travel for ninety seconds.Rule Three: You can only observe.The rules cannot be broken.

In this riveting science fiction novel from acclaimed author Philip Fracassi, a scientist has unlocked the mysteries of time travel. This is not the story you think you know. And the rules are only the beginning.

Scientist Beth Darlow has discovered the unimaginable. She’s built a machine that allows human consciousness to travel through time—to any point in the traveler’s lifetime—and relive moments of their life. An impossible breakthrough, but it’s not perfect: the traveler has no way to interact with the past. They can only observe.

After Beth’s husband, Colson, the co-creator of the machine, dies in a tragic car accident, Beth is left to raise Isabella—their only daughter—and continue the work they started. Mired in grief and threatened by her ruthless CEO, Beth pushes herself to the limit to prove the value of her technology.

Then the impossible happens. Simply viewing personal history should not alter the present, but with each new observation she makes, her own timeline begins to warp.

As her reality constantly shifts, Beth must solve the puzzles of her past, even if it means forsaking her future.

Grab The Third Rule of Time Travel here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook and paperback.

Splicer Legacy (Sunken Spaceship Book Six) by Anthony J. Melchiorri

Release Date: 18th March 

The cure to the Rot may save the galaxy—or destroy it.

As the mysterious Rot devours worlds, the Ranger Corps is losing its fight to protect the Accord’s citizens. Now an even greater threat looms: Hrawnor Deg, a ruthless criminal mastermind, is on the verge of unlocking Omnipotent—an ancient technology with the rumored power to rewrite life itself.

Fin and the crew of the Black Sheep are all that stand between Deg and godlike power. Racing across the stars with his unique team—including Audrey, an AI whose curiosity matches her combat skills—Fin forges dangerous alliances with revolutionaries, religious zealots, and even fellow Rangers who might literally bite his head off.

But while he expects death-defying space combat, dangerous back-stabbing alien civilizations, and an inordinate number of ridiculous questions from Audrey, he isn’t ready for the impossible choices he must make. The balance of life and death is closer to Fin’s control than he can ever imagine.

In a universe where everyone wants to play God, no one’s ready for the consequences.

Book 6 of this rollicking sci-fi adventure from Anthony J. Melchiorri. It’s perfect for fans of JN Chaney, MR Forbes, and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Grab Splicer Legacy here on Amazon. 

When The Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi 

Release Date: 25th March 

New York Times bestseller John Scalzi flies you to the moon with his most fantastic tale to date: When the Moon Hits Your Eye.

The moon has turned into cheese.

Now humanity has to deal with it.

For some it’s an opportunity. For others it’s a moment to question their faith: In God, in science, in everything. Still others try to keep the world running in the face of absurdity and uncertainty. And then there are the billions looking to the sky and wondering how a thing that was always just there is now… something absolutely impossible.

Astronauts and billionaires, comedians and bank executives, professors and presidents, teenagers and terminal patients at the end of their lives — over the length of an entire lunar cycle, each get their moment in the moonlight. To panic, to plan, to wonder and to pray, to laugh and to grieve. All in a kaleidoscopic novel that goes all the places you’d expect, and then to so many places you wouldn’t.

It’s a wild moonage daydream. Ride this rocket.

Grab When the Moon Hits Your Eye here on Amazon. Also Available on audiobook and hardcover.

Dissolution by Nicholas Binge

Release Date: 25th March 

A woman dives into her husband’s memories to uncover a decades-old feud threatening reality itself in this staggering technothriller from the bestselling author of Ascension.

Maggie Webb has lived the last decade caring for elderly husband, Stanley, as memory loss gradually erases all the beautiful moments they created together. It’s the loneliest she’s ever felt in her life. 

When a mysterious stranger named Hassan appears at her door, he reveals a shocking truth: Stanley isn’t losing his memories. Someone is actively removing them to hide a long-buried secret from coming to light. If Maggie does what she’s told, she can reverse it. She can get her husband back.

Led by Hassan and his technological marvels, Maggie breaks into her husband’s mind, probing the depths of his memories in an effort to save him. The deeper she dives, the more she unravels a mystery spanning continents and centuries, each layer more complex than the last. But Hassan cannot be trusted. Not just memories are disappearing, but pieces of reality itself. If Maggie cannot find out what Stanley did all those years ago, and what Hassan is after, she risks far more than her husband’s life. The very course of human history hangs in the balance.

Grab Dissolution here on Amazon. Also Available on audiobook and hardcover.

Release Date: 25th March 

A fun, sci-fi romp where custodian – or space broom – Johnny Gomez teams up with smugglers and is thrust into an unforgettable adventure. Great read for fans of Stringers by Chris Panatier.

Everyone aboard Kilgore Station is living their best life. Everyone except for Johnny Gomez.

While humans, the augmented, and aliens of all shapes and sizes enjoy exotic cuisine on the dining deck, or gamble away their credits on the entertainment deck, Johnny is elbow-deep in oily, black, alien excrement. A ‘space broom’ custodian for the entire station.

This was obviously not the life Johnny dreamt of. Ten years ago, he travelled to Kilgore, the farthest space station in our solar system, in search of fortune like everyone else. Some people are just luckier than others.

Yet his meaningless, uneventful existence is immediately turned upside down when he happens upon a tiny glass data-chit, hidden amongst the alien poop he must clean up. Unbeknownst to him, every nefarious creature in the solar system will soon be after him to claim it for their own.

With the help of his augmented roommate, a pair of smugglers and a mysterious and beautiful stranger, Johnny fights off thugs and sails as fast as possible to earth’s moon, Luna, in effort to sell the chit to the Obinna Crime Syndicate. But with assassins and mobsters on their tail, the trip is anything but a cakewalk. And Luna itself proves to be nothing like a safe haven, when Johnny’s painful past finally catches up to him…

Grab Space Brooms here on Amazon. Also Available in paperback.

So, settle in, stay warm, and let these sci-fi gems transport you to worlds beyond your wildest dreams. Happy reading!

*All book-related copy in this post was pulled from Amazon, Goodreads & Wikipedia, unless otherwise credited.

The Nominees Are In—Now It’s Time to Vote!

The science fiction stories of 2024 have taken us on epic adventures, sparked our imaginations, and reminded us why we love this genre so much. From mind-bending tales to heart-pounding journeys across space and time, you’ve helped us celebrate the very best with your nominations.

Now, it’s time to narrow it down.

The DSF Awards Voting Round Begins!

The nominees are set, and the time has come to cast your vote for the standout sci-fi reads of the year. Which book deserves the title of Best Overall Sci-Fi of the Year? This is your chance to champion the stories that moved you, thrilled you, and left you turning the last page in awe.

And don’t forget—this year’s winner will receive the first-ever DSF Award Trophy, a symbol of the innovation, creativity, and vision that push science fiction forward.

So, which book will rise to the top? That’s for you to decide.

Click below to cast your vote and help us crown the standout sci-fi book of 2024!

 Here are the official details about the awards process.

Voting is now closed. See you for next year’s awards!

Check Out 2024’s Winners Lists here:Best Sci-Fi Books of 2024

Best Sci-Fi Audiobooks of 2024

15 Must-Read Sci-Fi Books of 2024

Another year is in the books—literally! It feels like we only just started exploring this year’s sci-fi wonders, and now it’s time to reflect on the stories that moved us, thrilled us, and left us thinking long after we turned the last page (or hit pause).

At Discover Sci-Fi, we’ve been blown away by the talent on display this year, and as tradition demands, we’re not keeping this reflection to ourselves. We want you to join us in celebrating the year’s best sci-fi reads.

Introducing: The DSF Awards Trophy

This year, thanks to the incredible success and growing momentum of our annual awards, we’re excited to present a custom-designed trophy to the winner for Best Overall Sci-Fi of the Year.

The DSF Award is more than just a symbol of achievement—it’s a celebration of innovation, creativity, and the imaginative spirit that drives the sci-fi genre forward. The DSF Award represents the fusion of classic and futuristic elements, embodying the essence of science fiction. Winning this award not only honors your work but also places you among the elite voices shaping the future of sci-fi. If you’re an author, click here to view the full details and learn how you can be in the running for this esteemed accolade.

So, let’s hear it—what books captured your imagination in 2024?

Help us celebrate this spectacular year in sci-fi by nominating your favorite sci-fi books published in 2024. We’ll be holding the voting round in a few weeks time and you’ll be pinned down to one selection then, but for now nominate as many as you’d like.

*Be sure to submit both the title and author name.

Voting is now closed. See you for next year’s awards!

Check Out 2024’s Winners Lists here:Best Sci-Fi Books of 2024

Best Sci-Fi Audiobooks of 2024

15 Must-Read Sci-Fi Books of 2024

Does the sci-fi lover in your life have you stumped this holiday season? We’ve got you! 

Maybe you’re on the hunt for the perfect gift for someone else, or maybe your here looking for ideas for your own wish list. Whatever the case, the 2024 Discover Sci-Fi Holiday Gift Guide is packed with gift ideas that are out of this world! 

Star Trek: Cats of the U.S.S Enterprise 2025 Wall Calendar 

To boldly go. Persian, Siamese, tabbies—these kitties are headed to the final frontier in the officially licensed Star Trek™: Cats 2025 Wall Calendar!Illustrator Jey Parks hilariously repopulates classic episodes from Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation as fabulous felines. Part satirical send-up, part loving homage, the officially licensed Star Trek™: Cats 2025 Wall Calendar is total catnip to Star Trek fans! From Captain Kirk sprawling in his captain’s chair to Captain Picard encountering the Borg, celebrate iconic moments from Star Trek history as never before.Features include:

• Moon phases
• Bonus spread for September–December 2024
• Generous grids for adding appointments and reminders
• Includes major official world holidays
• Humor that’s great for home and safe for work
• Opens to 12 inches x 24 inches

Pick up the Star Trek: Cats of the U.S.S. Enterprise 2025 Wall Calendar here on Amazon.

A Lot Like Christmas by Connie Willis

This new, expanded edition of Miracle and Other Christmas Stories features twelve brilliantly reimagined holiday tales, five of which are collected here for the first time.Christmas comes but once a year, yet the stories in this dazzling collection are fun to read anytime. They put a speculative spin on the holiday, giving fans of acclaimed author Connie Willis a welcome gift and a dozen reasons to be of good cheer.Brimming with Willis’s trademark insights and imagination, these heartwarming tales are full of humor, absurdity, human foibles, tragedy, joy, and hope. They both embrace and send up many of the best Christmas traditions, including the holiday newsletter, Secret Santas, office parties, holiday pageants, and Christmas dinners (both elaborate and spare). There are Rockettes, the best and worst Christmas movies, modern-day Magi, Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come—and the triumph of generosity over greed. Like all the timeless classics we return to year after year, these stories affirm our faith in love, magic, and the wonder of the season.

Read A Lot Like Christmas in paperback. Also available on Kindle and audiobook

Hallmark Marvel Studios Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Rocket Christmas Ornament

Relive the epic adventures of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” with this Rocket Hallmark Christmas ornament featuring the cybernetically-enhanced raccoon.

Grab this for the Guardians of the Galaxy fan in your life here on Amazon. 

2001 A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

Written when landing on the moon was still a dream, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a science-fiction classic that has changed the way we look at the stars—and ourselves. On the moon, an enigma is uncovered. So great are the implications that, for the first time, men are sent deep into our solar system. But before they can reach their destination, things begin to go very wrong. From the savannas of Africa at the dawn of mankind to the rings of Saturn at the turn of the 21st century, Arthur C. Clarke takes us on a journey unlike any other. Brilliant, compulsive, and prophetic, and the basis for the immensely influential Stanley Kubrick film, 2001: A Space Odyssey tackles the enduring theme of man’s—and technology’s—place in the universe and lives on as a landmark achievement in storytelling.

Check out the deluxe hardcover edition of Arthur C. Clarke’s classic here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle​ and audiobook.

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition

Read in color – The new 7″ Colorsoft display is high-contrast and easy on the eyes, with paper-like color that brings covers and content to life.Color your pages – Highlight your favorite scenes in yellow, orange, blue, and pink.Marathon reading – A single charge via USB-C lasts up to 8 weeks, or power up with the wireless charging dock (sold separately).Adapts to your surroundings – The glare-free display and auto-adjusting front light let you read in the brightest sunlight or late into the night.Escape into your books – Your Kindle doesn’t have social media, notifications, or other distracting apps.Waterproof and worry-free – Take your stories by the pool, in the bath, or anywhere in between.

Find Amazon’s Kindle Colorsoft Signature edition here on Amazon.

Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

The metropolis of New Crobuzon sprawls at the center of the world. Humans and mutants and arcane races brood in the gloom beneath its chimneys, where the river is sluggish with unnatural effluent and foundries pound into the night. For a thousand years, the Parliament and its brutal militias have ruled over a vast economy of workers and artists, spies and soldiers, magicians, crooks, and junkies.Now a stranger has arrived, with a pocketful of gold and an impossible demand. And something unthinkable is released.The city is gripped by an alien terror. The fate of millions lies with a clutch of renegades. A reckoning is due at the city’s heart, in the vast edifice of brick and wood and steel under the vaults of Perdido Street Station.It is too late to escape.

Grab Perdido Street Station in paperback here on Amazon.Also available on Kindle and audiobook.

Terraforming Mars Board Game

Venture into the cosmos with the Terraforming Mars board game. This space adventure captivates players with strategic gameplay that’s perfect for game nights, adults, and teens ages 14 and up. Experience the thrill of competition as you reshape the Red Planet’s destiny. With awards and recognition under its belt, Terraforming Mars offers a unique blend of strategic brilliance that keeps players engaged. Engage in thrilling competition, where every move counts. The game’s high replay value guarantees a fresh and exciting adventure with each playthrough. Prepare for an unforgettable journey across the stars, where strategy meets excitement in a game that’s ideal for intergenerational enjoyment.

Get Terraforming Marshere on Amazon.

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers 

The acclaimed modern science fiction masterpiece, Hugo Award winner for Best Series!

Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space—and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe—in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.

Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.

Grab The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet on paperback here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle​ and on audiobook.

42 IS THE ANSWER Don’t Panic Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Mug

Whether you are treating yourself or giving as a gift to your mom, dad, girlfriend, boyfriend, friend, or work colleague, know that few things can make people happier than holding a cup of hot coffee or tea. They will remember you each time they take a sip from their favorite mug!

This 11-ounce white ceramic coffee mug has a large, easy to grip C-handle and is both microwave and dishwasher safe. The premium full-color sublimation imprint appears on both sides of this 11 ounce white ceramic mug. They’re crafted from the highest grade ceramic, and our designs are printed and sublimated in the United States.

Get this Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Mughere on Amazon.

Amazon.com eGift Card

Amazon.com Gift Cards never expire and carry no fees.

Multiple gift card designs and denominations to choose from.

Redeemable towards millions of items store-wide at Amazon.com or certain affiliated websites.

Available for immediate delivery. Gift cards sent by email can be scheduled up to a year in advance.

Purchase your Amazon Gift Cards here.

A Very Scalzi Christmas by John Scalzi

Deck the halls with boughs of holly! ’Tis the season…for Santa’s lawyer to talk about the legal status of the workshop elves, for Christmas to arrive in an unexpected month, and for the innkeeper at the nativity to spill the beans about what really went down on that one night in Bethlehem. It’s not just Christmas. It’s A Very Scalzi Christmas.New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author John Scalzi gift-wraps fifteen short takes on the holiday season—interviews with holiday notables, “informational” articles about TV specials and Christmas carols, short stories and poems, and even a couple of nods to Thanksgiving and New Year’s—and puts them all into a stocking stuffer-sized package that makes the perfect gift for friends, family, or yourself.With stories both funny and touching, A Very Scalzi Christmas also features three new stories exclusive to this collection: “Christmas in July,” “Jangle the Elf Grants Wishes” and “Resolutions For the New Year.” A wonderful collection for the most wonderful time of the year.

Pick up A Very Scalzi Christmas  here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Like what you’re reading?

If you’re enjoying our Discover Sci-Fi 2024 Holiday Gift Guide why not join the DSF community for more awesome content? You’ll get to be notified whenever a top 10 list or any other articles of interest go up on our site. It’s free to sign up and you’ll also get recommendations for new releases and discounted ebooks from our expert editorial team, from bestsellers to hidden gems.

Watchmen by Alan Moore, illustrated by Dave Gibbons and John Higgins

Watchmen, the groundbreaking series from award-winning author Alan Moore, presents a world where the mere presence of American superheroes changed history–the U.S. won the Vietnam War, Nixon is still president, and the Cold War is in full effect.Considered the greatest graphic novel in the history of the medium, the Hugo Award-winning story chronicles the fall from grace of a group of superheroes plagued by all-too-human failings. Along the way, the concept of the superhero is dissected as an unknown assassin stalks the erstwhile heroes.This edition of Watchmen, the groundbreaking series from Alan Moore, the award-winning author of V For Vendetta and Batman: The Killing Joke, features art from industry legend Dave Gibbons, with high-quality, recolored pages found in Watchmen: Absolute Edition.

Grab Watchmen in paperback here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle.

Goodnight Lab by Chris Ferrie

In the vein of Goodnight Moon, say “goodnight” to your lab in this board book parody of a beloved classic. Perfect for scientists of all ages!

It’s been a long day at the lab for this scientist. Now it’s time to say goodnight!

Goodnight laser

Goodnight notebook

Goodnight picture of Einstein with a stern look

While poking fun at the clutter and chaos of lab life, scientists of all ages will appreciate ending their day with this sweet parody. They’ll be rested and ready to return to the world of research in the morning! This scientific parody book in the style of Goodnight Moon is a delight for little lab girls and guys.

Goodnight Lab is written by Chris Ferrie, author of Quantum Physics for Babies and other books in the Baby University series. Parents and kids both will love the accurate descriptions of all the quirks of grownup laboratories. Readers who love the humor of Feminist Baby will love Goodnight Lab.

Grab the Good Night Lab board book here on Amazon.

LEGO Ideas Tales of The Space Age 

Tell Tales of the Space Age in LEGO style with these buildable postcard models, inspired by 1980s sci-fi myths, movies, books and posters. Build colorful images of an observatory for viewing comets and shooting stars, a moon base and lunar eclipse, a space shuttle and a black hole.The pink/purple postcard features stars that can be arranged to mirror the Ursa Major, Cepheus, Ursa Minor or Cassiopeia constellations. Treat yourself or give this 688-piece LEGO Ideas build-and-display model as a birthday, holiday or surprise gift for lovers of space, astronomy and art.

Pick up LEGO Tales of the Space Age here on Amazon. 

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

A slender novel of epic power and the winner of the Booker Prize 2024, Orbital deftly snapshots one day in the lives of six women and men traveling through space. Selected for one of the last space station missions of its kind before the program is dismantled, these astronauts and cosmonauts—from America, Russia, Italy, Britain, and Japan—have left their lives behind to travel at a speed of over seventeen thousand miles an hour as the earth reels below. We glimpse moments of their earthly lives through brief communications with family, their photos and talismans; we watch them whip up dehydrated meals, float in gravity-free sleep, and exercise in regimented routines to prevent atrophying muscles; we witness them form bonds that will stand between them and utter solitude. Most of all, we are with them as they behold and record their silent blue planet. Their experiences of sixteen sunrises and sunsets and the bright, blinking constellations of the galaxy are at once breathtakingly awesome and surprisingly intimate.

Profound and contemplative, Orbital is a moving elegy to our environment and planet.

Grab Orbital in hardcover here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle and audiobook.

Cards Against Humanity: The Nerd Bundle

The Nerd Bundle comes with six different nerdy themed packs — the Fantasy Pack, Geek Pack, Sci-Fi Pack, World Wide Web Pack, A.I. Pack, and Human Pack— plus ten all-new cards extra nerdy cards. Note that this is an expansion pack and requires that you have the Cards Against Humanity main game.  

Get the Cards Against Humanity Nerd Bundlehere on Amazon. 

1984 by George Orwell

Written 75 years ago, 1984 was George Orwell’s chilling prophecy about the future. And while 1984 has come and gone, his dystopian vision of a government that will do anything to control the narrative is timelier than ever…This 75th Anniversary Edition includes:• A New Introduction by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of Take My Hand, winner of the 2023 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work—Fiction• A Foreword by Thomas Pynchon• A New Afterword by Sandra Newman, author of Julia: A Retelling of George Orwell’s 1984“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”Winston Smith toes the Party line, rewriting history to satisfy the demands of the Ministry of Truth. With each lie he writes, Winston grows to hate the Party that seeks power for its own sake and persecutes those who dare to commit thoughtcrimes. But as he starts to think for himself, Winston can’t escape the fact that Big Brother is always watching…A startling and haunting vision of the world, 1984 is so powerful that it is completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the influence of this novel, its hold on the imaginations of multiple generations of readers, or the resiliency of its admonitions—a legacy that seems only to grow with the passage of time.

Grab1984 in paperback here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle and audiobook. 

Doctor Who Tardis Crew Socks

Doctor Who socks make the perfect gift for the Whovian in your life, combining cozy comfort with a little timey-wimey flair! 

Grab Doctor Who Tardis Socks here on Amazon.

Run by Blake Crouch 

A gripping apocalyptic thriller about a man and his family running for their lives in an America gone mad—from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and Recursion.

No time to think. No time to ask why. Only time to run.

Five days ago, the epidemic of rage began.

Four days ago, the rash of senseless murders swept the nation.

Three days ago, the president addressed the country and begged for peace—even as the murders increased tenfold.

Two days ago, the killers began to mobilize.

One day ago, the power went out.

And tonight, the killers are reading the names of those to be killed over the Emergency Broadcast System.

Jack Colclough is listening over the battery-powered radio on his kitchen table in Albuquerque, and he just heard his name. People are coming to his house to kill him, his wife, his daughter, and his son.

He has no idea what’s happening, or why, but the time for questions is long past.

His only chance is to run.

Following an ordinary family on a desperate race through an America that’s destroying itself, Run is a terrifying, brutally stripped-down thriller from master storyteller Blake Crouch.

Grab Run in hardcoverhere on Amazon. Also available in paperback and on Kindle and audiobook.

Light Up Swords

Who among us didn’t wish for a lightsaber at some point in our lives? Who among us doesn’t still? 

The light up saber metal handle is designed with a built-in sound generator, which can produce a clear and realistic imitation sound when struck. It also offers 15 color changes and blinking modes. The lightsaber combines special sound effects and lighting modes to bring a vivid and realistic combat experience, and is the perfect prop for parent-child role-playing.

Grab a Light Up Sword for you and one for a friend here on Amazon.

Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh

The Beyond started with the Stations orbiting the stars nearest Earth. The Great Circle the interstellar freighters traveled was long, but not unmanageable, and the early Stations were emotionally and politically dependent on Mother Earth. The Earth Company which ran this immense operation reaped incalculable profits and influenced the affairs of nations.Then came Pell, the first station centered around a newly discovered living planet. The discovery of Pell’s World forever altered the power balance of the Beyond. Earth was no longer the anchor which kept this vast empire from coming adrift, the one living mote in a sterile universe.But Pell was just the first living planet. Then came Cyteen, and later others, and a new and frighteningly different society grew in the farther reaches of space. The importance of Earth faded and the Company reaped ever smaller profits as the economic focus of space turned outward. But the powerful Earth Fleet was sitll a presence in the Beyond, and Pell Station was to become the last stronghold in a titanic struggle between the vast, dynamic forces of the rebel Union and those who defended Earth’s last, desperate grasp for the stars.

Grab Downbelow Station in paperback here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle and on audiobook. 

The Gift of Kindle Unlimited

What voracious reader wouldn’t want the gift of unlimited books? Access unlimited reading on any device. Kindle Unlimited offers a seamless digital reading experience with unlimited access to popular series, best sellers, classics, and more.

Give the Gift of Kindle Unlimited here on Amazon.

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy Collection 5 Books Set by Douglas Adams

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy Collection 5 Books Set by Douglas Adams:The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy:One Thursday lunchtime the Earth gets unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass. For Arthur Dent, who has only just had his house demolished that morning, this seems already to be more than he can cope with. Sadly, however, the weekend has only just begun, and the Galaxy is a very strange and startling place.The Restaurant at the End of the Universe:The Restaurant at the End of the Universe provides the ultimate gastronomic experience, and for once there is no morning after to worry about.Life, the Universe and Everything:In consequence of a number of stunning catastrophes, Arthur Dent is surprised to find himself living in a hideously miserable cave on prehistoric Earth. However, just as he thinks that things cannot get possibly worse, they suddenly do. He discovers that the Galaxy is not only mind-boggingly big and bewildering but also that most of the things that happen in it are staggeringly unfair.So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish:Just when Arthur Dent’s sense of reality is at its most clouded, he suddenly finds the girl of his dreams. He finds her in the last place in the Universe in which he would expect to find anything at all, but which 3,976,000,000 people will find oddly familiar. They go in search of God’s Final Message to His Creation and, in a dramatic break with tradition, actually find it.Mostly Harmless:Mostly Harmless: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Part Five The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has, in what we laughingly call the past, a great deal to say on the subject of parallel universes.

Grab Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy Collection in paperback here on Amazon.

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.She is tasked with working as a “bridge”: living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as “1847” or Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, so he’s a little disoriented to be living with an unmarried woman who regularly shows her calves, surrounded by outlandish concepts such as “washing machines,” “Spotify,” and “the collapse of the British Empire.” But with an appetite for discovery, a seven-a-day cigarette habit, and the support of a charming and chaotic cast of fellow expats, he soon adjusts.Over the next year, what the bridge initially thought would be, at best, a horrifically uncomfortable roommate dynamic, evolves into something much deeper. By the time the true shape of the Ministry’s project comes to light, the bridge has fallen haphazardly, fervently in love, with consequences she never could have imagined. Forced to confront the choices that brought them together, the bridge must finally reckon with how—and whether she believes—what she does next can change the future.An exquisitely original and feverishly fun fusion of genres and ideas, The Ministry of Time asks: What does it mean to defy history, when history is living in your house? Kaliane Bradley’s answer is a blazing, unforgettable testament to what we owe each other in a changing world.

Grab The Ministry of Time in hardcover here on Amazon. Also available on paperback, Kindle and audiobook.

Spot something on our list that is perfect for the sci-fi lover in your life? And how about you? Which of these gifts would you love to unwrap this holiday season? And finally, what must-have item did we miss? Let us know here in the comments, or over in the Discover Sci-Fi Facebook group!  

*All book-related copy in this post was pulled from Amazon, Goodreads & Wikipedia, unless otherwise credited.