“When the world is running down, you make the best of what’s still around.” —Sting

Good advice, Sting. Forevermore, books will be among the best of what is still around, and while there was and will always be old favorites to enjoy, for those looking for something new, 2020 gave us plenty of great books to add to our arsenal of things to keep us afloat through what was a very tumultuous year. Kierkegaard once said, “if one just keeps on walking, everything will be alright.” That might be so, but we like to think the same could be said of reading.

Last week, in the last poll of 2020, the ten titles nominated for our first round of voting advanced to the second round; today, we find out which one of those ten the Discover sci-fi community thought was the very best. Curious to see which book you guys voted as being the best sci-fi book published in 2020? Read on!

Without further ado, based on the combined nominations and votes here on the Discover Sci-Fi blog and the Facebook group, here are your top choices for the best sci-fi book of 2020!  

10. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini

Winner of the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Science Fiction, Christopher Paolini’s To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, was a winner with the Discover Sci-Fi community as well. Paolini’s book is captivating and well-written, and rolling in at around 850 pages, it is the perfect length for those looking to get fully immersed in a story without having to commit to a series. 

During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. At first she's delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move.

As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact isn't at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human.

While Kira faces her own horrors, Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation. Now, Kira might be humanity's greatest and final hope . . .

Pick up To Sleep in a Sea of Stars here on Amazon

9. Layers of Force by Lindsay Buroker

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened” —Dr. Seuss 

Bittersweet, this one! We have loved each and every instalment of Lindsay Buroker’s spectacular Star Kingdom series, and while we are more than a little devastated that it’s over Layers of Force was as exciting and unforgettable a conclusion as we could have hoped for. It's no surprise that this one made it on to the list. And as much as we're going to miss Buroker's Star Kingdom universe, we're excited to see what she's got coming next! How about you?

Even though Professor Casmir Dabrowski has been fighting for months to help the kingdom and humanity as a whole, few people in positions of power have appreciated his unorthodox methods. Now he's a captive of the king and being taken back to his home world without his friends or the crushers he relies upon to protect him. The king believes Casmir is responsible for the prince’s death and plans to have him publicly executed.

But bigger troubles are brewing for the Star Kingdom, and Casmir may once again be needed to find a creative solution to save his people—and reshape the entire future of the Twelve Systems.

First, he’s got to escape and survive. No easy feat for a man stripped of his allies and marked as a rebel and a traitor.

Ready to say goodbye? Pick up Layers of Force here on Amazon.

8. Junkyard Spaceship (Junkyard Pirate Book 3) by Jamie McFarlane

If you are looking for a fun, high-action story, well told, Jamie McFarlane’s Junkyard Spaceship is the ticket! This is the third book in the Junkyard Pirate series featuring the curmudgeonly but heroic vet, Albert Jenkins. Haven’t read this one yet? Start at the beginning with book one, Junkyard Pirate, but if you are all caught up, dive in here! 

When aliens threaten his country, one grumpy old vet will take the fight to the stars.

Albert Jenkins would like nothing more than to putter around his junkyard, selling parts and working on old cars. When an alien spacecraft is shot down by US Air Defense and crash lands on his newly rebuilt home, he’s dragged back into the fight of his life. Lightyears away, a war for the control of Earth looms and humanity’s freedom hangs in the balance. Previously kicked off Earth, the Korgul are back and they are willing to destroy any who stand in their way.

To join the action, AJ lacks just one thing, a spaceship. With only a junkyard full of old parts, he’ll need help to get his plan off the ground. Fortunately, he’s got a plucky, pop culture loving, nano-sized symbiote who’s managed to roll back the damages of eighty years of hard living. With dogged determination he’ll repurpose an old, reclaimed shuttle and build a spaceship so he can join the fight one more time

Get your copy of Junkyard Spaceship here on Amazon.

7. Network Effect by Martha Wells

Those of us who can’t get enough of Martha Wells’s Murderbot Diaries series were in for a treat this year with the release of Network Effect, the first full-length novel in the series. Clearly we were not alone in our excitement as it seems many of you in the Discover Sci-Fi community were taken with it as well! 

While not at all short on conflict or action, these books are humorous and were something of a comfort read in the dark year that was 2020. If you haven’t read the novellas, fear not! You should read them, but you needn’t do so before you read this one, so if you'd like, feel free to jump right in here. 

I’m usually alone in my head, and that’s where 90 plus percent of my problems are.

When Murderbot's human associates (not friends, never friends) are captured and another not-friend from its past requires urgent assistance, Murderbot must choose between inertia and drastic action.

Drastic action it is, then.

Start reading Network Effect here on Amazon.

6. CyberSpace by Matthew Mather

CyberSpace is the long awaited and HIGHLY anticipated follow-up to Matthew Mather’s absolutely chilling techno thriller, CyberStorm. After seven years, it was everything we could have hoped for and definitely worthy of a spot on any top ten list for 2020! 

While CyberStorm works as a standalone, CyberSpace relies on readers having read CyberStorm so if you have read CyberStorm already, feel free to dive right in with CyberSpace! 

After long years apart, Mike Mitchell is reunited with old friends on a fishing trip in New Orleans. He brings his son Luke, now eight years old, while his wife Lauren attends a business meeting in Hong Kong.

Suddenly, worldwide GPS signal goes out. Cell phones stop working. Communications go down. Within hours, almost all international borders are closed as conflict spreads around the globe.

Thousands of planes are stranded in the air as Mike discovers that his wife took an overnight flight from China to Washington that morning. With satellites falling from the sky and rolling blackouts sweeping the nation, Mike must fight his way across the country in a desperate race to save his family.

But this is only the beginning as the shocking truth comes out, in a new generation of warfare that will forever change the world...

Grab CyberSpace here on Amazon.

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5. Brushfire by Craig Alanson

Craig Alanson managed to outdo himself yet again with Brushfire, the 11th book in Expeditionary Force, a series that seems to get better and better with each instalment. As you might expect from one of Alanson’s books, Brushfire is full of action and plenty of humor—the perfect escape for when the world is getting you down. If you are new to the series, this is not the place to start. Definitely go back and read Columbus Day and all the books in between, but if you are a fan of the series and somehow you missed this release, you should pick it up ASAP! 

Peacetime can be a rough adjustment for the battle-hardened Merry Band of Pirates.

Especially when aliens don’t get the memo that the shooting is over.

Get your copy of Brushfire here on Amazon.

4. The Last Emperox by John Scalzi

Two years. It’s not really that long in the grand scheme of things, but when you’re waiting for the last book in a thrill-ride of a sci-fi trilogy, it can feel like a lifetime. Consuming Fire had us aching for the next instalment, and when it came this spring, it did not disappoint.

The Last Emperox, the final book in John Scalzi’s much lauded The Interdependency series, does sweet justice to what is a truly excellent story. Definitely add this award winner to your list if you haven’t already read it. 

Emperox Grayland II has finally wrested control of her empire from those who oppose her and who deny the reality of this collapse. But “control” is a slippery thing, and even as Grayland strives to save as many of her people form impoverished isolation, the forces opposing her rule will make a final, desperate push to topple her from her throne and power, by any means necessary. Grayland and her thinning list of allies must use every tool at their disposal to save themselves, and all of humanity. And yet it may not be enough.

Will Grayland become the savior of her civilization . . . or the last emperox to wear the crown?

Dive into The Last Emperox here on Amazon.

3. Sons of War by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

It’s no secret that we are huge fans of Nicholas Sansbury Smith, so when we first heard about his newest series, Sons of War we were stoked! While in 2020 the series premise felt uncomfortably realistic, and so not just a little anxiety provoking, we had to keep in mind that it wouldn’t be a Smith novel if we didn't lose sleep because of it (because of the content, or because we couldn't put it down, either way!).

If you have yet to read Sons of War, expect a fresh, unexplored take on the apocalypse that hits close enough to home that it’ll get your heart racing at every turn, and wide awake until you've turned the last page. This one is definitely not to be missed. 

As open warfare erupts across the states, Salvatore fights his way back to LA, where his son has joined the police in the battle for a city spiraling into anarchy. Family is everything, and the Morettis and Salvatores will do what they must to protect their own. But how far will they go to survive in a new economy where the only currency is violence?

The explosive new Sons of War series is a harrowing and realistic depiction of what a second American Civil War and the aftermath might look like, from former Homeland Security Disaster Mitigation Officer and New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sansbury Smith.

Get your copy of Sons of War here on Amazon.

2. Iron Prince by Bryce O'Connor and Luke Chmilenko

Iron Prince, the incredible first entry into Bryce O’Connor and Luke Chmilenko’s new Warformed: Stormweaver Series recently took 2nd place in our round up of the best new series of 2020 and now the Discover Sci-Fi community has voted the first book of the series, Iron Prince, into 2nd place in the top 10 for best sci-fi book of 2020! Have you checked it out yet?

At over 1000 pages, Iron Prince is a hefty book, but the incredible, immersive, storytelling will have you hooked and unable to put it it down until you’ve devoured the whole thing. Haven't read it yet? Move it to the top of your list for 2021! 

Reidon Ward will become a god.

He doesn't know it yet, of course. Reidon was born weak, sickly and small. Afflicted with a painful disease and abandoned by his parents because of it, he has had to fight tooth and nail for every minor advantage life has allowed him.

His perseverance has not gone unnoticed, however, and when the most powerful artificial intelligence in human history takes an interest in him, things began to change quickly. Granted a CAD—a Combat Assistance Device—with awful specs but an infinite potential for growth, Reidon finds himself at the bottom of his class at the Galens Institute, one of the top military academies in the Collective. Along with his best friend, Viviana Arada, Reidon will have to start his long climb through the school rankings, and on to the combat tournament circuits that have become humanity's greatest source of excitement and entertainment.

So begins the rise of a god. So begins the ascent of the Stormweaver.

Start Iron Prince, the first book in the Warformed: Stormweaver Series here on Amazon.

1. Inversion: Riven Worlds Book Two (Amaranthe 15) by G.S. Jennsen

Start a conversation about best world-building in sci-fi, “hidden gems,” or addictive and re-readable storylines, and you’ll hear about G.S. Jennsen’s magnificent Amaranthe series. Jennsen has a gift for connecting readers to her characters; you can’t help but to be fully invested in their struggle to triumph over the seemingly impossible challenges they face. It is no surprise that the newest book in the series, Inversion, was voted by you, the Discover Sci-Fi readers, as the top pick in our poll for best sci-fi book of 2020! 

The stories are gritty, the heroes determined, the readers… hooked. How can you not be? This is a truly EPIC series. If you haven’t picked it up yet, you really must. If you’re mostly caught up but haven’t read Inversion yet, grab it ASAP as you’re going to want to read it before Echo Rift: Riven Worlds Book Three (Amaranthe 16) comes out on the 15th of this month!

In Amaranthe, where exotic alien life, AIs, wormholes, indestructible starships and the promise of immortality rule the day, no feat seems out of reach for humanity. But when the worlds of Aurora Rhapsody and Asterion Noir collide and the Rasu horde descends upon them both, more will be asked of heroes past and future. More will be given and more taken, and when the dust settles the very fabric of Amaranthe will be changed forever.

Grab Inversion: Riven Worlds Book 2 (Amaranthe 16) here on Amazon.

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

We humans can build some big stuff. The Great Wall of China. The Burj Khalifa. The Hoover Dam. But for truly big structures – megastructures, if you will – we must turn to science fiction.

Megastructures in science fiction dwarf anything we’ve built on Earth. We might be able to build some of these theoretical structures in the future. Some might already exist out there in the galaxy, built by alien civilizations.

Let’s take a look at some science fiction megastructures.

ORBITAL RING

An orbital ring is a theoretical, ring-shaped structure that orbits around a central point. The inner surface of the ring provides living area. If the ring is large enough, living space is quite ample, greatly surpassing the surface area of Earth. Cities, forests, fields, lakes—they can all fit on the inner surface of the ring.

Meanwhile, the ring will spin, generating centrifugal force. This will create artificial gravity. The centrifugal force will also negate the need for a “roof.” By spinning, the ring can maintain an atmosphere. The air will “cling” to the ring like water clings to the bottom of a spinning bucket.

Orbital rings were popularized by Larry Niven’s seminal novel Ringworld. Other science fiction authors have included orbital rings in their universes. Banks Orbitals, a smaller version of Ringworlds, feature prominently in the Culture series. Bishop Rings, proposed by Forrest Bishop of the Institute of Atomic-Scale Engineering, are small orbitals with enough living space for millions of people.

O’NEILL CYLINDER

O'Neill Cylinders are theoretical “tube” habitats. Space colonists would live on the inner surface of the cylinder. The entire structure would spin, generating centrifugal force and thereby providing artificial gravity.

The interior of an O’Neill cylinder would be curved. Standing inside one, you would see the horizons curve upward. Far above, you would see colonists on the “roof,” walking upside down. If the cylinder’s radius were large enough, however, you would barely notice the curve. The surface would seem flat. The inside of the cylinder could support fields, gardens, rivers, and cities.

A famous O’Neill cylinder in science fiction is Rama, featured in Arthur C. Clark’s novel Rendezvous with Rama.

TOPOPOLIS

A topopolis is a cross between an Orbital Ring and an O’Neill Cylinder. In a sense, it’s an extremely long O’Neill cylinder which loops around a star. It can even loop around several times, forming a torus knot.

A topopolis would require massive amounts of matter to construct. Its total mass could equal or even eclipse the mass of a planet. But its inner surface area would be far larger than that of a planet, providing enough living space for trillions of humans (or aliens).

A topopolis appears in the 2008 novel Matter by Iain M. Banks. The 2020 novel Heaven’s River by Dennis E. Taylor prominently features a topopolis that is home to sentient, otter-like aliens.

ALDERSON DISK

An Alderson disk (named after its originator, Dan Alderson) is a massive artificial disk circling a star. It looks like a giant record, with the star fitting in the central hole. The disk will orbit the star, absorbing its energy. Living space can exist on either side of the disk.

The disk would stretch across a solar system like a solid ecliptic plane. Such a structure would include more mass than in the star it orbits, requiring matter collected from other solar systems.

An Alderson disk appears in Ian McDonald's novel Empress of the Sun.

WORMHOLE

A wormhole is a theoretical tunnel connecting two places in spacetime, allowing for faster-than-light travel. Starships could travel down the wormhole, crossing vast distances in short periods of time. In science fiction, wormholes serve a similar function to warp drive, allowing characters to travel through interstellar space.

Wormholes are, in a sense, a highway system between the stars.

DYSON SPHERE

A Dyson sphere is a megastructure designed to capture the full energy output of a star. It is a solid, artificial sphere the size of a solar system, completely enclosing a star. Solar panels (or analogous technology) along the inner surface capture the sun’s released energy.

The inner surface can also provide living space. The surface area will be millions of times larger than any planet offers.

A Dyson sphere would allow a civilization to fully harvest the energy of its star. Normally, only a very small percentage of a star’s solar energy reaches any particular planet. The rest is lost. A Dyson sphere would solve that problem. A sufficiently advanced, spacefaring civilization might construct Dyson spheres to meet its massive energy needs.

A spherical structure around a star was first proposed by Olaf Stapledon in his 1937 novel Star Maker. Freeman Dyson popularized the concept in his 1960 paper "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infrared Radiation." Dyson proposed that alien civilizations might build such spheres, and that in the search for alien life, we should attempt to find them.

A Dyson swarm is an alternate version of a Dyson sphere, involving a large number of smaller structures (e.g. satellites with solar panels) that swarm around a star.

MATRIOSHKA BRAIN

A Matrioshka brain was proposed by Robert J. Bradbury in the anthology Year Million: Science at the Far Edge of Knowledge. The name is based on Matryoshka dolls, also known as Russian nesting dolls.

The Matryoshka is a megastructure on a truly enormous scale. It's comprised of nested Dyson spheres. The innermost sphere surrounds a star, absorbing its energy, which powers a central computer. This inner sphere releases huge amounts of waste heat. An enclosing sphere absorbs the waste energy, using it for its own computational purposes. It releases its own waste heat to the next layer, and so on. Sphere within sphere. The innermost sphere would run at nearly the temperature of the enclosed star, while each enclosing sphere would be a little cooler.

Know any other megastructures? Mention them in the comments!

Are you among the legions of space opera fans in the Discover Sci-Fi community? If so, you’re in great company! We are huge fans of space opera! We love it for its epic scale, its awe inspiring focus on interstellar exploration, the high stakes drama, the unforgettable heroic characters, and so much else. With its thrilling adventures, and fantastic settings, space opera is escapism at it’s finest. And who couldn’t use a little of that from time to time? With tales often told over several books, this is also the perfect genre for the voracious readers among us. 

As with military sci-fi, there are almost too many great space operas out there to properly define the best of the genre, but this week, we invite you to join us in trying. 

Five years ago, just as we did with military sci-fi, we polled our community about their favorite space opera series at that time. And after a similarly fierce round of voting this top 10 list of titles prevailed.

Once again, 5 years later, we’re revisiting the question, looking to see how the list may have changed.

As such, we've cataloged twenty of the best space opera books and series in the poll down below, and we’d love for you to vote for your favorites. Vote for as many as you’d like, and if think of any that aren’t on the list but that you feel deserve a mention, please shout it out in the comments.

Ready? Go! 

Many thank-yous to everyone who nominated their favorite sci-fi books published in 2022 for our year end readers' choice awards! 

Nominations poured in from readers across the globe, and once again we ended up with hundreds of incredible titles! As with previous years, we’ve taken the list and narrowed it down to the books that received the most nominations. Those books are the ones that will be moving on to the voting round!

Ready to see if your pick made it to the next round? Let’s go! 

Scroll down to see the titles moving forward and select your favorite. Next week we'll publish a list of the top ten from this group. Want to discuss the titles nominated? Leave your thoughts in the comments here on wander over to the Discover Sci-Fi facebook group and chime in there!  

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

“Picking five favorite books is like picking the five body parts you'd most like not to lose.” – Neil Gaiman

With so many books being released every day, it can be hard to know which ones are worth your time! Especially  if—like many of us—you already have a TBR list that will outlive you. In these moments, your community of fellow readers has your back! Last week we asked the Discover Sci-Fi community to nominate the books they thought were the very best of 2022 (so far!) and dozens of great titles were added to the poll. 

Now, it's time to decide.

We narrowed down the list of your nominations to the sixteen most voted for, and now it's time to figure out how they rank! This week you only get one vote, so make it count! 

*As alway this list is made up by combining votes from this blog and our Facebook group.  

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