Is a twelve-book saga too much for you? Here are five SFF novellas or standalone books that will help you escape in a flash!

I love huge doorstopper novels or epic twelve-book sagas as much as the next SFF fan, but sometimes I just need a short, satisfying story that I can read in an afternoon or evening. With so many things demanding time and attention, it’s often difficult to find the time to slow down and read anything, what more ten books in a row.

So when my time is limited, finding that one, perfect standalone novel or novella that spirits me away from the many (many!) stresses of the last couple of years is pure gold. If you, too, could use a quick escape into the deep of space or a supervillain’s lair, here are five books to get you started!

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

A sunshine extrovert and a grumpy introvert are rushed into an arranged marriage in an attempt to stabilize the peace treaty that protects their planets, but when one of them suspected of killing their last spouse, things get a little rocky. I absolutely adore romance in my space opera, and Winter’s Orbit delivers, along with plenty of political intrigue, murder mystery, and twists and turns that will keep you glued to the page.

Read Winter's Orbit here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, in hardcover and in paperback.

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

Have you ever wondered what happens to the innocent (and not-so-innocent) bystanders that happen to be in the way when a superhero arrives to fight a supervillain? Or what happens once the cameras are gone, and a battered soul is left to pick up the broken pieces? If you’re Anna, you start collecting data and compiling spreadsheets to prove that maybe heroes aren’t as heroic as we thought. Hench is dark, angry, and compulsively readable.

Read Hench here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook, in hardcover and in paperback.

The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

When a woman trying to rebuild her life runs into her sexy new neighbor, she thinks he’s a little odd, but she never would’ve guessed he is actually a biomechanical A.I. As they grow closer and the truth is revealed, she teaches him what it means to be human, but not everyone is happy that the A.I. is out in the world. Part thriller, part sci-fi romcom, with a side of brilliant, biting social commentary, The A.I. Who Loved Me is not to be missed.

Get your copy of The A.I. Who Loved Me here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Like what you're reading?

Fated Blades by Ilona Andrews

Read Fated Blades here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook and in paperback.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Okay, technically, All Systems Red is start of a series—the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. But because the series is mostly novellas, it’s perfect for both a quick getaway and a deeper dive into the world. The first novella can absolutely be read standalone, but once you meet Murderbot, you’re going to want more.

All Systems Red is the tale of a rogue security android—the eponymous Murderbot—who would rather watch entertainment vids all day than do its job or interact with the humans it’s supposed to be guarding. (I don’t know about you, but I can absolutely relate!) The writing sparkles with dry wit and snark as Murderbot gets drawn deeper into its humans’ drama—especially once someone starts trying to kill them.

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

This year we would like to celebrate and honor Black History Month by showcasing the work of Black science fiction writers. With many notable writers to choose from, it wasn't easy to narrow down the list of who to feature, but below you'll find a stellar list of award-winning titles from classic sci-fi writers who helped shape the genre, as well as contemporary authors who are making their mark today. Not one should be missed! 

Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany

A young half–Native American known as the Kid has hitchhiked from Mexico to the midwestern city Bellona—only something is wrong there . . . In Bellona, the shattered city, a nameless cataclysm has left reality unhinged. Into this desperate metropolis steps the Kid, his fist wrapped in razor-sharp knives, to write, to love, to wound.
 
So begins Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany’s masterwork, which in 1975 opened a new door for what science fiction could mean. A labyrinth of a novel, it raises questions about race, sexuality, identity, and art, but gives no easy answers, in a city that reshapes itself with each step you take . . .

Read Dhalgren  here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Dawn by Octavia E. Butler

Lilith Iyapo has just lost her husband and son when atomic fire consumes Earth—the last stage of the planet’s final war. Hundreds of years later Lilith awakes, deep in the hold of a massive alien spacecraft piloted by the Oankali—who arrived just in time to save humanity from extinction. They have kept Lilith and other survivors asleep for centuries, as they learned whatever they could about Earth. Now it is time for Lilith to lead them back to her home world, but life among the Oankali on the newly resettled planet will be nothing like it was before. The Oankali survive by genetically merging with primitive civilizations—whether their new hosts like it or not. For the first time since the nuclear holocaust, Earth will be inhabited. Grass will grow, animals will run, and people will learn to survive the planet’s untamed wilderness. But their children will not be human. Not exactly.

Featuring strong and compelling characters and exploring complex themes of gender and species, Octavia E. Butler presents a powerful, postapocalyptic interplanetary epic, as well as a ray of hope for humanity. 

Read Dawn here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.

Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti's stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach.

If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself — but first she has to make it there, alive.

Get your copy of Binti here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

Read The Fifth Season here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead

It is a time of calamity in a major metropolitan city's Department of Elevator Inspectors, and Lila Mae Watson, the first black female elevator inspector in the history of the department, is at the center of it.  There are two warring factions within the department:  the Empiricists, who work by the book and dutifully check for striations on the winch cable and such; and the Intuitionists, who are simply able to enter the elevator cab in question, meditate, and intuit any defects.

Lila Mae is an Intuitionist and, it just so happens, has the highest accuracy rate in the entire department.  But when an elevator in a new city building goes into total freefall on Lila Mae's watch, chaos ensues.  It's an election year in the Elevator Guild, and the good-old-boy Empiricists would love nothing more than to assign the blame to an Intuitionist.  But Lila Mae is never wrong.

The sudden appearance of excerpts from the lost notebooks of Intuitionism's founder, James Fulton, has also caused quite a stir.  The notebooks describe Fulton's work on the "black box," a perfect elevator that could reinvent the city as radically as the first passenger elevator did when patented by Elisha Otis in the nineteenth century.  When Lila Mae goes underground to investigate the crash, she becomes involved in the search for the portions of the notebooks that are still missing and uncovers a secret that will change her life forever.

Grab The Intuitionist here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

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If you're enjoying this Winter 2022 Sci-Fi Releases list, 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.

Rosewater by Tade Thompson

Rosewater is a town on the edge. A community formed around the edges of a mysterious alien biodome, its residents comprise the hopeful, the hungry, and the helpless -- people eager for a glimpse inside the dome or a taste of its rumored healing powers.

Kaaro is a government agent with a criminal past. He has seen inside the biodome, and doesn't care to again -- but when something begins killing off others like himself, Kaaro must defy his masters to search for an answer, facing his dark history and coming to a realization about a horrifying future.

Get your copy of Rosewater here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden

In South Africa, the future looks promising. Personal robots are making life easier for the working class. The government is harnessing renewable energy to provide infrastructure for the poor. And in the bustling coastal town of Port Elizabeth, the economy is booming thanks to the genetic engineering industry which has found a welcome home there. Yes—the days to come are looking very good for South Africans. That is, if they can survive the present challenges:

A new hallucinogenic drug sweeping the country . . .

An emerging AI uprising . . .

And an ancient demigoddess hellbent on regaining her former status by preying on the blood and sweat (but mostly blood) of every human she encounters.

It’s up to a young Zulu girl powerful enough to destroy her entire township, a queer teen plagued with the ability to control minds, a pop diva with serious daddy issues, and a politician with even more serious mommy issues to band together to ensure there’s a future left to worry about.

Fun and fantastic, Nicky Drayden takes her brilliance as a short story writer and weaves together an elaborate tale that will capture your heart . . . even as one particular demigoddess threatens to rip it out.

Dive into The Prey of Gods here on Amazon. Also available  on audiobook.

Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi

Ella has a Thing. She sees a classmate grow up to become a caring nurse. A neighbor's son murdered in a drive-by shooting. Things that haven't happened yet. Kev, born while Los Angeles burned around them, wants to protect his sister from a power that could destroy her. But when Kev is incarcerated, Ella must decide what it means to watch her brother suffer while holding the ability to wreck cities in her hands.

Rooted in the hope that can live in anger, Riot Baby is as much an intimate family story as a global dystopian narrative. It burns fearlessly toward revolution and has quietly devastating things to say about love, fury, and the black American experience.

Ella and Kev are both shockingly human and immeasurably powerful. Their childhoods are defined and destroyed by racism. Their futures might alter the world.

Get your copy of Riot Baby here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

Yetu holds the memories for her people—water-dwelling descendants of pregnant African slave women thrown overboard by slave owners—who live idyllic lives in the deep. Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly is forgotten by everyone, save one—the historian. This demanding role has been bestowed on Yetu.

Yetu remembers for everyone, and the memories, painful and wonderful, traumatic and terrible and miraculous, are destroying her. And so, she flees to the surface escaping the memories, the expectations, and the responsibilities—and discovers a world her people left behind long ago.

Yetu will learn more than she ever expected about her own past—and about the future of her people. If they are all to survive, they’ll need to reclaim the memories, reclaim their identity—and own who they really are.

Start reading The Deep here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull

An alien ship rests over Water Island. For five years the people of the US Virgin Islands have lived with the Ynaa, a race of superadvanced aliens on a research mission they will not fully disclose. They are benevolent in many ways but meet any act of aggression with disproportional wrath. This has led to a strained relationship between the Ynaa and the local Virgin Islanders and a peace that cannot last.

A year after the death of a young boy at the hands of an Ynaa, three families find themselves at the center of the inevitable conflict, witnesses and victims to events that will touch everyone and teach a terrible lesson.

Grab The Lesson here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

If you've read any of these fantastic books, we'd love to hear your thoughts on it! Are there any titles you wish we'd included in our round-up? Let us know! And please let us know if there are any new-to-you titles you discovered here that you are adding to your (e)bookshelves or into your ears! Share your thoughts 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.

Not sure what new sci-fi reads to pick up this fall? We've got you covered! No matter what specific sci-fi genre you gravitate toward, there is something here for you. 

Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

Release Date: September 28, 2021

Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six.

When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka's ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She's found her final candidate.

But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn't have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan's kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul's worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline.

As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found.

Read Light From Uncommon Stars here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Truth of the Divine (Noumena Book 2) by Lindsay Ellis

Release Date: October 19, 2021

The human race is at a crossroads; we know that we are not alone, but details about the alien presence on Earth are still being withheld from the public. As the political climate grows more unstable, the world is forced to consider the ramifications of granting human rights to nonhuman persons. How do you define “person” in the first place?

Cora Sabino not only serves as the full-time communication intermediary between the alien entity Ampersand and his government chaperones but also shares a mysterious bond with him that is both painful and intimate in ways neither of them could have anticipated. Despite this, Ampersand is still keen on keeping secrets, even from Cora, which backfires on them both when investigative journalist Kaveh Mazandarani, a close colleague of Cora’s unscrupulous estranged father, witnesses far more of Ampersand’s machinations than anyone was meant to see.

Since Cora has no choice but to trust Kaveh, the two must work together to prove to a fearful world that intelligent, conscious beings should be considered persons, no matter how horrifying, powerful, or malicious they may seem. Making this case is hard enough when the public doesn’t know what it’s dealing with—and it will only become harder when a mysterious flash illuminates the sky, marking the arrival of an agent of chaos that will light an already-unstable world on fire.

Read Truth of the Divine  here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook

The Wandering Earth by Cixin Liu

Release Date: October 26, 2021

Two civilizations clash. A rebellion grows. The fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance.

These ten stories, including five Chinese Galaxy Award-winners, are a blazingly original ode to planet Earth, its pasts, and its futures. Liu's fiction takes the reader to the edge of the universe and the end of time, to meet stranger fates than we could have ever imagined.

With a melancholic and keen understanding of human nature, Liu's stories show humanity's attempts to reason, navigate, and above all, survive in a desolate cosmos.

Get your copy of The Wandering Earth here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Invasion (Invasion Book 1) by Jay Allan

Read Invasion here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook

Perhaps the Stars (Terra Ignota Book 4) by Ada Palmer

Release Date: November 2, 2021

World Peace turns into global civil war.

In the future, the leaders of Hive nations—nations without fixed location—clandestinely committed nefarious deeds in order to maintain an outward semblance of utopian stability. But the facade could only last so long. The comforts of effortless global travel and worldwide abundance may have tempered humanity's darkest inclinations, but conflict remains deeply rooted in the human psyche. All it needed was a catalyst, in form of special little boy to ignite half a millennium of repressed chaos.

Now, war spreads throughout the globe, splintering old alliances and awakening sleeping enmities. All transportation systems are in ruins, causing the tyranny of distance to fracture a long-united Earth and threaten to obliterate everything the Hive system built.

With the arch-criminal Mycroft nowhere to be found, his successor, Ninth Anonymous, must not only chronicle the discord of war, but attempt to restore order in a world spiraling closer to irreparable ruin.

The fate of a broken society hangs in the balance. Is the key to salvation to remain Earth-bound or, perhaps, to start anew throughout the far reaches of the stars?

 Grab Perhaps the Stars here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Like what you're reading?

If you're enjoying this Sci-Fi Debuts list, 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.

Burntcoat by Sarah Hall

Release Date: November 2, 2021

You were the last one here, before I closed the door of Burntcoat. Before we all closed our doors . . .

In an unnamed British city, the virus is spreading, and like everyone else, the celebrated sculptor Edith Harkness retreats inside. She isolates herself in her immense studio, Burntcoat, with Halit, the lover she barely knows. As life outside changes irreparably, inside Burntcoat, Edith and Halit find themselves changed as well: by the histories and responsibilities each carries and bears, by the fears and dangers of the world outside, and by the progressions of their new relationship. And Burntcoat will be transformed, too, into a new and feverish world, a place in which Edith comes to an understanding of how we survive the impossible—and what is left after we have.

A sharp and stunning novel of art and ambition, mortality and connection, Burntcoat is a major work from “one of our most influential short story writers” (The Guardian). It is an intimate and vital examination of how and why we create—make art, form relationships, build a life—and an urgent exploration of an unprecedented crisis, the repercussions of which are still years in the learning.

Get your copy of Burntcoat here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Sinopticon: A Celebration of Chinese Science Ficiton by Xueting Christine Ni, et al. 

Release Date: November 9, 2021

This celebration of Chinese Science Fiction — thirteen stories, all translated for the first time into English — represents a unique exploration of the nation’s speculative fiction from the late 20th Century onwards, curated and translated by critically acclaimed writer and essayist Xueting Christine Ni.

From the renowned Jiang Bo’s ‘Starship: Library' to Regina Kanyu Wang’s ‘The Tide of Moon City, and Anna Wu’s ‘Meisje met de Parel', this is a collection for all fans of great fiction.

Dive into Sinopticon: A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction here on Amazon. 

This Weightless World by Adam Soto

Release Date: November 9, 2021

From the streets of gentrified Chicago, to the tech boom corridors of Silicon Valley, This Weightless World follows a revolving cast of characters after alien contact upends their lives.

We are introduced to Sevi, a burned-out music teacher desperate for connection; Ramona, his on-again, off-again computer programmer girlfriend; and Sevi’s cello protégé Eason, struggling with the closure of his high school; after a mysterious signal arrives from outer space. When the signal—at first seen as a sign of hope—stops as abruptly as it started, they are all forced to reckon with its aftermath. In San Francisco, Sevi fights to find meaning in rekindled love; and Ramona–determined to build an AI to prevent mankind’s self-destruction–begins to feel the weight of past mistakes. And in Chicago, Eason measures his commitment to an estranged childhood friend against the chance of escaping neighborhood troubles.

A dazzling deconstruction of science fiction tropes, This Weightless World looks to the past for a vision of the future.

Get your copy of This Weightless World here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

New World Order (The Kyron Invasion Book 2) by Jasper T. Scott

Release Date: November 15, 2021

Having wiped out every major city on the planet, the Kyra are now hard at work helping humanity to rebuild. Survivors are being herded into safe zones where the Kyra have promised to re-establish order and provide the basic necessities. Fences are erected and patrolled to protect against the failed hybrids known as “Dregs,” and exposure to the Chimeran virus that turned them. Meanwhile, people are being conscripted and sent away to fight in the Kyra’s war just as fast as they can be turned into successful hybrids.

That is the main concern on Christopher Randall’s mind when he and his family are taken to the safe zone in New San Bernardino: what if they get conscripted, too? Making matters worse, the zones aren’t as safe as the Kyra claimed. Dregs prowl the streets at night, and the armed Chimeran patrols that hunt them aren’t much better. The zones are little more than concentration camps with a singular goal: breed humans to produce new generations of conscripts.

Chris quickly realizes that they’ll be better off in the Wastes outside the zones, but escaping won’t be easy. On arrival, all refugees are tagged with tracking implants with remote kill switches, meaning that attempting to escape could be the last thing the Randalls ever do. But when their daughter, Gaby, a freshly-turned Chimera, begins drawing too much attention to herself, Chris realizes that they might not have a choice. If they don’t escape soon, their family might never be the same.

Start reading New World Order here on Amazon. 

The Last Shadow by Orson Scott Card

Release Date: November 16, 2021

One planet.

Three sapient species living peacefully together.

And one deadly virus that could wipe out every world in the Starways Congress, killing billions.

Is the only answer another great Xenocide?

Grab The Last Shadow here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson

Release Date: November 16, 2021

One man – visionary billionaire restaurant chain magnate T. R. Schmidt, Ph.D. – has a Big Idea for reversing global warming, a master plan perhaps best described as “elemental.” But will it work? And just as important, what are the consequences for the planet and all of humanity should it be applied?

Ranging from the Texas heartland to the Dutch royal palace in the Hague, from the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas to the sunbaked Chihuahuan Desert, Termination Shock brings together a disparate group of characters from different cultures and continents who grapple with the real-life repercussions of global warming. Ultimately, it asks the question: Might the cure be worse than the disease?

Epic in scope while heartbreakingly human in perspective, Termination Shock sounds a clarion alarm, ponders potential solutions and dire risks, and wraps it all together in an exhilarating, witty, mind-expanding speculative adventure.

Grab Termination Shock here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The Every by Dave Eggers

Release Date: November 16, 2021

Delaney Wells is an unlikely new hire at the Every. A former forest ranger and unwavering tech skeptic, she charms her way into an entry-level job with one goal in mind: to take down the company from within. With her compatriot, the not-at-all-ambitious Wes Makazian, they look for the Every's weaknesses, hoping to free humanity from all-encompassing surveillance and the emoji-driven infantilization of the species. But does anyone want what Delaney is fighting to save? Does humanity truly want to be free?

Studded with unforgettable characters, outrageous outfits, and lacerating set-pieces, this companion to The Circle blends abusrdity and terror, satire and suspense, while keeping the reader in apprehensive excitement about the fate of the company—and the human animal.

Grab The Every here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Noor by Nnedi Okorafor

Release Date: November 16, 2021

Anwuli Okwudili prefers to be called AO. To her, these initials have always stood for Artificial Organism. AO has never really felt...natural, and that's putting it lightly. Her parents spent most of the days before she was born praying for her peaceful passing because even in-utero she was "wrong". But she lived. Then came the car accident years later that disabled her even further. Yet instead of viewing her strange body the way the world views it, as freakish, unnatural, even the work of the devil, AO embraces all that she is: A woman with a ton of major and necessary body augmentations. And then one day she goes to her local market and everything goes wrong.

Once on the run, she meets a Fulani herdsman named DNA and the race against time across the deserts of Northern Nigeria begins. In a world where all things are streamed, everyone is watching the "reckoning of the murderess and the terrorist" and the "saga of the wicked woman and mad man" unfold. This fast-paced, relentless journey of tribe, destiny, body, and the wonderland of technology revels in the fact that the future sometimes isn't so predictable. Expect the unaccepted.

Grab Noor here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Release Date: November 16, 2021

Lynesse is the lowly Fourth Daughter of the queen, and always getting in the way.

But a demon is terrorizing the land, and now she’s an adult (albeit barely) with responsibilities (she tells herself). Although she still gets in the way, she understands that the only way to save her people is to invoke the pact between her family and the Elder sorcerer who has inhabited the local tower for as long as her people have lived here (though none in living memory has approached it).

But Elder Nyr isn’t a sorcerer, and he is forbidden to help, and his knowledge of science tells him the threat cannot possibly be a demon…

Grab Elder Race here on Amazon. 

New Galaxy (The Survivors Book 18) by Nathan Hystad

Release Date: December 7, 2021

Jules Parker helped stop Death’s Mistress, but at what cost? She’s changed after the latest ordeal but pushes away the pain to focus on bringing Jaessa back to Adrol.

The Fera are thrilled to see the Governor’s daughter returned safely, but what’s waiting for them might be worse than the Brack.

Dean Parker has a new lease on life. He’s done sitting on the sidelines and takes the role of President over the entire Alliance with authority. When one of their allies stumbles on a dangerous secret, he’s dispatched to investigate. With Slate and Loweck escorting him on Light, he’s in for a surprise when they reach their destination.

Grab New Galaxy here on Amazon. 

Which of these fall releases will make their way into your (e)bookshelf or into your ears? Which ones are you most excited for? 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.

That's a wrap!  

Thank you to everyone who participated in our 2022 Year End Readers' Choice Awards. Through your nominations and votes, we were able to get a pretty good glimpse of which books were the favorites among the Discover Sci-Fi community for 2022, with ten notable titles coming out on top! 

Curious to see which ten titles made the final list according to Discover Sci-Fi readers across the globe? Read on! 

10. From Beyond (From Beyond Book 1) by Jasper T. Scott and Nathan Hystad

Are we alone? It was only a matter of time before the truth was revealed....

Commander David Bryce is scheduled to lead a routine re-supply run for the Orbital Development Group (ORB) to the fledgling colony on Mars. Without warning, he’s taken away by government agents and told the mission parameters have changed.

They’ve discovered something. And it’s drifting closer to Earth.

Atlas Donovan tirelessly hunts for an artifact, and tracks it to Lake Como, Italy. After the recent news from ORB, Atlas is more drawn to the trail than ever. He continues his search, determined to uncover the significance of the strange markings, and more importantly, where the artifacts really came from.

As both Atlas and David draw near to their objectives, they realize a secret organization is working against them; a clandestine force with so much influence, they seem impossible to oppose.

Are we alone?

No, and they’ve been here before...

From Beyond is an action-packed science fiction thriller from the best-selling author duo Jasper T. Scott and Nathan Hystad.

Read From Beyond here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

9. Gates of Hell (Gates of Eternity Book 1) by Rick Partlow 

Kyle Washaki 'Wash' Williams thought his life couldn’t get any more complicated. Then the aliens showed up…

After his mom died from cancer, Wash gave up his girlfriend and his dream of being a career Army officer to stay home and take care of his father, a former Special Forces soldier stricken with PTSD. Wash works three jobs just to pay the bills, and one of them is at the ranch of the man who’s engaged to his ex-girlfriend, Jimmy Bonner.

Sound rough? He thought so too…until a portal to a hell-world of giant, insectoid aliens opens behind the ranch house, sucking Wash and Jimmy into the nightmare domain of the Hive Mind, a monstrous, underground blob of brain tissue that stretches across multiple planets through the Gate System.

It exists only to spread itself across the universe. And its next target is Earth.

Will Wash be able to defend the planet from conquest by a swarm of giant alien insects? And will Jimmy be able to put aside his rivalry with Wash to fight for Earth, or will he decide that an alien horde is the perfect tool to dispose of his old enemy?

The answer lies on the other side…of the Gates of Hell.

The next hit Military Sci-Fi Series from Rick Partlow, the bestselling author of the Drop Trooper Series, is here! It's perfect for fans of Jasper T. Scott, Scott Bartlett, and David Weber. This is Military Sci-Fi the way it's meant to be!

Read Gates of Hell here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook

8. The Other Place (The Glass Book 1) by Nathan Hystad

When a mysterious invisible barrier appears on a Montana ranch, no one knows what to think of it.

Drake, a retired police detective, receives a call in the dead of night from an alien-obsessed podcaster. He hastily departs for Montana the following morning.

The phenomenon continues all over the globe. What are they? What do they mean?

Britt is on assignment for a digital magazine when she encounters one of the Glass in a tragic boating accident, leaving her no choice but to follow the lead.

Panic ensues as mysterious creatures are sighted.

Will has never left the relative safety of his small town, having begun to accept a life he doesn’t want. Now he must venture into the unknown with the girl of his dreams.

The Glass seem innocuous, until they start to glow…

Ransom, a washed-up Broadway actor and single father, tends bar in the Upper West Side. His daughter shares his knack for knowing things, and they head west as their intuition guides them to the source.

Together they must discover the truth behind the Glass, or risk losing their world forever.

The Other Place is an epic post-apocalyptic science fiction tale from the best-selling author of Lost Contact, First Life, and The Event.

Get your copy of The Other Place here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

7. Hell Divers IX: Radioactive by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

6. Chaotica: Riven Worlds Book 5 (Amaranthe 18) by G. S. Jennsen

“I save the people who will save the universe. If it can be saved.”

After an extraordinary encounter with kyoseil in the Oneiroi Nebula, Nika Kirumase is transformed. Now able to understand and harness the true power of the ancient, primordial life form, she finally has the ability to defend her people—if the kyoseil doesn’t destroy her sanity first.

Mesme has long been meddling with the fate of the universe, but the events in the Oneiroi Nebula have exposed its deceptions. A schism erupts between Alex and Mesme over the secrets the Katasketousya keeps—and if their relationship isn’t mended, the world may lose its best chance at salvation.

The fractures threatening Concord’s survival aren’t merely personal, and the ramifications of the Ruda’s betrayal in the last battle prove costly to everyone. The Rasu begin deploying antimatter weapons, thereby neutralizing Concord’s greatest advantage, its impervious adiamene warships. Now losing ships, people and planets as the Rasu close in on the Milky Way, Miriam Solovy finds herself short on options and out of time.

But Alex has never let those kind of odds stop her, and so a desperate plan is hatched—one that will either save civilization, or doom it to annihilation.

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 altered forever.

Grab Chaotica here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

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5. Star Guardian (Star Guardians Book 1) by G. J. Ogden

The galaxy’s greatest treasure hunters become humanity’s best hope for survival.

Hudson Powell and Tory Bellona are the galaxy’s top Star Scavengers. Travelling to distant planets, they hunt for valuable artefacts inside the wrecks of giant alien starships that mysteriously lie crashed and broken on every portal world.

It’s a dangerous job, even without having to contend with corrupt police forces, criminal cartels, and the rival scavengers who want to kill them and take their crown. But for Hudson and Tory, an even greater danger lies ahead - one that not only threatens them, but the entire human race.

A tragic attack by a fanatical death cult turns Hudson’s life upside down. The cult’s leader, a deranged zealot called Amelia Ash, claims to have found and resurrected the malevolent AI that destroyed the titanic alien starships millennia ago. The super-powered entity aims to finish what it started eons earlier – to wipe out all sentient organic life in the universe.

Caught in the alien AI’s sights, Hudson and Tory discover that rare alien crystals are the source of the destructive entity’s power – crystals that can only be found deep inside the wrecked ships scattered across the galaxy.

Now the race is on to find and recover these crystal shards before Amelia Ash and her army of zealots can deliver them to the alien AI as fuel for its murderous ambitions.

Failure will mean certain death for Hudson and Tory, but there’s more at stake than just their lives. The fate of humanity itself now rests on the shoulders of the infamous Star Scavengers.

Star Guardian is an epic space opera series, blending the action and fun of Firefly with the treasure-hunting adventure and mystery of Indiana Jones. Start reading today!

Get your copy of Star Guardian here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

4. Aeon Rising by Matthew Mather

An apocalyptic supernova flashes over the South Pole. A mysterious mission sent deep into the Amazon.

The story of one family’s struggle to reunite…

Max Carver, a down-on-his-luck truck driver and Army vet, joins a rescue mission into Brazil. The target is a utopian tech village, the Colony, hidden in the rainforest and run by a charismatic genius. Max’s pregnant wife, Talisha Carver, is the NSA analyst who intercepted encrypted Colony messages signaling a mysterious impending event.

Dr. Xin Rou is a Chinese researcher working at the IceCube neutrino experiment at the South Pole. On lucky days a single flash might signal the passage of a ghostly interstellar particle. Suddenly, IceCube’s entire array lights up. A million detectors at once. Which is impossible. The Antarctic sky is clear and calm—but she is already running for the door.

Because the world is about to end.

But the mystery only just begins...

Grab Aeon Rising here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

3. Imperium Descent: Volume One by Christopher Hopper

Once a respected Imperium stratusaire, Pelegrin Hale now collects bounties with a local mercenary guild. He's a few jobs away from earning his old life back when a mission goes sideways. Now, he's forced to choose between his dream of reenlisting and saving the lives of a crew who hates him.

Meanwhile, Princess Orelia Pendaline is interrupted from palace life by an intruder. The thief breaks into the throne room and threatens to steal the family's most valuable possession, an act punishable by death. But once Orelia unmasks the interloper, can she bring herself to do what justice requires?

Little do Hale and Orelia know that they are being watched. If they're not careful, their next decisions will summon the wrath of the most powerful people in the Imperium.

From the mind of bestselling and award-winning author Christopher Hopper comes a new space opera readers are calling “Majestic!” Immerse yourself in the characters, intrigue, and action of Imperium Descent. Read Volume 1 today!

Start reading Imperium Descent here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

2. Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

The Kaiju Preservation Society is John Scalzi's first standalone adventure since the conclusion of his New York Times bestselling Interdependency trilogy.

When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization.” Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on.

What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at least. In an alternate dimension, massive dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm, human-free world. They're the universe's largest and most dangerous panda and they're in trouble.

It's not just the Kaiju Preservation Society who have found their way to the alternate world. Others have, too. And their carelessness could cause millions back on our Earth to die.

Start reading Kaiju Preservation Society here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

1. Khaos (Infinite Timeline Book 12) by Jeremy Robinson

Several months after his neighborhood was cloaked in darkness and invaded by the demon-like denizens of a hellish world, life has returned to normal for Miah Gray, aka: Laser Chicken. No longer burdened by PTSD, he is free to enjoy his family and to help pick up the pieces of a pillaged world. And at night, he trains with his eight-year-old companion, Bree, aka: Demon Dog and their neighbors, Henry and Sarah, the god-like descendants of Helen of Sparta and the mythological Zeus.

All is calm…until new neighbors move in across the street and shatter the peace. Jonas, aka: Mind Bullet, a telekinetic assassin, and his artificial intelligence, Bubbles, are pursued by strange and powerful enemies. The neighborhood is rocked by sudden violence, but the unlikely heroes band together to save the residents once more. However, their victory is short-lived when it’s interrupted by the appearance of a superhuman figure who has been influencing their lives for years: Linda.

Aka: Zeus.

In classic mythology fashion, Zeus, supreme god of Olympus, sends them on an urgent quest: descend into the underworld, travel through the realm between worlds—Khaos, face whatever trials await, find the gate to Tartarus, and summon the gods and Titans residing there to war. A grave evil is coming, and only Earth’s oldest and most powerful heroes can stop it.

TO SAVE MANKIND…

…THEY MUST RAISE THE GODS.

Dive into Khaos here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

How many of this top 10 list have you read? Which ones are you adding to the top of your TBR for 2023? 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! 

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

We love a good audiobook and full casted productions can really take the experience to the next level! But where to begin? This audio spotlight features ten fully casted sci-fi audiobooks you won't want to miss, including both newer releases and new versions of some of our favorite classics. Among the lists of featured performers, you'll see notable, award-winning voice actors, and a host of award-winning screen actors as well. 

Escape From Virtual Island by John Lutz

Released: April 2020

Featuring performances by: Paul Rudd, Jack McBrayer, Sue Galloway, Jane Krakowski, Jason Sudeikis, Seth Meyers, Kenan Thompson, Oliva Wilde, Rachel Dratch, and Henry Winkler

In the year 2038, there’s only one destination that can play host to the world’s wealthiest adventure seekers: the Pengalaman Island Resort and Virtual Reality Theme Park. Located on a private South Pacific island, guests here live out their wildest fantasies in custom-made virtual reality simulations while also enjoying the usual amenities of an exclusive five-star getaway.

All is relatively breezy until famed billionaire and avid guest, Mr. Wagner (Sudeikis), goes missing within a virtual simulation. His only hope? A daring rescue led by Derek Ambrose (Rudd), the maladjusted heir to his mother’s resort empire, and his ragtag search party consisting of Faith (Ruffin), a tech-nerd extraordinaire (and naturally, his ex); Ramona Kurtz (Pell), the foul-mouthed head of island security; and Beasley (McBrayer), the resort’s lead concierge and Ambrose family confidant.

What ensues is a high-octane, comedy throwback filled with memorable performances throughout, and a reminder that real life can be the ultimate experience if you’re just willing to open your heart and dive in headfirst.

Start listening to Escape From Virtual Island here on amazon.

Lost Empress by Sergio De La Pava

Released: May 2018

Featuring performances by: Edoardo Ballerini, Carol Monda, Brittany Pressley, James Fouhey, Bob Bray, Richard Topol, Quincy T. Bernstine, Ryan Anderson, Richard Ferrone, Tony Chiroldes, Jeff Gurner, Dan Bittner, Gonzalo Ingram, David Le Doux, Leo Coltrane, Johnny Heller, Mark McCarthy, Geoffrey Campbell, and Richard Poe, Francisco Burgos, Christina Delaine, Jim Frangione, Tavia Gilbert, Lianna Gomori, Pete Larkin, Angel Saldana, Adriana Sananes, Brandon Ruben, Paul Ruben, and the author, Sergio de la Pava.

From Paterson, New Jersey, to Rikers Island to the streets of New York City, Sergio de la Pava’s Lost Empress introduces listeners to a cast of characters unlike any other in modern fiction: dreamers and exiles, immigrants and night-shift workers, a lonely pastor and others on the fringes of society - each with their own impact on the fragile universe they navigate. 

Nina Gill, daughter of the aging owner of the Dallas Cowboys, was instrumental in building her father’s dynasty. So it’s a shock when her brother inherits the franchise and she is left with the Paterson Pork, New Jersey’s failing Indoor Football League team. Nina vows to take on the NFL and make the Paterson Pork pigskin kings of America. All she needs to do is recruit the coach, the players, and the fans. 

Meanwhile, Nuno DeAngeles - a brilliant and lethal criminal mastermind - has been imprisoned on Rikers Island for a sensational offense. Nuno fights for his liberty - while simultaneously planning an even more audacious crime. 

In Lost Empress, de la Pava weaves a narrative that encompasses Salvador Dalí, Joni Mitchell, psychiatric help, emergency medicine, religion, theoretical physics, and everything in between. With grace, humor, and razor-sharp prose, all these threads combine, counting down to an epic and extraordinary conclusion.

Start listening to Lost Empress here on Amazon.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Released: April 2017

Featuring performances by: Claire Danes, Margaret Atwood, Emily Bauer, Allyson Johnson, Gabra Zackman, Suzanne Toren, Tim Gerard Reynolds, Jennifer Van Dyck, Ray Porter, Emily Cox, Lauren Fortgang, Dan Reiss, Prentice Onayemi, Therese Plummer, and Mark Boyett.

After a violent coup in the United States overthrows the Constitution and ushers in a new government regime, the Republic of Gilead imposes subservient roles on all women. Offred, now a Handmaid tasked with the singular role of procreation in the childless household of the enigmatic Commander and his bitter wife, can remember a time when she lived with her husband and daughter and had a job, before she lost everything, even her own name. Despite the danger, Offred learns to navigate the intimate secrets of those who control her every move, risking her life for mere glimpses of her former freedom, and records her story for future listeners.

Start listening to The Handmaid's Tale here on Amazon. 

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

Start listening to Sleeping Giants here on Amazon. 

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

Released: April 2016

Featuring performances by: Derek Jacobi, Hayley Atwell, Anna Madeley, and John Altman

When the first expedition to Mars mysteriously disappears, Earth sends a second to find out what happened. But the real mission is classified. And only Captain Wilder knows the truth. Spender, an anthropologist on Wilder’s crew, attempts to prevent the colonisation that she believes will eradicate the last of an ancient people living on Mars. But to what lengths will she go?

As the honourable but duty-bound Captain Wilder tracks the now rogue Spender into the Martian mountains, the future of this ancient planet is at stake. Meanwhile, Earth itself teeters on the brink of its own global catastrophe as the very survival of humanity hangs in the balance....

Listen to The Martian Chronicles here on Amazon

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Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Released: October 2015

Featuring performances by: Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lincoln Hoppe, Johnathan McClain, Kimberly Farr, Donnabella Mortel, Matthew Frow, Ryan Gesell, Beata Pozniak, Jolene Kim, and Emma Bering .

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she'd have to do. 

This afternoon, her planet was invaded. 

The year is 2575, and two rival mega-corporations are at war over a planet that's little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now, with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra - who are barely even talking to each other - are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit. 

But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is mutating with terrifying results; the fleet's AI may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what's really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data to find the truth, it's clear only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again. 

Start listening to Illuminae here on Amazon. 

Ender's Game Alive by Orson Scott Card

Released: October 2013

Featuring Performances by: Kirby Heyborne, Stefan Rudnicki, Theodore Bikel, Scott Brick, Samantha Eggar, Harlan Ellison, Susan Hanfield, Roxanne Hernandez, Janis Ian, Rex Linn, Richard McGonagle, Jim Meskimen, Emily Rankin, John Rubinstein, Christian Rummel, and a full cast.

Experience Ender's Game as you've never heard it before! With an all-new, original script written by Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game Alive is a full cast audio drama that reimagines the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning classic.

Ender’s Game Alive puts you into Battle School with young Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, as he trains to become the general who will lead Earth against the Formics, the alien "buggers". Removed from his family at the age of six, Ender must prove his strength and his leadership, even as he fights his own doubts. The stakes are nothing less than the fate of humankind.

Listen to Ender's Game Alive here on Amazon. 

World War Z: The Complete Edition: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

Released: May 2013

Featuring performances by: F. Murray Abraham, Alan Alda, René Auberjonois, Becky Ann Baker, Dennis Boutsikaris, Bruce Boxleitner, Max Brooks, Nicki Clyne, Common, Denise Crosby, Frank Darabont, Dean Edwards, Mark Hamill, Nathan Fillion, Maz Jobrani, Frank Kamai, Michelle Kholos, John McElroy, Ade M’Cormack, Alfred Molina, Parminder Nagra, Ajay Naidu, Masi Oka, Steve Park, Kal Penn, Simon Pegg, Jürgen Prochnow, Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner, Henry Rollins, Jeri Ryan, Jay O. Sanders, Martin Scorsese, Paul Sorvino, David Ogden Stiers, Brian Tee, John Turturro, Eamonn Walker, Ric Young, and Waleed Zuaiter.

World War Z: The Complete Edition (Movie Tie-in Edition): An Oral History of the Zombie War is a new version of Max Brooks' episodic zombie novel. The abridged versions of the original stories are now joined with new, unabridged recordings of the episodes that were not included in the original (abridged) version of the audiobook. These additional episodes feature a star-studded cast of narrators to coincide with the upcoming release of the film.

The original abridged edition, released in 2006, won an Audie Award for Best Multi-Voiced Performance. Original cast members include Alan Alda, Mark Hamill, Carl & Rob Reiner, and John Turturro.

In this new classic of apocalyptic fiction that feels all too real, the Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. The documentary-style oral history records the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time.

Start listening to World War Z here on Amazon. 

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

Released: December 2008

Featuring performances by: Marc Vietor, Allyson Johnson, Kevin Pariseau, Jay Snyder, and Victor Bevine

In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all. On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hope - and a terrible secret. And one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands.

Listen to Hyperion here on Amazon. 

Dune by Frank Herbert

Released: December 2006

Featuring performances by: Scott Brick, Orlagh Cassidy, Euan Morton, Simon Vance, Ilyana Kadushin, Byron Jennings, David R. Gordon, Jason Culp, Kent Broadhurst, Oliver Wyman, Patricia Kilgarriff, and Scott Sowers

Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Maud'dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family - and would bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream. 

A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.

Listen to Dune here on Amazon. 

Have you listened to any of these yet? What did you think? Any that weren't on your radar that will be making their way into your ears? 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.