What Was the Best Sci-Fi Book Published in 2020 ?

While we are more than ready to turn our calendars to January, and with it our gaze toward the promise of a new year, we'd be remiss not to celebrate the best sci-fi books that came out this year. Books and the time to read them was, for many of us, a bright spot in the hellscape that was 2020. The best of those books, specifically the best sci-fi books, are what we would like to uncover in this, the last Discover Sci-Fi poll series of the year.

Of the many unforgettable science fiction books that came out this year, which was your favorite? Which sci-fi books published in 2020 were the very best? We've kickstarted things with some of the ones we loved this year; don't see your favorite(s)? Nominate them! You can do that either here or in our Facebook group. And remember that this round you can nominate and vote for as many titles as you'd like, we'll pin you down to one selection next week.



What Was the Best Sci-Fi Book Published in 2020?
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5 replies
  1. Mark Joseph
    Mark Joseph says:

    The obviously correct answer is, “None of the above”.

    Really, how many of these books will be anything other than forgotten, buck-a-book at the library sale, two years from now? One? At most.

    Pick up any SF magazine or book from the, say, 1990s. Look at the book ads in the magazine, or the other books listed by the publisher at the end of the book. Look at the hype. Now ask yourself, “how many of these books have I even heard of, much less want to read?” Not too many, eh? And yet they were on the “what was the best book of the year” poll for 1994 or 1996 or 1998.

    Most books that come out in a year are not worth reading, as this little thought experiment (hopefully) shows. So why read stuff only because it’s new? Why not wait, say, five years to see what shakes out? Gives time for the “political hot button of the day” books, the “flash in the pan” author books, the “I misused the English language to signal my virtue” books, and the “just plain uninteresting” books to fade away, and leave stuff worth reading.

    As you can guess, I’ve read exactly zero books published in 2020 (the only book on the list above that I’d even consider reading is the Ken Liu collection). And, I have no current plans to read any 2021 books except for the next Laundry Files book, and the last book in the Expanse series–both proven commodities.

    So, I’m not one of the cool kids. Ask me if I effing care. I like the vast majority of the books that I read, which I think is more important. Your mileage, of course, may vary.

    Reply
  2. Bored Robot Panda
    Bored Robot Panda says:

    I still think it’s hilarious that the majority of the “best of” books being touted here have been written by the authors who run this giveaway site.

    Reply

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