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?
Iron Prince (Warformed: Stormweaver Book 1) by Bryce O'Connor and Luke Chmilenko*12%, 50 votes
50 votes12%
50 votes - 12% of all votes
The Last Emperox by John Scalzi*8%, 33 votes
33 votes8%
33 votes - 8% of all votes
Network Effect by Martha Wells 8%, 31 vote
31 vote8%
31 vote - 8% of all votes
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini 7%, 30 votes
30 votes7%
30 votes - 7% of all votes
Junkyard Spaceship*7%, 27 votes
27 votes7%
27 votes - 7% of all votes
CyberSpace by Matthew Mather 7%, 27 votes
27 votes7%
27 votes - 7% of all votes
Layers of Force by Lindsay Buroker 5%, 21 vote
21 vote5%
21 vote - 5% of all votes
Gs Jennsen's Inversion*5%, 21 vote
21 vote5%
21 vote - 5% of all votes
Inversion: Riven Worlds Book Two (Amaranthe 15) by G.S. Jennsen*4%, 18 votes
18 votes4%
18 votes - 4% of all votes
Sons of War by Nicholas Sansbury Smith 4%, 18 votes
18 votes4%
18 votes - 4% of all votes
Brushfire by Craig Alanson*4%, 16 votes
16 votes4%
16 votes - 4% of all votes
Rika Destroyer by M.D. Cooper*3%, 14 votes
14 votes3%
14 votes - 3% of all votes
Mamelukes by Jerry Pournelle*3%, 13 votes
13 votes3%
13 votes - 3% of all votes
Acheron Inheritance (Federation Chronicles Book 1) by Ken Lozito*2%, 9 votes
9 votes2%
9 votes - 2% of all votes
Renegade Peace By J N Chaney*2%, 9 votes
9 votes2%
9 votes - 2% of all votes
Novice Gods by Bobby Adair 2%, 8 votes
8 votes2%
8 votes - 2% of all votes
Savage Wars by Jason Anspach*2%, 7 votes
7 votes2%
7 votes - 2% of all votes
Ballistic - The Palladium Wars by Marko Kloos*2%, 7 votes
7 votes2%
7 votes - 2% of all votes
The Spolding Conundrum, Mark Noble Space Adventure 4, Tony Harmsworth*1%, 5 votes
5 votes1%
5 votes - 1% of all votes
Orders of Battle by Marko Kloos*1%, 5 votes
5 votes1%
5 votes - 1% of all votes
Trappist1 by Tony Harmsworth*1%, 4 votes
4 votes1%
4 votes - 1% of all votes
The New Wilderness by Diane Cook 1%, 4 votes
4 votes1%
4 votes - 1% of all votes
The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu 1%, 4 votes
4 votes1%
4 votes - 1% of all votes
The Mother Code by Carole Stivers 1%, 3 votes
3 votes1%
3 votes - 1% of all votes
Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick by David Wong 1%, 3 votes
3 votes1%
3 votes - 1% of all votes
Kill Orbit by Joel Dane*1%, 3 votes
3 votes1%
3 votes - 1% of all votes
The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal*1%, 3 votes
3 votes1%
3 votes - 1% of all votes
Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi 0%, 2 votes
2 votes
2 votes - 0% of all votes
The Oppenheimer Alternative*0%, 2 votes
2 votes
2 votes - 0% of all votes
Infinity’s End by Eric Warren*0%, 2 votes
2 votes
2 votes - 0% of all votes
The Salvage Crew by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne*0%, 2 votes
2 votes
2 votes - 0% of all votes
The Stone Man by Luke Smitherd*0%, 2 votes
2 votes
2 votes - 0% of all votes
Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott*0%, 1 vote
1 vote
1 vote - 0% of all votes
Harrow the Ninth*0%, 1 vote
1 vote
1 vote - 0% of all votes
The Demon in White by Christopher Ruocchio*0%, 1 vote
1 vote
1 vote - 0% of all votes
Total Votes: 406
Voters: 358
December 22, 2020
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https://discoverscifi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/The-Best-Sci-Fi-Books-Published-in-2020.png6801200Discover Sci-Fihttps://discoverscifi.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/discover-scifi.pngDiscover Sci-Fi2020-12-23 21:28:362020-12-23 21:28:40What Was the Best Sci-Fi Book Published in 2020 ?
5replies
theohall says:
Umm… American Gods was originally published in 2001. Don’t think that should be on the list.
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.
Umm… American Gods was originally published in 2001. Don’t think that should be on the list.
My vote is for Ruins Of The Earth book 1 by Hopper and Chaney!
Has to be Inversion as it on the list twice.
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.
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.