Top 5 Science Fiction Books You Must Read This Year
Popularized by the likes of Jules Verne, Douglas Adams and Arthur Clark, the sci-fi genre is one of the most sold and most read nowadays. Whether it’s benevolent aliens from outer space or a futuristic dystopia where androids have conquered humanity, we simply love to read about days yet to pass where technology is on a whole different level and the human race has evolved far beyond what it is today.
There are thousands of fantastic sci-fi novels out there and they’re getting released every day, and sometimes you simply don’t know which one to pick first. To help you out, we’ve chosen five of the best novels (in our opinion) recently released, that you should check out as soon as possible.
Crosstalk by Connie Willis
We chose this one for all of you that have a passion for the romance genre as well as Sci-Fi. A story about Briddey, an executive in the cellphone industry whose job is to oversee new products through all of its production phases. She’s romantically involved with her co-worker Trent, they’ve been dating for six weeks and it’s everything that she could hope for in a relationship. One day, though, she decides to take it to the next level, a level that no relationship has been on before. Introducing an EDD, a technological procedure that will let Trent and Briddey actually feel each other’s emotions. Instead of just telling each other “I love you”, now they’re actually able to experience it, and everything that such an ability will bring to their relationship, good and bad.
Connie Willis is the holder of a whopping ten Hugo Awards and six Nebula Awards. She is definitely one of the most popular and most acclaimed science fiction writers of the 80’s and 90’s. Currently she lives in Greenly where she teaches physics at the University of Northern Colorado.
Replica by Lauren Oliver
Gemma has always been a rather sickly child, never staying out of the hospital for too long ever since she can remember. Because of this she’s rather lonely and doesn’t have a lot of friends, save for Alice. One day she discovers that her father is in some way connected to a research facility named “Haven”, that’s been all over the news recently as it comes under attack by religious fanatics. Gemma escapes and finds Haven, where she meets Lyra (also known as number 24) and another facility test subject who has no known name except for 72. The three of them struggle to uncover the true purpose of the facility, and in doing so they come across some groundbreaking secrets that will forever transform their lives.
Lauren Oliver is the author of several bestselling novels such as Panic, Delirium, and Vanishing Girls. Up until now she’s sold film rights to two of her books, Before I Fall (her first novel) and Replica itself. We think that Oliver is a vastly underappreciated author in this genre, which is part of the reason why Replica made it to #2 on our list.
Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood
We don’t often run into a rehash of a classic literary work that’s as brilliant as this one, which is why the latest novel by Margaret Atwood made it to #3 on our list. Hag-Seed is a re-telling of one of the greatest plays by William Shakespeare titled “The Tempest”. The story follows Felix, the director of a theater discharged from his position of Artistic Director which forces him to find a new job as a drama teacher in a prison. Furious at those that fired him, Felix uses his new position as teacher to plot an insidious revenge. If you liked “The Tempest”, Atwood’s spin on the classic play is something you should definitely check out. The book’s expected publication is on October 11th, although it’s highly possible that it’ll be available earlier than that in certain regions. So if you want to try your luck at getting it early you can grab ExpressVPN and go searching for shopping sites that offer area-exclusive early access.
Born in 1939, Margaret Atwood has been writing since the 1960’s and has since dished out numerous titles in all kinds of formats and genres (fiction, non-fiction, children’s literature, poetry etc). Margaret lives in Toronto and currently holds the position of vice-president of PEN International.
Everything Belongs to the Future by Laurie Penny
Because of the fantastic way that this novel subtly hints at the current active problems in our own society, we’ve decided to showcase this one as #4 on the list. A capitalistic dystopia that describes a future where the rich use technology to extend their lifespans with longevity treatments – and Alex, Margo, Nina and Fidget from the other side of the wealth chain refuse to take it anymore. “Everything Belongs to the Future” is a story about their struggle to end the ruthless oppression of the upper class, that serves as a brilliant allegory for what our own world is slowly turning into.
Laurie Penny’s work concerns pop culture, gender inequality, social justice and a lot of similar issues plaguing our society today. She’s currently the contributing editor at New Statesman magazine and has already had a number of successful titles such as Cybersexism, Female Flesh Under Capitalism and Discordia: Six Nights in Athens.
Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
If you like some fantasy with your sci-fi, check this one out. Certain Dark Things tells the story of Domingo, a lonely poor kid living on the streets of Mexico City, and Atl, the descendant of a clan of Aztec vampires that must feed on blood in order to survive. Atl finds herself drawn to Domingo and his delicious blood and finds that the attraction is mutual, so she incorporates him into her plan to escape to South America, away from a rival clan that pursues her. We can say without a doubt that this book is repairing a lot of the damage that Twilight did to the image of vampires in literature, and as thanks to the author we’ve decided to showcase this one as #5 on our list.
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