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Editors’ Picks: Science Fiction
Go on a voyage of discovery with our editors’ favorite science fiction books.
Published on February 14, 2024
This Is How You Lose the Time War
Amal El-MohtarThis Hugo Award-winning novella contains the chaos of all of time and space within its beautifully short, never-ending love story. Two women, named Red and Blue, fight for opposite factions in the ceaseless time war, flowing from the past to the future, from timeline to timeline. Through a series of letters sent via tea and lava and other delightful delivery systems, Red and Blue fall for each other, and combine for some of the best purple prose around.
The Dispossessed: A Novel
Ursula K. Le GuinBeloved by generations of readers, the great Ursula K. Le Guin’s groundbreaking novel transcends genre limitations. Her work established science fiction as a legitimate literary setting for profound stories.
Stories of Your Life and Others
Ted ChiangTed Chiang is a sci-fi master capable of making the alien feel entirely human — his characters and worlds read like fantasy but feel like truth. Each story in this collection begs a momentary meditation on the meaning of life before going on.
The Man in the High Castle
Philip K. DickIf you’ve never read Philip K. Dick, start here. A daring alternative history and a powerful novel of ideas told with hallucinatory clarity, this is PKD at his strangest — and his best.
Watchers
Dean KoontzA hiker meets a super smart dog named Einstein on a walk in the woods. Sounds like a warm and fuzzy story, right? Not when suspense master Dean Koontz gets his terrifyingly skilled hands on it. Something is hunting Einstein, and the hiker must help the dog escape. Can they outrun the horror and the shadowy federal agents hot on their heels? A thrilling tale of genetic engineering (and a lovable dog), this classic is Koontz at his finest.
The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret AtwoodMargaret Atwood’s dystopian classic isn’t just an argument for women’s rights, but more generally a brilliant commentary on the effects of dehumanization, of putting law above love, and of the dangers of picking sides and uncritically sticking with them in the first place.
Seveneves: A Novel
Neal Stephenson“What would happen if the world were ending?” is the simple question that “Seveneves” seeks to answer. After a catastrophic event leaves the Earth with a definitive end date, the world nations join forces in a last ditch attempt to save to human race. While a fantastic work of fiction on its own, this book also incorporates major themes of science, philosophy, technology, psychology, and literature to give us a view of a not-too-fictional future.
1984
George OrwellOriginally published in 1949, George Orwell’s work is, arguably, the pinnacle of all dystopian novels. It became popular again thanks to proliferation of the Orwellian phrase “alternative facts” and the realization that the collection of big data means Big Brother is definitely watching you.
The Book of Joan: A Novel
Lidia YuknavitchThis brilliant post-apocalyptic novel retells the story of Joan of Arc in a techno-futuristic world where a small group of humans fights to survive extinction.