JuicyTalk
Stretching back to the publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in 1818, science fiction has been one of the most important literary genres. There’s no shortage of sci-fi novels that beginners should check out, including classics like Dune, A Wrinkle in Time, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Neuromancer. For those craving more recent fare, numerous acclaimed sci-fi books have been released over the last decade.
Much like the greatest fantasy novels of the last decade, science fiction has expanded in some significant ways over the last 10 years. Established authors like Suzanne Collins, John Scalzi, and duo James S.A. Corey are still going strong with their respective literary outputs, but new voices have also been welcomed, including Frances Wren, Micaiah Johnson, and Xiran Jay Zhao. More perspectives have been welcomed within the genre, allowing for further diversification of the sci-fi stories available to read.
Of the sci-fi books released in the last decade, 10 in particular rank as the best of the best. Some of these stories have already been adapted for film or television, while others can still only be enjoyed on the printed page. Either way, these sci-fi novels are compelling reads worth recommending to anyone interested in this genre.
Dark Matter
In 2016, Blake Crouch delivered Dark Matter, a thought-provoking dive into parallel universes. The book follows Jason Dessen, a college physics professor who is forcibly sent to an alternate Earth where his life is much different because he decided not to marry his wife 15 years earlier, allowing him to pursue a career as a physicist.
Though Dark Matter initially focuses on the differences between these two worlds, the floodgates are later opened for the main version of Jason to witness other possibilities of how his life could have unfolded. Each new decision creates a new reality. The book serves as a reminder of how each decision can change the trajectory of a person’s life. Apple TV has since adapted Dark Matter into a television series starring Joel Edgerton, with a second season coming in August 2026.
All Systems Red
Martha Wells kicked off her book series The Murderbot Diaries in 2017 with All Systems Red. Readers are introduced to a cyborg security agent that has named itself “Murderbot” after gaining free will. However, rather than live up to that moniker, the artificial protagonist instead initially keeps its true nature a secret from the humans it’s protecting, preferring to discreetly watch soap operas instead.
These humans learn the truth, including how Murderbot once malfunctioned and killed 57 people. All Systems Red excels at melding world-building with humor and sets the stage for Murderbot’s ongoing adventures across the galaxy. Like Dark Matter, there’s also a Murderbot TV series airing on Apple TV, with Alexander Skarsgård playing the title role.
Project Hail Mary
Project Hail Mary is another hard science fiction offering from Andy Weir. This 2021 novel focuses on a former biologist and high school science teacher named Ryland Grace, who wakes up aboard a spaceship with no memory of how he ended up on board. Eventually, he remembers he was sent on a one-way research mission launched in response to save Earth from the Sun’s cooling.
Once again, Weir leans into real-world science to support the more fantastical elements in Project Hail Mary, but in a way that’s palatable for readers who aren’t scientifically-minded. That includes the author’s take on extraterrestrial life, as Ryland learns firsthand that we’re not alone in the universe. Ryan Gosling starred in the critically-acclaimed Project Hail Mary film adaptation that was released in March 2026.
The Collapsing Empire
Already known at the time for the Old Man’s War series and standalone books like Redshirts, John Scalzi kicked off a new trilogy in 2017 with The Collapsing Universe. This book takes place in a universe where humanity has populated other corners of the galaxy thanks to The Flow, an extra-dimensional field that can be harassed for interstellar travel.
This human empire known as the Interdependency becomes threatened when the moving nature of The Flow is discovered, kicking off a race for a solution before these worlds are cut off from each other. Thus begins an epic space opera saga that continued in 2018’s The Consuming Fire and concluded in 2020’s The Last Emperox.
Earthflown
Though Earthflown initially stands out for being an illustrated novel, its story is what keeps readers engaged. Frances Wren’s book chronicles the romance between a healer named Ethan and Javier, the twin brother of Corinna Arden, Ethan’s patient and the heiress to the company that controls Great Britain’s water supply in this reality after London was flooded.
This romance becomes complicated when Ethan becomes caught up in a conspiracy that intends to divert this even more precious natural resource to competing parties. Earthflown is more than worth reading as a standalone tale, providing exceptional LGBTQ representation, but Wren is also working on a sequel.
Dungeon Crawler Carl
Sci-fi and RPG fans are in for a treat when they start flipping through the pages of 2020’s Dungeon Crawler Carl. Matt Dinniman follows the title character and his cat, Princess Donut, among the millions who survive Earth being mined for natural resources by an alien race. Unfortunately, the only way they can continue surviving is by competing in a game show called Dungeon Crawler World, which takes influence from Earth’s RPGs, tabletop games, and video games.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is an absurd and hilarious romp appealing to both sci-fi fans and enthusiasts of the aforementioned types of games. Rick with both lore and humor, this novel has spawned seven sequels so far, and a Dungeon Crawler Carl TV show is also in development for Peacock.
Sea of Tranquility
A product of the COVID-19 pandemic, Emily St. John Mandel’s Sea of Tranquility is for those who like reading stories set across multiple time periods. The 2022 novel starts by introducing readers to an exiled man named Edward in 1912, then follows characters in 2020, 2203, and 2401. Their stories all converge into a time-twisty epic tale.
Equal parts sprawling as it is intimate, Sea of Tranquility is another fine addition to Mandel’s bibliography. While it can be enjoyed easily enough on its own, the 2020 storyline does tie back to her previous book, The Glass Hotel.
The Kaiju Preservation Society
Kaiju are typically reserved for film and television, but Scalzi worked wonders with them in 2022’s The Kaiju Preservation Society. Jamie Gray takes a position at an animal rights group in order to make ends meet in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic. What makes this group stand out from the others is that they travel through a portal to an Earth that’s populated by gigantic creatures instead of humans.
Anyone who enjoys reading about/watching monsters wreaking havoc should make time for The Kaiju Preservation Society. That said, like the great kaiju-focused tales to come before it, there are deeper conflicts presented beyond the human characters dealing with these monsters, but the story maintains a fun vibe rather than lingering in darkness.
The Space Between Worlds
In The Space Between Worlds, Micaiah Johnson points the spotlight on Cara, a young woman who lives on a dystopian Earth where scientists have figured out how to travel to parallel counterparts. The catch is that “traversers” like Cara can only travel to Earths where the other versions of themselves are dead. Since Cara is dead on most of these other Earths, that makes her uniquely suited for this occupation.
The tradeoff for this is that Cara learns about the kinds of relationships that her deceased doppelgängers had with their friends and family. Things become even more complicated when Cara becomes trapped on Earth, where one of these doppelgängers is actually still alive, which nearly kills the main Cara. The Space Between Worlds is a terrific exploration of the multiverse and how choices impact not just our own lives, but the lives of those around us.
Refractions
M.V. Melcer’s Refractions is the first installment in the author’s The Guardian Cycle series. Nathalie Hart, the main protagonist, is part of New Horizons, the rescue expedition that’s sent to look into the extra-solar colony Bethesda, which has cut off contact with Earth. The journey is thrown into chaos when someone aboard the ship starts sabotaging it.
Not only does Nathalie need to figure out which of the strangers on the ship is responsible for these actions, but the mystery of what happened on Bethesda is also tied to something that threatens the people of Earth. These thriller elements make Refractions stand out as one of the most gripping sci-fi novels to be released in the last 10 years.
