Ho! Ho! Ho!

So once again I don my robes but this time with added silver glitter as Santa Womble looks to help you with last minute gift ideas and also to use those precious book tokens winging their way to you! Here are some ideas for science fiction reads I think you’ll enjoy!

Novella

A space traveller and werewolves with a dash of romance? Then I think if that sounds good you should like Star Pattern Traveller by Joyce Chng

A really impressive novel that also explores neuro-diversity in a really unusual way is The Invisible Girl by C L Farley which impressed me a lot

What is Africa too had its super-heroes is the intriguing premise behind The Last Pantheon by Tade Thompson and Nick Wood which really stands out as a tale and also has a sharp political edge too!

It is in near future space and imagines a Mars mission - it is science fiction and also a beautiful read on being human I loved Orbital by Samantha Harvey

Science fiction exploring the power and dangers of education is very well handled in The Practice, The Horizon, and The Chain by Sofia Samatar a thought-provoking read indeed. and if you enjoy books exploring similar themes try the excellent We Speak Through The Mountain by Premee Mohamed as a book in dialogue on the same subject.

I would be remiss not to mention the highly unusual The Last Day And the First by Tim Lebbon a tale of endings and beginnings which is sweet and sharp at the same time. Elegant reading!

And to push you out of your comfort zone a tale of robots, aliens, angels and more awaits in the fantastically strange and weird Out of the Drowning Deep by AC Wise which I loved for its ambition.

For a touch of romance, comic horror and intrigue then I can strongly recommend Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard — Runalong The Shelves as four young navigators have to work together to save the world (and themselves).

Novels

Defying easy analysis in the future with a twist of fantasy is Three Eight One by Aliya Whiteley a book to get your brain working and also to look at how you read and what you get out of genre.

A future dystopia and the need for people to do the right thing is explored in The Disinformation War by SJ Groenewegen which feels a very plausible way we could fall into an totalitarian state.

I would be remiss to remind you this year I re-read and fell in love with Ash - A Secret History by Mary Gentle an amazing novel that defies expectations as medieval France, alternate history and more combine…

For a glorious look at an alien world and also thoughts on human nature then the excellent Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky is needed in your lives.

SF and poetry are not things we immediately link but the glorious Calypso by Oliver K Langmead proves this can work really well as human explorers reach a new paradise and of course it goes wrong. Highly inventive!

For more action and war then Warhammer has us covered with Deathworlder by Victoria Hayward and my first experience of this universe was a fun one!

Back to earth and a really lyrical and haunting future where a mother and her child try to survive a world ending awaits in the powerful Dry Lands by Elizabeth Anne Martins

Our future (and our past) with robots is explored and played with in Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky that takes well known versions of robot worlds and puts them through the looking glass,. Funny, sharp and smart - I expect little else from Tchaikovsky these days!

A near future tale of time travel and those seeking some form of sanctuary in the UK is very well handled in the surprising The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley which has a warm heart but hides some very pointed things to say about UK attitudes. I loved this one a lot.

An excellent read (that also can be read standalone) is Ninth Life by Stark Holborn — Runalong The Shelves which tells you the life of a hero/legend/villain in an amazing piece of storytelling. Its rather brilliant and marks Holborn as a writer to watch.

It was also a pleasure to read the next book in the Fractal series and Vigilance by Allen Stroud — Runalong The Shelves delivers a fine mini-conclusion to the series but also provides a fascinating first contact story and explores intelligence. A series you should all be getting hold of.

This year i finally read the Southern Reach series in preparation for the latest book and Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer delivers for fans an fascinating ending and new beginning at the same time. Experimental, unusual and a very intriguing read,

Another book I think will wow readers and also put them into some serious thinking is The Sentence by Gautam Bhatia a tale that explores revolutions, justice and the legal system and elegantly puts us and its lead character in a very difficult situation to decide what is right. The worldbuilding to support this is genius.

Food and science fiction is also a combination i was not expecting to work but the level of ideas seeded i the excellent Interstellar Megachef by Lavanya Lakshminarayan means we get a story that is warm and fun but also makes the reader review our own relationship with food in all sorts of interesting ways. A stand-out book!