The Best Science Fiction of the Summer

The Book of Elsewhere follows the story of a warrior who is unable to die and has watched as endless centuries and civilizations have risen and fallen. But “B” is now ready to die and has sought out help from a U.S. black-ops group who has promised to help him end his life. In exchange, he owes them a big favor: a dead soldier has mysteriously risen from the dead, and B must take care of him for good.

In this politically charged sci-fi thriller "with remarkable world-building, Askaripour takes readers on a vast and winding adventure through a future split by hemispheres, visibility, and power," observed Elle, adding this to their "The Best New Books to Read in Summer 2024."

In Toward Eternity, Hur grapples with the future implications of some of the most important technological developments of our time. In this imagined near-future, cancer is virtually eradicated through the application of robotic cells which leave recipients nearly immortal, human consciousnesses are transferred into android bodies, and the line between artificial and organic intelligence is blurred beyond recognition.

The Los Angeles Times said, "It’s a smart, gripping work that’s also a feast for the senses…Bradley’s written an edgy, playful and provocative book that’s likely to be the most thought-provoking romance novel of the summer.”

A humorous and thought provoking tale about a domesticated robot who is thrust into a world of free will after a nefarious code is downloaded into its programming – uncovering a world that until then it had never known existed.

A retired, Robin Hood-like interstellar art thief, is brought out of retirement to recover a powerful object with the potential to save an alien species from extinction. Nicole Brinkley for Bookpage wrote, "Kitasei’s explorations of various nonhuman civilizations will fascinate, and her alien characters are so endearing.”

In this epic conclusion to Carey’s Pandominion duology, two powerful empires engage in a catastrophic war which puts countless planets at the risk of extinction. However, the artificial intelligence known as Rupshe and it’s rag-tag team of soldiers, robots, and the cat-woman Moon (yes, you read that right) have a plan to end the war and save the universe from ruin.

In this speculative portrait of the future, a city has been transformed by the effects of climate change, rapid technological progress, and the introduction of intelligent robots, called “hums,” creating a setting of both dystopian and utopian qualities. Within this brave new world, May, a mother of two, does all she can to secure her family’s future, even at the expense of herself.

This is a revised edition of Ursula K. Le Guin’s first full-length essay collection. Over 24 essays, the legendary science fiction and fantasy writer covers a wide range of topics including the writing of several of her most beloved novels, such as the A Wizard of Earthsea and The Left Hand of Darkness, as well as musings on her development as a writer and the importance of sci-fi as a genre.

The Final Architecture series’ author’s new novel follows professor and political dissident, Arton Daghdev, who has been recently imprisoned in a penal colony on the planet of Kiln. After Arton arrives, he discovers that humanity was not the first species to lay roots on Kiln, leading him on a gripping search for answers and survival.