The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of the Past Decade

lordleft 2021-08-19 16:43:40 +0000 UTC [ - ]

There's not a single work by Sanderson on this list? Really surprising

irrational 2021-08-19 16:52:32 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Seriously. How can Stormlight Archive not have a single listing. I read a lot of science-fiction and fantasy and the Stormlight Archive is definitely near the top of my list.

outside1234 2021-08-19 16:31:27 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Great list. I also liked "The Wall" (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094L5HQRT/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?...) and "Ministry of the Future" (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084G7XRKT/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?...) for their climate change centric nature. Both are very thought provoking.

georgeecollins 2021-08-19 16:35:05 +0000 UTC [ - ]

I recommend "Version Control" by Dexter Palmer. Not well known but imo very good!

dghf 2021-08-19 16:48:35 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Two I enjoyed recently-ish

* Adrian Tchaikovsky's Dogs of War: can a bio-engineered, cybernetically enhanced animal soldier still be a Good Dog when he's working for/owned by a PMC with questionable ethics?

* Kate Mascarenhas's The Psychology of Time Travel: deals with the philosophical and psychological implications of being a time traveller when your future is (a) utterly immutable and (b) known to you in intimate detail, not least from regularly hanging out with future versions of yourself.

csours 2021-08-19 16:32:33 +0000 UTC [ - ]

On this list, I've read maybe 20%. Of the rest, I've heard of another 10%. I wonder if this is because I've rarely been in a IRL bookstore. 10 years ago, I would have expected to at least have heard of the whole list.

Also my shifting tastes - I've read way more history in the last 10 years than I have ever before.

jrgoff 2021-08-19 17:00:38 +0000 UTC [ - ]

I suspect part of it may also be an intentional effort on the judges parts to provide more exposure to good, lesser known works.

avnigo 2021-08-19 16:40:11 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Here they are for easier reference:

* Worlds To Get Lost In

- The Imperial Radch Trilogy https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/ann-leckie/the-impe...

- The Dead Djinn Universe (series) https://publishing.tor.com/amasterofdjinn-dbtmp1230658/97812...

- The Age of Madness Trilogy https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/joe-abercrombie/a-l...

- The Green Bone Saga https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/fonda-lee/jade-city...

- The Expanse (series) https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/james-s-a-corey/lev...

- The Daevabad Trilogy https://www.harpervoyagerbooks.com/book/9780062678126/the-ci...

- Teixcalaan (series) https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250186430

- The Thessaly Trilogy https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250811837

- Shades of Magic Trilogy https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765376466

- The Divine Cities Trilogy https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/228171/city-of-stai...

- The Wormwood Trilogy https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/tade-thompson/rosew...

- Black Sun (series) https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Black-Sun/Rebecca-Roa...

* Words To Get Lost In

- Piranesi https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/piranesi-9781635575637

- Circe https://www.littlebrown.com/titles/madeline-miller/circe/978...

- Mexican Gothic https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/577068/mexican-goth...

- The Paper Menagerie And Other Stories https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Paper-Menagerie-a...

- Spinning Silver https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/554775/spinning-sil...

- Exhalation: Stories https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/538034/exhalation-b...

- Olondria (series) https://smallbeerpress.com/books/2013/04/30/a-stranger-in-ol...

- Her Body And Other Parties: Stories https://graywolfpress.org/books/her-body-and-other-parties

- The Buried Giant https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/85613/the-buried-gi...

- Radiance https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765335302

* Will Take You On A Journey

- The Changeling https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/234343/the-changeli...

- Wayfarers (series) https://www.harpervoyagerbooks.com/book/9780062444134/the-lo...

- Binti (series) https://publishing.tor.com/binti-nnediokorafor/9781250203427...

- Lady Astronaut (series) https://us.macmillan.com/series/ladyastronaut/

- Children of Time (duology) https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/adrian-tchaikovsky/chil...

- Wayward Children (series) https://us.macmillan.com/series/waywardchildren/

- The Space Between Worlds https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/610612/the-space-be...

* Will Mess With Your Head

- Black Leopard, Red Wolf https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/561305/black-leopar...

- Southern Reach (series) https://us.macmillan.com/series/thesouthernreachtrilogy/

- The Echo Wife https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250174666

- The Locked Tomb (series) https://publishing.tor.com/gideontheninth-dbtmp1127517/97812...

- Remembrance of Earth's Past (series) https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765382030

- Machineries of Empire (series) https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Ninefox-Gambit/Yoon-H...

* Will Mess With Your Heart

- The Broken Earth (series) https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/n-k-jemisin/the-fif...

- Station Eleven https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/239452/station-elev...

- This Is How You Lose the Time War https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/This-Is-How-You-Lose-...

- The Poppy War Trilogy https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-poppy-war-r-f-kua...

- The Masquerade (series) https://us.macmillan.com/series/themasquerade

- An Unkindness of Ghosts http://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/an-unkindness-of-ghosts/

- The Bird King https://groveatlantic.com/book/the-bird-king/

- American War https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/543957/american-war...

- Riot Baby https://publishing.tor.com/riotbaby-dbtmp1144773/97812502147...

- On Fragile Waves https://www.workman.com/products/on-fragile-waves#:~:text=On...

* Will Make You Feel Good

- The Goblin Emperor https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765365682

- Murderbot (series) https://publishing.tor.com/themurderbotdiaries-marthawells/9...

- The Interdependency (series) https://us.macmillan.com/series/theinterdependency/

- The Martian https://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780553418026

- Sorcerer to the Crown/The True Queen https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/761/a-sorcerer-to-...

moogly 2021-08-19 16:48:58 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Thanks for the handy list.

No thanks to whomever thought it would be a great idea to truncate URLs in posts, thus making this list non-copy/pasteable. This forum software is really and truly perplexing sometimes.

avnigo 2021-08-19 16:52:50 +0000 UTC [ - ]

I wasn't sure how to share it on here, but I had originally parsed it in to a CSV:

https://pastebin.com/mcgpjLdA

Bhilai 2021-08-19 16:29:01 +0000 UTC [ - ]

The Red Rising series did not make this list, I am surprised. I thought it to be one of the best sci-fi I have read in a while.

devindotcom 2021-08-19 16:38:23 +0000 UTC [ - ]

I have to disagree. It felt like a weird, racially-tinged power fantasy to me. I liked how it started but it kept going in directions that surprised and disappointed me.

Bhilai 2021-08-19 16:41:02 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Have you read all of them (5 books so far) or did you give up?

outside1234 2021-08-19 16:31:50 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Agreed - good stuff - especially the first book.

Bhilai 2021-08-19 16:37:47 +0000 UTC [ - ]

I felt the second book was a bit slow. Third was very good. The fifth book though, The Dark Age, its just crazy good.

zabzonk 2021-08-19 15:23:57 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Of the ones listed in the link that I have read, "Children Of Time" is the stand-out for me. The sequel, "Children Of Ruin" isn't bad either.

marcinzm 2021-08-19 16:26:09 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Same, I've read a few on that list and Children of Time was my favorite.

dsr_ 2021-08-19 15:35:19 +0000 UTC [ - ]

I've read more than half of these, and for all but a few I think that they deserve their place on this list -- and for most of the rest, I think other books from the same authors would be better.

So, not a bad list at all.

I suspect the broadest popularity among HN readers would be:

- Ted Chiang's short story collection

- Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time

- Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries

All three of them feature really good non-human perspectives .

aardvark179 2021-08-19 15:52:37 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Yes. The books are not always the ones I would choose, but they are a pretty good selection. City of Stairs especially is one that I read without any expectations and was wonderful.

albatross13 2021-08-19 15:49:24 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Kind of bummed that The Stormlight Archive, or at the least the first book (The Way of Kings) isn't on that list.

I'm probably a bit biased, but if we were gonna make this the best 51 then I'd recommend anyone reading this comment check out The Way of Kings ;)

saalweachter 2021-08-19 16:14:23 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Yeah, the Stormlight Archive is very re-readable.

I'd also recommend the Licanius Trilogy in the same vein -- it's one of the best pieces of time travel fiction, while also having a solid emotional journey for the protagonist to go through with fate, loss and regret.

Ryiria was also published entirely over the last ten years, unless Google is deceiving me.

The Science Fiction I've enjoyed the most over the last ten years (everything by Julie Czerneda) was mostly written more like 10-20 years ago, although the second Web Shifters and the Reunification trilogy were more recent.

Aside from that, the big thing of the last ten years for me has been LitRPG. I can't get enough of it, good, bad, high-concept, self-referential, explicitly game-like or incidentally.

albatross13 2021-08-19 16:33:08 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Nice, I'll check out the Licanius Trilogy! Thanks for the recommendation.

aardvark179 2021-08-19 16:20:11 +0000 UTC [ - ]

It is over ten years old so doesn’t fit the list.

I’m curious what you think it does that’s so good, I read the first one because a friend really liked it and I just found it competently written epic fantasy. In contrast I remember reading Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson and thinking I had never read that combination of Black Company style moral ambiguity and a world with deep history before, and really wanting to read more. Or A Game of Thrones where the writing was just so good.

albatross13 2021-08-19 16:30:51 +0000 UTC [ - ]

I guess maybe it's not for everyone- I'm just a sucker for epic fantasy and Sanderson hits all my buttons. I enjoy his world building, his descriptive writing style, the way he writes combat gets me hype, etc.

Hah, I love this because it demonstrates just how different people's tastes can be. A Song of Ice and Fire did not jive with me: I felt like Martin's writing style got real old real quick (killing characters started to feel like a crutch) and the story just couldn't keep my attention anymore around book four.

But to each their own, that's what makes the world spin!

ip26 2021-08-19 16:52:09 +0000 UTC [ - ]

killing characters [...] the story just couldn't keep my attention anymore

You indirectly nailed the biggest reason why I stopped reading that series. Once it became clear virtually every character would be quickly axed, I could no longer invest emotionally in any of the new characters.

ip26 2021-08-19 16:48:32 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Perhaps its strength is a lack of glaring weaknesses, which isn't as easy or common as it would sound.

Bhilai 2021-08-19 16:33:51 +0000 UTC [ - ]

I am reading The Way of Kings right now and its hard to keep it down.

hpoe 2021-08-19 16:09:45 +0000 UTC [ - ]

They didn't have any Sanderson on there? I'd classify Sanderson's Stormlight Archive books as the 4 best Fantasy books I've ever read. Although if you are thinking of jumping into Sanderson I'd recommend Mistborn for starters.

frockington1 2021-08-19 15:54:13 +0000 UTC [ - ]

I was also surprised not to see Sanderson on the list. The Emperor’s Soul may be my favorite book of all time however I do think it is technically classified as novella.

thrower123 2021-08-19 16:45:16 +0000 UTC [ - ]

It's a terrible list, but what do you expect from a survey of NPR listeners?

I read an enormous amount of science fiction and fantasy and didn't even recognize more than 10% of the authors on their list.

tikhonj 2021-08-19 15:56:29 +0000 UTC [ - ]

I've ready maybe a third of the books on the list and enjoyed most of them, but few felt particularly great, and some left me feeling pretty meh.

Nick Harkaway's Gnomon is by far the best science fiction book I've read in years, one of the best books full stop—yet it doesn't seem to make lists like this. In some ways that's a shame, but seen another way it's a good sign: this list doesn't fully characterize modern science fiction, which would not have been a great signal for the genre as a whole...

georgeecollins 2021-08-19 16:20:33 +0000 UTC [ - ]

My favorites on this list are: - Station 11, just a great novel even if you don't care about SciFi - Ancillary Justice series. Also really good novels but more for SciFi fans. - Leviathan Wakes: The inspiration for the best SciFi TV series of the decade. - Murderbot!!!! Everybody loves Murderbot Diaries

I was sad to not see Seveneves. I think that novel is 2/3 amazing and you can just skip the last 1/3 and miss nothing.

evo_9 2021-08-19 15:31:23 +0000 UTC [ - ]

So happy to see Tade Thmpson's Rosewater Trilogy on this list. It's a truly unique scifi vision that really deliveries from start to finish.

mooreds 2021-08-19 15:51:30 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Only read the first one, but when I did, I was like, "what the heck". One of those books that disoriented me (in a good way), even though the "aliens come to earth" story is a well trodden path.

michaelmrose 2021-08-19 15:28:31 +0000 UTC [ - ]

> Sometimes, we left things out because we felt like the authors were well known enough not to need our help

This is exactly the opposite methodology as would be desirable in a "best of" list. Best ___ you haven't heard of could be useful still.

Also 3 body problem isn't worth reading and although Ancillary justice isn't a terrible book I wouldn't list it on a best of list.

betageek 2021-08-19 16:16:20 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Hard disagree on Ancillary Justice, I thought it was a standout book, and considering it won the Hugo, Nebula, Arthur C Clarke, Locus First Novel, and tied for the BSFA award I wasn't the only one.

jrgoff 2021-08-19 16:58:44 +0000 UTC [ - ]

I agree, Ancillary Justice was one of my favorite books in recent years. I thought the world was really interesting, enjoyed the characters, and found the exploration of federated minds intriguing.

moogly 2021-08-19 16:44:04 +0000 UTC [ - ]

I think the first one, whilst not super special, was pretty good. Definitely a promising debut.

The whole gender neutral thing felt pretty awkward and like a gimmick though.

The second book felt rather pointless, however, and that incessant obsession with tea sets was baffling (and with risk of sounding sexist, not particularly gender neutral?).

So I haven't bothered with the third book yet.

CleverLikeAnOx 2021-08-19 15:49:58 +0000 UTC [ - ]

In my opinion, Three Body Problem is worth reading, particularly if you don't read the back cover before starting. The cover spoils a fun mystery. I found the twists and turns of the series to be both entertaining and sometimes mind blowing. I like that it told a story differently than how most western authors tell theirs.

michaelmrose 2021-08-19 16:58:46 +0000 UTC [ - ]

I read to enjoy good books being different isn't a virtue in and of itself. I don't know how you make the impending end of the world boring but it manages it.

aardvark179 2021-08-19 15:46:00 +0000 UTC [ - ]

I don’t think it’s a best of SF you haven’t heard of, but a list that simply consisted of the really well known established names wouldn’t really be useful either.

Tastes will differ, and I doubt anybody will like everything on a list like this, but it’s certainly a good representation of books that people have been talking about. It would be interesting to hear which books really resonated with you, not just which on the list you didn’t think much of.

Bhilai 2021-08-19 16:42:33 +0000 UTC [ - ]

First two books of 3PB series were good imo, but the third one was a bit of a drag and I couldn't get through it.

unmole 2021-08-19 16:41:01 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Hard disagree. The Three-Body Problem is hands down best Sci-Fi book I've read.

zabzonk 2021-08-19 15:37:23 +0000 UTC [ - ]

I wonder if the problem with 3PB is the poor quality of the translation -it was a real struggle for me to get through. AJ I thought was OK simplistic space opera, if that's what you want (and who doesn't, sometimes).

ever1 2021-08-19 15:50:48 +0000 UTC [ - ]

weird, 3BP and especially the sequels were mind blowing for me, among the best SF I have read (And I have read a lot...)

fractallyte 2021-08-19 16:52:42 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Linda Nagata (https://mythicisland.com/) has consistently produced some of the best hard SF available today, and in my opinion, her novels far surpass many of the entries in that list...

Maybe it's because she's self-published? (Publicity is hard.) Or is hard science fiction a niche in its genre?

Here are two of my favorites:

https://mythicisland.com/the_last_good_man.php

https://mythicisland.com/lov.php

She deserves recognition: great ideas, moral quandaries, and humane protagonists. After I first discovered her work, I binge-read everything, then had to wait months for her next novel. And it's great that one of my favorite SF authors is actually still living! (And healthy, and writing ;-)

scrumlord 2021-08-19 15:57:04 +0000 UTC [ - ]

I'd rather take a hot steaming dump in my own mouth than read books recommended by left-wing NPR.