Best science fiction novels by year
Here are what I think are the best science fiction novels of the year plus runner ups, going all the way back to 1949. Prior to that, notable books include Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, The Time Machine and War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, and Brave […]
The Accidental Time Machine
{4.5/5} “So it was a time machine, if kind of a useless one. Unless you could find a way to reverse it — go up fifteen years and come back with the day’s stock quotations. Or a list of who had won the World Series every year in between. But simply putting yourself in the […]
Old Man’s War
{4.5/5} “The recruiting office was a small storefront in a nondescript strip mall; there was a state liquor store on one side of it and a tattoo parlor on the other. Depending on what order you went into each, you could wake up the next morning in some serious trouble.” John Perry joins the Colonial […]
Bones of the Earth
{5/5} “We have means of detecting a paradox before it actually happens — and, again, I won’t tell you what they are. But any threat to this precious and fragile enterprise will be nipped in the bud, I can assure you that. And those responsible will be punished. No exceptions. And no clemency, either.” Leyster […]
Outpost
{4.5/5} “Felicitas turned to her friend. Adriana stared straight ahead. Felicitas felt sorry for Adriana because she knew Adriana hadn’t changed, didn’t look at things the way she now did. And it was the same all over the yard. Some now had the spark of life. Others, like Adriana, were still dead, their eyes leaden. […]
All-Star Superman
{4/5} “I know I promised I wouldn’t waste my intellect on kryptonite robots and elaborate super-death traps… But three months ago, I looked in the mirror at those nasty little spiderwebs of lines around my eyes, and I realized something… I’m getting older and… and he isn’t… So, if I want to die happy, it’s […]
Triggers
{4.5/5} “He tried to shunt aside his own fear so that he could see Jerrison’s face contort, see him recoil from some invisible blow or explosion, see him, the president of the United States, be the first person holding that office in decades to walk in a soldier’s shoes, share a soldier’s burden, and feel […]
Shampoo Planet
{4.5/5} “If you ever have a free moment, you might consider checking out the travel brochures for the town in which you live. You might be amazed. You might not want to live there any more.” Tyler is obsessed with hair care products and is hoping to get a great job and make lots of […]
Wicked
{4.5/5} “I want you to consider your futures. I would like to name you, to baptize you as it were, as a trio of Adepts. In the long run I would like to assign you behind-the-scenes ministerial duties in different parts of the country. I am empowered to do this, remember, by those whose boot […]
Tooth and Claw
{5/5} “I don’t think you realize how different it is for me than for you. You can make your way by your own wits and claws, while I must always be dependent upon some male to protect me. Wits I may have, but claws I am without, and while hands are useful for writing and […]