Best Science Fiction Books of 2015

The Science Fiction Novels of 2015 That Won Awards and Readers' Votes

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Which science fiction novels defined 2015? This list ranks the year's books by how many independent signals back them: the Hugo, Nebula and Arthur C. Clarke awards, and the Goodreads Choice Awards science fiction vote.

Books that won or were shortlisted for several awards come first, followed by the books readers voted for most.

The ranking

1

Ancillary Mercy

Ancillary Mercy

For a moment, things seemed to be under control for Breq, the soldier who used to be a warship. Then a search of Atheok Station's slums turns up someone who shouldn't exist, and a messenger from the mysterious Presger em...

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2

Seveneves (cover not available)

Seveneves

by Neal Stephenson

"What would happen if the world were ending? A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to en...

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3

The Fifth Season (cover not available)

The Fifth Season

by N. K. Jemisin

A SEASON OF ENDINGS HAS BEGUN.IT STARTS WITH THE GREAT RED RIFT across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun.IT STARTS WITH DEATH, with a murdered son and a missing daughter.IT START...

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4

Children of Memory (cover not available)

Children of Memory

by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Sequel to Children of Ruin.On Imir, Captain Holt founded a hopeful new colony on an empty world. But generations later, his descendants are struggling to survive. As harvests worsen and equipment fails, strangers appear...

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5

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (cover not available)

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

by Becky Chambers

When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The Wayfarer, a patched-up ship that's seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly want: a small, quiet spot to call home for...

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6

Raising Caine (cover not available)

Raising Caine

by Charles E. Gannon

Caine Riordan has just helped to repel an alien invasion of Earth when the Slaasriithi, mysterious and possibly helpful, ask him to lead a diplomatic mission to their worlds. A group of renegade aliens follows, hoping to...

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7

Golden Son

Golden Son

by Pierce Brown

"With shades of The Hunger Games, Ender's Game, and Game of Thrones, debut author Pierce Brown's genre-defying epic Red Rising hit the ground running and wasted no time becoming a sensation. Golden Son continues the stun...

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8

Europe at Midnight (cover not available)

Europe at Midnight

by Dave Hutchinson

In a near-future Europe that has broken into many small states, two stories unfold: Jim, an English intelligence officer drawn in by a stabbing on a London bus into preparations for war with another universe, and Rupert,...

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9

The Book Of Phoenix

The Book Of Phoenix

by Nnedi Okorafor

As we have seen in books like Man Plus, one way to achieve posthumanity is to remake ourselves in a new form. But experimenting upon ourselves in that way comes at a cost for the subject of that experiment; it also revea...

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10

Arcadia (cover not available)

Arcadia

In 1960s Oxford, Professor Henry Lytten is attempting to write a fantasy novel that forgoes the magic of his predecessors, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. He finds an unlikely confidante in his quick-witted, inquisitive y...

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11

Way Down Dark (cover not available)

Way Down Dark

by James Smythe

After Earth became uninhabitable, humans built generation ships, and Chan, 17, lives quietly on one of them, the Australia, where gangs and cults run the decks. She finds a way to bring the ship back to Earth, which woul...

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12

The Heart Goes Last (cover not available)

The Heart Goes Last

by Margaret Atwood

"Stan and Charmaine are a married couple trying to stay afloat in the midst of an economic and social collapse. Job loss has forced them to live in their car, leaving them vulnerable to roving gangs. They desperately nee...

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13

The Water Knife (cover not available)

The Water Knife

by Paolo Bacigalupi

The American Southwest has been decimated by drought. Nevada and Arizona skirmish over dwindling shares of the Colorado River, while California watches, deciding if it should just take the whole river all for itself. Int...

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14

Armada (cover not available)

Armada

by Ernest Cline

Zack Lightman has spent his life dreaming. Dreaming that the real world could be a little more like the countless science-fiction books, movies, and videogames he's spent his life consuming. Dreaming that one day some fa...

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15

The End Of All Things

The End Of All Things

Humans expanded into space... only to find a universe populated with multiple alien species bent on their destruction. Thus was the Colonial Union formed, to help protect us from a hostile universe. The Colonial Union us...

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16

The Fold (cover not available)

The Fold

by Peter Clines

Mike Erikson, a high school teacher with perfect memory, is asked to inspect a new project by the military: a device that lets people fold space to travel from one place to another. Something about it seems wrong. A thri...

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17

Nemesis Games

Nemesis Games

by James S.a. Corey

The crew of the Rocinante scatter to deal with trouble at home just as the solar system begins to come apart. A Belter faction strikes at Earth and the inner worlds, and the people who held the ship together are suddenly...

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18

The Dark Forest

The Dark Forest

Earth knows a hostile Trisolaran fleet is coming and will arrive in four centuries, and that the aliens can watch every human conversation and experiment. Humanity's answer is the Wallfacer Project: four people given vas...

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19

Aurora (cover not available)

Aurora

by Kim Stanley Robinson

"Generations after leaving earth, a starship draws near to the planet that may serve as a new home world for those on board. But the journey has brought unexpected changes and their best laid plans may not be enough to s...

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Trending Books in Best Science Fiction Books of 2015

Ancillary Mercy

Ancillary Mercy

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Aurora (cover not available)

Aurora

Kim Stanley Robinson

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The End Of All Things

The End Of All Things

Buy on Amazon

The Water Knife (cover not available)

The Water Knife

Paolo Bacigalupi

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The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (cover not available)

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Buy on Amazon

Raising Caine (cover not available)

Raising Caine

Charles E. Gannon

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Golden Son

Golden Son

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Europe at Midnight (cover not available)

Europe at Midnight

Dave Hutchinson

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The Book Of Phoenix

The Book Of Phoenix

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The Fold (cover not available)

The Fold

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