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Best Science Fiction Books of 2019

The Science Fiction Novels of 2019 That Won Awards and Readers' Votes

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Best Science Fiction Books of 2019

Which science fiction novels defined 2019? 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

A Memory Called Empire

A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan) Start here

by Arkady Martine

Hugo winner 2020

Won the 2020 Hugo for Best Novel. Ambassador Mahit Dzmare is posted far from her mining station home, to the Empire's glorious capital. Yet when she arrives, she discovers her predecessor was murdered. But no-one will ad...

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2

The City in the Middle of the Night

The City in the Middle of the Night

by Charlie Jane Anders

Would you give up everything to change the world?Humanity clings to life on January – a colonized planet divided between permanently frozen darkness on one side, and blazing endless sunshine on the other.Two cities, buil...

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3

Gideon the Ninth

Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb) Start here

by Muir, Tamsyn

"The Emperor needs necromancers.The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead nonsense.Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay,...

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4

The Light Brigade

The Light Brigade

by Hurley, Kameron

From the Hugo Award–winning author of The Stars Are Legion comes a brand-new science fiction thriller about a futuristic war during which soldiers are broken down into light in order to get them to the front lines on M...

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5

A Song for a New Day

A Song for a New Day

by Sarah Pinsker

Nebula winner 2019

In the Before, when the government didn't prohibit large public gatherings, Luce Cannon was on top of the world. One of her songs had just taken off and she was on her way to becoming a star. Now, in the After, terror at...

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6

The Old Drift

The Old Drift

by Namwali Serpell

On the banks of the Zambezi River, a few miles from the majestic Victoria Falls, there was once a colonial settlement called The Old Drift. Here begins the epic story of a small African nation, told by a mysterious swarm...

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7

Recursion

Recursion

by Blake Crouch

Memory makes reality.That’s what New York City cop Barry Sutton is learning as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad wit...

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8

This Is How You Lose the Time War

This Is How You Lose the Time War

by El-Mohtar, Amal

Two time-traveling agents from warring futures, working their way through the past, begin to exchange letters—and fall in love in this thrilling and romantic book from award-winning authors Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladsto...

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9

Dark Age

Dark Age (Red Rising Trilogy)

by Brown, Pierce

He broke the chains. Then he broke the world….A decade ago Darrow led a revolution, and laid the foundations for a new world. Now he’s an outlaw.Cast out of the very Republic he founded, with half his fleet destroyed, he...

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10

The Deep

The Deep

by Rivers Solomon

Yetu holds the memories for her people—water-dwelling descendants of pregnant African slave women thrown overboard by slave owners—who live idyllic lives in the deep. Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly...

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11

Exhalation

Exhalation

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • Nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories—two published for the very first time—all from the mind of the incomparable author of S...

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12

Machines Like Me

Machines Like Me

Machines Like Me is the 15th novel by the English author Ian McEwan. The novel published in 2019 by Jonathan Cape.The novel is set in the 1980s in an alternative history timeline in which the UK lost the Falklands War, A...

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13

Cage of Souls

Cage of Souls

by Tchaikovsky, Adrian

Stefan Advani is a rebel, outlaw and survivor, and his account takes him across the western deserts, down a river into a jungle prison and finally into underground caverns. The setting is a dying Earth where Shadrapar, t...

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14

The Last Astronaut

The Last Astronaut

by David Wellington

In 2055 NASA has no astronaut corps left, so when a huge object from another star system enters the solar system and ignores every message sent to it, the agency recalls Sally Jansen, the last astronaut it trained, who w...

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15

Marque of Caine

Marque of Caine (Caine Riordan)

by Charles E. Gannon

"It's been two years since Caine Riordan was relieved of his command for following both his orders and his conscience. Now he's finally received the message he's been waiting for: a summons to visit the ancient and enigm...

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16

Tiamat's Wrath

Tiamat's Wrath (The Expanse)

by James S.a. Corey

Tiamat's Wrath is a science fiction novel by James S. A. Corey, the pen name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, and the eighth book in their series The Expanse. Following the series' tradition of referring to ancient mytho...

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17

Children of Memory

Children of Memory (Children Of Time)

by Tchaikovsky, Adrian

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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18

Wanderers

Wanderers

by Wendig, Chuck

A decadent rock star. A deeply religious radio host. A disgraced scientist. And a teenage girl who may be the world's last hope. In the tradition of The Stand and Station Eleven comes a gripping saga that weaves an epic...

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19

To Be Taught, If Fortunate

To Be Taught, If Fortunate

by Becky Chambers

At the turn of the twenty-second century, scientists make a breakthrough in human spaceflight. Through a revolutionary method known as somaforming, astronauts can survive in hostile environments off Earth using synthetic...

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20

The Future of Another Timeline

The Future of Another Timeline

by Annalee Newitz

"1992: After a confrontation at a riot grrl concert, seventeen-year-old Beth finds herself in a car with her friend's abusive boyfriend dead in the backseat, agreeing to help her friends hide the body. This murder sets B...

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Trending Books in Best Science Fiction Books of 2019

Children of Memory

Children of Memory (Children Of Time)

Tchaikovsky, Adrian

Buy on Amazon

Recursion

Recursion

Buy on Amazon

Marque of Caine

Marque of Caine (Caine Riordan)

Charles E. Gannon

Buy on Amazon

Cage of Souls

Cage of Souls

Tchaikovsky, Adrian

Buy on Amazon

The Light Brigade

The Light Brigade

Hurley, Kameron

Buy on Amazon

A Song for a New Day

A Song for a New Day

Buy on Amazon

The Old Drift

The Old Drift

Namwali Serpell

Buy on Amazon

This Is How You Lose the Time War

This Is How You Lose the Time War

El-Mohtar, Amal

Buy on Amazon

The Future of Another Timeline

The Future of Another Timeline

Buy on Amazon

The Last Astronaut

The Last Astronaut

David Wellington

Buy on Amazon

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