The best science fiction books of 2025, according to the major awards
Forget the clickbait lists: these are the 19 science fiction books from 2025 that the major awards actually singled out, ranked by how much recognition each one earned.
The most acclaimed: Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor, ★ 3.96 from 120+ ratings.
The list
1. Death of the Author
Won the Locus Award; finalist for the Hugo and Nebula Awards (2026) ·
Death of the Author is a 2025 Africanfuturist novel by Nigerian American author Nnedi Okorafor.
2. When There Are Wolves Again
Won the Arthur C. Clarke Award (2026) ·
The extraordinary speculative novel of past, present and future, by the Clarke Award-shortlisted author of THE CORAL BONES.
3. Automatic Noodle
Finalist for the Hugo, Locus and Nebula Awards (2026) ·
From sci-fi visionary and acclaimed author Annalee Newitz comes Automatic Noodle, a cozy near-future novella about a crew of abandoned food service bots opening their very own restaurant.
4. Shroud
Finalist for the Hugo and Locus Awards (2026) ·
Shroud is a 2025 science fiction novel by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
5. When We Were Real
Finalist for the Locus and Nebula Awards (2026) ·
Reality runs on software. Two friends take the scenic route.
6. Murder by Memory
Finalist for the Hugo and Locus Awards (2026) ·
Bodies are replaceable. Someone makes murder permanent again.
7. There Is No Antimemetics Division
Finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award (2026) ·
(from back cover) An antimeme is an idea with self-censoring properties ; an idea which, by its intrinsic nature, discourages or prevents people from spreading it.
8. The Shattering Peace
Finalist for the Locus Award (2026) ·
The Shattering Peace is a science fiction novel by American writer John Scalzi, the seventh book set in the Old Man's War universe, and takes place ten years after the events of The End of All Things.
10. Picks and Shovels
Finalist for the Locus Award (2026) ·
Computers open new frontiers. An accountant follows the dirty money.
11. The Dream Hotel
Finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award (2026) ·
The Dream Hotel is a 2025 literary science fiction novel by Laila Lalami.
12. The Folded Sky
Finalist for the Locus Award (2026) ·
An archivist meets an ancient mind. Its star is dying.
13. Where the Axe is Buried
Finalist for the Locus Award (2026) ·
A ruler escapes death. His opponents seek an opening.
14. Notes from a Regicide
Finalist for the Locus Award (2026) ·
A son opens a prison journal. Revolution rewrites his family history.
15. Luminous
Finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award (2026) ·
Luminous is a 2025 science fiction novel by Silvia Park.
16. All That We See or Seem
Finalist for the Locus Award (2026) ·
Julia Z, a young woman who gained notoriety at fourteen as the “orphan hacker,” is trying to live a life of digital obscurity in a Boston suburb.
17. Descent
Finalist for the Nebula Award (2026)
An explorer descends into sonic storms. His mother's theories face a test.
18. Disgraced Return of the Kap's Needle
Finalist for the Nebula Award (2026)
A colony ship limps home. Oxygen and trust run short.
19. The Salt Oracle
Finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award (2026)
A floating college harbors ghosts. A death exposes dangerous questions.
How we ranked
Science fiction books first published in 2025 that won or were shortlisted for the Hugo, Nebula, Locus or Arthur C. Clarke awards in 2026. Ranked by wins, then by the number of awards that shortlisted them, then by rating. Ratings are web-aggregated averages. The list updates automatically as new award results come in.