The best science fiction books of the 2010s, ranked
220 science fiction books from the 2010s were recognized by the Hugo, Nebula, Locus or Clarke awards. These are the 25 readers rate highest.
The highest rated: The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin, ★ 4.35 from 2,100+ ratings.
The ranking
1. The Fifth Season
Won the Hugo Award; finalist for the Nebula Award (2016) ·
The world is ending again. This time, the earth has a voice.
2. Caliban's War
Finalist for the Locus Award (2013) ·
Caliban's War is a 2012 science fiction novel by James S.
3. 11/22/63
Finalist for the Locus Award (2012) ·
11/22/63 is a novel by Stephen King about a time traveller who attempts to prevent the assassination of United States President John F.
4. The Stone Sky
Won the Hugo and Nebula Awards (2018) ·
Humanity will finally be saved or destroyed in the shattering conclusion to the post-apocalyptic and highly acclaimed NYT bestselling trilogy that won the Hugo Award three years in a row.
5. A Closed and Common Orbit
Finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke and Hugo Awards (2017) ·
Once, Lovelace had eyes and ears everywhere.
6. Death's End
Won the Locus Award; finalist for the Hugo Award (2017) ·
Death's End is a science fiction novel by the Chinese writer Liu Cixin.
7. Children of Time
Won the Arthur C. Clarke Award (2016) ·
Humanity’s last hope has a civilization of its own.
8. The Obelisk Gate
Won the Hugo Award; finalist for the Nebula Award (2017) ·
""Intricate and extraordinary."--New York Times on The Fifth Season (A New York Times Notable Book of 2015) The second novel in a new fantasy trilogy by Hugo, Nebula & World Fantasy Award nominated author N.K.
9. Leviathan Wakes
Finalist for the Hugo and Locus Awards (2012) ·
When Captain Jim Holden's ice miner stumbles across a derelict, abandoned ship, he uncovers a secret that threatens to throw the entire system into war.
10. Persepolis Rising
Finalist for the Locus Award (2018) ·
Persepolis Rising is a science fiction novel by James S.
11. Abaddon's Gate
Won the Locus Award (2014) ·
An alien artifact working through its program under the clouds of Venus has emerged to build a massive structure outside the orbit of Uranus: a gate that leads into a starless dark.
12. Artificial Condition
Won the Hugo and Locus Awards; finalist for the Nebula Award (2019) ·
It has a dark past - one in which a number of humans were killed.
13. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
Finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award (2016) ·
A small spaceship. A wonderfully mismatched crew. A very long journey.
14. Gideon the Ninth
Finalist for the Hugo and Nebula Awards (2020) ·
The Emperor needs necromancers.
15. To Be Taught, If Fortunate
Finalist for the Hugo and Locus Awards (2020) ·
Four explorers change themselves to meet the worlds they discover.
16. Rogue Protocol
Finalist for the Locus Award (2019) ·
"Sci-Fi's favorite antisocial AI is back on a mission.
17. Ancillary Mercy
Won the Locus Award; finalist for the Hugo and Nebula Awards (2016) ·
For a moment, things seemed to be under control for Breq, the soldier who used to be a warship.
18. A Memory Called Empire
Won the Hugo Award; finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke and Nebula Awards (2020) ·
Poetry, politics, and a murder at the heart of an irresistible empire.
19. Babylon's Ashes
Finalist for the Locus Award (2017) ·
The Expanse Saga continues in the 6th installment.
20. Station Eleven
Won the Arthur C. Clarke Award (2015) ·
After the collapse, a traveling theater keeps something human alive.
21. Surface Detail
Finalist for the Locus Award (2011) ·
It begins in the realm of the Real, where matter still matters.
22. All Systems Red
Won the Hugo, Locus and Nebula Awards (2018) ·
It hacked its programming. It would really rather watch television.
23. Record of a Spaceborn Few
Finalist for the Hugo and Locus Awards (2019) ·
Centuries after the last humans left Earth, the Exodus Fleet is a living relic, a place many are from but few outsiders have seen.
24. The Testaments
Finalist for the Locus Award (2020) ·
15 years after the sons of Jacob seized power in the USA and became Gilead.
25. Monsters of Men
Finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award (2011) ·
As a world-ending war surges to life around them, Todd and Viola face monstrous decisions, questioning all they have ever known as they try to step back from the darkness and find the best way to achieve peace.
Not yet rated
These winners do not have enough ratings to rank yet.
- Annihilation/Authority/Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer
- Big Boys Don't Cry by Tom Kratman
- Flow by Arlan Andrews, Sr.
- Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melemed
- Ghosts Doing the Orange Dance by Paul Park
- Life Does Not Allow Us to Meet by He Xi
- Occupy Me by Tricia Sullivan
- The Boolean Gate by Walter Jon Williams
- The Chaplain's Legacy by Brad R. Torgersen
- The Plural of Helen of Troy by John C. Wright
- The Rosewater Insurrection/The Rosewater Redemption by Tade Thompson
How we ranked
Science fiction novels and novellas published from 2010 to 2019 that won or were shortlisted for a major award. The top 25 by weighted reader rating. Books are ranked by a weighted rating: each book’s average is blended with the library average as if it had 100 extra ratings, so a few enthusiastic votes cannot outrank a book thousands of readers love. Ratings are web-aggregated averages. The list updates automatically as new award results come in.