10 of the Best SFF Novels of the 2020s So Far

In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration, but this year it coincides with a rare solar eclipse. This is the moment, according to the Sun Priest Naranpa, when the world's balance could crumble and put the entire galaxy at risk. Xiala is the captain of a ship bound for Tova. One of her passengers is Serapio, a blind young man who seems harmless but Xiala knows there's more to him than that. With the eclipse on the horizon, the balance of power is about to change. 

Gideon the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir's debut, was a hyper-ambitious blend of space opera, gothic horror, snarky lesbians, and talking skeletons. The follow-up, Harrow the Ninth, is even more ambitious, delving into second-person perspective and a complex puzzle box of mystery, magic, and unreliable narrators. 

Harrowhawk Nonagesimus, last necromancer of the Ninth House, has been drafted by the Emperor to fight an unwinnable war. But following the events of the first book, and (spoiler alert!) the death of her bodyguard Gideon, Harrow's mind is failing her. She can trust nobody, least of all herself, but in the midst of the Emperor's plotting, she has no choice but to fight on, even if the universe might be better off with her dead.

Following on from the award-winning A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine's space opera took home the top honor at the Hugos just like its predecessor, and with good reason. An alien armada lurks on the edges of Teixcalaanli territory. No one can communicate with it, no one can destroy it, and there seems to be no way to stop an inevitable war. 

Desperate for a path to diplomacy, Fleet Captain Nine Hibiscus has sent for a diplomatic envoy. Now Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass, who have barely recovered from the unexpected upheaval of the empire they bore witness to in the first book, must find a way to communicate with an unknown entity. If they fail to do so, millions will die. But if they succeed, it could help the empire continue its colonization of the stars.

Susanna Clarke's debut novel, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, made her an instant star in the SFF world, and her long-awaited follow-up was well worth the wait. Piranesi is an enigma. He lives in a house of infinite rooms and endless corridors full of statues. Waves flood entire floors in an instant. There is seemingly no way out. The only other person in the house is The Other, a man who visits Piranesi twice a week to ask for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. This is the only world Piranesi has ever known. Or is it?

Qven was created to be a translator. Their job was to learn the ways of humans and serve as an intermediary between the dangerous alien Presger race and the human realms. They aren't supposed to have any desires or ideas. Such things aren't "optimal behavior" and could see Qven eliminated. 

But Qven stil revels, and in doing so, their path collides with those of two others: Enae, a reluctant diplomat trusted with the seemingly impossible task of hunting down a fugitive who has been missing for over 200 years; and Reet, an adopted mechanic with a unique genetic code who wants to know more about his origins. With the long-standing treaty between humans and the Presger on the line, the decisions of all three will have irrevocable effects on the entire universe.

In R. F. Kuang's vision of an alternate 1828, at the height of the British Empire, the orphan Robin Swift is brought to London from China by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in languages ancient and modern so that, when he becomes an adult, he can enroll in the prestigious Oxford University Royal Institute of Translation, known to the world as Babel. 

Here, words are magic, and the art of translation has made Britain a mighty force across the Earth. Robin cherishes the pursuit of knowledge but in a world where knowledge is literal power, he soon realizes that serving Babel means betraying his homeland. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide where he stands.

Fetter was raised to kill by his father, a legacy that has left him with, to put it mildly, complicated feelings. After a blood-soaked childhood, surrounded by devils and anti-gods, he escaped his legacy to live a quiet and anonymous life in the big city of Luriat. Here, he can be reasonably normal, attend therapy sessions, and avoid his fate. 

But Luriat is no ordinary city. The city is scattered with Bright Doors, looming portals to unknown realms, and Fetter must choose which ones to open and which ones to keep closed.

The Southern Reach trilogy made Jeff Vandermeer famous with its trippy blend of sci-fi, horror, and nature in the fractured liminal space known as Area X. Absolution serves as both prequel and sequel to that series. Decades before Area X is formed, a science expedition moves into the territory and marks the Forgotten Coast as a high-priority area of interest for Central, the shadowy government agency in charge of unknown and unique outsight threats to national security. 

Many years later, the Forgotten Coast files wind up in the hands a former Central worker known as Old Jim, and he knows something even more nefarious is going on. It forces him back into the field to find a way to "switch off" Area X before it grows even more dangerous.

In the future, prisoners are contestants on the most-watched reality TV show in America. Welcome to Chain-Gang All-Stars, a blend of gladiatorial combat and sporting frenzy wherein the prison industrial complex has become must-see entertainment. Loretta Thurwar and Hamara 'Hurricane Staxxx' Stacker are prisoners and lovers who are hoping to earn their freedom by surviving the the show. As she prepares for the big finish, protestors try to shut the series down, and the corporate giants in charge of it all want to ensure that Thurwar never gets out.

Gaspar and his dad set out on a road trip, hoping to outrun their grief over the death of his mother. For father and son alike, it's a tumultuous journey, one that will force them to return to their ancestral home and confront the terrifying legacy of the woman they loved. The Order is a murderous cult who will do anything in their search for immortality. 

This is Gaspar's destiny, but he and his father have no desire to join. How do you outrun forces outside of your control, especially when so many lives are on the line?