ARC provided by the publisher—Gollancz—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art illustrated by Yohei Horishita
Scion by James Islington
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: Scion (Book #1)
Genre: Science Fiction, Cyberpunk
Pages: 240 pages (Ebook Edition)
Word Count: 56,000 Words
Published: 1st September 2026 by Saga Press (US) and Gollancz (UK)
Scion is a fast-paced and action-packed cyberpunk novel about freedom, justice, and identity. …
ARC provided by the publisher—Orbit Books—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art designed by Tommy Pocket
The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: Standalone
Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Cyberpunk
Pages: 514 pages (ARC Edition)
Published: 5th May 2026 by Orbit Books
The year is off to an explosive start. The Last Contract of Isako is the best science fiction standalone novel I’ve ever read. …
Cover art illustrated by Gary Ruddell
Endymion by Dan Simmons
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Series: Hyperion Cantons (Book #3 of 4)
Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera
Pages: 578 pages (Kindle Edition)
Word Count: 198,000 Words
Published: 1st January 1996 by Spectra
I am conflicted. There were some great moments and incredible world-building in Endymion, but this penultimate installment of the Hyperion Cantos is not up to the high standards of the first two Hyperion books.
“The shortest route to courage is absolute ignorance.”
Singularity by Shannon McDermott
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
While Singularity is the second half of the Eternities duology, there is no cohesive plot linking this book to The Time Door While both novels take place in the same world, sharing a speculative history and technology and certain characters, each book is entirely its own self-contained story. I loved The Time Door, and found it one of the strongest works of science fiction I’ve read in years. While Singularity was still tense and thought-provoking, it didn’t entrance me in quite the same way, or to the same intensity, as its predecessor. …
ARC provided by the publisher—Saga Press—in exchange for an honest review.
All That We See or Seem by Ken Liu
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Series: Julia Z (Book #1 or 3)
Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller
Pages: 416 pages (Kindle Edition)
Published: 14th October 2025 by Saga Press (US) & 9th October 2025 Head of Zeus (UK)
All That We See or Seem is the newest near-future sci-fi thriller from Ken Liu, one of my favorite authors of all time. Did it manage to live up to the quality of his previous works?
“Freedom, belonging, telling a story about yourself that you love. Dreaming together. Meaning in all that we see or seem.”
The Time Door by Shannon McDermott
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
“One thing I know…God did not bring us this far, and save us from so much, for nothing. There is more for us. Let’s go discover it.”
The Time Door is exactly what I’m always looking for on the rare occasions I venture into hard science fiction, though it’s something I rarely find. This book is by turns fanciful and believable, philosophical and propulsive. It swept me away while also keeping my mind fully engaged, and I never found myself drowning in the science or the politics that were both so vital to the story. I drew comparisons to both The Martian and Project Hail Mary as I read, which is some of the highest praise I can give any work of science fiction as I adored both novels. …
Cover art by Jaime Jones
System Collapse by Martha Wells
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Murderbot Diaries (Book #7)
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 256 pages (Kindle Edition)
Word count: 63,000 words
Published: 14th November 2023 by Tordotcom
System Collapse is undeniably action-packed, and it certainly dives deep into the psyche of Murderbot. But it did not progress the plotline of the series as much as I hoped.
“So the next time I get optimistic about something, I want one of you to punch me in the face.”
Cover art by Jaime Jones
Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Series: The Murderbot Diaries (Book #6)
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 176 pages (Kindle Edition)
Word count: 39,000 words
Published: 27th April 2021 by Tordotcom
This is quite likely an unpopular opinion, but I found Fugitive Telemetry to be a big step-down after Network Effect
“It had been such a stupid question, I had forgotten not to have an expression.”
Cover art by Jaime Jones
Network Effect by Martha Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: The Murderbot Diaries (Book #5)
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 346 pages (Kindle Edition)
Word count: 112,000 words
Published: 5th May 2020 by Tordotcom
I can say with ease that Network Effect, the fifth title and the first full-length novel in the series, is the best book in The Murderbot Diaries so far.
“Oh shit, my media!…No, wait, I had access to some of it.”
Cover art by Jaime Jones
Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Murderbot Diaries (Book #4)
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 150 pages (Kindle Edition)
Word count: 32,400 words
Published: 2nd October 2018 by Tordotcom
Exit Strategy concluded the first story arc of The Murderbot Diaries with another action-packed narrative.
“I was having an emotion, and I hate that.”