Top Ten Science Fiction Reads of 2023

As we get ready to say good bye to another year of Sci-Fi Month, it’s time again to put together a list of my top ten science fiction books that I’ve had the pleasure to read in 2023!

Rubicon by J.S. Dewes

When the story opens, we are introduced to Sergeant Adrienne Valero, who is about to die for the 96th time. The scene is total pandemonium as a bloody battle rages everywhere, and Valero and her squad are losing badly to the Mechans, an army of intelligent machines controlled by a hivemind that humans have been at war with for decades. Despite putting up a valiant fight, at the end of the first chapter, our protagonist is killed only to resurrect at the beginning of the next chapter, using cutting-edge technology that can restore the dead to life in a new body via a process known as “rezoning.” While being able to cheat death like this has given humanity a huge advantage in the conflict against the tireless Mechan, there’s no question that having been rezoned close to a hundred times has taken its toll on Valero. She no longer bats an eye at new assignments anymore, knowing she’ll sent to yet another battlefield to fight, to die, to be reborn again, and to do it over and over again until the war ends, whenever that may be. It’s hard to care about anything when you’re living a life like this, when everything seems pointless and devoid of hope. Rubicon is one of the most enjoyable military sci-fi novels I’ve read in a while—probably since Dewes’ The Last Watch, as a matter of fact! That it is also a standalone is a huge plus. (Read the full review…)

Antimatter Blues by Edward Ashton

Coming on the heels of Mickey7 is the sequel Antimatter Blues, which is as off-the-hook and irreverent as its predecessor. If you liked the first book, I think you will find this follow-up just as good, and in some respects even better. Approximately two years have passed since Mickey Barnes’ retirement. He has a girlfriend and works as a general laborer, spending his days cleaning out rabbit hutches. Compared to his old job, this was heaven, and it’s all because Commander Marshall, the colony’s leader, believes that Mickey had given an antimatter bomb to the creepers, the alien creatures that share the planet. Mickey had convinced Marshall that he and he alone had the power to tell the creepers not to activate the bomb, when in reality, all he did was bury it in a nearby hole. It would have been a good plan, with none the wiser, except now, winter is coming to Niflheim. Mickey goes back to the site of where he’d hidden the bomb to check on it, only to find it…gone. With the whereabouts of the bomb a mystery, and an entire colony on the brink of extinction, Mickey’s just realized that perhaps burying a weapon of mass destruction in a random icefield wasn’t such a good idea after all, oops! fI you’re looking for a light sci-fi read that’s fast-paced and fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously, this series might just do the trick. (See the full review…)

Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey

Enter the Pandominion, made up of roughly a million worlds—all versions of Earth, just in different dimensions—united through an alliance based on politics and trade. The story begins by informing readers that we will be following the lives of three characters: Hadiz Tambuwal, a brilliant scientist living in her version of Lagos, Nigeria which is a crumbling city plagued by an energy crisis and food shortages; Essien Nkanika, who exists in another version of Lagos, looking for a way to escape his poverty and indentured servitude; and finally, in a Lagos that is highly unlike any of the others, Topaz Tourmaline Fivehills is a sentient rabbit who makes a new friend at school—a relationship that will change the course of history for many worlds across the Pandominion. With Infinity Gate, M.R. Carey has proven he is a versatile writer by exploring what appears to be a new and quite a different direction for him. He hits all the right notes, providing a well-paced, entertaining, and smooth reading experience despite having to tackle some relatively complex ideas and theoretical concepts. (See the full review…)

The Road to Rosswell by Connie Willis

Francie who has flown to New Mexico to be the Maid of Honor at her former college roommate and bestie Serena’s wedding—or rather, she hopes to be talking her friend out of a big mistake. Just like the last time Serena had been about to tie the knot with someone who was all wrong for her, this time her fiancé is a bigtime UFO fanatic and true believer, hence the wedding taking place at Roswell’s UFO Museum on the anniversary of the Roswell Incident which conspiracy theorists believe was a huge government coverup for an alien spaceship crash. A level-headed skeptic, Francie is confident that once she can talk some sense into Serena, her friend will also see how crazy it is and want to call the whole thing off. Upon her arrival though, Francie is suddenly ambushed and held hostage by a tumbleweed-looking tentacled life form—literally abducted by an alien. Thankfully though, it doesn’t seem to want to hurt her. The alien thing, which Francie dubs “Indy” on account of the way it cracks its tentacles like a certain whip-wielding fedora wearing adventurer archaeologist, just wants her to take it…somewhere. What more can I say? There was nothing too cerebral or even complex about this novel, but of course that was never the point. The Road to Roswell succeeded in that it was very effective in being an entertaining and engaging read, and I enjoyed every moment. (See the full review…)

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin

In the middle of the ocean lies the archipelago of Prospera, a utopian state hidden from the horrors of the outside world. Made up of three islands, the largest, Prospera proper, is where the wealthy elite reside, while The Annex is home to working class citizens and support staff. And then there’s The Nursery. As you grow older and your tracked vitals fall to an unacceptably low number, an implanted monitor triggers a “retirement process” in which the citizen will be taken to The Nursery in order to have their memories wiped and their old bodies renewed so that they can restart life as another iteration. Those reborn come back as teenagers, to become adopted as wards by Prospera couples, and then the whole cycle begins again. Our protagonist Proctor Bennett is a Ferryman, and it is his duty to accompany residents by boat to Nursery island when they are ready to be “rebooted”. Then one day, he fails at that task spectacularly with none other than his own aging father, who makes a scene at the pier but still manages to get a strange message out to his son, upending Proctor’s life, making him question everything about himself. Fans of sci-fi and dystopian fiction looking for an imaginative, mysterious, and thrilling book to feed your brain, I promise you will not be disappointed. (See the full review…)

Calamity by Constance Fay

A popcorny delight that launches readers into the Uncharted Hearts series where steamy romance meets spacefaring action,Calmity follows Temperance “Temper” Reed, an exiled member of a wealthy family hoping to make her own way in the galaxy. After refusing to bow to her older brother’s unsavory ways of doing business, Temper joins up with the crew of a ramshackle scouting ship, embracing the newfound camaraderie right up until her intense love affair with the captain blows up spectacularly in her face following his painful betrayal. Living up to her nickname, our protagonist gives in to her impulses and buys the ship from the captain after he puts it up for sale, hoping to keep the rest of the team together. But the purchase ends up cleaning out her bank account, leaving nothing for upgrades…or anything else, really. So when the second son of the Escajeda family hires Temper for a mission to scout out the backwater desert planet of Herschel 2, she literally cannot afford to say no even though she can’t stand the guy. I was surprised to find out that Calamity is Constance Fay’s debut. Not only does it blend genres with ease, but the pacing is also smooth and rapid, delivering plenty of twists to keep readers flipping through the chapters. (See the full review…)

Where Peace is Lost by Valerie Valdes

Kelana Gardavros is a lone sojourner on the swampy planet of Loth where she’s keeping a low profile as just another refugee of the war against the Pale empire. That was five years ago, when she gave up everything in the name of peace, but apparently the war isn’t done with her yet. Deep in the wilderness of Loth lies an abandoned machine known as a demolisher, and now it has come back to life with no way to stop it. But as luck would have it, along comes two off-worlders who claim they can deactivate the machine. Kel, however, is skeptical of their timing. Her suspicion only grows when a friend of hers offers to be a guide for the newcomers, and seeing an opportunity, Kel tags along to keep an eye on things. All these years, she has kept her past life as a knight of the First Sword to herself, but soon she will be forced to make a hard decision. As ever, her instincts are to fight back, but what if revealing her identity also means putting those she cares about in danger? Overall, I had a blast with Where Peace Is Lost, with its snappy pace and endearing characters, lively mix of adventure and action, plus a romance that sneaks up on you. (See the full review…)

The Combat Codes by Alexander Darwin

An interesting mashup of sci-fi and fantasy that also reads like a love letter to martial arts, The Combat Codes by Alexander Darwin whisks readers off to a war-ravaged world where fighting is life and life is a fight—that is, if you are a Grievar Knight. After a war which nearly brought them all to ruin, the nations of the world decided on an armistice. Rather than launching full-scale invasions and weapons of mass destruction, they would select the most elite warriors as their champions to represent them in a system which replaces traditional warfare with single hand-to-hand combat. These are the Grievars, who live by the code to fight so that the rest shall not have to. For Murray, who was a legend amongst the Grievar Knights until a devastating loss knocked him out of commission, his new role as a recruiter meant that he must scout out the most promising young fighters to train in the Lyceum, and he believes he has found his champion in a 13-year-old slave named Cego. If you like action in your SFF, then this is the book for you. The Combat Codes has set us up for some big things, and I’m looking forward to what’s coming next. (See the full review…)

Deadly Memory by David Walton

Deadly Memory is the second novel of David Walton’s thrilling sci-fi and paleontology mashup series, picking up the story directly from the end of the first book, Living Memory. Having recently been ejected from Thailand where her expedition to excavate a mass grave of a new species of miniraptor was abruptly cut short, Samira is back home in Colorado, fuming at the loss of her dig site. Soon, however, she is distracted from her frustrations by a miraculous discovery by her new contacts at the CIA. Meanwhile, the work of Thai paleontologist Kit has caught the attention of Princess Mai Sirindhorn, which is how he suddenly finds himself appointed her new science minister. As the last surviving member of the royal family, the princess is still in the middle of fighting a deadly coup, but she also has a secret weapon up her sleeve. Again, there is the over-the-top nature of the premise which requires major suspension of disbelief, but this sequel was overall exciting and fun, and I am having a blast with this series. (See the full review…)

Defiant by Brandon Sanderson

Defiant is book four of the Skyward series, opening with Spensa dealing with the aftermath of her little sojourn in the Nowhere. While she was gone, though, her fellow squad mates of Skyward Flight have been busy as well, but upon Spensa’s return, the entire team is joyous as they welcome her back into their ranks. Together, they will take the fight to the next level. For one thing, the Superiority has not been idle either, continuing to tighten their stranglehold on the galaxy. With the formidable Winzik at its head, they are launching an unrelenting assault on the Defiant Defense Force, compelling Skyward Flight to meet this challenge head-on. For fans, this novel will be the grand finale we’ve yearned for and is a testament to Brandon Sanderson’s talents. It’s a fitting end that wraps up this chapter for Skyward Flight while leaving readers yearning for more adventure in the next stage in the journey. (See the full review…)