The best new science fiction books this month, from Brandon Sanderson to Iain M. Banks

Are things slowing down as the end of the year approaches? Not in terms of science fiction publishing: in November alone we can expect a hugely exciting new novel from The power author Naomi Alderman, who New scientist‘s science fiction columnist Sally Adee informs me that it’s incredible. We have previously unpublished work from none other than the mighty Iain M. Banks; Meanwhile, mega-names Cory Doctorow and Brandon Sanderson also give us new novels, and I love the sound of space Orbital by Samantha Harvey. Add something new Star Wars And Saga payments and it’s going to be difficult to keep up.

The future by Naomi Alderman. Alderman is the Women’s Prize-winning author of The power, in which the world is reset after teenage girls develop a deadly power. We are promised “private weather, technological prophecies and highly debunked weapons” in The future, and a handful of friends planning a heist that could spell the end of civilization. It looks good!

Culture: drawings by Iain M. Banks. I was blown away when I first read Banks’s The wasp factory and met its unreliable young narrator, Frank. When I discovered, in The games playerthat adding an M to your name brought you a universe run by benevolent AI spirits (with brilliant names: I’m thinking of you, Error no…), he rose to the top of my list of favorite writers. Banks died in 2013. Here is a collection of his drawings from his time creating the Culture universe, reproduced from his sketchbooks from the 1970s and 1980s, which shows the “ships, habitats, geography, weapons and language” he imagined to tell his stories. I mean, I’d rather have a new one Culture novel – but this will do just fine instead.

Of challenge by Brandon Sanderson. I know Sanderson mainly from his fantasies – but he has a excellent origin story. With 12 novels rejected before finally landing a book deal in 2003, his cachet is such that his crowdfunding campaign last year for four « secret novels » became the most funded publishing project of all timeraising an impressive sum of around $41 million. Of challenge is, however, science fiction – the last novel of his Toward the sky series, it sees Spensa travel beyond the stars to save the world she loves.

The lost cause by Cory Doctorow. Doctorow’s new novel, still excellent, is set in a generation, when climate change is a reality and millions of people are working in disaster relief. As always, Doctorow takes an intriguing approach: he looks at older people in the United States who still believe climate change is a scam and asks what we do about them. In this case, they are also “armed to the teeth”.

Orbital by Samantha Harvey. This thin novel promises to be very beautiful and very special. It follows the lives of six astronauts on the International Space Station as they conduct their experiments and observe their silent blue planet. “I don’t think I’ve read anything else with such love for its characters and such clarity about the state of the planet,” says Sarah Moss (who is a must-read author herself; Ghost wallin which a father’s wish to recreate an Iron Age life turns very dark for his poor daughter, is unbelievable).

Jungle House by Julianne Pachico. I’m not always a fan of the « X meetsNever let Me Go meets Lord of the Flies», I find myself obliged to read it. The story follows a young woman, Lena, who was raised in the jungle by an artificial intelligence known as Mother while elsewhere, rebels fight to take control of the country. But what happened to Lena’s friend Isabella, who used to visit her with her security drone, but hasn’t been seen for years?

Saga Volume 11 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. This is the 11th volume of the incredible Saga comic series, in which new parents Marko and Alana attempt to raise their child during a galactic war. It’s science fiction, it’s space opera, it’s – as the editor says – “Romeo and Juliet meets Star Wars« . If you haven’t tried it yet, obviously start with the first volume, but give this multi-award winning and critically acclaimed series a try.

Moth Town by Caroline Hardaker. David grew up in a world where bodies appeared with wings and people disappeared, but no one let him find out what was going on. Then his beloved grandfather, who had been working on a discovery for years, disappeared. David, now 26 years old, receives a strange package ordering him not to leave Earth, and a new world unfolds before him.

Star Wars: The Eye of Darkness (The High Republic) by George Mann. This new Star Wars the novel takes place one year after the events of The fallen star. It sees the Jedi go out to break the Nihil’s control over the galaxy and fight the nameless creatures who exploit their connection to the Force.