Halcyon Years by Alistair Reynolds. Interesting SF noir set on a generation ship midway through its journey to a distant star. The anachronisms may be too jarring for some, but a compelling central mystery and a sympathetic lead carry the thoughtful plot to a satisfying conclusion

In Too Deep by Lee and Andrew Child. The quality of the annual Reacher thriller has declined since the Childs began co-writing, so I wasn’t expecting much from this, but ended up pleasantly surprised. Heists, twists and double crosses enhance the familiar Reacher formula

The Folded Sky @matociquala.bsky.social Space opera featuring an ancient hive mind, dark matter ETs, space pirates & an impending stellar collapse, with the whizz-bangs moderated by Bear’s emotionally introspective character writing examining the pros and cons of ‘rightminding'’s gilded cage

Extremity @bingewriting.bsky.social High velocity Police procedural / time travel novella. The mazy plot hangs together nicely despite unfolding at a truly frantic pace, and the use of 3 first person viewpoints keeps the reader abreast of each characters’ thought processes. Great fun

These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs. Twisty space opera set in an intricately drawn interstellar society made up of three political blocs.There is action,derring-do and two characters locked in an intense nemesis dyad, but I never found myself particularly invested in the outcome

Once Was Willem @MRCarey MR Carey is a skilled, thoughtful writer who manages to imbue page-turning plots with significant emotional depth. This one was particularly satisfying – a spellbinding, standalone fantasy with the warmth, cadence and savagery of a traditional fairy tale

Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill. @joe-hill.bsky.social Horror novel about a louche, aging rock star who buys a ghost from an internet auction site. There are problems with pacing - the second act feels overlong - but once things open out Hill delivers punchy, satisfying scares

Dissolution by Nicholas Binge. @bingewriting.bsky.social Entertaining, compulsively readable SF thriller about a device that allows entry into a subject's memories. It's difficult to say more with giving away details of the excellent plot. Highly recommended. Read it!

Exiles by Mason Coile. Recent, well reviewed SF horror in which 3 astronauts on a mission to Mars find the robots tasked with preparing their base have started behaving extremely oddly. Strong characterisation and an interesting premise are let down by a plot that collapses under even mild scrutiny

Lightbringer by Pierce Brown. The 6th in the Red Rising series maintains the series’ distinctive style – a discordant mix of YA prose, mature and brutal SF content and an ostentatious level of classical references – and it continues to work brilliantly. Unpredictable and unputdownable. Recommended

Stone and Sky @benaaronovitch.bsky.social The eighth novel in the Rivers of London series, and the magical Police procedural format is as enjoyable as ever. It's always a pleasure to spend time in this universe, but are our band of heroes perhaps becoming too powerful to allow for real jeopardy?

Exordia by Seth Dickinson. SF novel that opens with a Kurdish refugee meeting an invisible alien in Central Park. It's a chaotic mix of first contact, mil-SF and political SF, marrying entirely handwaving tech with some fairly detailed maths. Likely more fun to write than it was to read

The Hungry Gods @aptshadow.bsky.social SF novella set on a depleted, poisoned earth, telling a parable about the risks of concentrating too much power in the hands of hubristic tech moguls. It's an enjoyable read with a satisfying ending and some rather spectacular set pieces. Recommended

Awakened by Laura Elliott. Self-consciously gothic SF in which a neural chip causes insomnia and mass psychosis, and a socially maladjusted scientist seeks a cure. It's an excellent premise with well applied tropes, but this is by far the most introspective zombie apocalypse I've ever read

Heaven's River by Dennis E. Taylor. Fourth novel in the Bobiverse series. Bob society begins to fracture, and a megastructure is discovered populated by intelligent but primitive otterlike beings. Interesting in parts, but slower and much less fun than the first 3 instalments

The Artifact by Peter Cawdron. Another standalone novel from Cawdron’s fun, thoughtful First Contact series. An alien object is found in a remote part of Libya and must be extracted. The SF elements are interesting but the action/adventure thriller plot is rather generic, if well researched

Furious Heaven by Kate Elliott. Gender swapped, Sinocentric Alexander the Great space opera that concludes the 2 part series. The world-building, intrigue and characterisation are uniformly excellent, but the military manoeuvres lack the dazzle the narrative requires

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. @hgfanboy.bsky.social Hunger Games prequel recounting Katniss's mentor Haymitch's pyrrhic victory. Fans of the series will have much to enjoy here, with a narrative structure based around the games closely echoing the original trilogy

The Secret by Lee and Andrew Child. Another co-written Reacher outing, this time involving a case Reacher investigated while still enlisted. The standard is higher than the other co-written thrillers but is still not a patch on Child’s earlier, far superior works

All These Worlds (Bobiverse book 3) @dennisetaylor.bsky.social The 3rd instalment in this light-hearted space opera continues to deliver a mix of nerdy wish fulfilment, clever thought experiments and big concept SF. It will be interesting to see where this entertaining series goes next

Future’s Edge by Gareth L Powell. Interstellar SF adventure in which an exoarchaeologist turned bartender rockets round the galaxy in a spaceship crewed by misfits in a heroic attempt to save humanity. Enjoyable in places, but it all felt rather familiar

Levon's Trade by Chuck Dixon. Pulp noir man versus mob thriller recently released as a Jason Statham vehicle. Laconic prose and uncomplicated violence ensure the crisp plot runs like clockwork in this solid slice of genre action that achieves everything it sets out to do

Shroud @aptshadow.bsky.social A ship from a corpocratic,end state capitalism dystopia finds a peculiar biosphere with no visible light,juxtaposing the darkness on both sides.Tchaikovsky is at his best writing the 'other',conveying alien qualia in an accessible way,& does so superbly here. V.good

Usurpation @sueburke.bsky.social Conclusion to the excellent Semiosis trilogy examining first contact with a plant-based intelligence. The writing and themes are brilliantly delivered, managing an optimistic tone without ignoring the darker sides of humanity and nature. Highly recommended

Simulacrum @pcawdron.bsky.social Another standalone novel from Cawdron’s fun, thoughtful First Contact series. This one looks at Large Language Models and the pros and cons of AI achieving sentience, with human interest provided by some tech-thrillerish escapades and a mission to an asteroid

The Galleons’ Grave – Henry Gresham and the Spanish Armada by Martin Stephen. Swashbuckling historical fiction harking back to Tudor times. It’s atmospheric, well-researched and intricately plotted, but sadly let down somewhat by florid prose and an unfeasibly perfect protagonist

Mal Goes to War @edashtonwriting.bsky.social Standalone SF in which a highly capable but socially maladroit AI is forced to exit cyberspace and navigate a grim US civil war as one of a mismatched group of physical participants. Cleverly written,witty and with a very human heart, this is great fun

Valuable Humans in Transit and Other Stories @qntm.org Anthology of SF shorts that take thought experiments in physics,AI and exobiology to their logical,often disconcerting conclusions.Well written, brilliant in many places and sometimes very grim- Driver was particularly disturbing.Recommended

Just Out of Jupiter’s Reach @nnedi.bsky.social SF novella with an interesting premise - intelligent,symbiotic spaceships select their pilots from the global population.The sense of wonder stems as much from the implied social harmony at home as it does from exploring space. Gentle & enjoyable

Old Soul by Susan Barker. Literary horror offering a novel, contemporary take on the vampire myth. The sense of place is excellent as the narrative traces the antagonist's path through history, and writing from multiple viewpoints allows scope for a range of style and tone. Very good

Service Model @aptshadow.bsky.social Amusing road trip through a post-human world,examining free will and consciousness through a series of farcical episodes of AI literalism.An entertaining novel that is thoughtful and silly in equal measure:fans of Red Dwarf will find themselves in Silicon Heaven

Lake of Darkness by Adam Roberts. A scientific expedition believes they have discovered a malevolent entity inside a black hole. Sadly, thoughtful philosophy and an interesting critique of frivolous utopianism are not enough to rescue an unsatisfactory plot

The Bees @lalinepaull.bsky.social Fascinating, idiosyncratic fantasy told from the perspective of a worker bee. Accurate biology provides an earthy sexuality, and the narrative examines themes of totalitarianism, rebellion, feminism & religious coercion