Home › Genres
Genres
11genres
340books sorted
Have a favorite genre you like to read? Every book I've reviewed in it is consolidated here, grouped by the rating I gave it — so you can start with the five-star shelf and work down, rather than scrolling a whole year to find the thrillers.
Science Fiction
28 reviewed · 3.7 avg rating★★★★★Five stars
6 books
Book
Rating
Genre
Under Story
Chloe Benjamin#2 of 2026
★★★★★#2 of 2026
A grieving scientist encounters a glowing dome in Antarctica whose particle physics may prove a universe where time runs backward — and offer her a way to undo her own past.
★★★★★
Science Fiction
Chain-Gang All-Stars
Nana Kwame Adjei-BrenyahBEST OF2023#3 of 2023
★★★★★BEST OF2023#3 of 2023
Set in a near-future society that feels all too possible, prisoners fight in gladiatorial death matches for a chance at freedom.
★★★★★
Science Fiction
Project Hail Mary
Andy WeirBEST OF2021#3 of 2021
★★★★★BEST OF2021#3 of 2021
A scientist trapped alone in space trying to survive. What worked for The Martian does again and this time might be even better.
★★★★★
Science Fiction
Yesteryear
Caro Claire Burke#4 of 2026
★★★★★#4 of 2026
A "tradwife" and Instagram influencer has cultivated a seemingly idyllic life for herself and family, but it's all upended when she wakes up one day in 1855.
★★★★★
Literature & Fiction Science Fiction Mystery and Thriller
The Last Watch + The Exiled Fleet
J.S. DewesBEST OF2021#5 of 2021Books 1–2 · The Divide
★★★★★BEST OF2021#5 of 2021Books 1–2 · The Divide
A ragtag group of soldiers (and a few criminals) are staffed at the end of the universe. Things are mostly boring...until they're not
★★★★★
Science Fiction
Rubicon
J.S. DewesBEST OF2023#7 of 2023
★★★★★BEST OF2023#7 of 2023
A stand-alone novel unrelated to her "Divide" series, author Dewes elegantly explores immortality, AI, and what it means to be human.
★★★★★
Science Fiction
★★★★Four and three-quarter stars
1 book
★★★★Four and a half stars
3 books
Book
Rating
Genre
The Only Way Out Is Up
Django Wexler#16 of 2026Book 1 · The Sigilist
★★★★#16 of 2026Book 1 · The Sigilist
A scavenger and his homemade robot risk everything in an underground world's multi-level fighting tournament to save his found family in a fresh, addictive progression fantasy opener.
★★★★
Science Fiction Fantasy
Scythe
Neal Shusterman#21 of 2025Book 1 · Arc of a Scythe
★★★★#21 of 2025Book 1 · Arc of a Scythe
Two teenagers are forced to compete to become a Scythe, whose job is to control overpopulation by killing a set number of people each year.
★★★★
Science Fiction
Silver Elite
Dani Francis#22 of 2025Book 1 · Silver Elite
★★★★#22 of 2025Book 1 · Silver Elite
A young woman with special powers infiltrates a training program for the military while working undercover for a resistance organization.
★★★★
Science Fiction Fantasy Romance
★★★★Four and a quarter stars
2 books
Book
Rating
Genre
The Infinite State
Richard Swan#22 of 2026Book 1 · The Decurion Saga
★★★★#22 of 2026Book 1 · The Decurion Saga
A woman attempts to found a fledgling nation to escape the suffocating control of a totalitarian empire in this interesting sci-fi space opera.
★★★★
Science Fiction
Operation Bounce House
Matt Dinniman#23 of 2026
★★★★#23 of 2026
A war novel blended with humor and social commentary that pits peace-loving settlers of a planet against an invasion of giant robots intent on killing them.
★★★★
Science Fiction
★★★★Three and three-quarter stars
4 books
Book
Rating
Genre
The Future
Naomi Alderman#26 of 2023
★★★★#26 of 2023
Filled as much with philosophy and social commentary as with plot, Alderman envisions a near-future society rocketing toward disaster.
★★★★
Science Fiction
Antimatter Blues
Edward Ashton#31 of 2023Book 2 · Mickey7
★★★★#31 of 2023Book 2 · Mickey7
The sequel to Mickey7 finds our hero once again trying to find a way to save the colony while somehow avoiding yet another death.
★★★★
Science Fiction
Scion
James Islington#42 of 2026
★★★★#42 of 2026
An assassin hired to protect—not kill—leads to a brisk, twisty cyberpunk mystery about immortality, secrets, and a job that isn't what it seems.
★★★★
Science Fiction
Thunderhead
Neal Shusterman#42 of 2025Book 2 · Arc of a Scythe
★★★★#42 of 2025Book 2 · Arc of a Scythe
A continuation of the Arc of a Scythe series, the novel picks up where book one ended as the scythedom becomes increasingly divided.
★★★★
Science Fiction
★★★★Three and a half stars
1 book
★★★★Three and a quarter stars
2 books
Book
Rating
Genre
The Natural Order
Matthew Aldrich#64 of 2026
★★★★#64 of 2026
On the brink of launching his revolutionary anti-aging treatment, a tech mogul must avoid assassins and heal his bond with his estranged son before his legacy kills them both.
★★★★
Science Fiction Mystery and Thriller
Exit Party
Emily St. John Mandel#68 of 2026Audiobook
★★★★#68 of 2026Audiobook
In a fractured near-future world, a set of bizarre events at a party suggest that there may be a parallel universe, and potentially a path to reach it.
★★★★
Science Fiction
★★★★★Three stars
1 book
★★★★Two and three-quarter stars
3 books
Book
Rating
Genre
Departure 37
Scott Carson#72 of 2025
★★★★#72 of 2025
A B-52 bomber that has been missing for over 60 years suddenly returns to U.S. airspace in 2025...and it's carrying a nuclear bomb.
★★★★
Science Fiction Mystery and Thriller
The Toll
Neal Shusterman#75 of 2026Book 3 · Arc of a Scythe
★★★★#75 of 2026Book 3 · Arc of a Scythe
The third and concluding book the "Arc of a Scythe" trilogy answers a myriad of open questions but plods along for much of the story.
★★★★
Science Fiction
Detour
Jeff Rake, Rob Hart#76 of 2026Book 1 · Detour
★★★★#76 of 2026Book 1 · Detour
An interesting start to a series, but be warned that this is purely setup for a broader story with no resolution in this first installment.
★★★★
Science Fiction
★★★★Two and a half stars
1 book
★★★★★Two stars
3 books
Book
Rating
Genre
The Ministry of Time
Kaliane Bradley#63 of 2024
★★★★★#63 of 2024
An alternative take on Stranger in a Strange Land; social commentary abounds as an 1847 explorer tries to acclimate to modern society.
★★★★★
Science Fiction Literature & Fiction
Womb City
Tlotlo Tsamaase#65 of 2024
★★★★★#65 of 2024
An unfocused debut that combines elements of Minority Report with a grisly ghost story, an all-powerful being, and more. It's a mess.
★★★★★
Science Fiction
Homebound
Portia Elan#85 of 2026
★★★★★#85 of 2026
A multi-timeline story that had me hopeful for something akin to Cloud Cuckoo Land unfortunately sputters to a disjointed and wholly unsatisfying conclusion.
★★★★★
Science Fiction Literature & Fiction
★★★★One and a half stars
1 book
Why this page isn't a single ranking
Each book's rank is its position within the year I read it. That makes it directional, not absolute: the best book of a thin year and the fifth-best of a strong one can't be stacked against each other honestly. So these are grouped by the rating I gave them, which is comparable across years, and ordered within each group by how they placed in their own year. Where I have ranked an author's books against each other, that list says so and shows the numbers.
Want more like these?
One email on the first of every month with a summary and rating of each book reviewed over the past 30 days, and a look at where the year's ranking stands.