The World Beyond: Sci-Fi Thrillers We’re Loving This Year

Eighty elite graduates left Earth before its environmental collapse in hopes of finding a livable planet to give birth to a generation of children in deep space. But, halfway there, a lethal bomb kills three of the crew and knocks their ship, The Phoenix, off course. Asuka, the only surviving witness, becomes an immediate suspect. Asuka, who was picked last for the mission and struggled through training on Earth, already feels like an imposter. But she’s determined to find the culprit before the crew loses faith in the mission or, worse, the bomber strikes again.

In this stunning debut novel, we follow Ethan Block, a college grad with a six-figure debt. His job at DateDate, a hot new dating app, is far from the life he imagined. After a breakup, he decides to override the system to view his algorithmically matched soulmate. When he clicks on the profile, he disappears. One second he’s in a windowless office then the next, a field of endless grass. When he comes back to DateDate HQ, he believes it’s a coding issue, but for anyone to believe him, he’ll need evidence. DateDate is more than meets the eye and with the stakes rising, Ethan must choose who and what to believe in.

In near-future Britain, a right-wing government actively encourages marriage as the norm and punishes those who choose to remain single. They believe the Sanctity of Marriage Act is the answer to society. But four couples are about to find out how impossible relationship can be when the government monitors every aspect of their personal lives and will use every tool to ensure everyone will love, honor, and obey.

After her job as a neurosurgeon is upended by controversy, Caro Soames-Watkins is broke and the sole supporter of her sister, a single mother with a severely disabled child. A great uncle she barely knows, Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sam Watkins, offers her a strange job she is forced to take out of desperation. In a mysterious medical facility in the Caribbean, Watkins researches the nature of consciousness, reality, and life after death. With his team, they strive to find a cure for mortality. But there are two obstacles: a mole and Watkin’s failing body. As the danger rises, Caro finds out that she’s gotten more than she bargained for.

Founded by the mysterious genius known as the Designer, the archipelago of Prospera lies hidden from the horrors of a deteriorating outside world. In this island paradise, Prospera’s lucky citizens enjoy long, fulfilling lives until the monitors embedded in their forearms, meant to measure their physical health and psychological well-being, fall below 10 percent. Then they retire themselves, embarking on a ferry ride to the island known as the Nursery, where their failing bodies are renewed, their memories are wiped clean, and they are readied to restart life afresh. 

Proctor Bennett, of the Department of Social Contracts, has a satisfying career as a ferryman, gently shepherding people through the retirement process—and, when necessary, enforcing it. But all is not well with Proctor. For one thing, he’s been dreaming—which is supposed to be impossible in Prospera. For another, his monitor percentage has begun to drop alarmingly fast. And then comes the day he is summoned to retire his own father, who gives him a disturbing and cryptic message before being wrestled onto the ferry.

Meanwhile, something is stirring. The Support Staff, ordinary men and women who provide the labor to keep Prospera running, have begun to question their place in the social order. Unrest is building, and there are rumors spreading of a resistance group—known as “Arrivalists”—who may be fomenting revolution. 

Soon Proctor finds himself questioning everything he once believed, entangled with a much bigger cause than he realized—and on a desperate mission to uncover the truth.

Destry's life is dedicated to terraforming Sask-E. As part of the Environmental Rescue Team, she cares for the planet and its burgeoning eco-systems as her parents and their parents did before her.

But the bright, clean future they're building comes under threat when Destry discovers a city full of people that shouldn’t exist, hidden inside a massive volcano.

As she uncovers more about their past, Destry begins to question the mission she's devoted her life to, and must make a choice that will reverberate through Sask-E's future for generations to come.

Lords of Uncreation is the final high-octane installment in Adrian Tchaikovsky's Final Architecture space opera trilogy.