The Best Sci-Fi Books of the 21st Century are Very Queer

In an alternative version of early 20th-century Cairo where angels and djinn exist alongside humans, it’s said that a Sudanese mystic drilled a hole in the veil between the magical and non-magical worlds, then vanished without a trace. Agent Fatma el-Sha-arawi is investigating the suspicious murder of an entire brotherhood dedicated to that mystic, a case that takes her on one helluva ride. This blend of science fiction, fantasy, and mystery examines gender, class, and colonialism in such a fun steampunk setting. It’s full of twists and red herrings with a side of queer romance, and I hope P Djèlí Clark gives us even more books set in this world. —Vanessa Diaz

This is one of those nearly 500-page books that is so engrossing that it just zooms by. It puts the “opera” in “space opera” and is wholly unique in its portrayal of pre-Colonial Aztec-meets-Byzantine culture. When Ambassador Mahit Dzmare discovers that the ambassador who came before her has died, she realizes the secrecy surrounding his death may mean she’s next. She must uncover the truth, save herself, and even the independent space station she calls home from the ever-expanding Teixcalaan empire. The depiction of the vie for power within the empire is intricate and at times poetic. —Erica Ezeifedi

Becky Chambers’ insightful and soulful novella continues to haunt my heart. There is a reason this book won a Hugo Award. In this immensely thoughtful story, a tea monk trying to search for and understand their purpose meets a robot who has been left in the wild and seeks to better understand humanity’s ways. This is a book that is as much a meditation as a hug, and it will hug you. I’ve typed “hug” three times, but the word truly encompasses this book. A Psalm will embrace you and exclaim that you have every right to simply exist, to be loved and respected, and you do, dear reader. This book reinforces that in the most beautiful way. —Lyndsie Manusos

Malinda Lo has made a name for herself writing queer historical fiction and queer fairy tales. But among her catalog is Adaptation, the first in a duology about government conspiracies and aliens. Across North America, birds are hurling themselves into airplanes, causing a nationwide ground stop. Reese and her debate partner are among those stranded, and when they decide to drive back home, they become victims of a bird strike that turns their world upside down. Lo makes bold decisions in this series that still stands out in the world of YA more than a decade post-publication. —Kelly Jensen

This has been a comfort read since I first read it almost 20 years ago. A story of two childhood friends who eventually took different paths: one went to school for witchcraft while the other pursued science. They are forever bound together by fate and the mysterious man who has followed them for years. They grow up, they make mistakes, they gain knowledge, and once again cross paths as adults in warring factions who find themselves fighting to save the world from destruction. I’ve always loved tales of science vs. magic and this is my favorite. Full disclosure: I’m friends with the author but read this long before we became friends. —Patricia Elzie-Tuttle

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah blew us away with his 2018 short story collection Friday Black, making his debut novel, Chain Gang All-Stars, one of the most anticipated books of 2023. It did not disappoint. This dystopian novel and satirical rebuke of the prison-industrial complex following individuals trapped in and orbiting around Criminal Action Penal Entertainment programming was a National Book Award Finalist, a celebrity book club pick, and made it onto just about every Best Of. It’s also, simply put, a damn good read that puts Adjei-Brenyah’s innovative storytelling to work. —S. Zainab Williams

We do books, mother&%$ers! Gideon the Ninth is a queer, dark fantasy/horror/mystery, with swords, swearing, necromancy, sarcasm, and bones galore. It’s like The Westing Game for grown-ups, a haunted-house, puzzle mystery set in space, where the Ninth House heir and her swordswoman must compete against other noble houses to gain immortality. Unfortunately, Gideon and Harrow are sworn enemies, so working together (in face paint, no less), is a bit of a problem. As our own world crumbles and burns, there isn’t a better novel to put in your brain right now. It’s a riotous, frightening, action-packed novel, with a rabid fandom like no other. —Liberty Hardy

This is an impossible book to summarize. It grapples with the darkest parts of being alive—including racism, sexism, and transphobia—while still feeling defiantly hopeful. It’s somehow simultaneously a fantasy novel about a violinist’s deal with the devil, a sci-fi story about an alien running a donut shop, and a realistic coming-of-age about a trans teen runaway. This is a breathtakingly ambitious genre mashup that is also a grounded character study. It’s beautiful, heartbreaking, and entirely unique. I never thought I’d find so much insight into being human in a story about aliens and devils, and it’s one I will return to again and again. —Danika Ellis

This is one of those books that lingers with you long after the final page. It achieves things I truly never thought a single book could, creating worlds within worlds within the span of 400-odd pages. It’s somehow both epic and personal, exploring the ways in which propaganda and insular extremist thought can warp perspective—something I think we could all do with thinking a little more about in this day and age. —Rachel Brittain

Man, books by Solomon will take you through there with their analysis—and challenging—of the status quo as it pertains to race, gender, class, and queerness. In Sorrowland, we see Vern, who escapes from the religious compound where she grew up. She’s seven months pregnant and only has the woods to run to. It’s in the woods where she not only gives birth to twins, but also undergoes a transformation that comes with unnatural strength and many questions. But Vern is being hunted, and to escape her pursuers and what’s haunting her, she’ll have to venture past the woods—and into America’s violent past. —Erica Ezeifedi

You can’t talk about the best sci-fi of the century without talking about cozy sci-fi, and you can’t talk about cozy sci-fi without talking about Becky Chambers. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet was her first novel, and it’s safe to say it made an impression on the genre. It’s the first book in the Wayfarers series, which won a Hugo Award for best series. In some ways, it’s a familiar story: a ragtag crew on a spaceship sets out on a perilous mission. What sets it apart, though, is the queer representation and the relatively low stakes—this cozy take on sci-fi was rare when it came out in 2014, but has now grown into a beloved subgenre. —Danika Ellis

This multi-award-nominated sapphic, Holmes-esque mystery manages to create a gaseous world that feels lived in. A man goes missing on a Jupiter colony, and Investigator Mossa tracks clues all the way back to the university where her ex-girlfriend, Pleiti, researches how to return to Earth. Together, the two investigate the disappearance, which leads them to larger questions concerning humanity’s place on Earth—and their place with each other. —Erica Ezeifedi

Plenty of sci-fi novels deal with space or near futures or advanced technology. Few of them take a swing at parallel worlds, and even fewer do it with such aplomb as The Space Between Worlds. This book isn’t just about paradoxes and alternate realities, but about classism, xenophobia, and queerness. The book is so well-imagined, really thinking through the repercussions of its world and technologies, plus Cara is an incredible main character. —Chris M. Arnone

This lyrical, lush love story between two secret agents battling through time upended expectations for what would sell in the genre. The novella had already been an award winner and cult classic when a tweet from “bigolas dickolas” turned it into a belated New York Times bestseller. It was short but dense, full of intensely sensuous imagery, and consisted only of cunningly hidden letters, with little high-stakes action to be found. It proved once again that readers contain multitudes, and helped reinforce a hope that smaller, unusual texts could succeed in a social media age. —Leah Rachel von Essen