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The best science fiction books of 2022: Uncertainty, dystopia and hope

Uncertainty and crisis are key to this year's best sci-fi offerings, from Janelle Monáe's The Memory Librarian to Ray Nayler's The Mountain in the Sea

30 November 2022

Robot-child reading a book in the workshop of its creator; Shutterstock ID 289821398; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: - — Shutterstock/Vasilyev Alexandr

EVERY era of science fiction reflects its times. Iconic 1950s sci-fi was all lone male heroes and alien encounters. In 2022, uncertainty and fluidity rule, as we struggle to find a way out of a polycrisis of our own making, armed only with hope. Buckle up for the year’s best sci-fi.

“We already believed in the infinite web, so why not hard-wire an eye to each of its strands?” And that is how a fascist AI called New Dawn takes over in Janelle Monáe’s (Harper Collins, pictured above). This conceit anchors the tales in…

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