Best Science Fiction 2012

selected by

Maxim Jakubowski

The joy of reading science fiction and fantasy lies in the genre's eternal qualities of reinvention, and the way it refreshes the reader's sense of wonder with every new author making a splash on the block. This is a domain where imagination reigns unlimited and even the most far-fetched stories somehow effortlessly trap you into their web of new worlds and concepts at the drop of a line. Similarly, it is also a field where new writers appear to emerge from out of nowhere fully-formed and ready to challenge the certainties of the world we live in with a gusto for action and challenging concepts.

Recent years have seen a veritable flowering of new talent amongst those distant galaxies, alien worlds and lands of fantasy. And even if you're understandably tired of vampire tales by now (and feel they should be left to teenagers or romance readers), there is at least one more you should look out for, as this suggested map of the new territories of SF & fantasy demonstrates.

Below is Maxim Jakubowski's list of Best Science Fiction 2012 authors. Click the author name to read his comment.

Simon Morden

Ian Whates

Hannu Ranajiemi

Charles Yu

Lauren Beukes

Paolo Bacigalupi

David Wingrove

Rod Rees

Jon Courtenay Grimwood

Ben Aaronovitch

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Summer SF Reading

Summer is traditionally the favoured time for reading, whether it be on beaches, in the countryside, the garden or wherever the tides of leisure transport you and science fiction, fantasy and horror as ever proves a perfect recipe for escape and entertainment.

Who wants to be confronted with or reminded of everyday reality when you are attempting to relax? Abandon yourself to the siren call of the wilder shores of the imagination to other planets or fascinating alien environments, to the thrills and dread of terror or the wide screened sense of wonder that imaginary worlds can conjure up.

Imaginative writing is thriving and our summer selection will leave you gasping with awe, amused and scared on the same page as we select some of the more outstanding new books of the year.

And, as a bonus, anyone of these fascinating novels can also be read at home, as their tentacular delights will whisk you away from the armchair into brand new worlds. Who needs holidays when your mind is transported light years away?

Below is Maxim Jakubowski's list of Summer SF authors. Click the author name to read his comment.

Justin Cronin

Joe Hill

Paul Hoffman

Stephen Hunt

China Mieville

Adam Nevill

Sarah Pinborough

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Maxim Jakubowski on Modern Classics of Science Fiction...

So you’ve read H.G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, John Wyndham, Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Herbert’s DUNE, Philip K. Dick, THE LORD OF THE RINGS and other established classics of science fiction & fantasy, enjoyed the verve of STAR WARS and AVATAR on the big screen and follow LOST, HEROES and BEING HUMAN on television and you still want more. But where to begin? More elves and vampires won’t satisfy your thirst for challenging ideas, action, believable characters, good writing and a sense of wonder.

Here is a selection of modern classics that you might not have come across yet, and which are guaranteed to keep you under their spell until the very last page. All masterpieces of the imagination in their own right and proof that entertainment and intelligent speculation can make good bedfellows. Science fiction & fantasy is not only about dragons, spaceships and things that bite in the night. Read most of these astounding books and you will be hooked. Worse things could happen!

Below is Maxim Jakubowski's list of Modern Classic science fiction writers. Click the author name to read his comment.

Neil Stephenson

Gene Wolfe

Brian W. Aldiss

Richard Morgan

Jack Vance

M. John Harrison

Orson Scott Card

William Gibson

Iain M. Banks

China Mieville

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Maxim Jakubowski on the Best of British Science Fiction...

There was a time when American science fiction and fantasy dazzled us: the golden years of Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov and so many writers whose pens effortlessly painted awesome galactic vistas with technicolor abandon. But the times they are a changin’ and for the past decade or so British authors have taken over the universe and are now the main providers of thrills, alien exotica and hypnotic if impossible parallel worlds.

Science fiction has never been about predicting the future but more about titillating the intelligence, questioning the whys and wherefores of the known (and unknown) universe, opening up new horizons, confronting how society changes both on a micro-scale or on a global palette. But most importantly it is about conveying a sense of wonder, whether depicting future worlds or taking us on on a trip beyond the frontiers of rationality or investigating human nature.

Let us not forget that, alongside Jules Verne, H.G. Wells was one of the pioneers of the genre in opening up the limits of the imagination. His contemporary children are rewriting the genre with vigorous abandon and we urge you to investigate all these new British writers, all of whom trip the light fantastic like no others before and explore what lies on the other side of reality. Tighten your seat belts for the rides of a thousand centuries.