When I was six, I wrote an eleven-page epic about an adventurous otter named "Ottiga." The causality between that early effort and my career as a novelist is uncertain, but it did establish a pattern. I was the perpetual new kid on the block, and novels provided a pathway to escape the difficulties of being young and introverted. I learned that fiction is an antidote to loneliness; that it has the power to transport us to entirely new worlds, or to show us the familiar world in entirely new and unexpected ways. The speculative novels on this list did that for me, and I hope they do the same for you!
This is a highly propulsive and emotionally engaging novel with a sympathetic protagonist at its core.
It could be considered a portal fantasy, but I'd categorize it, along with the other books on this list, as “speculative,” because it doesn’t fit neatly into either the fantasy or science fiction genres and is anchored in contemporary or near-future realism.
Piranesi’s beautifully executed theme, about how a dramatic change in perspective can lead to a deeper appreciation for the beauty and nobility abiding beneath the ugliness of humanity and our one and only world, is one for the ages.
This highly original and beautiful book is destined to endure as one of the classics of early twenty-first century literature.
Winner of the 2021 Women's Prize for Fiction A SUNDAY TIMES & NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The spectacular new novel from the bestselling author of JONATHAN STRANGE & MR NORRELL, 'one of our greatest living authors' NEW YORK MAGAZINE __________________________________ Piranesi lives in the House. Perhaps he always has.
In his notebooks, day after day, he makes a clear and careful record of its wonders: the labyrinth of halls, the thousands upon thousands of statues, the tides that thunder up staircases, the clouds that move in slow procession through the upper halls. On Tuesdays and Fridays Piranesi sees his friend,…
McEwan is one of my favorite writers, and as I was reading this, I was trying to figure out why I love his work so much.
There's just something so immersive about it: the way he uses language, the vividness of his characters, the descriptive and emotional accuracy and density of his moment-by-moment storytelling.
What We Can Know is a love story interwoven with a tense, high-stakes "thrillerish" plot powered by a heart-pounding narrative drive and sense of cold inevitability similar to those found in the author's other great novels, like Amsterdam and Atonement.
What sets this book apart from the others is its speculative, futuristic angle. To say more would be to spoil the fun, so I'll leave it there. Read this book, you won't regret it!
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the Booker prize–winning, bestselling author of Atonement and Saturday, a genre-bending new novel full of secrets and surprises; an immersive exploration, across time and history, of what can ever be truly known.
ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR
"It gave me so much pleasure I sometimes felt like laughing. . . . It's a sophisticated entertainment of a high order." —The New York Times
"Brilliantly, and surprisingly, plotted."—The Washington Post • "A novelist of consummate skill."—The Wall Street Journal • "Elegantly structured and provocative."—Los…
The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.
The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.
Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…
In a near-future world where one can purchase emotionally intelligent androids or “artificial friends” (AFs) to keep children company, we take the AF’s perspective. Klara, who begins as a display item in a department store, is adopted by Josie, a girl with what seems to be a fatal illness, and dedicates herself to trying to save Josie’s life.
Like all AF's, Klara has been programmed to observe and learn, and she seems to have exceptional abilities in this regard. She also possesses an especially kind disposition, keen emotional intelligence, and a number of other qualities that make her feel more human than most of the actual humans in the story.
For me, Klara is one of the great characters in recent literature, and her unique perspective is one of the things that make this immersive speculative novel such a pleasure to read.
*The #1 Sunday Times Bestseller* *Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2021* *A Barack Obama Summer Reading Pick*
'A delicate, haunting story' The Washington Post 'This is a novel for fans of Never Let Me Go . . . tender, touching and true.' The Times
'The Sun always has ways to reach us.'
From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches carefully the behaviour of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass in the street outside. She remains hopeful a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges…
Set during the London Blitz in the early years of World War II, this gripping speculative novel has it all: vivid characters, a page-turning plot, and many pages of fluid, dynamic, and consistently beautiful sentence-level prose.
Spufford is a gorgeous sentence-writer, his characters are fascinating, and page by page, the story is consistently immersive, subtle, and beautiful.
Like other British writers writing on the edge of the fantastic and the literary, like Susanna Clarke, David Mitchell, and Ian McEwan, Spufford is one of those writers whose work readers tend to seek out. Once you’ve read one of his books, you’ll want to read them all.
A spell-binding fantasy novel set in the Blitz, from the author of Golden Hill.
'What a joy! A novel with endless ingenuity and enormous heart.' Kaliane Bradley 'Everything that great literature should be.' Sarah Perry 'His Dark Materials meets the Blitz.' Observer 'An all encompassing masterpiece.' London Standard 'My god can he write.' Richard Osman 'Ripples with literary magic.' The Times
It's the summer of 1939. London is on the brink of catastrophic war. Iris Hawkins, an ambitious young woman in the stuffy world of City finance, has a chance encounter with Geoff, a technical whizz at the BBC's nascent…
A hundred years in the future, the world has been ravaged by climate change, dwindling resources, and pandemics – one of which has wiped out most of the men. A women’s republic has arisen, sustained by cloning, and privileged teenager Clara Perdue is desperate to become…
The true test of a good novel, for me, is if I finish it with a certain sense of wistfulness, a lingering emotional aftertaste.
With The Ministry of Time, that was definitely the case for me. I found the book frustrating at first for various reasons, but it definitely grew on me as I read on. Very smart and beautifully written, with an attention-grabbing premise and sympathetic characters that really stay with you.
I can see why it's been so popular, and I look forward to reading the next one from the brilliant Kaliane Bradley!
A time travel romance, a spy thriller, a workplace comedy, and an ingenious exploration of the nature of power and the potential for love to change it all: Welcome to The Ministry of Time, the exhilarating debut novel by Kaliane Bradley.
In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.
The Gatepost is a speculative novel about a daughter trying to solve the mystery of her father’s disappearance and a lost scientist desperate to find his way home.
Esme Weatherhead was only twelve when her father, an amateur scientist and author of a bestselling book on Mesoamerican shamanism, walked into the forest on their 300-acre Vermont property and never came back. Twenty years later, she quits her job in San Francisco, gets divorced, and moves back home to write a book about his life and mysterious disappearance. What she finds instead is a hidden field journal, a lost cave deep in the forest, and evidence of psychedelic experiments that suggest her father may have crossed the boundary between this world and something far stranger.
Prisons are at bursting point. Criminals are released early and the guilty walk free from courts. The Justice system is in a state of collapse and no-one is safe.
i4Ni is created to solve the problem. i4Ni is a humanoid which, according to its 'creator' Jules Von Beck, will serve…
