Instead of a ranked list, these are my favorite books from some random categories that were published in 2025. The first category is a love we all share — science fiction — and then I start to take some liberties. Please stay with me! These are worth it.
I am an absolute sucker for novel first contact scenarios, and this is the most unique take on first contact that I have ever read (and I have read a lot of first contact novels). The amazing part about this book is that it's basically ALL an unfolding description of something so alien that it's only borderline understandable, but it IS understandable. So many authors rely on vague hints of weirdness and incomplete reveals to keep mystery racheted up in first contact scenarios, but Tchaikovsky is having none of that in this book. I imagine him sitting in a room somewhere brainstorming this book and saying to himself "no literary cheats or shortcuts, this is going to be just pure exposition about the wildest planet that readers will accept."
And by god he did it, it's a masterpiece. I'd put this up there with Children of Time as an example of Tchaikovsky's best work.
This is the sequel to the Hugo-winning novel A Tainted Cup that I talked about last year. To recap, it's kind of a cross between Sherlock Holmes and a secondary fantasy world where the magic system is genetic engineering done with kaiju blood mutagens. It's not really possible to explain correctly without just reading the story.
A Drop of Corruption is even better than A Tainted Cup, in my opinion. The setting is fantastic, and since the reader is already familiar with the world and the dynamic between the main characters, the book can explore the setting even further. I loved the fact that in the end notes the author quoted Terry Pratchett in Feet of Clay:
"Royalty was like dandelions. No matter how many heads you chopped off, the roots were still there underground, waiting to spring up again.
It seemed to be a chronic disease. It was as if even the most intelligent person had this little blank spot in their heads where someone had written: "Kings. What a good idea." Whoever had created humanity had left in a major design flaw. It was its tendency to bend at the knees."
An extremely appropriate reflection of one of the main themes explored in the book.
OK, so this is actually the only novel with a forensic accountant protagonist that I read this year, but it's so good. Chronologically it's the first novel in the Martin Hench series, although Red Team Blues and The Bezzle were both written before it. The vibes are perfectly early silicon valley, with young people eager to free computing from lock-in set against a corporation run by religious leaders that will do some pretty evil things to keep their profits flowing.
I loved a bunch of things about the book, but mainly I loved the way Doctorow conveys the terribleness of working on extractive tech projects, and the feeling of joy at finding a tech project that is positive-sum.
This book was not published in 2025, so this is a little bit of a cheat, but I did read it in 2025 and it was so incredible I had to share. The book covers how Abraham Lincoln forged a government out of competent leaders who disliked him, and the incredible leadership and charisma that was required to do so. Lessons from Lincoln's political genius seem extremely relevant to all periods of human history, including today.
I feel like Brando Sando is in a category by himself. He's not only incredibly prolific, he's incredibly consistent in quality and vibe — whether you like his style or not, you always know what you're getting when you pick up one of his books. I loved how Isles of the Emberdark pulled together decades of Cosmere lore. I also enjoyed the juxtaposition of the native tracker storyline against the cosmopolitan explorer storyline — the different worldviews of the protagonists were woven together so well in this one. The kind of fun adventure you expect from Sanderson, with the added benefit of tons of references to the broader Cosmere.
I'm not sharing this one yet! I'm still working my way through the last of the stories from 2025, but I can assure you that 2025 had some
absolute bangers. It was a really incredible year for short stories, and
Think Weirder Volume 2 is going to be fantastic.
Joe