“There has been an ongoing debate for the last few decades about whether science fiction is dead but if this year’s bumper crop of exciting new novelists is any indication,
I’d say that there is a glorious renaissance just over the horizon…”– Paul Goat Allen
2011 was a surprisingly – I would say even shockingly – good year for science fiction. There were solid releases from genre giants like Ben Bova, Robert J. Sawyer, Vernor Vinge, etc. but the most remarkable aspect of the year was the quantity and quality of debut novels: my top five picks were all written by first-time novelists!
Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One was unarguably one of the most entertaining and downright enjoyable novels that I’ve ever read, a “glorious fusion of near future science fiction, epic fantasy quest, and unlikely love story, that above all else, was an homage to the 1980s.” Set in a decidedly dismal near-future beleaguered by an ongoing energy crisis and economic recession, it follows a 18-year old gamer as he tries to unlock the life-changing secrets in a free massively-multiplayer online game that encompasses thousands of virtual worlds and has become “a new way of life” for millions of disillusioned humans seeking escape from their depressing lives. This is a masterpiece – an absolute "must read" for science fiction and fantasy fans, particularly those who grew up during the '80s.
Will McIntosh’s debut novel, an unconventional work of apocalyptic fiction entitled Soft Apocalypse, was so good, I stated in my review: “If Soft Apocalypse isn’t nominated for a Hugo or Nebula Award, I will eat the entire book page by page…
Rob Ziegler’s Seed was another exceptional post-apocalyptic novel, set in a 22nd century America that is inhabited by millions of starving migrants and ruled by a bioengineering corporation/living city/godlike entity named Satori. The government is essentially useless, now only good for helping distribute Satori’s genetically modified seeds to the people. Brilliant world building, an impressively thick storyline, and some powerful social speculation make this another “must read.” Seed is very much comparable to Paolo Bacigalupi’s style of writing, specifically his Hugo Award nominated novelette “The Calorie Man.”
Hannu Rajaniemi’s debut novel The Quantum Thief was an intriguing fusion of hard science fiction à la Greg Egan, Stephen Baxter, etc. and labyrinthinely plotted Hitchcockian cat-and-mouse mystery that features a master thief and an intuitive, young amateur detective against a breathtaking backdrop of a colonized Mars.
Katy Stauber’s debut novel Revolution World – set in rural Texas after “The Troubles” – is a darkly nuanced novel about a future America collapsing under the weight of it’s own ineptitude and paranoia. Stauber’s depiction of the near future is chillingly realistic, perhaps even probable:
“The effects of dumping tons of chemicals into the soil to produce vast swaths of monoculture corn and cows finally combined with the effects of dumping garbage in the water, air, and everywhere else. The result made the old hype about Global Warming seem like worrying about getting gray hair and then finding out you’ve got lung cancer. The environment couldn’t have gotten more messed up if God himself grabbed the Earth and gave it a good hard shake…”
There has been an ongoing debate for the last few decades about whether science fiction is dead but if this year’s bumper crop of exciting new novelists is any indication, I’d say that there is a glorious renaissance just over the horizon…
So, without further ado, here are my best science fiction releases of 2011…
1. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
2. Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh
3. Seed by Rob Ziegler
4. The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi
5. Revolution World by Katy Stauber
6. Thomas World by Richard Cox
7. Tattoo by Kirsten Imani Kasai
8. WWW: Wonder by Robert J. Sawyer
9. The Children of the Sky by Vernor Vinge
10. March in Country by E.E. Knight
11. Jim and the Flims by Rudy Rucker
12. Mind Storm by K.M. Ruiz
13. Brave New Worlds edited by John Joseph Adams
HONORABLE MENTION
• Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi• Leviathans of Jupiter by Ben Bova
• Divergent by Veronica Roth
• The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher
• Embassytown by China Mieville
• Basilisk by Rob Thurman
• The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell
• Count to a Trillion by John C. Wright
• The Worker Prince by Bryan Thomas Schmidt
• The Apocalypse Gene by Suki Michelle and Carlyle Clark
Paul Goat Allen has been a full-time book reviewer specializing in genre fiction for the last two decades and has written thousands of reviews for companies like Publishers Weekly, The Chicago Tribune, Kirkus Reviews, and BarnesandNoble.com. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle.
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Surprisingly, I'm doing better with this list than with those for the paranormal fiction I thought I read more often; I've read three of your top five (Ready Player One, Soft Apocalypse, and Revolution World), and I thought all three were excellent. I've also read Divergent and the first two of the WWW series, with WWW: Wonder on my "to be read" pile.
I think it's interesting to note that, at least in my experience with my home library in Atlanta, I was only able to get Ready Player One from the library; the others I had to purchase for my NOOK. I wonder if the relative dearth of SF titles at the library is common throughout the country, or if we're just behind the times (and no smart remarks about Georgia or the South, please 
). Or maybe our library is just not as familiar with Night Shade, which published both of the other two?
I love the variations in your Sci-Fi list Paul.
I've got Soft Apocalypse, and I'll be reading it in the very near future. I'm also going to get The Quantum Thief and Seed (11/15/2011).
Your number one choice, Ready Player One, is also looking pretty irresistible to me right now.
