The best science fiction books of 2025 so far

So far, it has been an encouraging year for science fiction. My favourite new offering to date is probably Hal LaCroix's Here and Beyond, but then, I'm a sucker for a good ark-ship story. In LaCroix's take on the trope, a vessel called Shipworld is heading for HD-40307g, "a habitable Super Earth hug orbiting a simmering red dwarf star". It is a journey of 42 light years – meaning that none of the 600 souls who begin the journey will actually live to see HD-40307g. Only the Seventh Generation will make planetfall. There are rules on board.