My Favorite Books of 2025
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Last year I reviewed 45 books and 1 computer game. I mostly stuck to science fiction, and I also re-read a few books, which was especially enjoyable because I picked up so much more the second time through.
Following the tradition of 2023 and 2024, here are my favorite books from 2025:
Disco Elysium
“Disco Elysium isn’t a book, Alex!” Ok, sure, but it is one of the literary masterpieces of the 21st century. It does a miraculous job of immersing the player in its world, exploring the grip the past has on the present, and creating some of the deepest and most fully developed characters in any medium. It’s my favorite game of all time, and one of my favorite literary works, period.
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Disco ElysiumDisco Elysium, written by et al., is a role-playing game produced by ZA/UM. It’s the story of Harrier “Harry” Du Bois, a man who wakes up with no memories and has to solve a murder while learning who he is.
The Hyperion Cantos by
I didn’t love the Hyperion Cantos the first time I read them. I found The Fall of Hyperion, the easier and more straightforward of the two, to be great, but I didn’t really get Hyperion. This year I re-read them for my book club and focused on finding and understanding the influences from ’s works. That completely transformed the experience. I LOVED Hyperion, seeing it as far deeper and more complex than I did the first time through.
This year I’ll be tackling Endymion and The Rise of Endymion, which I’ve heard don’t live up to the greatness of the first two, but I’m still hopeful.
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HyperionHyperion is ’s masterpiece. It is the first book in his Hyperion Cantos. It follows seven pilgrims as they travel to the Time Tombs on Hyperion to petition the Shrike. Along the way, each tells their own story, weaving together history, myth, and prophecy to tell of the impending downfall of man.
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The Fall of HyperionThe Fall of Hyperion, by , is the second book in the Hyperion Cantos, but really it’s the second half of Hyperion. It brings the seven pilgrims’ story to an end and depicts the war between the TechnoCore, the Ousters, and the Hegemony.
The Hydrogen Sonata by
’s Culture series was one of my favorite reads in 2024. I deliberately delayed finishing it, spacing out the final few books because I knew that once I was done, it would be over for good. The Hydrogen Sonata was a fitting end to the series. It restates many of the themes first explored in Consider Phlebas, but with a more hopeful bent.
It also feels like a fitting final book for himself, with its message that life only has the meaning you give it.
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The Hydrogen SonataThe Hydrogen Sonata, by , is the tenth and final book in the Culture series. It explores the last days of the Glitz people as they prepare to Sublime.
The Teixcalaan series by
Another pair of books picked by my book club. I really enjoyed ’s subtle worldbuilding and the deep integration of themes and motifs across A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace. The writing itself is beautiful, and often reminded me of ’s The Book of the New Sun, with its mix of archaic prose and intentional vagueness.
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A Memory Called EmpireA Memory Called Empire, by , is the first book in the Teixcalaan series. It follows Mahit Dzmare, an ambassador from the space station Lsel, as she tries to save her home from being annexed by the Teixcalaanli empire.
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A Desolation Called PeaceA Desolation Called Peace, by , is the second book in the Teixcalaan series. It tells the story of Mahit and Three Seagrass trying to stop the war between the Teixcalaanli Empire and a mysterious alien race.
Roadside Picnic by and
I picked up and ’s best-known novel, Roadside Picnic, because I wanted to broaden what I was reading. I ended up loving it. The characters feel incredibly real, the dialogue has a simple but earnest quality, and the atmosphere is completely different from Western sci-fi.
It wasn’t the only book of theirs that I read, but it was easily my favorite.
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Roadside PicnicRoadside Picnic, by brothers and , is a Soviet sci-fi novel. It’s essentially four short stories—each presented as a chapter—about the life of Redrick “Red” Schuhart, a “stalker” who illegally enters an alien-contaminated Zone to retrieve items for the black market.
The Murderbot Diaries by
Everyone loves The Murderbot Diaries, and I’m no exception. hits the perfect mix of pulpy action, fast pacing, and memorable characters, while still digging into deep philosophical questions about what it means to be a person. I’ve got a few more to go this year, and I’m really looking forward to them. I fully expect to see them on my 2026 list.
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Artificial ConditionArtificial Condition, by , is the second book in The Murderbot Diaries. It follows Murderbot as it digs into its past and, once again, saves some scientists.
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Rogue ProtocolRogue Protocol, by , is the third book in The Murderbot Diaries. It follows Murderbot as it investigates a GrayCris terraforming station and, you guessed it, ends up saving a group of humans.
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Exit StrategyExit Strategy, by , is the fourth book in The Murderbot Diaries. It wraps up the GrayCris storyline as Murderbot returns to save its friends.
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Network EffectNetwork Effect, by , is the fifth book in The Murderbot Diaries. It’s the first full-length novel in the series and features Murderbot getting kidnapped by ART to rescue its crew.
There Is No Antimemetics Division by
I read ’s original edition edition in 2023 and thought it was packed full of amazing ideas, but ultimately let down by a poorly written second act. His rewrite this year fixed every single problem. The result is a tight, cohesive book that brings its wild concepts to life. Highly recommend.
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There Is No Antimemetics DivisionThere Is No Antimemetics Division, by , is a book about researchers trying to control dangerous antimemes—ideas that can’t be thought—and how you might combat a foe you can’t even remember exists.
A Mote in Shadow by
I found this book when my corner of BlueSky started talking about it, and I’m glad I paid attention. ’s debut novel is a fantastic mix of hard sci-fi and techno-thriller, set in a fractured human civilization in the not-too-distant future. He’s working on the sequel now, and I’m very much looking forward to it.
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A Mote in ShadowA Mote in Shadow is ’s debut novel. It follows two down-on-their-luck outsiders dragged into a war between shadowy mercenary groups: exobiologist Chaeyoung No, whose disagreement with the scientific establishment leaves her in no position to question a too-good-to-be-true offer to fund her research expedition; and space hauler Frederik Obialo, who is more than willing to take a dangerous job if it brings him closer to his dream of giving his daughter a permanent home.
The Triumphant by , , and
I started reading the Bolo books when I was a teen and absolutely loved them. They feature giant tanks blowing stuff up, but, like The Murderbot Diaries, they also broach deeper questions about the meaning of being alive and whether honor and duty translate to machines. I recently started re-reading the series for nostalgia, and while most of the books are serviceable but not great, The Triumphant is the clear exception.
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The TriumphantThe Triumphant is the twelfth book in the Bolo series. It’s an anthology of Bolo stories written by three different authors. They explore the emotional bond between a Bolo and the people around them, and the dangers of caring too much about a machine built for war.