Science fiction has always watched the skies. The genre has a rich tradition of looking to the rest of the cosmos for stories of life in space—or life from space arriving here on Earth. Did you know that the earliest UFO stories go back more than 2,000 years? It’s true.
 
We've put together a collection of science fiction books published since 2020 that are either set in space or feature story lines of extraterrestrial life. Some highlights from this year, so far, include How High We Go in the Dark, the ambitious eco sci-fi cautionary tale from Sequoia Nagamatsu, and Sea of Tranquility, an equally bold future-forward vision from Emily St. John Mandel of Station Eleven fame. And for readers who like to look ahead, we've included a handful of sci-fi titles still to come between now and the end of 2022. Keen-eyed fans of New Zealand author Tamsyn Muir's Locked Tomb series will be pleased to note that the latest installment, Nona the Ninth, hits U.S. shelves this month.
 
Sci-fi is a notoriously slippery designation, of course. Look for several cross-genre tales that incorporate elements from other shelves—mystery, say. Or horror. Add anything that catches your eye to your Want to Read shelf, and remember: Watch the skies!

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