The best new science-fiction novels of November 2026

Characters in The Falling, out this month, face a similar danger to those in the film Deep Impact, shown here Paramount/Everett/Shutte​rstock I am currently deeply engrossed in the November read for the New Scientist Book Club, a piece of classic science fiction (well, from 2012) from Chris Beckett, Dark Eden. But I’m also in the mood for some fresh writing, and the new sci-fi on offer this month is an exciting and eclectic range. I’m keen to check out Benjamin Percy’s audio drama Exoplanet, produced , as well as books from some old favourites: Michael Moorcock, Carole Hailey, John Scalzi and Andrew Hunter Murray. And for all those still in the mood for scares after Halloween, there’s some space horror from SA Barnes in the deliciously named Cold Eternity. Exoplanet a little different – produced , author of The Martian and Project Hail Mary, and written , this sci-fi thriller is a full-cast audio drama from Audible, and it sounds really exciting. It follows the fallout when a quantum anomaly tears a starship apart, leaving its crew in different eras on the same deadly exoplanet – one in a machine-ruled future, for example, another in a past peopled . I’m a recent (only this year) audiobook adopter, and this sounds right up my street. Matt Damon in the film adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel The Martian Aidan Monaghan/THA/Shutterstoc​k Everything Happens So Much I really enjoyed Andrew Hunter Murray’s speculative novel The Last Day, in which the world stops turning, leaving half the planet in scorching sunlight and the other half permanently dark. This latest book sounds equally interesting. A young woman, Esme, escapes her dull job , which allow her to visit alternate versions of herself. But then an “incident” turns her into the most important person in this, or possibly any, universe. How will she handle it? Monsters of Ohio -fi legend John Scalzi’s latest speculative adventure has a Lovecraftian tinge, as the locals in Richland, Ohio, take offence to the actions of a predatory private-equity firm – and develop some unexpected tentacles. The local police chief, and former resident Mike, get entangled in what’s going on and in events that are likely to change humanity forever. The Falling I always appreciate a good “asteroid hitting Earth” story (my recent-ish reads include Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle’s Lucifer’s Hammer, a classic from 1977, and Not With A Bang , a twist on the tale).