The best new science fiction books of May 2026 include a new Murderbot and books from Alan Moore and Ann Leckie
Alexander Skarsgård in Murderbot, adapted from Martha Wells’s novels Steve Wilkie / Apple TV+ Some months, I end up scraping the bottom of the barrel to find enough interesting science fiction to tell you about. This May that wasn’t a problem – there’s tons to look forward to, whether you’re after time-travelling romance from Matt Haig (yes please), extinction events in London from Temi Oh (I’ve already read this and it’s a lot of fun), the latest Murderbot novel (hurrah) or a generation-ship story that comes garlanded with praise. There are also new titles from big names Ann Leckie and Alan Moore. If that’s not enough, then you can join the New Scientist Book Club here, and our lively Discord channel here, where we’re discussing all things sci-fi and popular science. I got into the Murderbot books a few years back, when we read the first in the series, All Systems Red, with the New Scientist Book Club. I’m a proper fan now, including of the new television series starring Alexander Skarsgård as the eponymous cyborg …

