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My only complaint about the science fiction due to be published in March is: how in the world are we meant to find the time to read all these great novels? There are so many must-reads out this month, whether it’s the latest from Nicholas Binge, Silvia Park’s tale of a lost robot sibling or Laila Lalami’s vision of a future where our dreams are policed for what we might be going to do (sounds quite Minority Report – a very good thing in my view). All I can say is, I think it’s time to step away from the computer and get reading, if we want to keep up…

Sadly for humanity, in this latest slice of comic sci-fi from the excellent John Scalzi, the moon has turned to cheese and they have to work out what to do about it. This sounds like a lot of fun, but I’m primarily planning to read it to find out what type of cheese the moon has become. I’m hoping it’s a nice gooey chunk of taleggio…

Our sci-fi columnist Emily H. Wilson heartily approves of Binge’s latest, writing that this time travel tale is well-deserving of its upcoming big-screen treatment. It tells the story of Maggie, the carer for her husband Stanley, who is losing his memory. But then a mysterious stranger, Hassan, turns up and tells her that it isn’t that Stanley is losing his memories, but that someone is taking them – and Maggie can go into his mind and get them back. I’ve not read any Binge yet, but I am keen to try out this one – and his previous novel, Ascension.

I have heard a lot about this debut novel and it is sitting in my vast pile of books, ready to be picked up when I get a second. It sounds wonderful. In a future unified Korea, three estranged siblings (two human, one robot) reunite after 11-year-old Ruijie discovers the body of a robot boy in a junkyard.

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This speculative mystery sounds just my kind of disturbing. Sara is on her way home from a work trip when agents from the “Risk Assessment Administration” grab her at the airport. They’ve used data from her dreams and discovered she is at “imminent risk” of harming her husband. She must therefore be remanded to a detention centre, for his safety, for 21 days. But once there, alongside the other dangerous dreamers, she finds it might be harder to get out than she thought…

I am a huge fan of a previous Fracassi novel, A Child Alone With Strangers – which is like Stephen King at his scary-but-warm-hearted best. So I was delighted to learn that he has turned to sci-fi with this time travel novel, in which the titular “third rule” is that the traveller is unable to interact with the past, only observe it. But then scientist Beth Darlow, who builds the machine that enables this trip to the past to happen, discovers that even her observations are causing her timeline to warp. I am really looking forward to this one.

The Hugo-winning Martine wrote a stunning sci-fi short story for New Ů��С��Ƶ a few years back. She’s brilliant! And to top that off, her latest is being compared to the best scary novel ever written: Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. In Martine’s twist, a house (Rose House) infused with an artificial intelligence has been locked up since the death of its architect. The only person allowed to visit is the architect’s protégé, once a year. But now there is a dead person there – and Rose House isn’t communicating any further. Creepy!

(translated by Chi-Young Kim)

Winner of the 4th Korea Sci-fi Literature Award, this novel is set in 2035, when two sisters learn their beloved racehorse is being sent to the knacker’s yard and hatch a plan to save her. They will get her to run one last race to remind her of happier times, but will train her to run the slowest race of her life.

This is the fourth in Kowal’s Lady Astronaut series and is set years after an extinction-level global warming event on Earth, triggered by a meteorite strike. The survivors are now out to establish a new home on Mars and Elma York, the Lady Astronaut, arrives on the Red Planet to prepare. But something seems off…

This comic homage to all things sci-fi follows Johnny Gomez, the custodian – or space broom – of a far-flung space station, who discovers a stolen data chip and sets out to make his fortune. I’m never quite sure about so-called “comic” novels (the only ones I have ever genuinely roared with laughter at are Andy Stanton’s series, which I really recommend if you have a child in primary school), but this does sound fun.

Our writers pick their favourite science fiction books of all time

We asked New Ů��С��Ƶ staff to pick their favourite science fiction books. Here are the results, ranging from 19th-century classics to modern day offerings, and from Octavia E. Butler to Iain M. Banks

This is described as “science-fantasy” – it follows Liu Lufeng, a princess of the Feng royal family, who have bark faces, branch arms and needle hair. She is due to be the next bride of a human king, but her people, who live within nature, are under constant threat from human expansion. Lufeng decides she will kill the king on her wedding day and put an end to future marriages for her people.

Yuki and Sam are soulmates, but when Sam decides to take a new miracle drug that can extend a human’s lifespan indefinitely, what will happen to their romance?

This is the sequel to Robin’s The Stars Undying and sees Anita on a quest for revenge after the death of Commander Matheus Ceirran. When she travels into a neighbouring empire, however, she discovers a secret that could threaten the galaxy.

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