This month seems to be full of celebrity, whether as subjects of our latest science books or as their authors. There are new books from physicist Carlo Rovelli, doctor and presenter Xand van Tulleken, broadcaster Jim Al-Khalili and leading scholar of our relationship with tech, Sherry Turkle, as well as a biography of Stephen Hawking. As ever, we range far and wide, from great biographies to the world鈥檚 darker, problematic corners. 聽聽聽聽

by Carlo Rovelli (translated by聽Simon Carnell)

Carlo Rovelli鈥檚 latest offering, On the Equality of All Things, certainly looks like a broad-ranging virtuoso. New 女生小视频 reporter Karmela Padavic-Callaghan has already gone the distance with the book, and their review will be published soon. They write that physics, as the science that describes all the ingredients of our physical reality and how they interact with each other, has a strong claim on how we understand our surroundings 鈥� but what about its grasp on meaning-making more broadly? Rovelli apparently tackles this question to great effect, arguing that with the advent of quantum physics, science underwent a revolution, but philosophers haven鈥檛 fully caught up, and he aims to offer them 鈥� and the rest of us 鈥� a crash course. Padavic-Callaghan finds his final lesson inspiring: 鈥淲e face the world not as an 鈥業鈥� faced with a 鈥榯his鈥� but as a 鈥榤e鈥� faced with a 鈥榶ou鈥�. We are in the world. We are here. And we are home.鈥� Rovelli is saying that seeing ourselves as abstract consciousnesses disconnected from the world and looking for truths beyond how the world touches us is a fool鈥檚 errand. 鈥淚nteresting鈥� barely touches the sides with Rovelli.

by Xand van Tulleken

鈥淚f anyone can drag the wellness industry into the light and make you laugh while doing it, it鈥檚 Xand van Tulleken.聽Beautifully researched, clear-eyed and very funny,鈥� said mathematician Hannah Fry of Make Me Well: A quest to understand the confusing world of wellness. Xand van Tulleken (one of identical twin brothers, both doctors, and both writers) sets out to take a hard look at a sector already worth billions 鈥� and largely unregulated. He digs into everything from the supposed benefits of vitamin D supplements and turmeric tablets to wearable health technology, blood tests and so-called anti-ageing pills. And he finds that the claims made for the above by influencers, tech companies, podcasters and their ilk mostly don鈥檛 stand up to hard science. This may be unsurprising to regular readers, but it can鈥檛 be documented too many times as we face an extraordinary surge in innovation, transforming drug design, genomics and diagnostics that yields ever more complexity and confusion. So how do we stay healthy, facing such an onslaught 鈥� and naked corporate greed? Quite likely, we could do worse than start here鈥�

by Graham Farmelo

What a challenge: write the first major biography of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, a man who faced enormous physical challenges just to stay alive beyond his twenties, who lived on to defy the odds and contribute pioneering science 鈥� some of which has only quite recently been worked through. Factor in both the Hawking estate (which supported the work) and the whole scientific world (especially many of the stars also interviewed by the biographer) all watching closely to see the result. But it would be surprising if veteran science writer Graham Farmelo dropped the ball in Hawking: His life and work. Hawking is the man, after all, who travelled the farthest reaches of the universe from his wheelchair, and ended up shedding important light on the mysteries of black holes and our understanding of the beginnings of the universe, not to mention selling more than 25 million copies globally of his A Brief History of Time. Kudos all round.聽

by Jim Al-Khalili

Anyone who鈥檚聽tangled with Carlo Rovelli鈥檚 elegiac approach to physics will come away enriched and full of wonder. His book The Order of Time, published in English in 2018, was a case in point 鈥� as much a meditation as an exposition. Jim Al-Khalili on the other hand is our go-to for a seriously comprehensive overview 鈥� plus his own share of lofty questions. New 女生小视频鈥檚 Joshua Howgego found his latest both excellent and meaty, as it tackled the various tricky problems in grappling with time. Al-Khalili, he wrote, is known as a 鈥渂rilliant explainer of science and his focus here is explanation鈥� He is at pains to be clear, fair and methodical.鈥� Howgego found the earlier parts of On Time 鈥渟upremely helpful鈥� in teasing apart the deeply interconnected strands, separating them into two categories. First are the problems of 鈥渕anifest time鈥� (that鈥檚 how we experience it, flow, the sense of past and present), then, second, there is physical time (to do with how various fields of physics interpret time differently and how to resolve the tensions that result). Just one word of warning 鈥� it鈥檚 not a fat book, but it is dense. Enjoy.

by Seven Rasmussen

It is billed as 鈥渁n entertaining tour of the seemingly simple formula guiding the search for extraterrestrial intelligence鈥�, and the first part of the title certainly raises a laugh 鈥� Cloudy with a Chance of Starships: How the Drake equation reveals the odds of life in the cosmos. The author Seven Rasmussen is an astrobiologist, so should know how to take the readers off on what is probably a rather irreverent trip round an equation that has become important to many within and around the scientific community: after all, who doesn鈥檛 want to know how likely ET really is? The Drake equation calculates the number of civilizations in our galaxy that humans could potentially contact and was first proposed in 1961 by another astrobiologist, Frank Drake. It begins, say the publishers,聽with well-known numbers for the rate of star formation in the Milky Way and the fraction of stars with planetary systems but gets more complex with a dive into areas such as the number of planets suitable for life, the fraction of suitable planets on which life appears and the likelihood of intelligent life emerging on a planet and becoming technological. The publishers say Cloudy with a Chance of Starships聽guides readers from the basics of astronomy to the frontiers of planetary science, calling it an 鈥渆xtraordinary book鈥� which 鈥渟hares a tantalizing vision of the dawning era of space exploration and invites enthusiasts of all ages to join in the discovery鈥�. Buckle up then.聽

by Patricia Nilsson

You might need a strong stomach for this one. Guilty Pleasure: The pornification of the internet, the economy, and everything else is billed as 鈥渢he story of one of the most influential 鈥� and least examined 鈥� industries on earth鈥� 鈥� that is pornography in the online age. Worth billions and generating, says the book, an almost unbelievable tenth of global internet traffic at peak times, it is changing our world at every level, from tech to work and culture to love and relationships 鈥� even our sense of self. Investigative journalist 补苍诲听贵罢听reporter Patricia Nilsson draws on five years of reporting to show how the internet turned pornography into 鈥渁 vast, secretive industry dominated by obscure owners, platform logic and profit at almost any cost鈥�, as her publisher puts it.聽 Nilsson takes on what can only be a difficult, unpleasant task that few would countenance. Sounds like we may at least owe her our attention.

by Merritt Turetsky

There are few places on earth quite like bogs and boglands. Their ecology is truly unique, and they are home to abundant amphibian-eating plants and acid-flinging mosses. This is the world conjured by ecologist Merritt Turetsky in her book, Boglands: The hidden world of Earth鈥檚 most extraordinary ecosystems. She should know; Turetsky聽is a climate scientist, with hundreds of scientific articles on the importance of bogs to global climate. She advises governments, communities, and professional networks worldwide so they can understand the importance of bogs to the global climate. Above all, say the publishers of Boglands, 鈥渂ogs are places of paradox, where past meets present in the remarkably preserved artefacts and bodies entombed in their depths, land meets water in an otherworldly landscape, and safety meets danger for those who dare to venture into the heart of the bog鈥�. There鈥檚 a beguiling, if somewhat unnerving, invitation, and one bound to challenge how you see the natural world.

by Maggie Aderin and Sarah Wild

Insider books are often full of interesting knowledge you just can鈥檛 get at any other way 鈥� and James Webb鈥檚 Ancient Cosmos: A journey to the beginning of time certainly sounds like it will be one of them. Maggie Aderin has huge hands-on expertise and insights to share because she worked on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which, with its six-and-a-half-metre primary mirror, achieves a very high resolution. Working with science journalist Sarah Wild, the book promises to be an 鈥渆ssential guide to the latest James Webb images, revealing what these discoveries mean for our understanding of the universe and human history鈥�. It鈥檚 quite a journey, beginning in our own galaxy and using the James Webb images as 鈥渞oute markers towards this聽cosmic dawn.. explaining some of cosmology鈥檚 greatest mysteries, from the shape of the universe to the nature of聽dark matter鈥�. It will be interesting to see what it adds to her 2024 book, Webb鈥檚 Universe, reviewed in New 女生小视频, which featured JWST pictures including of the Carina and the Ring nebulae, The Pillars of Creation and the Cartwheel galaxy.

: by David R. Montgomery

With wildfire, flooding and El Ni帽o dominating the news agenda, global food scarcity can hardly be far behind. Enter earth scientist David R. Montgomery and his new book, Regen: A new future for farming, food, and health. His message is that a century of conventional farming has left our planet with sick soil, accelerating the interlinked crises of food security, biodiversity loss, water pollution and climate change. But thankfully he has a plan in the shape of regenerative farming, honed from a decade of research, interviewing farmers and seeing how they restored degraded farms all around the world.聽ReGen, say the publishers, 鈥渂reaks down common myths around conventional and organic farming, animal agriculture and plant-based diets to frame ten policy recommendations for sustainably nourishing the world鈥�. It also looks to build on Growing a Revolution, a previous book by Montgomery. Reviewing it, New 女生小视频 called Montgomery 鈥渙ne of our most eloquent and precise earth science communicators鈥� [He] has a knack for opening our minds to large, critically important questions.鈥�

by Sherry Turkle

As of 2025, nearly a third of US adults on AI for companionship and emotional support. This is the scary background to Sherry Turkle鈥檚 latest book, Artificial Intimacy: Who we become when we talk to machines. She鈥檚 had years at MIT researching digital culture, writing 10 previous books exploring many facets of how technology has reshaped our outer and inner worlds, sometimes isolating us and leading us to 鈥渆xpect more from technology and less from each other鈥�. Now, Turkle has an 鈥渦rgent warning about how ever-increasing reliance on AI chatbots is eroding our capacity for empathy鈥�, as we redefine human capacities for care, solitude and intimacy in terms of machines. She 鈥渆vokes the seductive and beguiling nature of chatbots鈥� as they work hard to be our 鈥溾�榩erfect鈥� companion.. and ask for nothing in return鈥�. Intimate machines, says Turkle, are producing a generation more alienated, depressed and lonely than ever 鈥� and less equipped to reverse course, as machine relationships offer no practice for getting along with people.

by Jillian Scudder, illustrated by Lily Fossett

You really need the subtitle here to get the whole, er, picture. The Universe: A graphic guide is unusual among general science books for adults, but it offers a perfectly serious, well-illustrated entry point to a topic that鈥檚 literally as big as it gets. Jillian Scudder, an astrophysicist and associate professor of physics and astronomy, is an ideal intergalactic tour guide, making sure that you work your way through the building blocks of life, the mysteries of dark matter, how stars are classified, the moon鈥檚 origins or why stars collapse. You need never worry about just what Cosmic Noon is either 鈥� the answer鈥檚 here, easily explained. And Lily Fossett鈥檚 illustrations are also gloriously unintimidating. Like a soothing cup of tea, The Universe is one of life鈥檚 instant small pleasures.

by Darian Leader

Given the current disquiet over the nature of autism, it may be a timely thing that Darian Leader, a psychoanalyst and writer, has titled his book Austisms. With Uta Frith, one of the original leaders in autism research, calling in May for a return to the drawing board in the face of rising levels of diagnosis, there are many issues muddying the waters. The radical split between the ways autism is perceived means that for some, it is a condition or a pathology, while for others it is an identity or a natural variation in human cognitive and behavioural diversity. Drawing on years of clinical experience and research, and the testimonies of autistic people, Leader鈥檚 book promises to be 鈥渁n up-to-the minute account of the many indicative features of autism and how they have been assessed and treated over almost a century鈥�, the publishers promise. Clarity amid the complexity and contradiction from an 鈥渋lluminating guide鈥� ought to be welcome.

by Stephen Ellcock, Helen Scales, Harriet Rix and more

If you love brilliant curation and stunning images of the natural world we need to save, then this compilation definitely sounds worth a shot 鈥� especially if you like your call-to-arms a bit glossy. The images range from tiny microscopic wonders and networks of fungi to medicinal plants and the animal species that share our world 鈥� drawn from every culture and era. The point, say the publishers, is that Ark 鈥渞eveals the unique importance and beauty of the living things depicted and, in doing so, prompts readers to reevaluate humanity鈥檚 place in the natural world鈥�. It鈥檚 been curated by Stephen Ellcock, who has made a name for himself as a curator, writer, researcher and an online collector of a huge number of images. He鈥檚 backed up by an impressive group of nature writers and academics: the foreword comes from Robert Macfarlane (Landmarks and Is a River Alive?), with essays helping to tie it all together by the likes of Harriet Rix (The Genius of Trees), marine biologist Helen Scales (What the Wild Sea Can Be 补苍诲听The Brilliant Abyss) and birder Stephen Moss (Ten Birds That Changed the World).

by Marieke Bigg

Youyou Tu, Flossie Wong-Staal and Chien-Shiung Wu are just three of the people celebrated in Marieke Bigg鈥檚 attempt to set the record straight 鈥� or at least straighter 鈥� about women and science. They appear alongside historical figures like ancient Greek mathematician Hypatia, 17^th-century duchess Margaret Cavendish, Florence Nightingale, Marie Curie and more recent figures like Katherine Johnson, the US mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics while she worked at NASA were crucial to the success of the first (and other) crewed space flights.

Tu is a chemist who won a Nobel prize in 2015 for the discovery of artemisinin, used to treat malaria 鈥� a breakthrough that saved millions of lives in southern China. Virologist and molecular biologist Wong-Staal was the first scientist to clone HIV and determine the function of its genes, a major step in proving that HIV is the cause of AIDS. And Wu was a particle and experimental physicist who worked on the Manhattan project, and later designed an experiment that was key to overturning ideas about . The experiment was named after her, but her two male colleagues were awarded a Nobel in 1957 for proposing the idea (they mentioned her in their acceptance speech). She had to wait until 1978 to be awarded the first Wolf prize in physics.

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Writing this as the UK swelters under an unprecedented May heatwave, perhaps it鈥檚 small wonder that so many science-fiction authors are currently imagining miserable versions of an overheated future in which their characters are struggling to survive. I鈥檓 intrigued by the sound of sci-fi legend M. John Harrison鈥檚 upcoming take on a dystopian future, but if post-apocalyptic hellscapes aren鈥檛 your thing, I鈥檓 also happy to report that there are other options for sci-fi fans this month. I鈥檓 already enjoying time-travel adventure The Traveler by Joseph Eckert. Next, I鈥檓 going to explore Isabel J. Kim鈥檚 sci-fi spin on immigration, Sublimation, as soon as I can get my hands on it. And then for a little light relief, I鈥檓 planning on lining up Adrian Tchaikovsky鈥檚 Green City Wars.

by M. John Harrison

I am excited about this book: M. John Harrison is a really classy writer, winner of all sorts of awards, and his latest novel sounds right up my street. It鈥檚 set in a future years after an obscure 鈥渃risis鈥� changed everything, in a world where the seas are full of new creatures. Phillip, who makes a living collecting objects that wash up on the tideline from the Channel, discovers a creature that keeps changing鈥�

The best new science fiction books of May 2026

New science fiction from big names including Ann Leckie, Alan Moore and Martha Wells are just some of the exciting crop of titles out this month

by Joseph Eckert

I started reading this over a weekend and it turned out to be exactly what I was in the mood for 鈥� a rip-roaring time-travel adventure with the love between a father and a son at its heart. It follows the story of Scott Treder, husband and father, who first 鈥渟lips鈥� on the way to work: one minute he鈥檚 in his car, the next he鈥檚 rolling down the road, his car gone 鈥� and it鈥檚 a day later. The slippages start at 7:52 am every morning and keep doubling in length until he鈥檚 hurtling through time, losing weeks, years, decades, as his son Lyle grows up before his eyes, and no one knows how to stop it. Lyle, though, is determined to catch the father who is leaving him behind.

by Isabel J. Kim

This sounds really intriguing from the Nebula award-winning Isabel J. Kim. The conceit is this: when you emigrate, you leave a literal version of yourself behind. You can keep in touch with your original 鈥渋nstance鈥�, in the hope of one day reintegrating; Soyoung Rose Kang, however, left home at 10 and hasn鈥檛 spoken to her other 鈥渋nstances鈥� again. Now she鈥檚 living in New York, but when her grandfather dies, her Korean instance says she needs to come home for the funeral.

Adrian Tchaikovsky: 鈥業 try and do interesting aliens鈥�

As the science fiction author publishes the latest novel in his Children of Time series, Children of Strife, he talks to Alison Flood about mantis shrimp, the pleasures of sci-fi and why empathy is so important in his writing

by Adrian Tchaikovsky

I鈥檝e only just finished Adrian Tchaikovsky鈥檚 previous novel, March鈥檚 Children of Strife, and now sci-fi鈥檚 most prolific author has another book out. It does look fun, though 鈥� set in a solar-powered future, it sees humans living in luxury. It鈥檚 a luxury kept in place, however, by unseen 鈥淟ittle Helpers鈥�: artificially enhanced animals who keep the green cities running and have one key rule: 鈥渄o not bother the humans鈥�. We follow freelance raccoon investigator Skotch, whose latest case is finding a fugitive mouse scientist 鈥� while also keeping that cardinal rule.

by Emily Paxman

More post-apocalyptic survival here, but in the form of cosy romance. In this version of the future, Kayla lives in the wasteland of the Canadian Pacific Northwest. When her sister April falls ill, they trek to Salt Spring Island, which still has a hospital, but are unable to access its medical care. A panicking Kayla makes a deal with an aspiring politician, Sid, to save her sister 鈥� she鈥檒l marry him to get her treatment. But real feelings start to emerge in this arranged marriage.

by Meg Elison

This novel sounds wild 鈥� but in a good way. Philip K. Dick award-winner Meg Elison imagines a world where some right-wing billionaires have decided to take control of the US by cloning the original Founding Fathers and raising them in secrecy, so they can restore the US to its 鈥渙riginal glory鈥� once they are adults. But then 鈥淏en鈥� (Franklin, I assume) discovers a smartphone in the 鈥減rivy鈥� of their isolated island plantation, and the young men decide to take their lives into their own hands.

by Amil, translated by Joheun Lee

The world of the future is (again) ravaged, and in Korea people escape their miserable real lives by using virtual reality headsets. High schooler Soop is bullied by her classmates because she is unable to access VR. She pins her hopes on meeting K-pop star Yichae, who is coming to film a music video at her school.

by Cheong Ye, translated by Slin Jung

Schoolteacher Youngah lives her life according to everyone else鈥檚 rules but secretly hates it. So, she undertakes a four-week emotion-regulation programme. Once completed, she unleashes her unfiltered self on the world, throwing off the expectations that have always been imposed on her 鈥� and she loves it.

by Keely Jobe

In a small feminist community on an isolated mountaintop, Mila is struggling to keep things from falling apart, while nearby聽an orchid endling is about to die. When the women of the community mysteriously become pregnant, and Mila gives birth to the only boy, their ideals are put to the test.

by J.P. Lacrampe

Helper robot Cy isn鈥檛 delighted when he鈥檚 tasked with helping his owner鈥檚 35-year-old son Grayson 鈥済et out of his funk鈥�. But then Grayson discovers that his CEO sister, Charlotte, is planning to sell the family company to a tech conglomerate, and he decides to plot a corporate takeover. Cue a 鈥渕ad-cap adventure鈥�, which the publisher says is a 鈥渨himsically speculative ode to Wodehouse鈥檚 Jeeves and Wooster鈥�.

by Nathan Tavares

It鈥檚 1977 in an alternate US, one where the US launched its space program shortly after the second world war. Mitch joined the US Spaceguard because his lost love, Flynn, did; he鈥檚 been stuck in a backwater moon base ever since 鈥� until he鈥檚 dishonourably discharged and returned to the US. Then Flynn comes back, claiming to be the host for an emissary from a utopian alien civilization鈥�

by Peter F. Hamilton

This is the sequel to Hamilton鈥檚 EXODUS: The Archimedes Engine, set in a far future where the human population has been reduced to little better than serfs by the Celestials. Can Finn and his allies finally throw off their shackles?

by Cristina LePort

This high-concept medical thriller sees cryogenically preserved scientist Peter and his wife Monica wake up two centuries into the future. The world they discover is dystopian, with the devastating 鈥渕itocancer鈥� a global threat.