Science fiction reviewed here in 2021

2034: A Novel of the Next World War by Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis—The Third World War breaks out in 2034, but not how you think

Brain Wave by Poul Anderson—How would you behave if your IQ suddenly doubles?

Above the Ether by Eric Barnes—Welcome to the apocalypse

Timescape by Gregory Benford—An ingenious twist on time travel

Galactic Exploration (First Contact #4) by Peter Cawdron—Galactic exploration yields conflicting views of extraterrestrial life

Welcome to the Occupied States of America (First Contact #10) by Peter Cawdron—These alien invaders aren’t what you might expect

Wherever Seeds May Fall (First Contact #15) by Peter Cawdron—One surprise after another in this brilliant First Contact novel

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro—A Nobel Prize-winner’s perplexing science fiction novel

Amphitrite (Black Planet #1) Brandon Q. Morris—Journey to a newly discovered planet far out from the sun

Amphitrite 2 (Black Planet #2 of 3) by Brandon Q. Morris—The mystery of Planet Nine goes unsolved in this novel

A History of What Comes Next (Take Them to the Stars #1) by Sylvain Neuvel—An alternate history of the space race

Trident’s Forge (Children of a Dead Earth #2 of 3) by Patrick S. Tomlinson—A suspenseful mash-up of science fiction and mystery

Children of the Divide (Children of the Dead Earth #3) by Patrick S. Tomlinson—This sci-fi novel isn’t credible, but it’s a lot of fun

Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut—Kurt Vonnegut writes about the end of the world, but it’s not science fiction

The Genius Plague by David Walton—The greatest threat to humanity is . . . a mushroom?