Much like last year’s list, this Best Sci-Fi & Scary Novels of 2016 is a list of the best science fiction and horror novels published (and read) in 2016. This is not my Best Reads of 2016 list. (Look for that one next week.) These books were published and read in this year, and fall under the science fiction or horror genre. They are ranked in accordance to how much I enjoyed the story, starting at number ten and working up. Title links lead to Goodreads.

Top Ten Tuesday is brought to you courtesy of Broke and Bookish.

**Corrections: Please note that although I decided to keep Harmonic Resonance on the list because it was it was technically published in one format in 2016, it was originally published in Kindle form in December of 2015.  Deadlight Jack, however, has been removed from this list as – no matter how awesome it is – it was not published, at all, until Jan 3, 2017. My apologies, folks. Don’t know how I overlooked that!**

Best Sci-Fi & Scary Novels of 2016

Harmonic Resonance by Nico Laesser  – I remember when I read the synopsis I thought “This sounds okay. I’ll give it a shot.” So I started reading it, and swiftly found I could not put it down. Nico Laesser gave us a unique twist on the typical post-apocalyptic tale, a kick-ass female lead, and a dose of diversity. It was a pleasure to read. My full review is here.

Northwoods by Bill Schweigart – Can I just say again how nice is it is to read a book with a female and male pairing for leads that aren’t obsessed with bumping uglies? While Northwoods lacked some of the grounding of the first book, Beast of Barcroft, it made up for it in other ways. I cannot wait to get my hands on book three! My full review is here.

Veterans’ Affairs by Joseph Hirsch – This book stood out in my mind because of how utterly realistic Joseph Hirsch’s main character, Joey, is. Joey is a hero that doesn’t look like a hero. He breaks so many expected stereotypes. He goes through hell, and he comes out on top, and all the while he looks like someone you wouldn’t even ‘see’ when you were walking down the street. My full review is here.

On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis – A science fiction novel featuring a main (female) character with severe autism, written by an author on the autism spectrum. On the Edge of Gone is one of those novels that makes you realize how much you are missing due to the lack of diversity in science fiction. It’s a fantastic read with a main character that earns your respect on a massive level. My full review is here.

Arkwright by Steve Allen was a gorgeous read. The author does a great job of combining fact and fiction early on. So well that if you’re not huge sci-fi buff, you end up having to either google almost everything that’s said or just give up and just enjoy the read. It’s been called a love letter to science fiction, and it earns that title.  Calm, quiet, and realistic, it’s a book that will quietly entertain you and then stay with you for a few days.  My full review is here.

Good Morning Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton is an unusual post-apocalyptic novel in that you don’t ever witness the apocalypse or the after-effects of it. Everything is kept a complete mystery. You only see the fall-out of astronauts dealing with complete silence as they return to earth, and the survival of one grumpy old man in Antartica. My full review is here.

The Demonists by Thomas Sniegoski was a book that reminded me not to judge a book by it’s cover. I was expecting something like light and almost on the fluffy side for the horror genre. What I got was something dark and deliciously twisted. Will definitely be reading the second book in this series when I can get my hands on it. My full review is here.

The Fireman by Joe Hill was my ‘surprised to enjoy’ of the year. I’m not a big fan of Joe Hill. I’ve read some of his other works and just not been impressed. But I saw The Fireman in hardback at the library and decided to give it a shot. I loved it. The Fireman’s sense of humor kept me in stitches, it was fairly well-paced, and I loved the idea of the Dragonscale. Really is just a fantastic read. My full review is here.

We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor is the only book on this list where I can’t link you to a review because it hasn’t been published yet. So you’re going to have to just trust me on this. An atheist software engineer gets put in a situation where he can do what he describes as “every nerd’s dream” and explore the universe. It’s light in tone, but not in subject matter, and makes you feel free to geek out. And if you can get the audiobook version (narrated by Ray Porter) you’re definitely in for a treat. This book vied with Deadlight Jack for my best of the best Sci-Fi & Scary Novels of 2016 read before I realized that I’d made a major goof, and Deadlight Jack wasn’t actually published until Jan 3, 2017.

So, yes, We Are Legion (We Are Bob) is officially the number one pick for Best Sci-Fi & Scary Novels of 2016.