Come one, come all! It’s time for the seventh annual Boundy Awards, when I celebrate the great and the good science fiction I have been enjoying throughout 2025. It’s a chance for me to share my favourite books of the year, and for you to judge me by my taste in science fiction. What’s not to love? So without further ado, let’s get to the winners.

The Boundy Awards for Literature

Best Standalone

Halcyon Years, by Alastair Reynolds – Yuri Gagarin as a private detective on a generation ship? It sounds crazy, but as Reynolds slowly peels back the layers, it all starts to make sense. As someone who has routinely bounced off Reynolds’ work, this is the book that finally convinced me of his brilliance.

Best Opener

Galaxy Grifter, by A. Zaykova – The most fun you’ll ever have with a dirtbag con-artist, Zaykova’s impressive debut is a synthesis of everything that’s good about modern space opera.

Best Continuation

Hell’s Last, by Justin D Hill – Securing Minka Lesk’s third consecutive appearance at the Boundy Awards, Hell’s Last continues to ramp up both the drama and the stakes of the grim dark future.

Best Conclusion

Destiny’s Way, by Jack Campbell – A fitting end to a fast-paced duology, Campbell’s latest slice of military SF grapples with paradoxes, terrorists, and aliens, all while never missing a beat.

Best Anthology/Collection

Death and Duty, by Various Authors – A collection of some of Black Library’s best authors writing stories linked to some of my favourite novels? How was I ever going to say no to that?

The Boundy Awards for Audio

Best Audiobook

Darkness Eternal, by Various Authors – This has definitely been a strong year for Black Library’s anthologies, and Darkness Eternal proves wat you can do with the audio medium. A selection of strong stories read by an incredible cast of narrators makes this one a winner.

Best Single

6666, by Angus McSix – Replacing a lead singer is no easy task, especially when the band exists as support for said singer’s gimmick. Nevertheless, this passing of the torch from one McSix to another is as triumphant and catchy as Angus McSix have always been.

Best Album

The Foul City, by Paul Shapera – The Puppetshade Chronicles goes from strength to strength, and standout songs like ‘Lowen’ or ‘Lost Out in the Black’ make this the strongest yet.

The Boundy Awards for Visual Media

Best Individual Drama

Andor: Who Are You? – The culmination of the Ghorman arc matches the resolution Syril’s sorry tale perfectly in one of the standout moments of twenty-first century science fiction.

Best Season

Andor (Season Two) – Was there ever any doubt? ~Andor is not only the best TV show to come out of Star Wars, but also one of the greatest science fiction dramas of the past two decades. If you’ve not seen it already, what are you waiting for?

The Throwback Boundy Awards for Pre-2025 Literature

Not every book I read in 2025 was published in 2025. That backlog is why we have the Throwback Boundies. In the interests of avoiding bias, rereads are not eligible for the Throwback Boundies.

Best Throwback Standalone

Sirius, by Olaf Stapledon – I don’t usually enjoy books that rely heavily on emotion, but this story of a super-intelligent dog in wartime Wales is genuinely moving, and an early standout example of the science fiction genre.

Best Throwback Opener

To Protect, by Mickey Zucker Reichert – Showing that there’s life left in Isaac Asimov’s laws of robotics, the I, Robot trilogy could hardly have hoped for a better starting point.

Best Throwback Continuation

Rama II, by Arthur C. Clarke & Gentry Lee – Another work that builds on the foundations of a genre titan, the sequel to Rendezvous with Rama sees Clarke teaming up with Gentry Lee in a book that repeats the successes of the original while adding a heavy dose of thriller action.

Best Throwback Conclusion

Redemption, by Stephen Baxter – The culmination of the mainline Xeelee series, Redemption is Baxter at his finest. Expect darkness, expect science, and above all else expect to have your mind opened to a world of wonder.

Best Throwback Anthology/Collection

Nova 4, edited by Harry Harrison – Anthologies are, by their very nature, hit and miss. So when one hits as hard as this, I sit up and pay attention. Now I just need to find Novas 1-3.