The 50 Best Works of Non-Realist Fiction of the 21st Century (Part 4 of 5)

I share my favorite works of science fiction, fantasy, horror, magical realism, and alternate history since 2000

Here’s the 4th installment (out of 5) of my guide to the 50 best non-realist works of fiction since 2000. This includes sci-fi, fantasy, horror, magical realism, alternate history, and other stories that depart from conventional notions of reality.

As I’ve written elsewhere, many of the best books of our time are in these categories—but they rarely get prizes or receive serious consideration because of their links to commercial genres.

Let me put it differently: If you challenge conventional ways of using language, you’re considered a serious writer. But if you challenge conventional notions of reality, you’re treated like a lowbrow author of escapist stories for youngsters.

But not here at The Honest Broker.

Each entry below links to a full review that only paid subscribers can access. These paywalled articles are among the 436 essays in my Vault.

Here are links to part 1, part 2, and part 3 of this article.

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Ian McEwan: Machines Like Me (2019)

“McEwan sets his novel in an alternative world—in a 1980s where artificial intelligence is already well advanced, Britain has lost the Falklands War, and Alan Turing is a national hero and wealthy technocrat. Turing is even available to give advice on the ethics of owning your own robot….” (More at this link)

Haruki Murakami: Kafka on the Shore (2002)

“Talk about a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. I’m not surprised that, when the Japanese publisher of Kafka on the Shore set up a website allowing readers to ask questions about this book, some 8,000 were submitted….” (More at this link).