The best sci-fi novels that entertain and enlighten by interweaving the sciences of consciousness and modern quantum physics

I love this book because of its excellent job of tackling the nature of free will and consciousness and their impact on the human condition.

In 2009, particle physicist Lloyd Simcoe designed a high-energy experiment for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), designed to detect the Higgs Boson. Success would bring him the Nobel Prize. During the experiment, all those present lost consciousness for two minutes and seventeen seconds.

As it happens, the loss of consciousness is global. Without warning, seven billion people on Earth black out for those two minutes and seventeen seconds. Millions die as planes fall from the sky, people tumble down staircases, and cars plow into each other. People experience a glimpse of their life twenty-one years and six months in the future. Some see only darkness, death? The interlocking mosaic of these visions threatens the present and the future.

This book pursues profound questions. Do we have free will? What would we change if we knew our future? What ripple effects would our actions have throughout the world?

This book is a beautifully written novel, using science fiction to tackle the nature of morality, faith, theology, human values, and why terrible things can happen to good people. It challenges the nature of good and evil and what happens when a person tries to do the right thing for the right reasons and ends up causing incalculable harm.

It also addresses in a realistic way, some of the most important questions in the realm of sci-fi. What happens when humanity comes face-to-face with an extraterrestrial civilization? How does humanity relate, if at all, to a civilization in another world in our galaxy? What might be the benefits, but more importantly, what are the challenges, and the dangers?

The science is minimal, but the novel arguably provides the best analysis of human values, in fact, the very nature of humanity itself. A must-read!

An amazing story from the author of The Martian! It calls on more accurate chemistry, physics, and engineering than any sci-fi book I’ve read. And it subtly and humorously deals with human empathy and friendship in the most unlikely place.

Ryland Grace is the soul survivor in a spaceship sent to save humanity from a catastrophic ice age that will be caused by a strange light increasing in intensity between our sun and Venus. Ryland is a molecular biologist and a successful middle-school science teacher. He is a passionate science polymath, chosen for a mission to a location near the star Tau Ceti, the source of the strange light.

Hundreds of lightyears from Earth, Ryland awakes from an induced space-flight coma to find all of his crew dead. He must use his wits and scientific knowledge to deal with potentially catastrophic issues on his way to Tau Ceti. With time running out and the nearest human being light-years away, Ryland is on his own.
Or is he?

It's a super read, as good or better than The Martian.

This book is an imaginative, complex, and engaging sci-fi novel that blends real science and history into a riveting story.

Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction receives the signal and plans to invade Earth. Their strategy to engage Earth is incredible.

Moral dilemmas arise that resonate beyond nationality and cerebral physics. What would it mean for the human race to come in contact with an extraterrestrial intelligence? What is the worth of humanity? Do we have a future, and if so, what does it look like? Is humanity past the point of redemption?

This is intense sci-fi, full of lengthy, impressive passages of technical exposition about everything from quantum mechanics to artificial intelligence. The concepts of the author are off the charts but backed by sound science. It's a challenging read but well worth the effort.

Tyson Klein, a quantum physicist at CERN, analyzes data from the world’s most powerful particle accelerator. He discovers a highly intelligent pattern in data broadcast over what he terms a “Quantum Radio.” The data has the potential to answer the deepest questions about human existence and the cosmos itself, a Theory of Everything. Because the data accurately describes history and alternate histories and projects their future outcome, he first questions whether it’s from another universe or from the future. 

As he closes in on how to control the quantum radio, he finds that someone else is after it and will stop at nothing to get it. The first one to uncover its operation will control the world and probably more.

Riddle seamlessly weaves grandiose ideas in science, psychology, history, and time travel throughout the fabric of the personal relationships of several individuals who “coincidentally” enter Tyson’s life to help in his pursuit to master the radio. This sci-fi thriller provides entertainment and an incisive perspective on human values. Highly recommended.