Reader: Laura, Cambridge

Book Challenge: Any recommendations for a science-fiction fan? The titles I’ve picked up lately have been just OK — nothing like the page-turning spark of Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451’’ or Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World.’’ I’ve loved reading the usual authors of the science-fiction canon — among them Kurt Vonnegut and Philip K. Dick — but I would love something unexpected.

Match Book: It’s a great time to be a science-fiction fan. There are piles of beautifully written recent novels and stories that bend toward the fantastic. If you feel like you could veer toward the post-pandemic, try 2014’s “Station Eleven’’ by Emily St. John Mandel. For futuristic fantasy, try Chang-rae Lee’s “On Such a Full Sea’’ (I like his more realistic novels, too) published earlier the same year. At the risk of suggesting the obvious: You know about David Mitchell, right? His novels “The Bone Clocks’’ and “Cloud Atlas’’ are must-reads for lovers of alternative realities. Then there’s Kelly Link’s fiction, which offers other varieties of thrills. Her “Get in Trouble’’ was published last year and will be in paperback on Feb. 9. If you like those stories you can try her earlier collections, “Magic for Beginners’’ and “Stranger Things Happen.’’ Link’s stories show a remarkable range; it’s amazing the riot of situations and character she can wring out of the genre.NICOLE LAMY

Need some reading advice? A suggestion for a book to give as a gift? Write to matchbook@globe.com.