Here and Beyond by Hal LaCroix; One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford; I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman; The Reaper by Jackson P BrownHere and Beyond by Hal LaCroix (Bloomsbury, £16.99)The only realistic way human beings could colonise planets beyond our solar system is if they spent their lives travelling and committed their children and grandchildren to the same fate, so their descendants might have a chance to reach another habitable world. Writers who have taken this fictional challenge, including Robert A Heinlein and Brian Aldiss, have assumed civilisational breakdowns would result, with the survivors coming to believe their ship is the only world there ever was. The author of this brilliant, character-driven debut novel has taken a more optimistic view. On Earthworld, success was measured in terms of expansion and exploitation, but on Shipworld, survival depends on preservation, recycling and austerity. During 360 years of travel to planet HD-40307g, the descendants of the original 600 pioneers never lose sight of the distant goal, along the way meeting unexpected challenges, setbacks and tragedies, but also innovations, insights and moments of joy. It’s an imaginative journey that’s absorbing, thoughtful and deeply humane.One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford (Tor, £22)In a post-zombie pandemic London, Kesta is a scientist working on a project dedicate