Best All-Time SF Novels Prior to 1990

In 1998 and 1999, Locus Magazine’s annual poll included several categories of Best All-time Science Fiction and Fantasy (restricting the results to works published prior to 1990, believing that recent works were too fresh in the voters’ memories to make reliable judgments about). The categories included Best SF Novel, Fantasy Novel, Anthology, Collection, Novella, and Short Story. While these results are certainly not definitive, they are interesting as a Recommending Reading lists of great science fiction. All the results are posted at the Locus Online website under their Locus Awards link if you wish to see more of them.

Best All-Time Science Fiction Novel (Prior to 1990):

1 / Dune / Frank Herbert
2 / The Moon is a Harsh Mistress / Robert A. Heinlein
3 / The Left Hand of Darkness / Ursula K. Le Guin
4 / The Foundation Trilogy / Isaac Asimov
5 / Stranger in a Strange Land / Robert A. Heinlein
6 / The Stars My Destination / Alfred Bester
7 / A Canticle for Leibowitz / Walter M. Miller Jr
8 / Childhood's End / Arthur C. Clarke
9 / Ender's Game / Orson Scott Card
10 / Hyperion / Dan Simmons
11 / Gateway / Frederik Pohl
12 / The Forever War / Joe Haldeman
13 / More Than Human / Theodore Sturgeon
14 / Lord of Light / Roger Zelazny
15 / Neuromancer / William Gibson
16 / Startide Rising / David Brin
17 / The Time Machine / H.G. Wells
18 / The Man in the High Castle / Philip K. Dick
19 / The Dispossessed / Ursula K. Le Guin
20 / Stand on Zanzibar / John Brunner
21 / 1984 / George Orwell
22 / The Demolished Man / Alfred Bester
23 / The Martian Chronicles / Ray Bradbury
24 / Starship Troopers / Robert A. Heinlein
25* / Downbelow Station / C.J. Cherryh
25* / Ringworld / Larry Niven
27 / 2001: A Space Odyssey / Arthur C. Clarke
28 / The War of the Worlds / H.G. Wells
29 / Fahrenheit 451 / Ray Bradbury
30 / The Mote in God's Eye / Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
31 / Way Station / Clifford D. Simak
32 / Star Maker / Olaf Stapledon
33 / Dying Inside / Robert Silverberg
34 / The City and the Stars / Arthur C. Clarke
35 / Dhalgren / Samuel R. Delany
36 / Rendezvous with Rama / Arthur C. Clarke
37 / Mission of Gravity / Hal Clement
38* / City / Clifford D. Simak
38* / Cyteen / C.J. Cherryh
40 / Flowers for Algernon / Daniel Keyes
41* / Double Star / Robert A. Heinlein
41* / Earth Abides / George R. Stewart
43* / The Door Into Summer / Robert A. Heinlein
43* / Last and First Men / Olaf Stapledon
43* / Ubik / Philip K. Dick
46* / Norstrilia / Cordwainer Smith
46* / The Witches of Karres / James H. Schmitz
48* / Frankenstein / Mary Shelley
48* / Have Space Suit -- Will Travel / Robert A. Heinlein
48* / Time Enough for Love / Robert A. Heinlein
51 / Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? / Philip K. Dick
52* / The Gods Themselves / Isaac Asimov
52* / Riverworld series / Philip Jose Farmer

* means two works were tied in points received

Of my personal favorite 12 sf novels, 8 were sf published prior to 1990, but only 5 made the above list: Lord of Light, Gateway, The Stars My Destination, Way Station and Dying Inside. The unfortunate 3 were Robert Silverberg’s Nightwings, Orson Scott Card’s Speaker for the Dead (which I consider far superior to Ender’s Game, which did make the above list), and Michael Bishop’s No Enemy But Time.