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Poodlerat’s book blog

Best SF Before 1990

For my own interest, and possibly yours, the results of Locus Magazine’s 1998 poll: Best Science Fiction Novel (before 1990):

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

Sometime in mid-way through 2007, it occurred to me that I love science fiction, and that I don’t read nearly enough of it. There are so many great books in the genre that I’ve heard about from many sources but never got around to actually reading. Hopefully, lists like this one will help me to change that.