The best science fiction books of the 1980s, ranked
187 science fiction books from the 1980s were recognized by the Hugo, Nebula, Locus or Clarke awards, from cyberpunk’s birth to the great space operas. These are the 25 readers rate highest.
The highest rated: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, ★ 4.34 from 4,400+ ratings.
The ranking
1. Ender's Game
Won the Hugo and Nebula Awards; finalist for the Locus Award (1986) ·
Ender's Game is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card.
2. Hyperion
Won the Hugo and Locus Awards (1990) ·
Seven pilgrims. Seven stories. One destination beyond explanation.
3. The Handmaid's Tale
Won the Arthur C. Clarke Award; finalist for the Locus and Nebula Awards (1987) ·
A woman’s account of life inside a state that claims ownership of her.
4. Speaker for the Dead
Won the Hugo, Locus and Nebula Awards (1987) ·
Ender Wiggin, the young military genius, discovers that a second alien war is inevitable and that he must dismiss his fears to make peace with humanity's strange new brothers.
5. Robots and Empire
Finalist for the Locus Award (1986) ·
Esta quinta novela de la «Serie de los robots» supone un sensacional hito en la galaxia de ciencia ficción de Asimov y constituye la apasionante…
6. The Sword of the Lictor
Finalist for the Hugo and Nebula Awards (1983) ·
The Sword of the Lictor is a science fantasy novel by American writer Gene Wolfe.
7. Replay
Finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award (1988) ·
Jeff Winston, forty-three, didn't know he was a replayer until he died and woke up twenty-five years younger in his college dorm room; he lived another life.
8. Foundation's Edge
Won the Hugo and Locus Awards; finalist for the Nebula Award (1983) ·
After the defeat of the Mule by the Second Foundation, Terminus enjoys a period of prosperity and stability which is publicly attributed to the Seldon Plan, but which some feel is the work of the Second Foundation.
9. The Robots of Dawn
Finalist for the Hugo and Locus Awards (1984) ·
A millennium into the future two advances have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the Galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain.
10. The Citadel of the Autarch
Finalist for the Nebula Award (1984) ·
The Citadel of the Autarch is a science fantasy novel by American writer Gene Wolfe, first released in 1983.
11. Neuromancer
Won the Hugo and Nebula Awards (1985) ·
A hacker’s second chance leads into the machinery of a wired future.
12. The Plague Star
Finalist for the Locus Award (1986) ·
They seek a legendary ship. Its cargo can destroy worlds.
13. The Only Neat Thing to Do
Won the Locus Award; finalist for the Hugo and Nebula Awards (1986) ·
A young explorer finds companionship. Their bond carries an unexpected danger.
14. Prelude to Foundation
Finalist for the Locus Award (1989) ·
Prelude to Foundation is a novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in 1988.
15. The Mountains of Mourning
Won the Hugo and Nebula Awards; finalist for the Locus Award (1990) ·
The Mountains of Mourning is a science fiction novella by American author Lois McMaster Bujold.
16. Eye for Eye
Won the Hugo Award; finalist for the Locus Award (1988) ·
Eye for Eye (1987) is a science fiction novella by Orson Scott Card.
17. The Claw of the Conciliator
Won the Nebula Award; finalist for the Hugo Award (1982) ·
The Claw of the Conciliator is a science fantasy novel by American writer Gene Wolfe, first released in 1981.
18. Mona Lisa Overdrive
Finalist for the Hugo, Locus and Nebula Awards (1989) ·
Mona Lisa Overdrive is the final novel of the William Gibson's cyberpunk Sprawl trilogy.
19. The Urth of the New Sun
Finalist for the Hugo, Locus and Nebula Awards (1988–1989) ·
The Urth of the New Sun is a 1987 science fiction novel by Gene Wolfe that serves as a coda to his four-volume Book of the New Sun series.
20. Count Zero
Finalist for the Hugo, Locus and Nebula Awards (1987) ·
Turner, corporate mercenary, wakes in a reconstructed body, a beautiful woman by his side.
21. Marooned in Realtime
Finalist for the Hugo Award (1987) ·
In The Peace War Vernor Vinge introduced the technology of bobbles, creating spheres where time stands still while minutes, years, or eons pass by outside.
22. Foundation and Earth
Finalist for the Locus Award (1987) ·
Foundation and Earth is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, the fifth novel of the Foundation series and chronologically the last in the series.
23. 2010: Odyssey Two
Finalist for the Hugo and Locus Awards (1983) ·
When 2001: A Space Odyssey first shocked, amazed, and delighted millions in the late 1960s, the novel was quickly recognized as a classic.
24. The Uplift War
Won the Hugo and Locus Awards; finalist for the Nebula Award (1988) ·
David Brin's Uplift novels are among the most thrilling and extraordinary science fiction ever written.
25. Trinity
Finalist for the Nebula Award (1985) ·
One sister seeks God. Another fears what the search will cost.
Not yet rated
These winners do not have enough ratings to rank yet.
- Amnesia by Jack Dann
- Ancient of Days by Michael Bishop
- Brainchild by Joseph H. Delaney
- Dangerous Games by Marta Randall
- Emergence by David R. Palmer
- Fugue State by John M. Ford
- Homefaring by Robert Silverberg
- Hurricane Claude by Hilbert Schenck
- Kairos by Gwyneth Jones
- Marrow Death by Michael Swanwick
- Seeking by David R. Palmer
- Tango Charlie and Foxtrot Romeo by John Varley
- The Gospel According to Gamaliel Crucis by Michael Bishop
- The Postman by David Brin
- Transit by Vonda N. McIntyre
How we ranked
Science fiction novels and novellas published from 1980 to 1989 that won or were shortlisted for a major award. The top 25 by weighted reader rating. Books are ranked by a weighted rating: each book’s average is blended with the library average as if it had 100 extra ratings, so a few enthusiastic votes cannot outrank a book thousands of readers love. Ratings are web-aggregated averages. The list updates automatically as new award results come in.