The best science fiction books of the 1990s, ranked
203 science fiction books from the 1990s were recognized by the Hugo, Nebula, Locus or Clarke awards. These are the 25 readers rate highest.
The highest rated: The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons, ★ 4.41 from 3,700+ ratings.
The ranking
1. The Hyperion Cantos
Finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award (1992) ·
Seven pilgrims approach the Shrike. A civilization approaches war.
2. Ender's Shadow
Finalist for the Locus Award (2000) ·
This is Bean's installment of Orson Scott Card's Ender's saga.
3. Parable of the Talents
Won the Nebula Award; finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award (2000–2001) ·
Environmental devastation and economic chaos have turned America into a land of depravity.
4. Parable of the Sower
Finalist for the Locus and Nebula Awards (1995) ·
In 2025, with the world descending into madness and anarchy, one woman begins a fateful journey toward a better future.
5. Memory
Finalist for the Hugo, Locus and Nebula Awards (1997–1998) ·
A disgraced space hero gets a second chance.
6. Cryptonomicon
Won the Locus Award; finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke and Hugo Awards (2000) ·
Neal Stephenson hacks into the secret histories of nations and the private obsessions of men, decrypting with dazzling virtuosity the forces that shaped this century.
7. The Fall of Hyperion
Won the Locus Award; finalist for the Hugo and Nebula Awards (1991) ·
On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike.
8. A Deepness in the Sky
Won the Hugo Award; finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke, Locus and Nebula Awards (2000) ·
A Deepness in the Sky is a science fiction novel by American writer Vernor Vinge.
9. The Diamond Age
Won the Hugo and Locus Awards; finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke and Nebula Awards (1996–1997) ·
The story of an engineer who creates a device to raise a girl capable of thinking for herself reveals what happens when a young girl of the poor underclass obtains the device.
10. A Civil Campaign
Finalist for the Hugo, Locus and Nebula Awards (2000–2001) ·
Miles Vorkosigan launches a campaign to win the heart of Ekatarina, whose former husband died as a result of Miles' investigations in the book Komarr , by the same author.
11. A Fire Upon the Deep
Won the Hugo Award; finalist for the Locus and Nebula Awards (1993) ·
Thousands of years in the future, humanity is no longer alone in a universe where a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures, and technology…
12. Endymion
Finalist for the Locus Award (1997) ·
Dan Simmons's Hyperion was an immediate sensation on its first publication in 1989.
13. Barrayar
Won the Hugo and Locus Awards; finalist for the Nebula Award (1992) ·
Barrayar is a science fiction novel by American writer Lois McMaster Bujold.
14. The Sparrow
Won the Arthur C. Clarke Award (1998) ·
The Sparrow is a novel about a remarkable man, a living saint, a life-long celibate and Jesuit priest, who undergoes an experience so harrowing and profound that it makes him question the existence of God.
15. Mirror Dance
Won the Hugo and Locus Awards (1995) ·
Mark Vorkosigan hijacks a ship of the Dendarii Mercenaries and flies to the outlaw planet, Jackson's Whole, to destroy the clone creches where he was raised.
16. Doomsday Book
Won the Hugo, Locus and Nebula Awards; finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award (1993) ·
Somewhere in the future, ordinary history students must travel back in time as part of their university degree.
17. To Say Nothing of the Dog
Won the Hugo and Locus Awards; finalist for the Nebula Award (1999) ·
Connie Willis' entertaining comedy inspired by Jerome K.
18. The Vor Game
Won the Hugo Award; finalist for the Locus Award (1991) ·
The Vor Game is a science fiction novel by Lois McMaster Bujold, first published in September 1990.
19. Use of Weapons
Finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award (1991) ·
The man known as Cheradenine Zakalwe was one of Special Circumstances' foremost agents, changing the destiny of planets to suit the Culture through intrigue, dirty tricks and military action.
20. The Rise of Endymion
Won the Locus Award; finalist for the Hugo Award (1998) ·
After a prolonged decline, the Catholic Church receives a new lease of life when it discovers a way to resurrect the dead.
21. Snow Crash
Finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award (1994) ·
Within the Metaverse, Hiro is offered a datafile named Snow Crash by a man named Raven who hints that it is a form of narcotic.
22. The Funeral March of the Marionettes
Finalist for the Hugo and Nebula Awards (1998) ·
An alien dance ends lives. One human wants to join.
23. Cetaganda
Finalist for the Locus Award (1997) ·
The hero, Miles Vorkosigan, is sent to represent his planet at the funeral of the empress of the planet Cetaganda.
24. Body of Glass
Won the Arthur C. Clarke Award (1993) ·
He, She, and It (retitled Body of Glass in the United Kingdom) is a 1991 cyberpunk novel by American writer Marge Piercy.
25. Story of Your Life
Won the Nebula Award; finalist for the Hugo Award (1999–2000) ·
"Story of Your Life" is a science fiction novella by American writer Ted Chiang, first published in Starlight 2 in 1998, and later in 2002 in Chiang's collection of short stories, Stories of Your Life and Others.
Not yet rated
These winners do not have enough ratings to rank yet.
- Contact by Jerry Oltion & Lee Goodloe
- Cri de Coeur by Michael Bishop
- Fan by Geoff Ryman
- Fault Lines by Nancy Kress
- Fool to Believe by Pat Cadigan
- Gas Fish by Mary Rosenblum
- Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
- Jumping Off the Planet by David Gerrold
- Living Trust by L. Timmel Duchamp
- Reality Check by Michael A. Burstein
- Soon Comes Night by Gregory Benford
- The Astronaut from Wyoming by Adam-Troy Castro & Jerry Oltion
- The Way of All Ghosts by Greg Bear
- Time on My Hands: A Novel with Photographs by Peter Delacorte
- Wall, Stone, Craft by Walter Jon Williams
How we ranked
Science fiction novels and novellas published from 1990 to 1999 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.