Locus Magazine Announces Winners of Poll for Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels

Fri, 12/28/2012 - 11:08am by esti

At the end of November, Locus Magazine polled its readers to determine the best science fiction and fantasy novels of the 20th century as well as the best of the 21st century so far. As of this week, the results are in. Unsurprisingly, old favorites like Tolkien, Asimov, and Ursula K. Le Guin took top slots, sharing the spotlight with George R.R. Martin's wildly popular Game of Thrones novels as well as up-and-coming writers like Paolo Bacigalupi.

Check out the top books in our catalog, and visit Locus for the full results. Science fiction and fantasy are more popular than ever right now, and you can also find the film or television adaptations of many of these books in our collections!

Best Science Fiction of the 20th Century:
1. Frank Herbert, Dune (1965)
2. Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game (1985)
3. Isaac Asimov, The Foundation Trilogy (1953)
4. Dan Simmons, Hyperion (1989)
5. Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness (1969)

Best Fantasy of the 20th Century:
1. J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (1955)
2. George R. R. Martin, A Game of Thrones (1996)
3. J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit (1937)
4. Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea (1968)
5. Roger Zelazny, Nine Princes in Amber (1970)

Best Science Fiction of the 21st Century:
1. John Scalzi, Old Man's War (2005)
2. Neal Stephenson, Anathem (2008)
3. Paolo Bacigalupi, The Windup Girl (2009)
4. Robert Charles Wilson, Spin (2005)
5. Peter Watts, Blindsight (2006)

Best Fantasy of the 21st Century:
1. Neil Gaiman, American Gods (2001)
2. Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (2004)
3. Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind (2007)
4. China Mieville, The Scar (2002)
5. George R. R. Martin, A Feast For Crows (2005)

For lesser-known reads that made the lists (but don't have holds queues yet!), check out Cory Doctorow's Little Brother, Tim Powers' The Anubis Gates, or Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's Roadside Picnic.