1965 winner:
Dune by Frank Herbert.
In this science fiction novel with sociological and religious overtones, an exile with psychic powers becomes the prophet of the savage people on the planet Dune. Dune series, book 1. RC 44126.
1966 winner:
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.
The narrator, a mentally impaired man of thirty-two, receives an operation to increase his learning ability. But although his mentality develops at high speed, there is always the possibility of regression. RC 33245, BR 333.
1966 winner:
Babel-17 by Samuel Delany.
Alien invaders disrupt Earth's communications and data flow with the unknown battle code Babel-17. General Forester and the Cosmic Poetess Rydra Wong must find a way to discern the inner meaning of the aliens' bizarre communications weapon, or watch the human race perish. RC 16378.
1968 winner:
Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin.
A coming of age narrative of a twenty-second century girl's struggles with universal problems. Thoughtful, sensitive science fiction for high school and adult readers. Some strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. RC 11237.
1969 winner:
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin.
Confused and afraid, a lone human becomes the pawn in an intrigue on Gethen, a planet inhabited by creatures that have the potential to be either male or female. RC 43166, BR 12827.
1970 winner:
Ringworld by Larry Niven.
A motley band of humans and aliens is sent to unlock the mysteries of a vast, ring-shaped world built around a distant sun by a defunct civilization. Ringworld series, book 1. RC 17418.
1971 winner:
A Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg.
In the world of Borthan, men have found peace by denying all concept of self and love. Even mention of the word "I" is taboo. Then, Prince Kinnal Darival discovers a doorway into the Self by taking a drug, and henceforth, his people regard him as a traitor. RC 19415.
1972 winner:
The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov.
In the twenty-first century, Frederick Hallam discovers the electron pump which delivers a ceaseless flow of energy from another universe. It soon becomes evident that this is a one way ticket to cosmic disaster. RC 10913, BR 1860.
1973 winner:
Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke.
Rama is the name given to the massive object that passes through the solar system in the twenty-second century. Explorers discover that Rama is not an asteroid or a dead relic, but is instead a thirty-one mile long alien spaceship that is undergoing amazing changes as it approaches the sun. Rama series, book 1. RC 34890.
1974 winner:
The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia by Ursula K. Leguin.
A brilliant but naïve physicist attempts to open interplanetary relations between two disparate societies, but neither shares his idealism. RC 8140.
1975 winner:
Forever War by Joe Haldeman.
William Mandella is drafted after college to fight a war in outer space. In space, William only ages months, while Earthlings age by decades. He finds civilization completely changed each time he returns from bloody combat. After 1,143 years, the war's end brings him home. Forever series, book 1. Some strong language. RC 48659.
1976 winner:
Man Plus by Frederik Pohl.
In a future plagued with the near certainty of thermo nuclear war, the United States races to turn astronaut Roger Torraway into a cyborg who will be able to survive on Mars. Some strong language. RC 60854.
1977 winner:
Gateway by Frederik Pohl.
Wealthy prospector Robinette Broadhead wins a one-way trip to Gateway, an abandoned interstellar depot of the vanished Heechee race. Unsettled by the experience and with the help of his computerized psychoanalyst, Broadhead begins a personal journey that could lead to his destruction. Strong language. Heechee Saga, book 1. Some strong language. RC 59083, BR 3582.
1978 winner:
Dreamsnake by Vonda McIntyre.
A science fiction adventure. Snake, sent on her first mission from the colony of healers where she had been raised, loses her "dreamsnake," a telepathic creature of alien origin which soothes patients and makes healing possible. She is pursued in her travels by Arevin, a young man who has loved her since he witnessed her heal a dying child. RC 12246.
1979 winner:
Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke.
A novel that brings together the past and future, revealing the aspirations of two dreamers. One man is a tyrannical second century prince, and the other is an engineer of the twenty-second century. The story is told from the point of view of the engineer Vannevar Morgan, who seeks to build a "space elevator" from the earth's equator out into space. RC 12962.
1980 winner:
Timescape by Gregory Benford.
In 1998, while the world is slowly dying from ecological disasters, famine, and social collapse, a small group of scientists work feverishly to send a message of warning back into the past. In 1963, a young physics professor receives their message and must convince a doubting world to take steps to avert a hopeless future. RC 19699.
1981 winner:
Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe.
Continues the odyssey of the banished torturer Severian in the barbaric world a million years in the future. While traveling to his city of exile, he confronts unknown dangers and manages to survive because he carries a magical jewel called the Claw of the Conciliator. Book of the New Sun series, book 2. RC 18149.
1982 winner:
No Enemy But Time by Michael Bishop.
While on a time travel assignment in prehistoric Africa, John Monegal joins a group of early prehumans. He shares in the intimate life of the group and in their struggle for survival in a brutal world. After fathering a child, he returns to the present, where he finds that the conflicting realities of two different lives in two different times have changed him forever. Strong language and explicit descriptions of sex. RC 36086, BR 9195.
1983 winner:
Startide Rising by David Brin.
Armadas of alien races clash in space to claim a Terran exploration vessel, manned by a crew of humans and dolphins, that bears one of the most important secrets in galactic history. New Uplift series, book 1. RC 23715.
1984 winner:
Neuromancer by William Gibson.
Chase, a twenty-first century computer interfacer, is caught stealing and receives nerve damage as punishment. Japan's medical minds cannot repair the injury. Drug addicted and penniless, Chase loses hope until he is kidnapped by strangers who promise to cure him if he uses his expertise for their dangerous project. Strong language, violence, and explicit descriptions of sex. Cyberspace Universe series, book 1. RC 34589, BR 9062.
1985 winner:
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.
While Earth is engaged in an interstellar war against insectoid aliens, six-year-old Ender Wiggin is chosen to be trained as the military genius who will carry his people to victory. Along with his brother Peter and sister Valentine, he not only brings the conflict to an end, but also affects the evolution of human society. Strong language. Ender Wiggin series, book 1. RC 22934.
1986 winner:
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card.
Portuguese colonists on the planet Lusitania discover a species of intelligent life whose puzzling, brutal customs threaten to trigger a second war. Ender Wiggin, hero and scapegoat in the last war, seeks a chance to redeem his own and humanity's greatest crime, the failure to understand. Ender Wiggin series, book 2. RC 24421.
1987 winner:
The Falling Woman by Pat Murphy.
Alienated from modern society, archaeologist Elizabeth Butler finds contentment excavating an ancient Mayan city in the Yucatan jungle. Her grown daughter seeks her out to renew their mother-daughter relationship, but Elizabeth's life has become bound up with the specter of a long-dead Mayan priestess who shows her the ancient rituals of the Maya. The priestess, though, requires a horrible sacrifice in exchange for knowledge of the rituals. RC 33352, BR 8700.
1988 winner:
Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold.
Leo Graf, a highly skilled welding engineer, has come to Cay Project, an orbital habitat, to teach the inhabitants welding. When Graf arrives, he discovers there are only 400 average people, or "downsiders," living there. The other 1,000 are "quaddies," children with two sets of arms and no legs. Graf is concerned about their lack of knowledge of the outside world, and rightly so. For soon, two quaddies attempt to escape to that world. Some strong language. BR 9367.
1989 winner:
The Healer's War by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough.
Drawing upon her own experiences, the author tells the story of Kitty McCulley, a nurse in Vietnam. While on duty, Kitty makes some bad decisions that result in contempt from her coworkers. But an amulet, given to her by a Vietnamese patient, allows her to help people in special ways. It comes in handy when she finds herself in the jungle with a crippled child and an American soldier. Violence and strong language. RC 35232.
1990 winner:
Tehanu by Ursula LeGuin.
Tenar, once priestess of Atuan and now the middle aged widow of a Gontish farmer, lives quietly, caring for her foster daughter Therru, an abused child. Soon, another needs Tenar's care; Ged, no longer Archmage of Earthsea, returns home, borne half-conscious on a dragon's back. Earthsea series, book 4. RC 32958, BR 8632.
1991 winner:
Stations of the Tide by Michael Swanwick.
The bureaucrat is sent to the planet Miranda to track down the renegade scientist and magician, Gregorian, who has acquired forbidden technologies for unknown purposes. As the bureaucrat tries to counter Gregorian's powers, he must unravel the ecological mysteries of Miranda's Jubilee Tides, a cyclical flood of the continents caused by the melting of the planet's icecaps every 200 years. Some descriptions of sex. RC 41182.
1992 winner:
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis.
Kivrin, a young, twenty-first century history student, travels back in time on assignment to fourteenth century Oxford. But something goes wrong, and she is stranded in the Middle Ages, right at the outbreak of the bubonic plague. As her modern mentor struggles to rescue her, Kivrin must come to terms with life and death in an age of superstition, fear, and suffering. RC 36888.
1993 winner:
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.
One hundred people, mostly Russian and American scientists, have been sent on a mission to Mars to establish a community for humans. But conflict among the colonists has divided them into the Reds and the Greens. The Reds want to leave the planet in its virgin state, but the Greens want to transform it. In the perilous and hostile landscape, the settlers act out many human emotions: love, hate, envy, and ambition. Some strong language. Mars series, book 1. RC 36318.
1994 winner:
Moving Mars by Greg Bear.
Casseia Majumdar, daughter of one of the oldest colonizing families of Mars, and Charles Franklin, a brilliant physicist, are caught up in the struggle for Mars's political independence from Earth. As hostilities break out between Earth and Mars, the discovery of new physical laws of the universe adds another dimension to the conflict. RC 37868.
1996 winner:
Slow River by Nicola Griffith.
Lore, a young kidnap victim whose identity implant was removed, chooses to depend on a stranger rather than return to her wealthy home. Intermingled with flashbacks to her family and the ordeal that took her from them, she describes Spanner, the woman who becomes her lover and draws her into illegal activities. Descriptions of sex. RC 47340.
1995 winner:
The Terminal Experiment by Robert J. Sawyer.
2011. To test his immortality theories, Dr. Peter Hobson creates three electronic simulations of his own mind. The duplicates somehow escape into the global matrix--and one becomes a killer. Some descriptions of sex, some violence, and some strong language. RC 59138.
1997 winner:
The Moon and the Sun by Vonda McIntyre.
At the command of King Louis the fourteenth, a Jesuit natural philosopher captures a female sea monster thought to hold the secret to immortality. The Jesuit's sister understands the creature's songs, realizes that she is a thinking, feeling being, and befriends her. Protecting the sea lady leads to confrontations with the king, and even the pope. BR 11672.
1998 winner:
Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman.
It is 2043, and the Ngumi War has been going on for over eight years. Burned out "soldierboy" Julian Class and his older lover Doctor Amelia Harding make a scientific discovery that could set the universe back to square one. Forever series, book 2. Violence, some descriptions of sex, and some strong language. RC 50404.
1999 winner:
Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler.
In Parable of the Sower (RC 39777), Lauren Oya Olamina established the community of Acorn, inhabited by followers of her Earthseed religion. Now with the election of Christian fundamentalist Reverend Andrew Steele Jarret as U.S. president, the residents of Acorn are in grave danger, including Lauren's infant daughter. Parable series, book 2. Strong language and some violence. RC 48070.
2000 winner:
Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear.
Disgraced archaeologist Mitch Rafelson, geneticist Kaye Lang, and government epidemiologist, a scientist who works to control disease in a population, Christopher Dicken are researching a miscarriage-producing virus named SHEVA, which spontaneously generates replacement pregnancies of new evolutionary humans. The ensuing panic spreads worldwide, and Kaye becomes pregnant. Sheva series, book 1. RC 50676.
2001 winner:
The Quantum Rose by Catherine Asaro.
To save her impoverished people, Komoj Argali, young governor of Argali Province, marries Havyrl Lionstar, a powerful, dark, and mysterious stranger. When a rejected suitor fights to get her back, she discovers her husband's true identity. Skolian Empire series, book 6. Some explicit descriptions of sex and some violence. RC 56766.
2002 winner:
American Gods by Neil Gaiman.
On his way to his wife's funeral, ex-convict Shadow meets the mysterious Mister Wednesday, who has an uncanny knowledge of Shadow's life. Accepting Wednesday's job offer throws Shadow into a supernatural world where ancient gods abound. Explicit descriptions of sex, violence, and strong language. RC 52917.
2003 winner:
The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon.
Born with autism at the dawn of the twenty-first century, Lou Arrendale is an independent adult working at a pharmaceutical company. When his boss pressures him to receive an experimental treatment that could reverse his condition, Lou worries how he will change and how he will feel being "normal." RC 58560.
2004 winner:
Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold.
Free of the madness imprisoning her in The Curse of Chalion (RC 53074), widowed dowager Royina Ista of Chalion undertakes a pilgrimage of atonement. Accompanied by loyal followers, Ista contends with gods, demons, and soldier-bandits until she is rescued by the hero of her visions. Curse of Chalion series, book 2. Some descriptions of sex and some violence. RC 57356.
2005 winner:
Camouflage by Joe Haldeman.
Samoa, 2019. Marine biologist Russell Sutton discovers an undersea relic that, once recovered, summons two aliens who have lived among humans for millennia. One is a peaceable changeling, the other a chameleon bent on eliminating competition. Some explicit descriptions of sex, some violence, and some strong language. RC 64434.
2006 winner:
Seeker by Jack McDevitt.
Interstellar antiquities dealer Alex Benedict from Polaris (RC 59625) acquires a nine-thousand-year-old cup believed to be from the starship Seeker, which fled Earth in 2688 to establish a new colony, Margolia. Alex and his assistant Chase Kolpath look for the Seeker, hoping it will lead to Margolia. Alex Benedict series, book 3. Some violence. RC 62061.