The 1990s were a decade of change. In the political world, the collapse of the Soviet Union set in motion a chain of events that we are still feeling three decades later. In technology, home computers became commonplace, the CD ruled as king, even as mp3 players loomed on the horizon. In film, science fiction blockbusters took the world by storm. The Matrix, Men in Black and The Phantom Menace offered three vastly different experiences, but all of which left marks on the genre. Meanwhile, TV screens were ruled by the Berman era of Star Trek, alongside competitors such as Stargate SG-1 and Babylon 5. In the literary world, it was a decade of confusion, with the New Wave finally crashing against the rocks of modernity, and a resurgence in action-oriented adventures not seen since the Golden Age of the 1950s.

For science fiction readers, the decade was tinged with sadness, with the 1993 death of Isaac Asimov. In typical Asimov form, his passing was marked by a flurry of anthology releases, and a final posthumous novel in the form of Forward the Foundation. Yet even as the world lost one legend, new names were appearing on the scene. Kevin J. Anderson, Stephen Baxter, and David Weber all emerged during this period. These names would come to dominate science fiction, with all three still writing in 2024. Alongside these luminaries, however, are names that are perhaps less well-known. It is in these names that we can find the mind of the average SF reader during the 1990s.

In 1994, Jack McDevitt released The Engines of God. Though his 1989 novel A Talent for War would later have sequels, The Engines of God marks the start of McDevitt’s first major series. The Engines of God follows the exploits of a group of scientists and researchers on a distant world as the examine evidence of an ancient alien species. Hard SF was on the rise during this decade, and McDevitt was among those riding high on the waves. With handwaved allowances for interstellar travel, The Engines of God nevertheless takes science seriously. More than that, it takes scientists seriously. This novel advances the idea that corporations are a threat to the pursuit of knowledge, while also acknowledging that science for the sake of science is perhaps less important than the survival of the human race. The Engines of God also takes seriously the 1990s growing awareness of human-induced climate change, an idea that would come to play an important role in future histories in the coming decades.

Only a year later, in 1995, Diann Thornley arrived on the scene at the head of the space opera renaissance. During this decade, the lines between space opera and military SF were poorly defined, and Ganwold’s Child could easily be a member of both genres. Coming two years after David Weber’s On Basilisk Station, Ganwold’s Child fits a similar model of a far future inspired by the Napoleonic era of warfare. With the Anglophone world largely at peace during the 1990s, it was perhaps inevitable that authors would reach further into the past in search for military inspiration. Taking a classical bildungsroman approach to the narrative, Thornley’s novel demonstrates the popularity of action-driven storytelling in this decade, with space opera dominating bookshelves on both side of the Atlantic.

Then, in 1997, William R. Burkett Jr released Bloodsport. His first novel in nearly three decades, Bloodsport is a throwback to an earlier age of storytelling. The protagonist is a journalist turned big-game hunter, his companion a robot. Much attention is given over man’s conquest of alien beasts, even as, in the real world, big game hunting was falling out of favour. Perhaps the significant element of the book is Burkett himself. A journalist and hunting enthusiast himself, Burkett’s lived experience is tangible on the page. While the authors his style apes were scientists writing about scientists, Burkett brings a less esoteric experience to the text. A throwback the novel may be, but it is remarkably forward-looking in its approach to the ordinary people of the future.

These three novels go some way to describing the variety on offer in the 1990s. Scientific literacy was on the rise, and scientific accuracy was swinging back into favour. At the same time, action, escapism, and adventure were becoming increasingly popular for a populace who believed anything might be possible. The doom and gloom and the more militarily active 21st century had not yet bled onto the pages of science fiction, and guns were still a source of entertainment rather than fear. All in all, the 1990s proved foundational to the modern era of science fiction.