Which modern sci-fi authors do you rate above the others? Which do you consider capable of entering the "hall of fame" alongside Philip K Dick, Heinlein and others? What makes your favourite authors special?
For my money, you can't beat Alastair Reynolds. His novels and short stories extrapolate modern scientific theory out into various, often bleak, futures. In that, he has the advantage of being an Astrophysicist. Yet unlike most "hard sci-fi" authors, many of his stories have an epic, operatic quality; with characters ranging from believable to unfathomable, but always enjoyable to read about. I believe his novels will stand the test of time, because although the theories on which they are based will be modified or even replaced as science advances, the core of his narratives are what good sci-fi is all about - commentary on the human condition and an examination of our potential future.
The technology of his Revelation Space universe(five novels, including one connected trilogy, plus a few short stories) is the most believable I've seen in a far-future setting; starships known as "lighthuggers" are the only means of inter-stellar travel, and as the name suggests are limited to travelling at very near(99.8% I believe) the speed of light, and weaponry conforms to known laws(lasers, bosers(atom lasers), grasers(gamma lasers) and relativistic railguns). The few technologies which are more fiction than science are still rooted in modern physics; at one point characters discover a technology which can be used to suppress inertia, allowing immense acceleration, but great pains are taken by the author to point out the various negative effects, both on human anatomy as a consequence of reducing or removing constants on which it depends, and the causal implications of violating space-time even on a local level.
Perhaps the best aspect of this focus on realism, or at least pseudo-realism, are the space battles. While the main focus of his stories are the characters and situations, when space-borne conflict occurs, it's excellent. Characters within ships sustaining high-G must wear exoskeletons to move around, in one case a main character uses the ship's acceleration as a weapon to murder an enemy; putting herself in restraints and then rapidly switching the engines from positive to negative acceleration by a factor of several gees, battering her opponent to death. Combat takes place over week, month and year-long timescales, with intriguing tactics such as throwing laser-decelerated sheets of solar-sail into the path of a pursuing ship(which at near-light speeds would be like hitting a wall), or scattering nuclear "crustbuster" weapons through the combat zone to illuminate an enemy with their detonations, allowing laser weapons to target more effectively.
The settings in Revelation Space vary from early-stage colony worlds riven by political intrigue, to the bizarre-yet-inhabited ruins of humanity's greatest civilisation which was nearly annihilated by a nanotech virus, to an airless moon riddled with subterranean habitats ruled by a mad theocrat from his mobile cathedral.
In short; believable, well written characters, fantastical settings, operatic tone, and a great respect for modern science. Everything you could want in a good sci-fi series, IMO.
What about you lot?
For my money, you can't beat Alastair Reynolds. His novels and short stories extrapolate modern scientific theory out into various, often bleak, futures. In that, he has the advantage of being an Astrophysicist. Yet unlike most "hard sci-fi" authors, many of his stories have an epic, operatic quality; with characters ranging from believable to unfathomable, but always enjoyable to read about. I believe his novels will stand the test of time, because although the theories on which they are based will be modified or even replaced as science advances, the core of his narratives are what good sci-fi is all about - commentary on the human condition and an examination of our potential future.
The technology of his Revelation Space universe(five novels, including one connected trilogy, plus a few short stories) is the most believable I've seen in a far-future setting; starships known as "lighthuggers" are the only means of inter-stellar travel, and as the name suggests are limited to travelling at very near(99.8% I believe) the speed of light, and weaponry conforms to known laws(lasers, bosers(atom lasers), grasers(gamma lasers) and relativistic railguns). The few technologies which are more fiction than science are still rooted in modern physics; at one point characters discover a technology which can be used to suppress inertia, allowing immense acceleration, but great pains are taken by the author to point out the various negative effects, both on human anatomy as a consequence of reducing or removing constants on which it depends, and the causal implications of violating space-time even on a local level.
Perhaps the best aspect of this focus on realism, or at least pseudo-realism, are the space battles. While the main focus of his stories are the characters and situations, when space-borne conflict occurs, it's excellent. Characters within ships sustaining high-G must wear exoskeletons to move around, in one case a main character uses the ship's acceleration as a weapon to murder an enemy; putting herself in restraints and then rapidly switching the engines from positive to negative acceleration by a factor of several gees, battering her opponent to death. Combat takes place over week, month and year-long timescales, with intriguing tactics such as throwing laser-decelerated sheets of solar-sail into the path of a pursuing ship(which at near-light speeds would be like hitting a wall), or scattering nuclear "crustbuster" weapons through the combat zone to illuminate an enemy with their detonations, allowing laser weapons to target more effectively.
The settings in Revelation Space vary from early-stage colony worlds riven by political intrigue, to the bizarre-yet-inhabited ruins of humanity's greatest civilisation which was nearly annihilated by a nanotech virus, to an airless moon riddled with subterranean habitats ruled by a mad theocrat from his mobile cathedral.
In short; believable, well written characters, fantastical settings, operatic tone, and a great respect for modern science. Everything you could want in a good sci-fi series, IMO.
What about you lot?
