Although science fiction is a popular genre in literature, many still know only classics of the 20th century. However, all over the world there are many contemporary writers who do not allow this genre to fade. Remarkable novels still come out no less than half a century ago. Now the fantastic ideas of Alexander Belyaev or Alexei Tolstoy seem naive to us, and the works of contemporaries look more dynamic and exciting. I wonder what readers will say about them in two hundred years?
USA
At the mention of science fiction, many recall the name of Isaac Asimov, a modern American science fiction writer originally from the Smolensk region. In his works, he predicts the future of humanity associated with the widespread use of robots. This modern science fiction writer gave the world such masterpieces as The Three Laws of Robotics, I, Robot, Bicentennial Man and many other novels that brought him world fame.
The romantic works of Ray Bradbury are also loved by many and are not without a touch of fiction. The Martian Chronicles, 451 degrees Fahrenheit, and The Door to Summer are wonderful examples of dreamy fantastic prose filled with interesting images.
Robert Heinlein, one of the most famous authors in this genre, also falls into the rating of modern science fiction writers. No wonder he was nicknamed the "Dean of science fiction writers." Especially famous is his sensational work “Star Landing”, as well as such vivid novels as “Stepsons of the Universe”, “I have a spacesuit - I am ready to travel” and “The Moon is a severe mistress” will not leave indifferent any fan of the genre.
Clifford Saymak is the recipient of numerous awards in science fiction literature. He owns the novels Transplant Station, The Goblin Reserve, and Reconciliation in Ganymede.
John Scalzi is a classic geek. His most famous work is People in Red, where he humorously outplayes the popular stamp that was used in Star Trek. In his work we see a large number of nameless characters in red uniforms who will certainly die in missions, focusing our attention on the tragedy of the moment. Scalzi is characterized by ironic characters and witty dialogs.
Anne Lecky has released only two novels, but has already hit the same line with the famous contemporary science fiction writers. “Servants of Justice” is one of the most extraordinary books of recent years. The heroine of the book is a young girl whose brain has moved the consciousness (if I may say so) of a former spaceship. The result is an unusual thriller in which we see both a love story and a phantasmagoric alien civilization populated by intelligent ships and other creatures united in hive consciousnesses.
England
The modern science fiction writer Arthur Clark is the author of The Space Odyssey, as well as The Sands of Mars, Songs of the Distant Earth, Moon Bullet and Paradise Fountains. In addition, he is a famous futurologist and a talented inventor. His contribution to the history of mankind is the realized idea of communication satellites in geostationary orbits, thanks to which the World Wide Web and mobile communications are now operating.
China Mieville is an extreme extraordinary author who does not quite fit into the category of science fiction writers. In his works you can find magic, and zoomorphs, and steampunk, and robots. He writes in the genres of fantasy, fiction, horror and many others. Mouville opposes the commercialization of fantasy and battered clichés. In his novel Ambassadorial City, he tries to suggest what kind of culture will be for rational races without imaginative thinking.
Peter Hamilton is the author of many cosmic cycles, for example, The Sagas of the Commonwealth. The plot develops in the distant future, when people begin to colonize the galaxy. Along with the race of people, several types of aliens coexist. Hamilton invented and described a multifaceted world with particular politics, economics, and diplomacy.
Charles Strauss is recognized as a very versatile writer. He has released over 20 books in a wide variety of genres, from science fiction to fantasy to Lovecraft-style horror. Strauss loves to “trick” the reader and invent unimaginable plot designs. A great example of this kind is his novel Orangery, in the story of which a group of people decide on a risky experiment and go to live on an isolated space station in the 20th century. The novel was highly praised by critics and readers.
Stephen Baxter is one of the most global authors of modern science fiction. Modern science fiction writers and their works are certainly interesting to all fans of the genre. Many authors demonstrate deep scientific and technical awareness. Baxter is one of them. In one of his novels, he tells in detail the history of the Universe from the time of its appearance 20 billion years ago until its sunset in 10 billion years. Baxter provides every novel with in-depth research, even predicts the future, based on fundamental scientific theories. A good example of such a book is The Diversity of the Cosmos and The Ark.
Adam Roberts is famous for his unpredictability. You never know what to expect from his next work. His novel “Glass Jack” perfectly shows the extraordinary talent of the author. This work describes the mysterious stories of three murders. The plot was created in the spirit of Agatha Christie, but with one detail - the reader knows in advance that the killer is the main character.
Wales
Alastair Reynolds is a Welsh modern science fiction writer, beloved in Russia. He became famous for his deep science fiction and global space operations. For complex descriptions of technologies and other types of Reynolds hides lyrical thoughts about the meaning of life. His novels “Space of Revelation”, “House of the Sun” and “Pushing Ice” are indicative. Reynolds is recognized as one of the best modern science fiction writers due to his originality and his own approach to describing the fantasy world.
Canada
Karl Schroeder creates works on the verge of space opera and cyberpunk. The action of his creations develops in the distant future, but at the same time, writers are often worried about problems from the field of cyberpunk: the inviolability of life, self-consciousness, artificial intelligence. For example, in the new novel The Order, he reflects on long space travels, describing hundreds of worlds - from lonely planets without stars, to gas giants, where people live on giant balloons.
Peter Watts studied as a marine biologist, which affected his work. No one knew the author for a long time, until he uploaded his works to the Internet for all to see. Readers then discovered the novel False Blindness, which became Watts' main work. In it, the author reflects on human neurobiology and doubts the evolutionary justification of consciousness. Although vampires, aliens, and posthumanism are found in the book, the work managed to maintain laconicism and minimalism.
Poland
Stanislav Lem is the most famous and titled writer not only in Poland, but throughout the world. The author left a great literary heritage. His novels are read to this day. Among his most famous works are Solaris, Invasion from Aldebaran, Return from the Stars, The Diaries of John of the Quiet, Magellanic Cloud.
Andrzej Sapkowski is another Polish author. He is known for his cult novel, part of the famous “The Witcher Saga”. Many books in this series formed the basis of scenarios of acclaimed films, as well as computer games beloved by many.
France
Serge Lehman is a famous French science fiction writer, winner of many prestigious literary awards, a worthy successor to the work of remarkable French science fiction writers. Paying tribute to the great authors of the past, such as Jules Verne, Serge Brussolo and others, Lehman has his own unique literary style, for which he was so fond of fans. At the beginning of his writing career, he wrote the work “F. A. W. C. S. T.”, which became a bestseller. Now this book is part of a whole series about the struggle of the most powerful multinational companies for power over the world. Lehman is called an intellectual in the world of science fiction. He reflects on the structure of society and the world, building his own guesses and concepts.
South Africa
Quite curious is the fiction of South African authors. They invent detective novels in a rather unusual way. So, one of the works of Lauren Buques is dedicated to the time traveler killer, the other - to supernatural crimes, as well as the nature of social networks. The third work describes an alternative Johannesburg, in which criminals are chained to magical animals as punishment. Buques considers phenomena of interest to her, such as global surveillance, xenophobia, and even autotune. The supernatural in her is mixed with high technology, magic and perfumes exist side by side with smartphones and the Internet. However, she does not abuse the African flavor.
Russia
Modern Russian science fiction writers and their works are known not only in our country, but throughout the world. Many Russian science fiction authors are in demand abroad. There are a large number of translations of domestic books into English, French and other languages.
One of the most famous contemporary science fiction writers in Russia is Sergey Lukyanenko, who wrote The Night Watch and The Day Watch. He is also the author of the Dream Line series and other fantastic works.
The list of Russian contemporary science fiction writers also includes Andrei Livadny. He is the author of the series “Expansion: The History of the Galaxy”. The writer also works on projects such as Death Zone and STALKER.
Alexander Mazin is known for his vivid fantasy novels “Varyag” and “Barbaras”. The plot tells about modern people who, by chance, were in the distant past and are now forced to fight in order to survive.
Kir Bulychev (Igor Mozheiko) is a modern Russian science fiction writer and translator of foreign works of this genre. According to his stories about the girl, Alice Seleznev was given the film “A Guest from the Future,” which at one time was very popular.
Among the best contemporary Russian science fiction writers is Dmitry Rus, who has become famous for writing in the genre of Literary Literature. According to the law of the genre, the hero is immersed not just in a fantasy world, but in a real computer game. The book "Disruption" opens the author’s most famous series, "Play to Live." The main character was seriously ill when he faced a choice: to die slowly every day or load himself into a computer game, where it is so easy to get wealth, recognition and success, and all the trials are just a game.
Among modern Russian science fiction writers, Ilya Shumeya is also called. The author of seven science fiction books, he is scrupulous in observing the fundamental laws of physics, which makes his works seem especially plausible. As an atomic engineer, he describes in detail all the mechanisms. The heroes of Shumei are exemplary dreamers, for example, Oleg from the work “Star of the New Sky”, Andrey from the novel “The Uninvited Guest”.
Alexey Pekhov is a modern science fiction writer, author of fantasy novels written with elements of science fiction. Among his most famous novels are The Chronicles of Siala, Wind and Sparks, Kidrat, Sentinel, and The Dream Master. Pekhov's works are distinguished by a dynamic plot and bright worlds. Alexey Pekhov is a very extraordinary modern Russian science fiction writer, but fantasy lovers will find interesting works with him.
Russian science fiction women
The beautiful half of humanity has a special look at literary fiction. Among modern Russian science fiction writers, there are not so many women.
Olga Gromyko is a microbiologist. She writes comedy fantasy on the verge of science fiction, permeated by Slavic folklore. The most famous are her series of works "Cosmolooks", "Profession: Witch" and "Year of the Rat."
Yana Wagner has become popular on the net thanks to her works “Living People” and “Wongozero”, which form an ominous dilogy. The second book of the cycle was nominated for the NOS Prize, while still in handwritten form. According to the plot of the work, a mysterious epidemic forces people to leave the city. But the worst thing is not the virus, but the fact that people have to survive side by side in the wild.
Other
There are so many contemporary science fiction writers in Russia that it is difficult to list them all. A Russian person is drawn to the future, reflects on it, thinks about subtle spheres and the unknown. Russian authors, whose significance in the world of science fiction literature is difficult to ignore, will announce the list. Modern science fiction writers to be aware of are:
- Andrei Vasiliev (“The Shark of the Feather in the World of Fyroll”, “The Raven Disciples”, “Swat Group”).
- Ruslan (Dem) Mikhailov (“Ischgo”, “The World of Valdira”).
- Oleg Divov ("The Law of the Frontier", "Symbionts", "The Best Crew of the Solar").
- Andrey Cruz ("The Age of the Dead", "Land of the Superfluous").
- Vasily Golovachev (“The Gospel of the Beast”, “Time of Troubles”, “Forbidden Reality”, “Rescuers of the Fan”, “Catharsis”).
- Erpylev Andrey (“The Golden Imperial”, “The City of Stone Demons”, “In the Claws of an Unknown Age”).
- Andrei Izmailov (“Nebula”, “All of Myself”, “Happy to Stay”).
All over the world, people are passionate about fiction. After all, those who do not think about the future cannot live enthusiastically in the present. Science fiction writers are dreamers who expose their thoughts into words and share them with the world. Most authors are still young. They will write for us dozens of unusual and entertaining works about what lies ahead of us all.