The best modern science fiction writers in the world rating. Modern science fiction writers and their works

Despite the fact that science fiction is still a very popular genre in cinema and literature, many readers only know the classics of the 20th century. Everyone remembers Bradbury, Asimov and Philip Dick, but few can name modern science fiction writers. Science fiction is thriving nonetheless - and there are no fewer good novels than 50 years ago. Look At Me has collected 12 contemporary science fiction writers worth reading.

We compiled the list according to several criteria:

Peter Watts

Year of birth: 1958

First novel:"Sea stars" (1999)

Best novels:"False blindness", "Starfish", "Echopraxia"

A marine biologist by training, Canadian Peter Watts began writing in the late 90s, but he was not noticed for most of his career until he published his works in free access in the Internet. After that, readers discovered "False Blindness", the main novel by Watts, and now the writer is deservedly considered one of the best modern science fiction writers. False Blindness is a book that asks unexpected questions about human neurobiology and challenges the evolutionary justification of consciousness. On the one hand, everything is mixed in the novel at once: vampires, posthumanism, aliens, on the other hand, this is an extremely minimalistic and clear book, in which there is nothing superfluous. Watts' education definitely influences his literature: he looks at humanity from a non-standard angle and comes up with new creatures, starting from existing marine organisms.

Ken McLeod

Year of birth: 1954

First novel:"Star Faction" (1995)

Best novels:"Newton's Wake: Space Opera", "Invasion", "Execution Channel"

Ken McLeod has been called "anarcho-primitivist" and "techno-utopian"; socialist, communist and anarchist ideas are always present in his novels, and the author himself admits that he is inspired by the views of Leon Trotsky. MacLeod takes an active political position and often gives public lectures - and criticizes the state of modern Britain. He also cannot do without fantastic topics in his books: first of all, he is interested in posthumanism, cyborgs and cultural evolution. For example, what will happen to our culture if we download consciousness into a computer? At the same time, MacLeod has a sense of humor: his novels are often called satirical, and he himself is very fond of puns - for example, he calls the chapters of his books ambiguous phrases like "revolutionary platform".

China Mieville

Year of birth: 1972

First novel:"Rat King" (1998)

Best novels:"Embassy City", "City and City", "Station of Lost Dreams"

Chyna Mieville was born in London to a hippie family. His parents gave him the strange name "China" - as was customary in the countercultural British society at the time - for example, he had a friend "India". Mieville is not a science fiction writer in the classical sense, but one of the most popular contemporary authors in the genre of speculative literature; he writes both fantasy and horror, and is a member of the British fantasy movement The New Strangers, which tries to save fantasy from commercialization and clichés. Anything can be found in Mieville's books: magic, people with insect heads, steampunk and cyborgs. Sometimes, however, Mieville is engaged in pure science fiction, and he does it brilliantly. Good example- his novel "Ambassadorial City", in which he examines the problems of language; the author tries to imagine what kind of culture will be among intelligent beings who are not capable of imaginative thinking.

Peter Hamilton

Year of birth: 1960

First novel: The Rising of the Star of Mind (1993)

Best novels:"Pandora's Star", "The Great Northern Route", "Dreaming Abyss"

Englishman Peter Hamilton became famous in the early 90s thanks to the trilogy of detective novels about the psychic detective Greg Mandela. Since then, however, he began to write science fiction of a completely different kind. Hamilton is the author of large, thoughtful space epics, having written several space cycles, the most famous of which is The Commonwealth Saga. It takes place in the distant future. (the plot of all the books included in the Saga universe stretches over thousands of years): people colonize the Galaxy and fly to distant stars. Several alien races coexist with people at once; for novels, Hamilton invented and described a complex world with its politics, economics and diplomacy. In general, Hamilton's fiction is about what people imagine when they hear the phrase "space opera", only very well thought out and written.

Karl Schroeder

Year of birth: 1962

First novel:"Ventus" (2000)

Best novels:"Order", "Lady of the Labyrinths", "Immutability"

A certified futurist and influential author for the followers of the philosophy of speculative realism, Canadian Karl Schroeder writes novels on the verge of cyberpunk and space opera. On the one hand, the action of his books usually takes place in the distant future, and the plot is associated with interstellar travel, on the other hand, the writer is interested in issues most often associated with cyberpunk: privacy, self-awareness of an individual (and its dissolution) supplemented and a virtual reality, artificial intelligence. Schroeder is professionally engaged in futurism: in his free time from creativity, he advises organizations that predict the development of technology. The best thing about Schroeder's books is what they call worldbuilding; the ability to beautifully, quickly and accurately describe imaginary worlds. In his latest novel, Order, he, for example, talks about very long space travel and describes hundreds of strange worlds, from lonely planets without a star, illuminated by lasers, and planets made entirely of water, to gas planets where people live on huge balloons. , and planets, where the atmosphere is like a huge neon lamp.

Charles Strauss

Year of birth: 1964

First novel: Singularity Sky (2003)

Best novels:"Accelerando", "Greenhouse", "Rule 34"

The most versatile writer in the whole wave of new British fiction (The British are distinguished by their craving for "hard" sai-fay and often left-wing political views) During his lifetime, Strauss worked as a programmer, pharmacist and technology journalist. For ten years he wrote a monthly Linux column in Computer Shopper magazine, but eventually closed it to devote himself to writing. In literary genres, Strauss is about as extraordinary as in his choice of profession: not counting stories, he has published about 20 books in a variety of styles, from "hard" science fiction to fantasy and horror in the spirit of Lovecraft. His science fiction novels are best described with the word "mindfuck": Strauss deceives the reader a lot and comes up with the most incredible designs. An exemplary romance in this sense (by the way, it may well be the only one that you read from this list - it is so good)- "Greenhouse", in which a group of people from the future agree to an experiment: they live on an isolated space station in the 20th century. The book leads the reader by the nose and turns everything upside down several times.

John Scalzi

Year of birth: 1969

First novel:"Doomed to Win" (2005)

Best novels:"People in Red", "Android's Dream", "Locked Up"

Scalzi is a classic geek turned writer. Since 1998, he has been blogging Whatever, where he speaks out on the most different topics, writes books and articles on video games, cinema and astronomy; he even acted as a consultant on one of the Stargate series. Skalzi's most famous book is Men in Red, an utterly geeky novel. It comically plays out the famous cliche from "Star Trek" - there often appeared unnamed characters in red uniforms, who always died in missions to emphasize the danger for the viewer. Most of the time, Scalzi writes more serious - often military - science fiction. However, he is capable of many things: in one of his last novels, Locked, he writes a real detective story. The main thing that distinguishes Scalzi's books are ironic, resourceful characters and witty dialogues.

Alastair Reynolds

Year of birth: 1966

First novel:"Space of revelation" (2000)

Best novels:"Space of Revelation", "House of the Suns",
"Pushing ice"

Favorite in Russia (the Azbuka publishing house regularly prints his novels) Welsh writer known for hard science fiction and massive space operas. Like other authors of space operas, he can be described with numbers alone: his cycle "The Space of Revelation" covers a time period of tens of thousands of years (although the main action takes place over three centuries), and interstellar travel in it occurs with the help of ships that travel at almost the speed of light. Reynolds explains the existence of a mechanical race that destroys intelligent civilizations when they develop to a certain level. For complex and detailed descriptions space, technology and alien civilizations, Reynolds, however, hides more personal, private things: lyrical reflections on the philosophy of life and a melancholic mood.

Stephen Baxter

Year of birth: 1957

First novel:"Raft" (1991)

Best novels:"Proxima", "Ark", "Diversity of Space"

The author of almost 50 novels, British Stephen Baxter is one of the most ambitious thinkers of modern "hard" science fiction. Baxter comes up with a truly massive space fiction, while still managing to maintain scientific credibility (say, in one of his books, he describes the history of the Universe from the date of its birth 20 billion years ago to death after 10 billion years)... In addition, he performs in the genre of a disaster novel and alternative history... Whatever Baxter writes, he precedes any of his novels with long and detailed studies - therefore, even the future of mankind, he predicts by scientific theories... He himself says that he is inspired by the old fiction of H.G. Wells; the writer, by the way, is the vice-president of the H.G. Wells International Society.

Adam Roberts

Year of birth: 1965

First novel:"Salt" (2000)

Best novels:"Salt", "Yellow-blue Tibia",
"Glass Jack"

Postmodern trickster Adam Roberts is the most unpredictable author of modern fiction. You don't know what to expect from each of his new books: he has futuristic detective stories, novels about the colonization of other planets, and cosmic utopias; in addition, Roberts wrote several parodies under the pseudonyms ARRRR Roberts and The Robertsky Brothers, including Tolkien's novels, The Matrix and Star Wars". Every novel by Roberts is a literary game, in all his books he uses unexpected structure and plays with language. His book "Glass Jack" is coming out in Russian soon, and it perfectly characterizes Roberts: it is a detective story about three murders, written like classic novels by Agatha Christie, but with the condition that the reader knows from the very beginning that the killer is the main character... Roberts' problem is that he never continues his novels or turns them into series, and in fiction this is a sure way to never become a popular author: Science fiction readers prefer large series, sagas and cycles to immerse themselves over and over again. the same world.

Ann Leckie

Year of birth: 1966

First novel:"Servants of Justice" (2013)

Best novels: Servants of Justice, Servants of the Sword

Despite the fact that Anne Leckie has released only two novels and has not yet finished her debut trilogy "The Radch Empire" (the final part will be released in October this year), she is already called along with the best modern science fiction writers. Leckie tried science fiction as a teenager, but she failed to publish. Lecky got married, had two children and took up housekeeping, but in order not to get too bored at home, she continued to write - and finished the first draft of the novel "Servants of Justice" back in 2002. The book was published in 2013 - and this is one of the most unusual novels of recent times. The main character is a former spaceship (Yes exactly),

First novel:"Moxiland" (2008)

Best novels: Moxiland, Shining Girls, Broken Monsters

South African novelist primarily writing detective novels. Let's say one of her books is about a time-traveling assassin, the other is about supernatural murders, the nature of fame and social networks, another - an alternative Johannesburg, where criminals are tied to magical animals as punishment. In her novels, Bukes explores contemporary phenomena that excite her, from global surveillance and xenophobia to autotune. The supernatural is mixed with technology, ghosts and magic coexist with smartphones and by e-mail, but at the same time Bukes does not write fantasy - and most certainly does not abuse the African flavor. At their core, her books are science fiction, because the main thing that distinguishes the genre is the unexpected questions that are asked to humanity in it; that is what Bukes does.

Science fiction is books about imaginary worlds. This genre forces writers and readers to transcend their own universe and most often addresses issues of morality, war, or family values.

The best science fiction works also provide insight into the implications of innovation, showing the endless possibilities of what can happen when we push the boundaries of science. We bring to your attention a list of the best such books from the site "Reddit". Do you agree with the opinion of the site users? You can leave your answers in the comments.

Rise from the dust

The novel "Rise from the Dust" describes enough simple idea: What will happen if everyone who has ever lived on Earth is resurrected? Farmer's masterpiece, which opens the Riverworld cycle, follows the interactions and adventures of fictional characters as well as major historical figures.

Torture master

Master of Torture is the first novel in Wolfe's Book of the New Sun series, about Severyan, an apprentice for the Executioners' Guild. Severyan is sent into exile for the betrayal he committed when he helped his beloved woman to commit suicide. This is how his journey begins, during which he seeks answers to questions about reality and common sense.

Anathem

Author - Neil Stevenson

Stevenson's novel Anathem tells of a society that forces intellectuals into special monasteries to focus solely on research in the name of science. However, the boundaries between monasteries and secular society are gradually blurring in the course of an unforeseen crisis that can affect everyone.

Cosmic apocalypse

When wealthy archaeologist and scholar Dan Silvest discovers in 2251 that ancient civilization on the planet Resurgem was mysteriously destroyed, he begins to fear that humanity will suffer the same fate.

In "Cosmic Apocalypse" several lines of narration are conducted in parallel, with some taking place years or even decades before the start of others.

Left hand of darkness

Considered one of the first major so-called female science fiction novels, “ Left hand darkness ”tells about the attempts of man to convince the race of asexual aliens to join the intergalactic alliance.

The Gethenians described by Le Guin and their constantly cold planet Gethen, which means "Winter", is a view of the world devoid of ordinary human duality.

I am a robot

Perhaps fans of Will Smith will be interested in learning about the original source: it was Asimov who wrote ten short stories about the futuristic relationship between robots and humans.

The central place in the novel "I, Robot" is occupied by the three laws of robotics formulated by Azimov - a set of rules for ensuring safety in his fictional reality, which the writer repeatedly uses in his other novels.

Sirens of Titan

Perhaps Vonnegut's most famous work is Slaughterhouse 5, but Sirens of the Titan comes in second, with an alien on Titan who, by chance, makes decisions about all events on planet Earth, from war to the establishment of moral principles, and becoming, in the end, almost the goal of the existence of mankind.

Contact

Years after his appearance on American television screens on the PBS program "Cosmos", Sagan published the novel "Contact", in which the Earth receives several messages from extraterrestrial beings.

Many of the messages are written in the international language of mathematics, allowing humans to communicate and ultimately interact with alien life.

Red Mars

In the first novel from the "Mars" cycle, humanity is just beginning to conquer the Red Planet - Mars is subject to terraforming for subsequent colonization.

The entire trilogy covers a period of several centuries. The focus is on a few dozen deeply designed characters. The book seeks to provide answers to questions about the scientific, sociological, and possibly ethical implications of human exploration of Mars.

Pandora's Star

In a world where hundreds of planets are linked by a series of wormholes, astronomer Dudley Bowes discovers the disappearance of a pair of stars thousands of light-years from Earth. Research into this phenomenon begins.

The book also describes some "guardians of individuality" - a cult that sabotaged Bowes' mission and manipulated an entity called Starflyer.

Midge in the apple of the Lord

In 3016, the Second Empire of Mankind covers hundreds of star systems. This became possible thanks to the invention of the "Alderson Drive" technology, which allows to overcome giant distances at speeds exceeding the speed of light. So far, humanity has never encountered a race of other intelligent beings.

And suddenly an alien race was discovered near the distant star Mot. Humans are happy about the so-called Motie, but Motie has a dark secret that has dominated their civilization for millions of years.

Passion for Leibovitz

It has been 600 years since the nuclear disaster. A monk from the Order of St. Leibovitz discovers the technology of the great saint, which may be the key to saving humanity - the abandonment of bomb shelters and the basis for the atomic bomb.

The book tells about how humanity is re-emerging from the dark ages, but then again faced with the horrors of nuclear war.

Excession

Two millennia ago, a black star called Excession mysteriously appeared at the edge of space. The star was older than the universe and mysteriously disappeared.

Now she is back, and diplomat Bir Genar-Hofen must uncover the mystery of the lost sun, while his race is at war with a dangerous alien civilization.

Starship Troopers

Author - Robert Heinlein

Starship Troopers tells the story of Juan Rico, who decided to join the military forces of the Earth to fight an alien enemy. The book tells about the strict training of soldiers in a military camp, as well as the psychological state of conscripts and naval commanders.

One of the first great science fiction novels, Starship Troopers inspired many other writers to write military science fiction novels. For example, Heinlein's motives can be traced in Joe Haldeman's novel Infinity War.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Author - Philip Dick

Based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? the cult film "Blade Runner" was shot. In 2021, after millions of people died during the world war, entire species of living things were doomed to extinction. So all that is left is to create artificial copies of endangered species: horses, birds, cats, sheep ... and humans.

Androids are so natural that they are almost indistinguishable from real people. But bounty hunter Rick Descartes (Rich Deckards) tries to do just that - hunt down the androids and then kill them.

Ringworld

The Ringworld is the story of a 200-year-old man, Luis Wu, who sets out on an expedition to explore an unfamiliar world with his 20-year-old colleague Tila Brown and two aliens.

The book tells about their adventures in the Ring World - a huge mysterious artifact about 966 million km long, orbiting a star, about how people try to reveal the secrets of this world - and escape.

2001: A Space Odyssey

Author - Arthur Clarke

The best scientists of the Earth collaborate in research with the ultra-modern computer "HAL 9000", but the machine, made in the image and likeness of the human brain, turns out to be capable of feelings of guilt, neuroses ... and even murder.

Endless war

Written by a Vietnam War veteran as an allegory of the Vietnam War, Infinity War tells the story of a soldier, William Mandella, who is forced to join the army and leave Earth to fight the mysterious alien race Torans.

But due to temporal distortions, the journey of a soldier takes ten subjective years, while on Earth it takes as much as 700 years. And Mundella ends up returning to a completely different planet.

Avalanche

Hiro the Protagonist may seem like nothing more than a pizza delivery guy in futuristic Los Angeles, but he's a famous hacker and samurai warrior in the Metaverse.

When a new drug known as Avalanche begins killing his hacker friends in the Metaverse, Hiro has to figure out where the dangerous drug came from.

Neuromancer

Keyes, a former hacker and cyber thief, has lost the ability to enter cyberspace. But one day his abilities return to him as a result of a miraculous coincidence. He is hired by a mysterious man named Armitage, but during the mission, Keyes discovers that someone - or something - continues to pull the strings.

Neuromancer was the first novel to receive three main Science Fiction Awards: Hugo, Nebula, and the Philip K. Dick Awards.

Hyperion

The Hugo Prize-winning novel is the first in a series about seven travelers who traveled to an alien planet to find a mysterious monster named Shrike and save humanity from certain doom.

Rumor has it that if you stay alive after meeting with the Shrike, one wish will be granted. The galaxy is on the eve of war and Armageddon, and the seven pilgrims are humanity's last hope.

Base

The "Foundation" takes place in such a distant future that people have forgotten the Earth and now live in the entire galaxy.

Everything seems to be fine, but the scientist Harry Seldon predicts that the Empire is about to collapse, and humanity will roll back about 30 thousand years ago, into the new dark ages. He comes up with a scheme to preserve knowledge of the human race in an encyclopedia in order to re-create an empire
over the course of several generations.

Ender `s game

Andrew "Ender" Wiggin believes he was selected to prepare for battle with an alien race. He is prepared to operate a fleet with the help of computer game simulating military action. In fact, this boy is a military genius of the Earth, and it is he who will have to grapple with the "bugs".

In the first book of the series "Ender's Game" Ender is only six years old, and we can learn about the first years of his studies.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

In the first book of the cycle, Arthur Dent learns from his friend Ford Prefect, a secret employee of the manufacturer of the interstellar guide "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", that the Earth is about to be destroyed.

Friends escape in an alien spaceship, and the book tells of their strange travels through the universe. Also, the novel is filled with quotes from the guide itself, for example, “The towel is perhaps the most valuable thing for a hitchhiker ".

Dune

No list like this would be complete without mentioning Frank Herbert's Dune, which is essentially what The Lord of the Rings is to fantasy in science fiction.

Herbert created a story about politics, history, religion, and ecological systems of a feudal interstellar empire. Trapped on the desert planet Arrakis, Paul Atreides turns into a mysterious religious figure - Muad'Diba. He intends to avenge the murder of his father, for which he unleashes a revolution, during which he ascends to the imperial throne.

451 degrees Fahrenheit

The dystopian novel tells the story of the life of a firefighter whose purpose is not to put out the fire, but to kindle it. Guy Montag is on guard for the creation of an ideal world without reading books, where, in the opinion of the state, unnecessary contradictory information for a modern person is written.

Burning books for evening reading, religious, textbooks turns into a kind of purification ritual. A person found behind a book is taken away from their own home with a stream of flame. Deprived of emotions, feelings and experiences, the population of this world hurries home to an interactive television broadcasting empty TV programs. These people see the point only in buying another unnecessary thing.

The main character, as the story develops, meets everything more people who use a variety of methods to resist power. Gradually, Guy Montag himself begins to collect the preserved precious books.

1984

The Ministry of Truth is one of the main oversight bodies that governs print media. Here, employees are working hard to falsify and distort real events. The newspapers only write what people would like to read. The main focus is on correcting propaganda articles. Even children slander their own parents because of ideological lack of restraint.

The protagonist of the novel - Winston Smith - is rigging historical facts, rewriting old news, corrects literature according to the current rate. Now it is impossible to dispute that at some moments in history it was somehow different - there is no evidence. Winson himself only pretends to be a supporter of the Party, but deep down he hates and is skeptical of everything.

The main character begins to keep a diary in which he splashes out all emotions, despite the fact that this can lead to hard labor or even death. Winston soon realizes that he is not the only employee in the ministry whose views oppose the current government, and who is also used to wearing the mask of a respectable citizen, content with his position.

11/22/63

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy is the loudest, most mysterious and controversial event of the last century. It is still not known for certain who had a hand in this tragedy, but there are only theories that have remained unproven.

The author of the book offers his version of what happened and sends him on a journey into the teacher's world of English language Jacob Epping. The main character has a difficult mission - the rescue of the 35th President of the United States of America.

Al Templeton insists on meeting with Jake, in which he shares information about a hidden temporary portal in an underground room. El invites the main character to complete this business, since he himself is dying. There are several restrictions on the time traveler. The main condition is that, regardless of being in the past, a couple of minutes pass in the present.

The protagonist of the novel inherits an armful of money of that time, false documents, and also winning bookmaker bets. Jacob needs to find out who really was behind the Kennedy assassination and how it was all set up.

Such literary genre how fiction attracts more and more fans - after all, where else can a writer realize his most incredible ideas, reflect on the unknown and immerse the reader in the world of magic! Russian writers of this genre are also popular, and which of them are the most famous and which of their works can be read - we will tell below.

Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

We will start, of course, with the brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky - these are the most famous Soviet and Russian writers in the science fiction genre. During their life, they wrote many works in which they presented the bold, unusual ideas, atypical for their contemporaries and colleagues in the genre - they created some other world.

The works of the Strugatskys are full of humor, but at the same time they are written in a beautiful, highly artistic language, and in addition to the fantastic entourage, all their books have a philosophical implication behind them. It can be said without exaggeration that the Strugatsky brothers and their works are already a separate era of Russian science fiction prose.

Famous works of the Strugatsky brothers include "Monday starts on Saturday", "Roadside Picnic", "It's Difficult to Be God", "A Billion Years Before the End of the World" and others.

Sergey Lukyanenko

Sergei Lukyanenko writes books in the genres of fantasy and science fiction. He is the most popular Russian science fiction writer of the 21st century, and quite fruitful: he publishes one or two books a year, and also writes short stories.

Some of his works were used as the basis for several contemporary Russian films - these are the books "Night Watch", "Day Watch" and "Today, Mom!". He personally wrote the scripts for the film adaptations.

Other popular works of Lukyanenko are "Labyrinth of Reflections", "Dancing in the Snow", "Line of Dreams".

Vasily Golovachev

Among the Russian science fiction writers of our time, Vasily Golovachev, laureate and winner of many literary prizes, also stands out. He is the author of such books as "The Black Man", "The Messenger", "The Broken Evil", "The Scourge of Times" and others. Golovachev is already considered a classic of Russian science fiction.

Most of the works of science fiction writer belong to any cycle, of which Golovachev has as many as seventeen, and the total number of books has already exceeded forty. Golovachev's books are distinguished by the ease of narration and the originality of the plots, although the fans were not so pleased with the works of the most recent years.

Dmitry Emets

Interesting Russian science fiction writers are also found among the authors aimed at children. One of them is Dmitry Yemets, who gained wide popularity thanks to a series of fourteen books for children and adolescents called "Tanya Grotter", based on the books by J.K. Rowling about the well-known wizard boy.

In parallel with this series, Yemets began to write a cycle of books about the teenage magician Methodius Buslaev, in which there were already fewer borrowings from "Harry Potter". The cycle consists of eighteen books and is also quite popular among young people. And the last, nineteenth book of the cycle should be released in May-June 2016.

Kir Bulychev

Our rating of science fiction writers is closed by the Soviet and Russian writer of the 20th century Kir Bulychev. Like many Russian writers of the fantastic genre, he was inclined to create whole series of works with the participation of the same characters. His most famous work is a series of stories for children and adolescents about a girl Alisa Selezneva, who travels through space and gets into different stories. The cycle is called "The Adventures of Alice" and contains more than fifty books.

However, other cycles of Bulychev's books are also known, aimed at an adult audience, for example, "Doctor Pavlysh" and "River Chronos".

Bulychev's work may be somewhat familiar to our viewer from the previously popular Soviet children's cartoon"The Mystery of the Third Planet" and the cult five-part film "Guest from the Future".

Take it for yourself, tell your friends!

Genre definition

Science fiction is a term that has ancient Greek origins and literally translates as "the art of imagining." In the literature, it is customary to call them a direction based on a fantastic assumption in the description artistic world and heroes. This genre tells about universes and creatures that do not exist in reality. Often these images are borrowed from folklore and mythology.

Science fiction is not only a literary genre. This is a whole separate direction in art, the main difference of which is the unreal assumption underlying the plot. Usually another world is depicted, which does not exist in our time, lives according to the laws of physics, different from the earthly ones.

Subspecies

Science fiction books on the bookshelves today can confuse any reader with a variety of topics and plots. Therefore, they have long been divided into types. There are many classifications, but we will try to reflect the most complete here.

Books of this genre can be divided according to the peculiarities of the plot:

Science fiction, we'll talk about it in more detail below.
Dystopian - these include "Fahrenheit 451" by R. Bradbury, "Corporation of Immortality" by R. Sheckley, "Doomed City" by the Strugatsky.
Alternative: "The Transatlantic Tunnel" by G. Garrison, "May the Darkness Not Fall" by L.S. de Camp, "The Island of Crimea" by V. Aksenov.
Fantasy is the most numerous subspecies. Writers working in the genre: J.R.R. Tolkien, A. Belyanin, A. Pekhov, O. Gromyko, R. Salvatore, etc.
Thriller and Horror: H. Lovecraft, S. King, E. Rice.
Steampunk, steampunk and cyberpunk: "War of the Worlds" by H. Wells, "The Golden Compass" by F. Pullman, "Mockingbird" by A. Pekhov, "Steampunk" by P.D. Filippo.

Often there is a mixture of genres and new varieties of works appear. For example, love fantasy, detective, adventure, etc. Note that science fiction, as one of the most popular types of literature, continues to develop, every year more and more of its directions appear, and somehow it is almost impossible to systematize them.

Foreign books of the genre of science fiction

The most popular and well-known series of this subtype of literature is The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. The work was written in the middle of the last century, but is still in great demand among fans of the genre. The story tells of the Great War against Evil, which lasted for centuries until the dark lord Sauron was defeated. Centuries have passed quiet life and the world is in danger again. Only the hobbit Frodo can save Middle-earth from a new war, who will have to destroy the Ring of Omnipotence.

Another excellent example of science fiction is "A Song of Ice and Fire" by J. Martin. To date, the cycle includes 5 parts, but it is considered unfinished. The novels are set in the Seven Kingdoms, where long summer is replaced by the same winter. Several families are fighting for power in the state, trying to seize the throne. The series is far from familiar magical worlds where good always triumphs over evil, and the knights are noble and just. Intrigue, betrayal and death reign here.

The cycle "The Hunger Games" by S. Collins is also worthy of mention. These books, which quickly became bestsellers, are related to teenage fiction. The plot tells about the struggle for freedom and the price that the heroes have to pay to get it.

Science fiction is (in literature) a separate world that lives by its own laws. And he appeared not at the end of the 20th century, as many think, but much earlier. It's just that in those years, such works were attributed to other genres. For example, these are the books by E. Hoffmann (The Sandman), Jules Verne (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Around the Moon, etc.), H. Wells, etc.

Russian writers

Many books for last years Russian science fiction authors also wrote. Russian writers are slightly inferior to their foreign colleagues. We list here the most famous of them:

Sergey Lukyanenko. A very popular cycle is "Patrols". Now, not only the creator of this series writes around the world, but also many others. He is also the author of the following excellent books and cycles: "The Boy and the Darkness", "No Time for Dragons", "Working on Bugs", "Deeptown", "Sky Seekers", etc.
The Strugatsky brothers. They have novels different types fiction: "Ugly Swans", "Monday Starts on Saturday", "Roadside Picnic", "It's Hard to Be God", etc.
Alexey Pekhov, whose books are popular today not only in his homeland, but also in Europe. Let's list the main cycles: "The Chronicles of Siala", "Spark and Wind", "Kindrat", "Guardian".
Pavel Kornev: "Borderlands", "All-good electricity", "City Autumn", "Shining".

Foreign writers

Famous science fiction writers abroad:

Isaac Asimov is a renowned American author who has written over 500 books.
Ray Bradbury is a recognized classic not only of science fiction, but also of world literature.
Stanislav Lem is a very famous Polish writer in our country.
Clifford Simak - He is considered the founder of American fiction.
Robert Heinlein is the author of books for teens.

What is Science Fiction?

Science fiction is a trend in science fiction that takes as its plot the rational assumption that unusual things happen due to the incredible development of technical and scientific thought. One of the most popular genres today. But it is often difficult to separate it from related ones, since the authors can combine several directions.

Science fiction is (in literature) a great opportunity to suggest what would happen to our civilization if technological progress accelerated or science chose a different path of development. Usually, such works do not violate the generally accepted laws of nature and physics.

The first books of this genre begin to appear in the 18th century, when the formation of modern science... But science fiction emerged as an independent literary trend only in the 20th century. J. Verne is considered one of the first writers to work in this genre.

Science fiction: books

We list the most famous works of this direction:

"Torture Master" (J. Wolfe);
"Arise from the dust" (F. H. Farmer);
Ender's Game (OS Card);
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (D. Adams);
Dune (F. Herbert);
"Sirens of the Titan" (K. Vonnegut).

Science fiction is quite varied. The books presented here are only the most famous and popular examples of her. It is practically impossible to list all the writers of this type of literature, since several hundred of them have appeared in recent decades.

Everyone who respects himself book lover must have your own personal list "Best Science Fiction Writers"... If you do not have this yet, then we suggest that you pay attention to the following authors who are loved, appreciated, and their works are read all over the world.

Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992) is an American science fiction writer. Author of about 500 books, both fiction and popular science. Multiple winner of the Hugo and Nebula awards. Some terms from his works, for example, robotics, robotics, positronic, entered English and other languages.

Best books:"The Gods Themselves", "Foundation", "End of Eternity", "Bicentennial Man", a series of books "I, Robot", "Foundation", "Lucky Starr" and others.

Alexander Belyaev

Alexander Romanovich Belyaev (1884 - 1942) - Russian science fiction writer, one of the founders of Soviet science fiction literature, wrote over 70 science fiction works, including 13 novels. He is called the Russian Jules Verne.

Best books: "The Head of Professor Dowell", "The Island of Lost Ships", "Amphibian Man", "Ariel", "CEC Star", "The Man Who Found His Face", "Heavenly Guest" and others.

Ray Bradbury

Ray Douglas Bradbury (1920 - 2012) is an American science fiction writer who has written more than eight hundred works in his entire life. His stories have formed the basis of several film adaptations and theatrical performances.

Best books: "451 degrees Fahrenheit", "The Martian Chronicles", "Man in Pictures", "Trouble Coming", "Dandelion Wine", "And Thunder Rocked", "Dark Carnival", "Summer, Goodbye!" other.

William Gibson

William Gibson (1948- ...) is an American science fiction writer. He is considered by many to be the father of cyberpunk. After all, it was he who introduced the term "cyberspace" into science fiction, and also because of his novel "Neuromancer", which was published in 1984 and sold over 6 million copies.

Best books: Trilogy "Cyberspace", "Trilogy of the Bridge", "Bigend Trilogy", "Machine of Differences", collection of stories "Burning Chromium" and others.

Sergey Lukyanenko

Sergei Vasilievich Lukyanenko (1968- ...) is one of the most widely read Russian science fiction writers. The writer himself defines the genre in which he writes his novels as "Rigid Action Fiction" or "Path Fiction"

Best books: the series of novels "Patrols", "Borderlands", "Island of Russia", "Seekers of the Sky", "Dream Line", "Genome", "Labyrinth of Reflections", "Lord from Planet Earth" and others.

Larry Niven

Laurence van Cott Niven (1938 -…) is an American science fiction writer. Repeated winner of the Hugo, Locus, Ditmar and Nebula awards. His work is science fiction, which combines serious science and theoretical speculation. In his work, elements of detective and adventure are often found.

Best books: series "Ring World", "Integral Trees", "Make a Wish", "Defender", "Gift from the Earth", Calm in Hell and others.

Clifford Simak

Clifford Donald Simak (1894-1988) - is considered to be one of the founders of modern American fiction. V different time was awarded the prizes "Hugo" and "Nebula", Jupiter, Locus, Bram Stoker, as well as the title "Grand Master".

The best books: "The City", "The Ring Around the Sun", "The Goblin Sanctuary", "The Werewolf Principle", "All Flesh Is Grass", "What Could Be Easier than Time?", "Almost Like People" and others.

Robert Heinlein

Robert Anson Heinlein (1907-1988) was an American science fiction writer who made an invaluable contribution to the formation of the science fiction genre. He is the only one to have received five Hugo Awards, a multiple Nebula laureate.

Best books: the cycle "History of the Future", "Stranger in a Foreign Land", "Starship Troopers", "Farmer in the Sky", "The Man Who Sold the Moon", "Red Planet", "Double Star", "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" and others ...

Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

The brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky are a famous tandem of writers. Their books are known not only in the CIS, but also far abroad. They also worked individually. The novels of the Strugatsky brothers are rightfully included in the world classics of modern science fiction. Each book of these authors differs in depth and philosophicality, which sometimes lacks the novels of this genre.

Best books: Roadside Picnic, Snail on the Slope, Lame Destiny, Doomed City, Hard to Be God, Monday Starts on Saturday, A Billion Years Before the End of the World, Waves Knock Out the Wind, and other.

Arthur Clarke

Arthur Charles Clarke (1917 - 2008) - english writer, scientist, futurist and inventor, and, of course, a cult science fiction writer. His work includes 22 novels, 3 series of novels, stories and film adaptations of his books.

Best books:"Prelude to Space", "Sands of Mars", "The End of Childhood", "Songs of a Distant Earth", Cycle "Space Odyssey 2001", Cycle "Rama", Cycle "Odyssey of Time" and others.

Henry Kuttner

American writer of books in the genre of science fiction and humorous fiction Henry Kuttner (1915-1958) created works that are classics today. Henry was co-written by his wife Catherine Lucille Moore. Kuttner's books have been published under the pseudonyms Lawrence O'Donnell, Lewis Paget, Keith Hammond and Will Garth.

Best books: a series of novellas "The Hogbens", the novel "The Dark World", "Rage. A world of darkness. Stories ”,“ Sim makes sure ”,“ Five stories about Gallegher ”,“ Housing question ”,“ Mutant ”,“ Mask of Cercea ”and others.

William Tenn

Science fiction writer Philip Klass was published under the pseudonym William Tenn (1920-2010). The world learned about the talent of the writer after the publication of his first story "Alexander the Bait" in 1946. During his long writing career, Tenn wrote only 2 novels, giving preference to short stories. For his achievements in the field of fiction, William Tenn has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Nebula, Locus and Hugo Awards.

Best books: collections of stories "Baldezhny criterion", "Star carousel", "Invasion" and others.

Vladimir Mikhailov

Mikhailov Vladimir Dmitrievich (1929-2008) - the author of numerous works of the fantasy genre. Vladimir Mikhailov began to write humorous stories, but achieved popularity and recognition thanks to science fiction books. The author himself, dreaming all his life to become a great poet, considered science fiction to be a happy accident.

Best books:"Keeper to my brother", "People of the Land", "Constant Krata", "Option I", "Special Necessity" and others.

Frank Herbert

American science fiction writer Frank Herbert (1920-1986) is known to the world, mainly thanks to the chronicles of "Dune". The cycle of these books brought the author awards in the form of the Hugo and Nebula literary prizes. The first story of the author was "Looking for something?", Published in the magazine Startling Stories.

Best books:"Dune", "Dragon at Sea", "Creators of the Gods", "Dosadi Experiment", "Under Pressure", "Hellstrom's Hive" and others.

Ivan Efremov

Ivan Antonovich Efremov (1908-1972) - Soviet science fiction writer, paleontologist and thinker. Thanks to his creative potential, Ivan's knowledge has resulted in wonderful works of literature. The minor planet Efremiana and the mineral Efremovite are named in honor of the author.

Best books:"Andromeda Nebula", "Razor Blade", "Starships", "Thais of Athens", "Hour of the Bull" and others.

Paul Anderson

Paul William Anderson (1926-2001) became interested in science fiction as a student. Anderson is one of the few writers to have received the title of "Grand Master of Fantasy" Hugo and has been awarded this award 7 times. The author's debut took place in 1947 with the story "Children of Tomorrow".

Best books:"Time Patrol", "Crusaders of Space", "Operation Underworld", "Long Road Home", "Queen of Winds and Darkness" and others.

Ursula Le Guin

The work of Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (1929-2018) is not limited to the genre of fantasy. The writer has created many children's works, poems and novels, was the author of fantasy books and a literary critic. Le Guin wrote her first science fiction story at the age of 11 and continued to delight fans with new works, for many of them Ursula received prestigious awards.

Best books:"Wizard of Earthsea", "Trilogy", "Left Hand of Darkness", "Tomb of Atuan", "The Disadvantaged", "Planet of Exile" and others.

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