viking wrote:
I thought I'd pick up a sci-fi book from the library but I don't really know which authors are good in this genera. Also what is the best Catholic sci-fi?
A brief history of SFPrecursors rooted in the crime/science short stories of the 19th century
Edgar Poe; believed to be the father of SF -- see short sf collections
Edwin Abott also noted precursor w Flatland:A Romance of many dimensions
Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Classical science fiction (40's,50's mostly) were mostly a body of short stories out of magazines like Amazing, it spanned three main topics:
Space, Robots and Distopias
Main exponents & best known work:
Ray Bradbury: Martian chronicles
Isaac Asimov: Foundation Series/ Bicentennial Man
Robert Heinlem: Stranger in a Strange Land
Arthur C. Clark: Childhood's End
New wave/Indy SF / Soft SF (70's,80's) Influenced by fantasy, racial & feminist politics...
Robert Silverberg; Ursula K Leguin: Left Hand of Darkness; Brian Aldiss & Harlan Ellison
(Here I know little as I hate this period.)
Neo-classical revival: interstellar travel, hard math & engineering
Greg Bear: Darwin's Radio & Anvil of Stars
Larry Niven: Ringworld Series & A world out of Time
Also Robert Silverberg....
Cyberpunk is the almost ending wave of SF featuring themes like bio technology, cyberspace, media & multinationals
William Gibson -- Neuromancer
Neal Stephenson -- Snowcrash
Postcyberpunk beginning to explore green revolutions.....
Keeping an eye on Paolo Bacigalupi -- The Windup Girl
Note: Gene Wolf is more of a Fantasy Writer. VERY seminal though, best work Book of the New Sun. The best Catholic written work of hard SF is a Canticle for Leibowitz, Miller unfortunately fell away.