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Is Science Fiction still a thing?

I grew up reading Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke, etc. I credit those amazing authors for giving me my love of science and astronomy and widening my views of the universe. I am always a bit challenged finding great new books to read... so, I was wondering if science fiction is still alive and kicking? If so, who are the modern classics?

So much of Science Fiction now seems to be the doom and gloom of post apocalypse. I am sick of that theme. I do like the TV series Expanse. It has some realistic future issues.

it's got a new name, main stream media. ;)

Good science fiction allows a generation to work out its hopes and fears before they are realized. Asimov, Bradbury, etc. were working through where all of the progress with technology would lead us. Many of the issues they first envisioned are being realized now.

Baby boomers were optimistic about technology. So was their sci-fi.

Us Gen Xers are more pessimistic. We like "burning trash can" sci-fi. That's what you're going to get for a few more years.

Michael Chrieton? Its fiction, it's science based. Always was entertained by his work.

it's all fantasy now. my publisher barely even looks at conventional science fiction.

Go look at the Hugo Awards. There are lots of newer science fiction books and short stories.

[QUOTE=sugarwood;9580255]This was a huge hit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Martian_(Weir_novel)

I highly recommend The Martian if you haven't already read it. Don't see the movie before reading the book...Well, you know..."HOW COULD THEY LEAVE THAT OUT!"

I was a huge Asimov and Bradbury fan as well. Also Orwell and Huxley. Huxley's "Brave New World" is as prophetic as Orwell's "1984" in my opinion.

I agree there has been a significant decline/interest in good written science fiction. The apocalypse, alien invasion, and zombie stuff is all over the movies, but rarely thought provoking in my opinion.

Galactic Chronicles - https://www.fictionpress.com/~vanessaravencroft - Should be published, think it is in the works to be based on postings on FP/etc, and while rough certainly worth reading at the current cost (free).

Straying off into Fantasy have you read the Discworld series? Mostly pretty good. And some wonderful fanfics by "A.A. Pessimal" on fanfiction.net

Cory Doctorow's stuff is good, and Freely available as well. Or print. - Cory Doctorow's craphound.com | Cory Doctorow's Literary Works I recommend For The Win, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Little Brother and Homeland (as a pair). Most of his other stuff is good too.

Since our society has grown and evolved techo wise the "old fashioned" type of si-fi has fallen away. The doom and gloom type or apocalypse stories and movies fit right in. Great stories such as 1984 has actually come to pass in many ways and we for SURE have a "Big Brother" that is oppressing us or at least trying to!

We watched "Life" last week and while supposed to be "fiction".......sometimes I worry it can happen any day now or when one of the probes is running around on Mars suddenly a very big hand comes down with a thump!

To brighten up things, watch the latest version of the Magnificent Seven.

Quote:

Originally Posted by legion (Post 9580266)

I agree...generations change. Heck half of Star Trek has come to pass besides the warp drives and food processors. We know so much now, so many things that were written up as "amazing and impossible" is normal for us (look at the cell phone and internet). Hell, we have Navy ships using rail guns, and anti aircraft systems using laser. As a kid I thought we'd be landing on planets and have colonies but I now know why, thanks to scifi...space is too darn giant.

What classic old school scifi taught me about space is simple. Without a faster than light engine and a faster than light shield for space dust space is gonna be pretty boring. We got probes all over the system but we can't go anywhere cool without lots more speed.

Back to books.. you have to throw in what individual's are looking for. Me for example, I've been a scifi nerd since I was a pup in the 70's. Then you throw in my twenty years of active duty military and I lean that way in my books. They talk my lingo with common words and play out a world that sound's familiar. Honor, duty, sacrifice, with some adversity and space battle. It all needs to be in the books that are the most fun for me to read.

I could crank out list's of fun military scifi.-WW

ps. As I mentioned in a scifi post a few weeks ago, for me the best military scifi series I've read is Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet.

Personally I am looking forward to the new Alien movie.

Didn't we just play this game?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/953233-latest-good-sci-fi.html

Anyway, I'm reading some James Tiptree, Jr. right now. I read one of her (yes, "her") short stories about 30 years ago and never followed up. Good stuff.

As long as our skies aren't filled like in "The Fifth Element".

Dollhouse was a bit interesting.

The Martian was great. If you like space stuff like Star Wars, Timothy Zahn has some good stuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by livi (Post 9580719)

Personally I am looking forward to the new Alien movie.

Me too!!! Looks like it might be a take off of Prometheus, which rather creeped me out. So I watched it 2 or 3 times. ;)

angela

Drake, Weber and Flint are my favorites. Characters based on Aubrey and Hornblower. Hammers Slammers with vehicles based on the gun trucks I got to play with in the Nam. I started with Clarke in fifties, Tales from the white Hart. And still love it.