Suggestions for Science Fiction which is heavy on the Future Physics/Biology

Woebot

Woebot

Well-known member
got a pal who is looking for science fiction which is properly *futuristic*

in particular he is interested in futuristic currents of biology and physics

are there any books/authors people could recommend.

i thought neal stephenson - but really i don't know too much.

much appreciated xx
 
you

you

Well-known member
Peter Watts
William Gibson (in a way)
Ann Leckie

On the hard sci-fi vs soft sci-fi

There is a tipping point in most hard sci-fi. Science speculation alone is not great literature. If you want to know only what future science could do, um talk to a scientist, if you want to focus on how it impacts society you get softer...
 
C

CrowleyHead

Well-known member
Off the top of my head, "Parasite Eve" by Hideaki Sena. The author himself is a renown expert in microbiology and pharmacology, so while I can't guarantee its the most futuristic, he's probably vaguely aware of what he's talking about.
 
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droid

droid

Well-known member
Echopraxia and Blindsight by Peter Watts fit the bill pretty much perfectly Id say. From the 'reading' thread:

Blindsight and echopraxia by Peter Watts - sci-fi infodump set about 100 years in the future ostensibly about alien contact but primarily concerned with potential biological and neurological futures of humanity with a surprisingly thorough subtext touching on consciousness theory, philosophy of the mind and brain hacking.
Click to expand...

Jeff Noon, and Robert Reed could be contenders, but might be a bit too poetic and not Clarkeian enough in their visions.

Stross's 'Acellerando', over 10 years old but still revolutionary in the snowcrash/neuromancer level of influence. Near future bio-sci-fi 'Fairyland' by Paul J McCauley is another oldie but goody.

Hannu Rajaniemi's Jean Flambeur trilogy might fit the bill as well, and Im going to throw in Adam Robert's 'jack Glass' cos its really clever, funny and well written.
 
HMGovt’s Glorious Return!

HMGovt’s Glorious Return!

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I was also going to strongly recommend Peter Watts. His crawl blog is occasionally very good too.

The latest post in Charles Stross' blog is interesting, concerning The Great Filter. Nicolls-Dyson devices... oh shit.

Olaf Stapledon, Last and First Men but especially its follow-up, Star Maker, both published in the 1930s but way ahead of their time.
 
subvert47

subvert47

I don't fight, I run away
some of Joan Slonczewski's stuff is quite heavy on biology (she's a professor of microbiology)

for worked-out science Greg Egan is pretty good
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
Just read a book called Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds. I'm not a big expert on sci-fi but I understand the guy has a phd in astronomy and has worked at the cutting edge of the field. So, the book deals with loads of space stuff and interstellar flight and everything, and I'm pretty sure that's a correct as possible (although there are some fudges with it done by old technology that no-one understands now) and there is a load of stuff about AI and uploading your consciousness to technology so there is a future-biology aspect as well as a future physics.
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
And it's pretty good I should say. Really enjoyed it up to a point although at the end where there were more human interactions it did become apparent that... well maybe he's better at writing space then conversations. And also, in terms of writing it's basically bog-standard linear narrative of the kind that could have been written hundreds of years ago. Which is quite a rarity in terms of the kind of stuff I read these days but not necessarily a weakness I suppose.
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
I think I'll read the next one in the series... but there are quite a few, I'm not sure I'll get right to the end. So having said that, why bother with the next one? Hmmm.
 
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