Friday, April 15, 2005

After Arthur C. Clarke: Recommended Reading

Nathan Bissonette asks:
When I was a kid, the SF biggies were Asimov, Clarke and Heinlein. Lower ranked biggies included Bradbury, Dickson, Niven, Anderson, Herbert.

Who are today's biggies?

Well, for starters, John Betancourt. I mean he's got to be about 6'6" and 300 pounds, at least...

 
Okay, seriously? I think most people's lists of Clarke's Children would start with the Killer B's: Greg Bear, Greg Benford, and David Brin. Make sure you check out Rob Sawyer as well, and I will as always put in a strong plug for my friend, Bob Metzger, who sometimes posts here. I just finished reading Bob's latest, Cusp, and while it is definitely not lite reading, it's packed to the gunwales with Big Ideas and a worthy successor to Childhood's End. (A lesser writer, such as myself, would already be thinking of all the fun he could have in the sequel with the Incubator.)

Your suggestions?