Who are the two best science fiction writers and why?

Answer 1

There is just no way I could only pick two authors, I've read too many good ones. Sci-Fi is my favorite genre. These are my suggestions for _some_ of the best authors and their works, in no particular order,

1) The grand masters (imo):
Isaac Asimov http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_asimov
Robert Heinlein http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_heinlein
Arthur C. Clarke http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C_Clarke
Ray Bradbury http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Bradbury

2) James P. Hogan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_P._Hogan_%28writer%29
One of my personal favorites. He does hard science fiction. The kind where the fictional science is almost believable. I own all of his books and it would be difficult to pick a favorite. Some that come immediately to mind are "Inherit the Stars", "Thrice Upone a Time", "The Genesis Machine", "The Two Faces of Tomorrow"

3) Frederik Pohl http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederik_Pohl
The Heechee Series is a great read starting with "Gateway" which won both the Hugo and Nebula awards sometime in the mid-70's

4) Frank Herbert http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Herbert
Dune. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_%28novel%29
If you haven't already, then at some point you must read this. It is a bona fide classic. Period.

5) Orson Scott Card http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_scott_card
The Ender Saga starting with "Ender's Game"

6) William Gibson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ford_Gibson
The Sprawl Trilogy starting with the classic "Neuromancer". I believe "cyberspace" was first coined in this book, and there is also reference to "the matrix - Mankind's unthinkably complex consensual hallucination representing cyberspace"

7) Anne McCAffrey http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_McCaffrey
She writes good stories and her lead character is female, which is a switch from most scifi. I'd recommend anything in her Dragonriders of Pern series starting with "Dragonflight". I'd also recommend her Crystal Singer Series starting with "Crystal Singer".

.. that's just for starters. I have about 700 sci-fi novels in my personal library. I won't list them all for you! :)


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On the Fantasy side

1) Tolkien (of course) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolkien

2) C.S. Lewis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis
The Chronicles of Narnia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia

3) Stephen R. Donaldson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_R._Donaldson
The Thomas Covenant Chronicles, The Unbeliever http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Covenant

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Here's some other references for award winning authors

About the Hugo awards:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award
List of Hugo award winning authors:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Hugo_Award_winning_authors
List of Hugo award winning novels:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award_for_Best_Novel

About the Nebula awards:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebula_Award
List of Nebula award winning authors:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Nebula_Award_winning_authors
List of Nebula award winning novels:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebula_Award_for_Best_Novel

List of works that have won both the Hugo and Nebula awards:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_joint_winners_of_the_Hugo_and_Nebula_awards

Answer 2

Jules Verne... was probably the best sci-fi writer - his writings are so much more diverse and so much more unlikely (for the times he wrote in) and yet so entrancing. Also you'll notice that a lot of what figures in his books exists, and is possible today... The lighting system of the NAUTILUS (Twenty thousand leagues under the sea) would have been fantasy for his times, but it's very much possible today. But he made his mistakes too - 'A Journey to the Center of the Earth' is still IMPOSSIBLE. But that doesn't make the book any less enjoyable.


Asimov although he was a great writer can't figure amongst the best, because his fiction didn't cross the frontier of robots and frankly, after a while too much robots can get monotonous.

Michael Crichton is another superb writer. His books are excellently well researched, and always have a great plot. He's got a very good style of writing.... and despite all the technical words and stuff, it never gets boring. Have you read MC's Timeline??? It's probably the best work of modern science fiction out there.

So for me the best two would be - JULES VERNE & MICHAEL CRICHTON

Answer 3

Robert A. Heinlein is the best Science Fiction writer -- just about the best storyteller around, and his works are full of interesting scientific and phillosophical ideas.

Asimov is good -- wonderful imagination and more prolific than anyone -- but I don't think the quality of the good Doctor's writing as writing is as good as Heinlein's.

A close runner up to the two would be Jack Finney. And Anthony Boucher's limited SF output (he was better known as an editor) should not be overlooked.

Answer 4

Well u have a lot to choose from and some writers may be more imaginative or exciting but personally I believe these two men did it the best.

Jules Verne

H. G. Wells

Both of them made science fiction believable whether travleing into time or to the center of the earth, they used science to back up their stories and it wasn't difficult at all to suspend your disbelief.

Answer 5

i think that isaac asimov is a great science fiction writer. His novels are extremely deep but deliver a grand taste and new twist to science fiction writings. Another great writer i think is Gene Roddenberry, the co-creator of Star Trek (Stephen E. Whitfield is the significant other) and the creator of Andromeda.

Answer 6

Anne McCaffrey because her main characters are mostly strong women. I LOVE reading about a courageous heroine!

Orson Scott Card... just read Ender's Game. It's far and away the best Science Fiction story I've ever read.

Answer 7

Clea rely Issac Asimov would be number uno, but there are so many other good ones out there, if you look at their impact on society and culture, then Gene Roddenberry would have to rank right up there near the top.

Answer 8

Isaac Asimov I don't have another, because he have everything in their histories, religion, politic, drama, romance, suspense etc etc, and well he is the father in the robotic law

Answer 9

lol, this is gonna sound dumb but i'm still just a kid, i like R.L stine's goosebumps, and johnathan rand's michigan chillers.....