Who is the greatest sci-fi/fantasy writer of our times?

Question

My vote is for Orson Scott Card... but it was hard to pick; there's a lot of good ones, and I certainly haven't read them all.

Answer 1

There are too many good SF/Fantasy writers out there at the moment to say one is the greatest.

As you say Orson Scott Card is one. The Ender series is pure genius.

Another one to watch is China Tom Miéville, a British writer of fantastic fiction, described as "weird fiction" (after early 20th century pulp and horror writers such as H.P. Lovecraft), and belongs to a loose group of writers sometimes called New Weird. (See Wikipedia for more details and bibliography)

Answer 2

For SF, I like Card, Asimov, Bradbury, Bester, and the other greats. But for me, the title of the greatest can only belong to one man, Philip K. Dick.

Dick was more than just an SF writer, he was a philosopher. He questioned the nature of humanity, reality, and religion with every story and novel he wrote. And he wrote hundreds of short fiction pieces and novels. His work has gone on to be reproduced in film as the movies Blade Runner, Total Recall, Paycheck, Minority Report, Screamers, and A Scanner Darkly. His writing has won numerous awards and always provoked serious thought and examination. Some of his best books were Ubik, A Scanner Darkly, Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep, and The Man in the High Castle. In Ubik he examined the nature of death and the afterlife. In A Scanner Darkly he wrote from th POV of a narc trying to bust a drug ring, slowly losing his mind to the drugs he must take to keep his cover. Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep introduces the reader to Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter responsible for "retiring" escaped android slaves...who are rather sympathetic themselves. And in the Man in the High Castle, Dick imagines a United States that lost WWII and is divided amongst Germany and Japan. Dick's style was always witty and clever. He had a sharp sense of humor that was subtle at times and obvious at others.

Answer 3

Isaac Asimov. He wrote some incredibly advanced stuff. His use of culture and politics definitely places him in a category way above the average scifi writer. A lot of his ideas have been replicated by other writers which definitely shows how innovative his writings have been. If you like Asimov, also check out Phillip K. Dick and Frank Herbert!

Answer 4

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Answer 5

I agree he's very good; very versatile. IMO one of the best writers of high fantasy is Patricia McKillip. Also very good (and versatile) is Neil Gaiman. Jane Yolen is amazing as well as prolific. Connie Willis has a very distinctive and fresh voice in SF. But oh, asking me to pick my very favorite...that just depends on what I'm in the mood for. *sigh*... books... yum...

Answer 6

I agree with the guy above me. Asimov. He was an amazingly talented author and actually brought up a great question of robot's rights! It actually had me questioning things I never did before I read I, Robot.

Answer 7

My vote goes to Neil Gaiman. There's just something addictive about his writing.