Modern fantasy. Fantasy is a genre in literature

451° Fahrenheit. Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which paper ignites and burns. Bradbury's philosophical dystopia paints a picture of the development of a post-industrial society: this is the world of the future, in which all written publications are destroyed by a special detachment of firefighters, and the possession of books is prosecuted by law, interactive television successfully serves to fool everyone, punitive psychiatry deals with dissidents.

Buy a paper book at Labirint.com >>

Cloud Atlas. David Mitchell

Cloud Atlas is like a mirror maze in which six voices overlap each other: a mid-nineteenth-century notary returning to the US from Australia; a young composer forced to trade soul and body in Europe between the world wars; a female journalist in 1970s California uncovering a corporate conspiracy; a small publisher - our contemporary, who managed to break the bank on the bandit autobiography "Blow with brass knuckles".

Download e-bookin

Roadside Picnic. Boris and Arkady Strugatsky

This volume includes one of the most famous works of the Strugatsky brothers - the novel Roadside Picnic, a fascinating story of stalkers - desperately brave people, at their own peril and risk again and again going to the alien landing site - an anomalous Zone full of dangers and deadly traps.

Buy a paper book atLabirint.com >>

Game of Thrones. Martin George R.R.

This is the majestic six-book A Song of Ice and Fire. Epic, chased saga about the world of the Seven Kingdoms. About the world of harsh lands of eternal cold and joyful lands of eternal summer. A world of lords and heroes, warriors and mages, warlocks and assassins - all who have been brought together by Fate in fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. About the world of dangerous adventures, great deeds and subtle political intrigues.

Buy a paper book atLabirint.com >>

Lord of the Rings. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel

The trilogy undoubtedly tops the list of "cult" books of the twentieth century. Its author, J.R.R. Tolkien, a professor at Oxford University, a specialist in ancient and medieval English, created an amazing world - Middle-earth, which has been irresistibly attracting millions of readers for nearly fifty years now. The film trilogy increased the ranks of fans of both Tolkien and the heroic fantasy genre itself.

Buy a paper book atLabirint.com >>

It's hard to be a god. Boris and Arkady Strugatsky

The daring and rich imagination of the authors peers through the centuries, creating a fantastic world. Who is he, the noble Don Rumata of Estor? How does the soul of Anton live in him, a boy from a distant Earth, an enthusiastic envoy from the Institute of Experimental History? Together with Rumata Estorsky, we are tormented by doubts: how to live in the face of human grief, in the face of death? How to remain God - the highest being who knows the laws of history and therefore does not draw his sword?

Buy a paper book atLabirint.com >>

Dune. Frank Herbert

In "Dune" Frank Herbert managed to do the impossible - to create a kind of "chronicle of the distant future." And in the entire history of world science fiction there has never been a brighter, more visible, more powerful and original picture of the future. The cycle "Dune" was and remains a unique phenomenon - the most grandiose, the most daring, the most large-scale creation in the entire history of world science fiction.

Buy a paper book atLabirint.com >>

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Restaurant "At the end of the universe" ". Douglas Adams

Do you want to know how to make a Pangalactic Grizloder cocktail? Want to figure out how to survive on a measly thirty Altair dollars a day? Want to effortlessly ruin an interplanetary supercorporation? Oh no? So, maybe you are wondering WHAT God bequeathed to the world He created?! Read Douglas Adams' MASTERPIECE and you'll learn not only THIS, but SOMETHING ELSE!

Buy a paper book atLabirint.com >>

Invisible Man. H. G. Wells

"The Invisible Man" by HG Wells is one of the most filmed and most modern novels of the English science fiction writer, both in plot and philosophical terms, in which the adventures of the protagonist - a crazy and brilliant young physicist, who naively dreamed of supreme power over the world, but was hunted and crushed by society - only a frame for Wells' thought - the thought of the scientist's responsibility for his discoveries, capable of bringing both good and trouble to the world.

Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru>>

Professor Dowell's Head. Alexander Belyaev

One of the most fascinating novels by Alexander Belyaev. The tragic story of a brilliant professor who became a victim of an extraordinary biological experiment still sounds surprisingly relevant and modern today.

Buy a paper book atLabirint.com >>

Aelita. Alexey Tolstoy

A fascinating fantasy novel by Alexei Tolstoy “Aelita” tells about an extraordinary space flight, about the exciting adventures of travelers on Mars, which turned out to be inhabited by the inhabitants of the lost Atlantis, about the meeting of earthlings with the beautiful Aelita and other inhabitants of the red planet.

Buy a paper book atLabirint.com >>

Under the dome. Stephen King

A story about a small town that was overtaken by BIG TROUBLE. One day, he, along with all the inhabitants, was covered with a mysterious invisible dome, which did not allow either to leave the city or get there from the outside. What will happen in the city now? What will happen to its inhabitants? After all, when neither law nor fear of punishment prevails over a person, a too thin line separates him from turning into a cruel beast. Who will cross this line, and who will not?

Buy a paper book atLabirint.com >>

Martian Chronicles. Ray Bradbury

Do you want to conquer Mars, this strange volatile world inhabited by mysterious, elusive inhabitants and not so kind to humans? Go ahead. But just get ready to fully drink the cup of regrets and longing - longing for the green planet Earth, on which your heart will forever remain. The cycle of amazing Martian stories by Ray Bradbury is a classic work that has entered the golden fund of world literature.

Buy a paper book atLabirint.com >>

Solaris. Stanislav Lem

"Solaris" is a popular science fiction work by a famous Polish writer, which touches upon important philosophical, social and moral problems that arise in the process of human penetration into the boundless cosmic ocean.

Buy a paper book atLabirint.com >>

Strangers live in your apartment...

Your place at work is occupied by someone else...

Neither your friends nor your girlfriend will recognize you...

You are being erased from this world.

Who?

Buy a paper book atLabirint.com >>

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel

"There was a hole in the ground, and a hobbit lived in the hole." These words were written by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien on the back of a school exam paper he was checking one hot summer day. And who would have thought that it was from them, like from a magic seed, that one of the most famous works of world literature would grow. This is a fairy tale that captivated both children and adults, sends the reader on an incredible journey, gives an unforgettable feeling of pristine children's delight and kindness.

Buy book atLabirint.com >>

Ender `s game. Orson Card

Ender's Game is an absolute masterpiece of modern science fiction and a rare case in the history of the genre when a novel wins two top science fiction awards in the same year - the Hugo and Nebula awards. That is, it receives both reader and writer recognition.

Buy a paper book atLabirint.com >>

Simple magical things. Max Fry

When life becomes like a cauldron with a wonderful potion, where the craftswoman-fate throws more and more spices: magical talismans and beautiful poems, beautiful girls and powerful sorcerers, carefree laughter and causeless sadness, one should probably assume that she was a success. And hurry to say thank you, even if you don’t know to whom. Especially if you don't know.

Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru>>

Walking castle. Diana Jones

Sophie lives in a fantasy land where witches and mermaids, seven-league boots and talking dogs are commonplace. Therefore, when the terrible curse of the insidious Swamp Witch falls on her, Sophie has no choice but to seek help from the mysterious sorcerer Howl, who lives in a moving castle. However, in order to break free from the spell, Sophie will have to solve many mysteries and live in Howl's castle for much longer than she expected.

Buy a paper book atLabirint.com >>

Crouching in the shadows Alexey Pekhov

Are thief and hero incompatible concepts? No matter how! When faced with a choice between an executioner's ax and a Bounty for a short walk into the gloomy burial grounds of the elven forests, sober-minded people choose the executioner's ax, and the heroes decide to roll the dice and, hoping that sixes fall out, take a chance.After all, all you need to do is get into the abandoned tower of the Order, inflate a couple of demons, get rid of assassins, frame the thieves' guild, get out of a dozen bloody skirmishes.

Buy a paper book atLabirint.com >>

baptism by fire . Andrzej Sapkowski

Andrzej Sapkowski is a writer with a talent for creating absolutely original fantasy, completely free from outside influences, but connected to the classical mythological tradition.Sapkowski's books are not just brilliant in terms of literary form and depth of content. They are a picture of the world - the world of `sword and magic`, not only captivating the reader's attention, but also touching his soul.

Buy a paper book atLabirint.com >> City of bones. Cassandra Clare

In the Mortal Instruments trilogy, Claire has created an exciting Twilight world in which the struggle between good and evil takes place. 15-year-old Clary Frey did not even suspect that she would witness the murder. The killers turned out to be strange people covered with tattoos, and the body of the murdered person evaporated! From that moment on, Clary's life was filled with mysterious events. Her mother was kidnapped, and the girl herself was attacked by demons.

Buy a paper book atLabirint.com >>

Dark side. Max Fry

The "Dark Side" is not a metaphor, but a very specific place, the wrong side of reality. Every city, village, forest, and even the sea has a dark side. The sages, however, argue that the "Dark Side" is a state of consciousness that allows a person to see the inside of things and interact with it. And even get an absolutely visible, material result on the "front side of reality", or "in reality" - in general, in the so-called "real life".

Buy a paper book atLabirint.com >>

Nowhere. Neil Gaiman

Beneath the streets of London, there is a world that most people are unaware of. In it, the word becomes a real power. You can get there only by opening the door. This world is full of dangers, inhabited by saints and monsters, murderers and angels.

Buy a paper book atLabirint.com >>

Children of Hurin: Narn and Hin Hurin. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel

The last work of the great John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. The story of King Hurin and his son, the accursed hero Turin Turambar, whose lot was to bring death to all whom he loved. The story of the dark days of the elven kingdoms of Middle-earth, one after another falling under the onslaught of the forces of the Dark Lord Morgoth ... The story of Turin's best friend - the elven warrior Beleg Cutalion - and his sister Nienor

Buy a paper book at

Of course, not only science fiction, but literature in general. His are distinguished by deep psychologism and piercing.

Ray Bradbury is best known for his dark and philosophical series of short stories The Martian Chronicles and the post-apocalyptic novel Fahrenheit 451.

Isaac Asimov

Clifford Simak

Clifford Simak is one of the founders of modern American fiction. The author of such iconic works as The City, The Ring Around the Sun, The Goblin Reserve, The Werewolf Principle.

Stanislav Lem

Stanisław Lem is a Polish science fiction writer, futurist and philosopher. Lemma's books have been translated into more than 40. There are many adaptations of his works, among which the most famous is the brilliant "Solaris" by Andrei Tarkovsky.

Robert Heinlein

Robert Anson Heinlein is the only writer to have won as many as five Hugo Awards and is a multiple Nebula winner. Heinlein’s Peru owns the cult “Stranger in Alien”, as well as the excellent “teenage cycle”, which set the standards of science fiction (“Star Beast”, “Martian Podkayne”, “There will be a spacesuit - there will be travel” and others).

Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

The brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky are iconic Soviet and, who worked mainly in tandem (although each of them also published independent stories), which have become classics of modern science fiction not only in Russia, but throughout the world. However, the depth and philosophy of their best works (Roadside Picnic, Snail on the Slope, Lame Fate, Doomed City, and others) go far beyond science fiction as a genre.

Kir Bulychev

Kir Bulychev is an author known primarily as the author of a children's and teenage fantasy cycle about the adventures of a girl from the future Alisa Selezneva ("One Hundred Years Ahead", "Girl from the Earth" and others). However, Bulychev also has other works that are distinguished by their invariably light language and excellent sense of humor - for example, the cycle of stories "Martian Potion" about the inhabitants of the fictional city of the great Guslyar.

Sergey Lukyanenko

The best works of Lukyanenko include his early works - "Knights of Forty Islands", "Boy and Darkness".

Sergey Lukyanenko - perhaps the most famous today

Although science fiction is a popular genre in literature, many still know only the classics of the 20th century. However, throughout the world there are many contemporary writers who do not allow this genre to die out. Remarkable novels are still being published no less than half a century ago. Now the fantastic ideas of Alexander Belyaev or Alexei Tolstoy seem naive to us, while the works of contemporaries look more dynamic and exciting. I wonder what readers will say about them in two hundred years?

USA

At the mention of science fiction, many people remember the name of Isaac Asimov - a contemporary native of the Smolensk region. In his works, he predicts the future of mankind, associated with the widespread use of robots. This modern science fiction writer gave the world such masterpieces as "The Three Laws of Robotics", "I, Robot", "Bicentennial Man" and many other novels that brought him worldwide fame.

The romantic works of Ray Bradbury are also loved by many and are not without a touch of fantasy. The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451, and The Door to Summer are wonderful examples of dreamy fantasy fiction filled with interesting imagery.

The rating of modern science fiction writers also includes Robert Heinlein, one of the most famous authors in this genre. No wonder he was nicknamed "the dean of science fiction writers." His sensational work "Starship Troopers" is especially famous, as well as such vivid novels as "Stepsons of the Universe", "I have a spacesuit - I'm ready to travel" and "The Moon is a harsh mistress" will not leave indifferent any fan of the genre.

Clifford Simak is an award-winning science fiction writer. He owns the novels Transfer Station, Goblin Sanctuary, Reconciliation on Ganymede.

John Scalzi is a classic geek. His most famous work is "Men in Red", where he humorously beats the popular cliché that was used in Star Trek. In his work, we see a large number of nameless characters in red uniforms who certainly die in missions, focusing our attention on the tragedy of the moment. Scalzi is characterized by ironic characters and witty dialogues.

Anne Leckie has only released two novels, but she's already on the same page as some of today's most famous science fiction writers. "Servants of Justice" is one of the most extraordinary books of recent years. The heroine of the book is a young girl, in whose brain the consciousness (so to speak) of the former spaceship has moved. The result is an unusual thriller in which we see both a love story and a phantasmagoric alien civilization inhabited by intelligent ships and other creatures united in hive-consciousnesses.

England

A modern science fiction writer is the author of "A Space Odyssey", as well as "Sands of Mars", "Songs of a Distant Earth", "Moon Bullet" and "Fountains of Paradise". In addition, he is a famous futurist and a talented inventor. His contribution to the history of mankind is the realized idea of ​​​​communication satellites in geostationary orbits, thanks to which the World Wide Web and mobile communications now work.

China Mieville is an extremely extraordinary author who does not quite fit into the category of science fiction writers. In his works, you can find magic, and zoomorphs, and steampunk, and robots. He writes in the genres of fantasy, science fiction, horror and many others. Mieville opposes the commercialization of fantasy and clichés. In his novel The Embassy City, he tries to guess what the culture of intelligent races that do not have imaginative thinking will be like.

Peter Hamilton is the author of many space cycles, such as the Commonwealth Saga. The plot develops in the distant future, when people are taken to colonize the galaxy. Along with the human race, several types of aliens coexist. Hamilton invented and described a multifaceted world with distinct politics, economics, and diplomacy.

Charles Strauss is recognized as a very versatile writer. He has published more than 20 books in a variety of genres - from science fiction to fantasy and horror in the style of Lovecraft. Strauss loves to "deceive" the reader and invent unimaginable plot constructions. A perfect example of this kind is his novel The Greenhouse, in which a group of people decide on a risky experiment and go to live on an isolated space station in the 20th century. The novel was highly acclaimed by critics and readers.

Stephen Baxter is one of the most global authors of contemporary science fiction. Modern science fiction writers and their works are certainly interesting to all fans of the genre. Many authors demonstrate deep scientific and technical awareness. Baxter is one of them. In one of his novels, he tells in detail the history of the universe from its appearance 20 billion years ago to its decline 10 billion years later. Each novel by Baxter provides in-depth research, even he predicts the future, based on fundamental scientific theories. A good example of such a book is The Diversity of the Cosmos and The Ark.

Adam Roberts is famous for his unpredictability. You never know what to expect from his next work. His novel "Glass Jack" perfectly shows the extraordinary talent of the author. This work describes the mysterious stories of three murders. The plot is created in the spirit of Agatha Christie, but with one detail - the reader knows in advance that the main character is the killer.

Wales

Alastair Reynolds is a Welsh contemporary science fiction writer beloved in Russia. He became famous for his deep science fiction and global space operas. Behind complex descriptions of technologies and other types, Reynolds hides lyrical thoughts about the meaning of being. His novels The Space of Revelation, The House of the Sun and Pushing the Ice are illustrative. Reynolds is recognized as one of the best modern science fiction writers due to his originality and his own approach to describing the fantasy world.

Canada

Karl Schroeder creates works on the verge of space opera and cyberpunk. The action of his creations develops in the distant future, but at the same time, the writer is often concerned about cyberpunk issues: the inviolability of life, self-awareness, artificial intelligence. For example, in the new novel Order, he reflects on long space travel, describing hundreds of worlds - from lonely planets without stars to gas giants where people live on giant balloons.

Peter Watts studied to be a marine biologist, which was reflected in his work. Nobody knew the author for a long time, until he uploaded his works to the Internet for everyone to see. Then readers discovered the novel "False Blindness", which became the main work of Watts. In it, the author reflects on human neurobiology and doubts the evolutionary justification of consciousness. Although the book contains both vampires, and aliens, and post-humanism, the work managed to maintain conciseness and minimalism.

Poland

He is the most famous and titled writer not only in Poland, but all over the world. The author left a great literary legacy. His novels are read to this day. Among his most famous works are Solaris, Invasion from Aldebaran, Return from the Stars, The Diaries of John the Quiet, Magellanic Cloud.

Andrzej Sapkowski is another one. He is known for his cult novel, which is part of the famous Witcher Saga. Many books in this series formed the basis for the scripts of sensational films, as well as computer games loved by many.

France

Serge Leman is a famous French science fiction writer, winner of many prestigious literary awards, a worthy successor to the work of great French science fiction writers. Paying tribute to the great authors of the past, such as Jules Verne, Serge Brussolo and others, Leman has his own unique literary style, for which his fans loved him so much. At the beginning of his writing career, he writes the work "F.A.U.S.T.", which became a bestseller. Now this book is part of a whole cycle about the struggle of the most powerful transnational companies for power over the world. Lehman is called an intellectual in the world of fantasy. He reflects on the structure of society and the world, building his own conjectures and concepts.

South Africa

Quite curious is the fantasy of South African authors. They invent detective novels in a rather unusual way. So, one of the works of Lauren Beukes is dedicated to the killer-time traveler, the other to supernatural crimes, as well as the nature of social networks. The third work describes an alternative Johannesburg, in which criminals are chained to magical animals as punishment. Beukes considers phenomena that interest her, such as global surveillance, xenophobia, and even auto-tuning. She mixes the supernatural with high technology, magic and spirits exist side by side with smartphones and the Internet. However, she does not abuse the African flavor.

Russia

Modern Russian science fiction writers and their works are known not only in our country, but all over the world. Many Russian science fiction authors are in demand abroad. There are a large number of translations of Russian books into English, French and other languages.

One of the most famous modern science fiction writers in Russia is the author of Night Watch, Day Watch. He is also the author of the Dream Line cycle and other fantastic works.

The list of Russian modern science fiction writers also includes Andrey Livadny. He is the author of the series Expansion: A History of the Galaxy. The writer is also working on such projects as "Death Zone" and "S.T.A.L.K.E.R."

Alexander Mazin is known for his vivid fantasy novels "Varangian" and "Barbarians". The plot tells about modern people who, by chance, ended up in the distant past and are now forced to fight in order to survive.

(Igor Mozheiko) is a modern Russian science fiction writer and translator of foreign works of this genre. According to his stories about the girl Alisa Selezneva, the film "Guest from the Future" was staged, which at one time was very popular.

Among the best modern Russian science fiction writers is Dmitry Rus, who became famous for writing in the LitRPG genre. According to the law of the genre, the hero is immersed not just in a fantasy world, but in a real computer game. Breakdown opens the author's most famous series, Play to Live. The protagonist was seriously ill when he faced a choice: to slowly die every day or load himself into a computer game where it is so easy to gain wealth, recognition and success, and all tests are just a game.

Among modern Russian science fiction writers, Ilya Shumeya is also called. The author of seven science fiction books, he is scrupulous about observing the fundamental laws of physics, which makes his works seem especially plausible. Being an atomic engineer, he describes in detail all the mechanisms. The heroes of Shumey are exemplary dreamers, for example, Oleg from the work "The Star of the New Sky", Andrei from the story "The Uninvited Guest".

Alexey Pekhov is a modern science fiction writer, the author of fantasy novels written with elements of science fiction. Among his best-known novels are The Chronicles of Siala, Wind and Sparks, Kidret, Guardian, and Master of Dreams. Pekhov's works are notable for their dynamic plot and vivid worlds. Alexey Pekhov is a very extraordinary modern Russian science fiction writer, but fantasy lovers will find interesting works from him.

Russian science fiction women

The beautiful half of humanity has a special look at literary fiction. There are not so many women among modern Russian science fiction writers.

Olga Gromyko is a microbiologist. She writes comedic fantasy on the verge of science fiction, infused with Slavic folklore. The most famous of her series of works are "Spaceheads", "Profession: Witch" and "Year of the Rat".

Yana Wagner became popular on the net thanks to her works “Living People” and “Vongozero”, which form an ominous dilogy. The second book in the series was nominated for the NOSE award while still in manuscript form. According to the plot of the work, a mysterious epidemic forces people to leave the cities. But the worst thing is not the virus, but the fact that people have to survive side by side in the wild.

Other

There are so many modern science fiction writers in Russia that it is difficult to list them all. A Russian person is drawn to the future, reflects on it, thinks about subtle spheres and the unknown. We will announce the list of Russian authors whose importance in the world of science fiction literature is difficult to ignore. Modern science fiction writers that you should know about are:

• Andrey Vasiliev ("Shark of the pen in the world of Fayroll", "Disciples of the Raven", "Group of the Matchmaker").
• Ruslan (Dem) Mikhailov ("Ishgoy", "The World of Valdira").
• Oleg Divov ("The Law of the Frontier", "Symbionts", "The Best Crew of the Solar").
• Andrey Kruz ("The Age of the Dead", "Land of the Superfluous").
• Vasily Golovachev ("The Gospel of the Beast", "Time of Troubles", "Forbidden Reality", "Rescuers of the Fan", "Catharsis").
• Yerpylev Andrei ("Golden Imperial", "City of Stone Demons", "In the Claws of an Unknown Age").
• Andrey Izmailov ("Nebula", "All of myself", "Happily stay").

All over the world, people are fascinated by fantasy. After all, those who do not think about the future cannot live enthusiastically in the present. Fantasts are dreamers who turn their thoughts into words and share them with the whole world. Most of the authors are still young. They will write for us dozens of unusual and entertaining works about what lies ahead for all of us.

Every self-respecting book lover must have a personal list "Best Science Fiction Writers". If you don’t have this yet, then we suggest you pay attention to the following authors who are loved, appreciated, and their works are read all over the world.

Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992) American science fiction writer. Author of about 500 books, both fiction and popular science. Multiple winner of the Hugo and Nebula awards. Some terms from his works, such as robotics, robotics, positron, have entered English and other languages.

Best Books: The Gods Themselves, Foundation, End of Eternity, Bicentennial Man, I, Robot series, Foundation, Lucky Starr and others.

Alexander Belyaev

Alexander Romanovich Belyaev (1884 - 1942) - Russian science fiction writer, one of the founders of Soviet science fiction literature, wrote more than 70 science fiction works, including 13 novels. He is called the Russian Jules Verne.

Best Books: "Professor Dowell's Head", "Island of Lost Ships", "Amphibian Man", "Ariel", "CEC Star", "The Man Who Found His Face", "Heavenly Guest" and others.

Ray Bradbury

Ray Douglas Bradbury (1920 - 2012) was an American science fiction writer who wrote more than eight hundred works in his lifetime. His stories have been the subject of several film adaptations and theatrical productions.

Best Books: Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, Trouble Coming, Dandelion Wine, Thunder Came, Dark Carnival, Goodbye Summer! other.

William Gibson

William Gibson (1948-…) - American science fiction writer. Many consider him the father of cyberpunk. After all, it was he who introduced the term “cyberspace” into science fiction, and also because of his novel Neuromancer, which was published in 1984 and sold more than 6 million copies.

Best Books: Trilogy "Cyberspace", "Bridge Trilogy", "Bigend Trilogy", "Difference Machine", a collection of short stories "Burning Chrome" and others.

Sergey Lukyanenko

Sergei Vasilyevich Lukyanenko (1968-...) is one of the most widely read Russian science fiction writers. The writer himself defines the genre in which he writes his novels as "Fiction of hard action" or "Fiction of the Way"

Best Books: series of novels "Patrols", "Borderland", "Island of Russia", "Seekers of the Sky", "Line of Dreams", "Genome", "Labyrinth of Reflections", "Lord from Planet Earth" and others.

Larry Niven

Lawrence van Cott Niven (1938 - ...) - American science fiction writer. Multiple winner of the Hugo, Locus, Dietmar and Nebula awards. His work is fantasy, which combines serious science and theoretical conjectures. Elements of detective and adventure are often found in his works.

Best Books: series "World-Ring", "Integral Trees", "Make a Wish", "Defender", "Gift from the Earth", Calm in Hell and others.

Clifford Simak

Clifford Donald Simak (1894-1988) is considered to be one of the founders of modern American fiction. At various times he was awarded the Hugo and Nebula awards, Jupiter, Locus, Brem Stoker, as well as the title of Grand Master.

Best books: "The City", "Ring Around the Sun", "Goblin Sanctuary", "The Werewolf Principle", "All Flesh Is Grass", "What could be simpler than time?", "Almost Like Humans" and others.

Robert Heinlein

Robert Anson Heinlein (1907-1988) was an American science fiction writer who made an invaluable contribution to the development of the science fiction genre. He is the only one to win five Hugo Awards, a multiple Nebula winner.

Best Books: cycle "History of the Future", "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Starship Troopers", "Farmer in the Sky", "The Man Who Sold the Moon", "Red Planet", "Double Star", "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and others .

Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

The brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky are a famous tandem of writers. Their books are known not only in the CIS, but also far abroad. They also worked individually. The novels of the Strugatsky brothers are rightfully included in the world classics of modern science fiction. Each book by these authors is distinguished by depth and philosophy, which is sometimes lacking in novels of this genre.

Best Books: Roadside Picnic, Snail on the Slope, Lame Fate, Doomed City, It's Hard to Be a God, Monday Starts on Saturday, A Billion Years Before the End of the World, Waves Kill the Wind, and other.

Arthur Clark

Arthur Charles Clark (1917 - 2008) - English writer, scientist, futurist and inventor, and, of course, a cult science fiction writer. His work includes 22 novels, 3 cycles of novels, short stories and adaptations of his books.

Best Books:"Prelude to Space", "Sands of Mars", "The End of Childhood", "Songs of a Distant Earth", "Space Odyssey 2001" Cycle, "Rama" Cycle, "Odyssey of Time" Cycle and others.

Henry Kuttner

The American science fiction and humor writer Henry Kuttner (1915-1958) created works that are classics today. Henry's co-author was his wife Katherine Lucille Moore. Kuttner's books have been published under the pseudonyms Lawrence O'Donnell, Lewis Paget, Keith Hammond, and Will Garth.

Best Books: a series of stories "Hogbeny", the novel "The Dark World", "Fury. The world of darkness. Stories", "Sim Makes Sure", "Five Tales of Gallegher", "Housing", "Mutant", "Mask of Cercea" and others.

William Tenn

The science fiction writer Philip Klass published under the pseudonym William Tenn (1920-2010). The world learned about the talent of the writer after the publication of his first story "Alexander the Bait" in 1946. During a long writing career, Tenn wrote only 2 novels, preferring short stories. For merits in the field of science fiction, William Tenn has repeatedly received awards, including the prestigious Nebula, Locus and Hugo Awards.

Best Books: collections of stories "The Baldezhny Criterion", "Star Carousel", "Invasion" and others.

Vladimir Mikhailov

Mikhailov Vladimir Dmitrievich (1929-2008) - author of numerous works in the fantasy genre. Vladimir Mikhailov began to write humorous stories, but achieved popularity and recognition thanks to science fiction books. The author himself, dreaming of becoming a great poet all his life, considered science fiction a happy accident.

Best Books:"My Brother's Watchman", "People of the Land", "Permanent Krata", "Option I", "Special Necessity" and others.

Frank Herbert

American science fiction writer Frank Herbert (1920-1986) is known to the world, mainly thanks to the chronicles of "Dune". The cycle of these books brought the author awards in the form of the Hugo and Nebula literary awards. The author's first story was "Looking for something?", published in Startling Stories magazine.

Best Books:"Dune", "Dragon in the Sea", "God Makers", "Dosadi Experiment", "Under Pressure", "Hellstrom Hive" and others.

Ivan Efremov

Ivan Antonovich Efremov (1908-1972) - Soviet science fiction writer, paleontologist and thinker. Ivan's knowledge, thanks to his creative potential, resulted in wonderful works of literature. The minor planet Ephraimiana and the mineral efremovite are named after the author.

Best Books:"Andromeda Nebula", "Razor's Edge", "Star Ships", "Thais of Athens", "Ox Hour" and others.

Paul Anderson

Paul William Anderson (1926-2001) became interested in science fiction as a student. Anderson, one of the few writers who has received the title of "Grand Master of Fantasy" Hugo and has been awarded this Award 7 times. The author's debut took place in 1947 with the story "Children of Tomorrow".

Best Books:"Time Patrol", "Space Crusaders", "Operation Another World", "Long Way Home", "Queen of Winds and Darkness" and others.

Ursula Le Guin

The work of Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (1929-2018) is not limited to the science fiction genre. The writer created many children's works, poems and novels, was the author of fantasy books and literary critic. Le Guin wrote her first science fiction story at the age of 11 and continued to delight fans with new works, for many of which Ursula received prestigious awards.

Best Books:"Wizard of Earthsea", "Trilogy", "The Left Hand of Darkness", "Tomb of Atuan", "The Dispossessed", "Planet of Exile" and others.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

My personal perception:
- Strugatsky - read everything, start with "Monday starts on Saturday", "Picnic on the roadside", "It's hard to be a god"
- Garrison - cycles "Steel Rat", "World of Death" and the novel "Fantastic Saga". If you like this, you can read the rest. And God forbid you start with the cycle "Bill - the Hero of the Galaxy." Yes, it has practically nothing to do with "science fiction".
- Bradbury is a pseudo-philosophy greatly inflated by PR. All books - a complete lack of logic and common sense. In addition, the books are very outdated "technically", and in the "new" form they were unreadable for techies due to the presence of a huge number of technical blunders. For those who have not read - 451 degrees Fahrenheit is the most interesting for the first acquaintance. Dystopia, blunders are not so visible, well, the classics of science fiction are already, as it is a shame not to read. The scientific nature of books is at zero, social - yes, scientific - no.
- Asimov - science fiction, no doubt, scientific, but very outdated. Moreover, it is outdated not because we can do what is described in books, but because it has been proven and explored that it is impossible to do this, or unprofitable, or what for. If we ignore the "technical" details and absurdities, then you can read it, but at present it is not so interesting anymore. It’s worth starting with cycles about robots, there are still interesting stories there. "Foundation" - only for fans of Asimov
Arthur Clarke is a very strong writer. A real SF, a classic of the genre. You should still start not with the Odyssey, but with the novels "Sands of Mars" and "Moon Dust"
- John Wyndham. Day of the Triffids. - a great disaster novel. Absolutely does not interfere with what is written about the more "old" time. In pursuit, I can advise John Christopher Death of Grass.
— Frank Herbert. Dune. - This is, of course, a whole era. But it has nothing to do with NF. I would call Fantasy in sci-fi setting. The book is interesting, but strongly on the fan. Either you like it or you don't.
- Flowers for Algernon. Daniel Keyes - Yes, a must read. Rather social, but also belongs to the National Front.
- Belyaev should be read in total. NF no doubt. Outdated, but even now it is very relevant, and the ideas are very interesting. Classic
- Lukyanenko and Bushkov are very interesting books, but not SF. If Lukyanenko is somewhere else somehow, then Bushkov is a complete pipe in this regard. Action and space adventurers (sometimes virtual adventurers). The most successful in Lukyanenko - the cycles "Deeptown" and "Lord from Planet Earth", as well as the novel co-authored with Perumov "No Time for Dragons"
- Heinlein - yes. Cool. It can be attributed to NF with great interference, but still. It’s worth starting with “Stepsons of the Universe”, “Double Star”, “The Moon Hardly Lays”, “Door to Summer” (required!), “Star Beast”, “I have a spacesuit - ready to travel”, “Space Rangers” (exactly in this translation), "The Martian Podkane". I must add that all the film adaptations of his books are very sucks and only confuse fans of science fiction and anger fans of Heinlein
- Stanislav Lem. - an excellent writer. More like a philosophy, but SF is still there. Solaris is definitely worth a read. I can add to the list to read: "Tales of Pilot Pirks" (technically outdated, otherwise not), "Eden", "Invincible". If you like it - feel free to read everything from Lem - you won't regret it
- Martin is a very average writer, nevertheless very popular. It has very little to do with NF. "Desert Kings" is one of his strongest songs.
- Simak is a very strong author, but again, he is not a sci-fi author even once. Although he is considered the founding father of American SF. But everything needs to be read.
- Dan Simmons - very powerful, exciting, but not for everyone.

Not in the review of excellent Soviet NF authors:
- Obruchev - "Plutonia, Sannikov Land"
- Kazantsev - cycles Georgy Sedov, "Polar opposition", "Planet of Storms"
- Snegov "- the cycle "People are like gods"
- Pavlov - cycle "Moon Rainbow"
- Nemtsov is a short-range fantasy, a lot has already been done, but nevertheless
- Georgy Martynov - "Stargazers", "Guest from the Abyss", "Callisto", "Spiral of Time"
- Adamov - "Winners of the Subsoil", "The Secret of Two Oceans"
- Evgeny Voiskunsky, Isai Lukodyanov ("Ur, the son of Sham" is one of my favorite books)
- and many others.

And from imports:
Where is Jules Verne?
- Larry Niven "Ring World"
- Paul Anderson. I can’t say that NF is strong, but much closer than many of the presented
- etc.