Sci-Fi ... or Fantasy? (1984 to 2008 via 2001)

Are any good science fiction novels still being written? The concept of taking a scientific or social idea and speculating upon a future world is becoming all to rare. Surprisingly, WALL*E (see my post) qualifies as "science fiction". When I took my family to the theater on opening night a few weeks ago (I got my WALL*E watch!), I was pleasantly surprised with this movie. This cute trash compactor crushes many items which reflect upon the state of our current society, but with nary a human around anymore to appreciate his work.

However, most sci-fi novels published today involve dragons, warlocks and swordsman. The novel, 1984, which I first read during the early 1970's, is true great science fiction. I assume most of you have read this classic which reviews where our society of technology and government may be headed. However, you may enjoy listening to a great audio book version which is available for free download. Another classic example of good science fiction is 2001. I invite you to download and read The Sentinel, which is the short story upon which 2001, A Space Odyssey is based.

You'll be accessing the 1984 Audio Book via OpenCulture. This site is run by a Stanford University dean, and his web site's name is appropriate. He constantly reviews open or "free" culture that is available via the net. Check out the categories section on the OpenCulture web site. Most of the posts focus upon content where the item being reviewed provides a net gain to society ... ranging from science podcasts to intelligent life at YouTube.

Comments

[JKW]

If you think there aren't a lot of really good solid SciFi novels being written you may need to revisit your local library or bookstore. Try Robert Sawyer's Flash Forward and you might get a bit uncomfortable with the opening of CERN. Or maybe read his Calculating God for a refreshing take on how what we think of as aliens might view the cosmos. Joe Halderman is still writing as are a number of other wonderful SF authors. I love audio if the narraters are exceptional. It can had a whole new dimension to a book. You might want to try out http://www.buzzymultimedia.com/audiobooks.html
They give you the first 3 chapters of each book for free. Guess they use the bakery shop philosphy of free samples making you want to buy the whole cake.