I’m saddened by the recent passage of the science and science fiction (SF) writer Arthur C. Clark. I blundered into the SF works of Clark, Asimov, and a few others as a high school sophomore. Freshly relocated from the midwest in 1971, I fell into a social group that was largely scientifically and technically oriented. We shunned hippies, pot, and cigarettes in favor of electronics, SF, chess, and physics. We were juvenile scientists and engineers.
I have always enjoyed the narrative style of Clark. He was able to write thought provoking SF with dialog that was comfortable yet focused. He could manage plot development with technical subjects without collapse into a pedantic or evangelical tone.
What I am left with from my years of reading SF is a particular world view. My vision of the future is greatly shaped by numerous SF stories written over the last 75 years. It is an egalitarian world where people have reasoned their way around nuclear self-immolation. A world where the quest for knowledge is prized and where the extinguishment of pain and suffering is sought by all. Greed has been abandoned as a way of life. People spend the bulk of their lives seeking pleasure and understanding, not just the next meal.
But, it’s just science fiction.
Lamentations on Chemistry 
And, one by one, the stars went out.
Rather than foster brilliance, we allocate for its suppression.
Was that line from “The Nine Billion Names of God”?
The last line. As is said in Mensa, “Were you a speed reader you would have already finished.”
Too bad Sci Fi is going the way of the Dinosaur. Something like 75% of all the content in a bookstore is non-fiction. I walked into a very large Borders the other day and realized the fiction section was pathetically small. I think we’ve gained much from its prescience. In a world drowning in knowledge imagination is left behind. Gone are the days of the dime novel when Author’s such as Ray Bradbury could earn a living.
His Fahrenheit 451 provided a basis for dissent as much as anything else. I suppose hitting the delete button is the modern equivalent. Not much of a metaphor there. Ideas just vanish painlessly.
I’d have to agree. I have a lot of trouble finding SF that is worth investing time in. I have enjoyed Gregory Benford and increasingly Lincoln Child.
http://scifipedia.scifi.com/index.php/Gregory_Benford