| | Comment from (2004-06-28) |
| Dan Simmons is one of the best sci-fi authors. Ever.
He is definately a writer. Not a sci-fi geek trying to share his passion with others. A real writer who is into poetry, classical literature, and all that. This gives him the ability to write good, interesting books, with deeper meaning, like few sci-fi writers have.
But he is also a scientist. Whether he knows his science or does thorough research, he's up-to-date on the latest scientific discoveries. He's very intelligent, and has good knowledge of all aspects of science. People don't breathe or explode in vacuum or any such nonsense that some none-too-technical writers come up with.
He's also a philosopher and a dreamer who can take the best science and take it farther, see where it's going and what we can expect. He's a very good futurist who can see where computer science, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, particle physics, and other top technologies are leading.
It's very rare to have all these things in one package. In my experience sci-fi writers are either scientists-trying-to-write or writers-trying-to-do-science(with poor results). There are good and bad points about both, but neither type is as satisfying as Simmons. It is truely rare to find a good, talented writer with such vision and understanding of science and technology.
Simmons is definately up there in the top with Heinlein, Asimov, Niven, Vinge. Perhaps even better.
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