Authors like Asimov, Arthur C Clarke, Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, Frank Herbert, Philip K Dick and Ray Bradbury added a lot of depth to the field. These authors wrote books that were still classifiable as science fictions such as The Foundation series, Brave New World, Nineteen Eighty Four, the Dune series and Fahrenheit 451. However the themes they explored in these books were universal and dealt with current social and political concerns.

The current authors writing science fiction are as revolutionary and impactful as their illustrious predecessors. These include Kurt Vonnegut, author of books like Slaughterhouse 5, Orson Scott Card, author of Ender’s Game and its sequels, Octavia Butler, author of the award-winning Parable of a Sower and Parable of the Talents, Greg Bear, author of Darwin’s Radio, and Michael Crichton, author of the best-selling Jurassic Park amongst many others.

A genre associated with science fiction is that of fantasy. The most famous authors of fantasy are perhaps J R R Tolkein, author of the Lord of the Rings series, and Douglas Adams, author of The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy. Authors of fantasy books create alternate worlds populated by fantastic creatures such as Middle-Earth in the Lord of the Rings saga. Other famous authors of this genre include Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, Robert Jordan and George R R Martin. Authors who write fantasy for young readers include J K Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series and Philip Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials series.