--- Kendall Clark <kendall at monkeyfist.com> wrote:
> You haven't read any Samuel R. Delany, apparently.
> Rather a careful marxist
> (at least, compared to the, in my view, clumsiness
> of Asimov on that count),
> he's written space opera, sword & sorcery, tons of
> engaging non-fiction,
> much of which handles human sexual relations with
> amazing sensitivity and
> grace and wit. Highly recommended.
He's gay and black (or bi maybe), which may have something to do with it.
There's also Ian M Banks, who writes these peculiar liberal fantasies (they're good) and Ken Macleod who writes stuff which must be impenetrable to anyone not familiar with the intricacies of British left politics. Vernor Vinge has written some pretty good stuff as well (comparing him to hacks like Heinlein, or Asimov, would be insulting). The Soft SF of the 70s produced a far more interesting collection of writers.
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