Greg Egan is a writer and computer programmer who has published a number of hard science fiction novels.
His work reminds me a great deal of the classic scifi of fifty or so years ago. The writing that was coming out then was much more focussed on the science aspect, coming up with a scientific idea and writing a story about what would happen because of that. Egan does this with very complex subjects, including quantum theory, genetics, biotechnology and artificial intelligence.
He takes the scientific idea through what you might expect to happen but then carries it as far as it is possible to go. This is not someone who writes space-opera, the plot is driven by the science. Yet that doesn't mean that his characters are in any way neglected, they are perfectly realised and perfect for the settings.
If you want something challenging and fascinating, Greg Egan is the way to go.
__________________
