Now I don't normally link to the someone else's blog, but I'm going to make an exception in this case because I think what Gary Gibson has written in this blog for Tor Books is worth sharing.
http://torbooks.co.uk/2013/05/17/gary-gibson-on-future-thinking-plus-books-to-win/
One of the things you often hear people say these days is that science fiction is in danger of being overtaken by the sheer pace of advancements in science and technology. It’s an understandable refrain, particularly when the news is filled with reports about downloadable blueprints for building guns with those same 3D printers. The feeling that you’re living in a world co-scripted by John Varley and John Brunner tends to grow when you take a quick scan through any number of online news sites and discover front-page features on exoplanets, life extension, and NASA research into Alcubierre drives. It might seem that in the face of such remarkable advances, science fiction might no longer be as relevant as it once was, reality having in many respects caught up with it. You might think that, but you would be wrong.
In many ways, it could be argued that the great pace of technological change in our world throws down a gauntlet to the imagination of sci-fi writers, challenging them to look at what is happening now and then extrapolate that out to where it could go in the future.
That has to be exciting for all concerned.
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