Kim Stanley Robinson: Sci-fi writers are no longer prophets

The modern world is making it difficult for science fiction writers to come up with the groundbreaking ideas of the future, according to one of the genre's leading lights.

In an interview with the Guardian, Kim Stanley Robinson said the rapid pace of technological advancement means the world itself now resembles a science fiction novel.

The Red Mars author said science fiction writers have always loved to see their inventions become a reality but that task is now becoming much harder to achieve.

'It's a different situation than it was when I began, the relation between world and genre. Back then you could read science fiction and get a sense of what the world was going to be,' he told the newspaper.

Robinson suggested that the traditional science fiction readership has noticed the narrowing gap between novels and real life. As a result, a lot of people are switching their allegiance to the fantasy genre in an attempt to find extraordinary stories.

A review in the Independent of Galileo's Dream, Robinson's most recent work, says that the book encourages the reader to admire the revolutionary astronomer, despite painting an unflattering picture of his personal life.