1974:
Doris Lessing’s “Memoirs Of A Survivor” exposed a
barbaric, post-apocalyptic world with social breakdowns amongst
the middle classes.
1975:
Joanna Russ’s “The Female Man” introduced and
examined gender roles in future parallel worlds that differed in
time and place.
1979:
Douglas Adams’ series “The Hitchhikers Guide To
The Galaxy” was instrumental in introducing dark humour into
science fiction.
1984:
William Gibson’s “Neuromancer” coined the term
‘cyberspace’ with prophetic visions of futuristic worlds that are
completely controlled by computers.
1987: Octavia E. Butler’s “Dawn” was the forerunner in the
introduction of racial issues in science fiction and the concept of
reproduction between species, gender and sexuality.
1993: Kim Stanley Robinson’s “Red Mars” trilogy introduced
the colonization of Mars and the revitalization of the concept of
Utopia - the perfect society.
2013: Margaret Atwood’s novel “Maddaddam” exposed the
reader to the catastrophic genetic engineering programmes of the
future.