Science fiction fans, here is one news for you, read on!
Science fiction writer Alastair Reynolds is in a prime position to look dispassionately at the present and project into the future, having spent 12 years as an astronomer with the European Space Agency (Esa).
He spent more than a decade combining his work at Esa with writing science fiction short stories, before making writing his career and publishing novels such as Revelation Space, Pushing Ice and his latest, The Prefect.
Science fiction has always been regarded with disdain by the literati but the genre has helped the world understand some of the most profound changes to society wrought by technology - such as space travel, satellite communications and robotics.
But when we live in a world immersed in nanotechnology, quantum computing and discoveries of Super Earth-like planets, do we need science fiction anymore?
