One of the premier practioners of the new space opera, Ken MacLeod is the author of the "Fall Revolution" series (1995-99) and the "Engines of Light" trilogy (2000-2002), which combine cutting-edge technological speculation with sharp political satire. Techno-utopian social critic.

"I no longer define myself as a socialist, but it stuns me that there's a whole generation of growing up — a generation who are younger than my own children — who lack the idea of socialism as an implicit alternative. What might a future without any socialism look like? It's not necessarily an attractive prospect."