Can you recommend some modern hard science fiction works?

Sure. 'The Martian' by Andy Weir is a great example. It's all about an astronaut stranded on Mars and his struggle to survive using scientific knowledge and ingenuity. Another one is '2001: A Space Odyssey' by Arthur C. Clarke. It delves into deep space exploration and the possibilities of extraterrestrial life, with a strong basis in scientific concepts. And 'Contact' by Carl Sagan, which focuses on the search for intelligent alien life and the scientific implications of such a discovery.

Philip K. Dick's works often have elements of hard boiled science fiction. 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' is a great example. It has a noir - ish feel with its detective - like main character in a future world filled with moral and technological quandaries.

Definitely. 'Foundation' series by Isaac Asimov is a must - read for hard science fiction fans. It's based on concepts of psychohistory, a fictional science that predicts the future of large populations. 'The Time Machine' by H.G. Wells is also a great piece. It introduced the idea of time travel in a scientific - ish way. And 'Rendezvous with Rama' by Arthur C. Clarke is amazing. It showed a detailed exploration of an alien spacecraft and the scientific implications of such a discovery.

One well - known work is 'Sunshine' which involves the concept of harnessing the power of the sun's light in a rather extreme and dangerous situation. Another is 'The Light Fantastic' which has elements related to the magic of light, though it also has some science - fictional ideas about light's capabilities.

Sure. 'We Are Legion (We Are Bob)' is a great one. It follows the adventures of Bob, who is replicated many times and has to deal with various challenges in space exploration. The story is full of hard science concepts like asteroid mining and interstellar communication.

Another one is 'Ancillary Justice' by Ann Leckie. It features a unique world - building with interesting takes on artificial intelligence, identity, and galactic politics. The protagonist is a former spaceship AI now inhabiting a human body, which leads to a lot of exploration of what it means to be an individual in a complex and diverse universe.

One of his well - known works in hard science fiction is 'Ringworld'. It features a vast, engineered ring - shaped world orbiting a star, with a lot of scientific concepts like orbital mechanics and artificial habitats explored in great detail.

Well, 'Ender's Game' by Orson Scott Card is also in this category. It tells the story of a young boy trained to be a military leader in a battle against an alien race. The book delves deep into military strategy, ethics, and the psychological state of the characters. It's really a great read if you like hard military science fiction.

I'd recommend 'Snow Crash' by Neal Stephenson. It's a work that combines a lot of different scientific and technological concepts. It has elements of virtual reality, linguistics, and sociology. Also, 'The Three - Body Problem' by Liu Cixin is a masterpiece. It deals with complex astrophysics concepts and the possible existence of extraterrestrial civilizations in a very intelligent way.

One of his notable works is 'Blindsight'. It delves deep into concepts like consciousness and the nature of intelligence. The story follows a crew on a mission to study an alien entity. It's a thought - provoking read that challenges our understanding of what it means to be sentient.