Ten recent science fiction novels about big ideas

Charlie Jane Anders, editor at io9, named ten "great science fiction novels, published since 2000, that raise huge, important questions"

One entry on the list:

Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart (2010)

We were kind of surprised to see people mention this one — but it really fits, once you think about it. At first blush, Shteyngart's acclaimed novel is just what it sounds like: an unhappy love story between a man and a woman, set in the near future. But the dystopian near future that Shteyngart creates is detailed enough to become immersive — and when he gets around to depicting the collapse of the U.S. economy and the resulting chaos, then his main characters are faced with impossible choices. Which do, in the end, bring up some huge questions about the nature of love, among other things.

Read about the other titles on the list.

Super Sad True Love Story appears on Nicholas Carr's list of five notable books on the impact of the Information Age and Charlie Jane Anders's list of ten satirical novels that could teach you to survive the future.

--Marshal Zeringue