Greg Egan will make you feel stupid

There's an interesting essay on the Tor blog by a Toronto writer that ponders why Austrailan science fiction writer Greg Egan is not a superstar. His writing and ideas are brilliant and those who faithfully follow his work love his books yet fandom at large doesn't seem to buy it.

I've read a few of his books and several of his short stories and agree that among hard science fiction writers, his fiction is diamond hard. I suspect that this is what turns off many readers. While his stories are impeccably researched and mind-blowing at times, it is easy to feel stupid when reading his stuff.

One writer who the essayist mentions as someone who he hasn't been able to latch on to is Neal Stephenson. Unlike Egan, he has become a superstar. I think the difference between the two is that Stephenson's impeccable research and mind-blowing ideas are presented in a more accessible way than Egan. Here's an interview with Stephenson where he describes his process of world building.

Another Australian author who can't hold a candle to Egan when it comes to writing about science, but is equally obscure is A. Bertram Chandler. His books are one of my guilty pleasures so I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across this site recently - The Rim Worlds Concordance which collects all sorts of trivia about his sprawling space opera series for which he is best known.