There does seem to be a correlation between folk music and fiction, which worries me. I went through a sci-fi phase in my early teens, but always assumed, like spots and frenzied self-abuse, that it was something rather embarrasing that one eventually grew out of.
Aside from Ballard, Lessing and maybe Atwood, is there any sci fi writer who can stand alongside the better mainstream fiction writers today? For my sins, I find Tolkien pretentious and Pratchet juvenile, so that will probably alienate half the posters here, but I'd genuinely like to find a sci-fi/fantasy writer who can transcend the genre in the way, say, Patrick O'Brian transcends the bloke-ish historical fiction genre. Any recommendations?