An early sf writer was Homer (robots in The Odyssey). An intermediate sf writer was Mary Shelley (Frankenstein). Heinlein and Asimov are Johnny-come-latelies by comparison, I'm a fan too but I wouldn't call them "early". Add Philip K Dick, E E "Doc" Smith and Arthur C Clarke to that, as contemporaries. I particularly enjoy those writers who are/were able to blur the line between sf and fantasy, Anne McCaffrey and Frank Herbert were very good at it, as is the far more recent Margaret Weis (the stuff she does with Tracy Hickman is entirely fantasy, but her Star of the Guardians was clever sf/fantasy.)
This post was edited by Slartibartfast at December 21, 2021 9:49 PM MST
I have no way of quantifying how many books I've read. I always read before bedtime, going to and coming home from work and when I don't feel like watching TV. I get anxious when I'm down to just one book left to read. I can't say I have a favorite book, but I do know that, with so many good books to read, I don't read any of them more than once.
Element 99 