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I'm looking for new (or nearly new) hardcore SF books for grownups, no kiddie-lit stories, no fantasy (swords, princesses, and dragons forbidden!)

By grownup SF I'm not talking about raunch or porn, simply novels written for adults, not juveniles.

And by "hardcore" I don't necessarily mean rocket ships and alien invaders (although that would be okay). I mean zero fantasy, spells, wizards, or anything resembling smurfs (ha ha)

Author whom I like are those belonging to the "new wave" of SF, the 60s-era writers who introduced sex and adult situations into SF. Authors such as Larry Niven, Robert Silverberg, Roger Zelazny, John Varley, Chip Delaney, etc.

Understand that I've read nearly everything the authors I listed above have written, so newer writers of the same type of style would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Incidentally, my nomination for the greatest SF short story, "The Man Who Lost The Sea" by Theodore Sturgeon. Greatest SF novel, "Lord of Light" by Roger Zelazny.

I would recommend Charles Stross. He does write some books tinged with supernatural/fantasy but also some great hard scifi. I would recommend "Rule 34" "Saturn's Children" or "Neptune's Brood" which I just finished. Both great space operas. Also, "Singularity Sky" or "Glasshouse" are amazing. He's one of the best new scifi writers I've come across. I love all the authors you mentioned. Surely you've read Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash". Also the Avery Cates series by Jeff Somers is great. Start with "The Electric Church". Happy reading!

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll check out Stross and Stephenson, also Somers. I don't mind a bit of fantasy, actually, so long as it's not yet another sword & sorcery rehash.

And, in the meantime, should you enjoy modern private detective novels, you may wish to take a crack at my 2 "Mitch King Mysteries", Amazon listed, #1 is "Blood Spiral" and #2 is "Blood Storm", author Sam Waas (me).

I'm now hard at work on the 3rd novel but I'll be checking out your suggestions soon. Thanks again.

I like David Weber's Honor Harrington Series and the March Upcountry, March to the Sea and We Few - some of which were a collaboration with another author who I cant think of at the moment.... not a smurf in sight

If Ursula K. Le Guin is not one of the older authors you've already read, I strongly recommend her novels. Especially The Left Hand of Darkness, that sounds exactly like you're looking for, even though it was published a good while ago. She has also written many more novels, some of them more recent that would also recommend.

John Scalzi is a newer author, I've heard lots of people rave about Redshirts, which I'd look into if you're a Star Trek fan.

I've read "Left Hand" several times, including when it was first published. I've read all the SF classics.

As for "Redshirts" that's new to me. I'll check it out -- thanks.

Right now I'm hot to trot getting into my 4th mystery novel, focusing mostly on that in my free time, so SF will have to wait for a while anyway.

Btw, for those who enjoy sensuous and life-message SF, let me strongly recommend Robert Silverberg's "Downward To The Earth", a superb novel, also available for Kindle / e-books. One of my fave novels. And my all-time fave SF novel is Roger Zelazny's "Lord Of Light", just to give you an idea of which type of SF I prefer.

Isaac Asimov has some great stories both novel length and short stories. He's the one that came up with the Laws of Robotics. I Robot was based off of his Foundations series. A lot of his short stories have to deal with computers and alternate Earth type stories. Occasionally, some of his short stories might creep into fantasy but those aren't as prolific as his speculative/Science Fiction.

I admired Asimov as a great icon but frankly, his style is to pedantic for me. I'm more of a "New Wave" fan -- Zelazny, Chip Delaney, Silverberg, etc.

But yeah, I read all the Asimov stories as a kid, enjoyed them.

Note that a lot of science fiction is not classified as such (e.g., Atlas Shrugged and Jurassic Park). Science fiction set in the present day is typically classified as mainstream fiction, unless the author is an established science-fiction writer. I don't know of an easy way to find such books, but they exist.

I'm sure you are familiar with Heinlein, but if you read his books long ago, note that in the early 1990s an uncut version of Stranger in a Strange Land was published. And his first novel, For Us, The Living: A Comedy of Customs (1939), was not published during his lifetime, but is now available.

Heinlein of course

Now, can anyone recommend any NEW science fiction?

I've read Heinlein and all the other classic SF writers. I read Heinlein while he was extant, and easily remember the impact that "Stranger" made in the SF world.

But new SF? (No demons, sorcerers, swords, wands, etc. -- that's fantasy)