Two of the novels by Neal Stephenson that I've read I really liked (Snow Crash and The Diamond Age). I've not begun to read his historical SF (Cryptonomicon, Baroque Cycle etc.) yet, so I can't give a rating on them.

Wil McCarthy is pretty imaginative, and writes hard SF.

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If we don't play god, who will?-James Watson
I never think of the future, it comes soon enough.-Albert Einstein
The large print giveth and the small print taketh away.-Tom Waits
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a yo-yo.-Enoch Root, The Confusion
When I was a kid, if someone brandished a shrink gun he'd get a little bit of respect!-Myron Reducto, Harvey Birdman