Larry Niven. His older stuff: Ringworld. and all his short-story collections, especially Neutron Star. He also did a scifi take on magic, in The Magic Goes Awa

Larry Niven. His older stuff: Ringworld. and all his short-story collections, especially Neutron Star. He also did a scifi take on magic, in The Magic Goes Away. I see Vinor Vinge's AFUTD and ADITS as the closest thing to Niven.