Ten Science Fiction Books That Should Be Movies
Category: Best Of, Books, Opinion, Science Fiction
published April 9th, 2008
I thought I'd list the ten science fiction books that I think really ought to be made into movies. My criteria were that they had to be: stories I liked; stories I thought would translate into film (though some might be a stretch). There are a number brilliant science fiction stories that I feel just wouldn't work in movie format. I have to admit though I may have stretched that criteria.
I've tried to pick stories that have not been made into a movie previously and that as far as I know are not currently in production. If any of these are under development, I would love to know about it.
- Foundation by Isaac Asimov
- Plot Summary: Foundation tells the story of a group of scientists who seek to preserve knowledge as the civilizations around them begin to regress.
- To date very few of Asimov's stories have been made into movies. The Foundation series is my personal favorite of all his works. Since it's really a collection of short stories, it lends itself quite well to a movie format. Asimov's sparse writing style would be ideal as well.
- Ringworld by Larry Niven
- Plot Summary: In the year 2855, four adventurers (two humans and two aliens) explore a mysterious "ringworld": an enormous, artificial, ring-shaped structure that surrounds a star.
- Mainly I'd like to see a Ringworld movie for the visuals. For my tastes the story aspect of Ringworld isn't particularly strong, but the ideas are wonderful.
- Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke
- Plot Summary:Childhood's End is about humanity's transformation and integration to an interstellar hive mind called the Overmind, man's inability to live in a utopian society, cruelty to animals, and the idea of being "The Last Man on Earth".
- The core material of Childhood End is a staple for film science fiction, but wouldn't it be nice to have one of these movies that actually had a bit of depth to it?
- The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
- Plot Summary: The novel tells the story of William Mandella, a university student conscripted for an elite UN task force being assembled for a war against the Taurans, an alien species discovered when they suddenly attacked human colonists' ships. Due to time dilation, Mandella finds himself isolated from a society that has changed radically.
- This is probably the least likely of all the stories on the list to be made into a film. While the militaristic aspects ought to be ideal and the story seems to be timeless in its handling of war; it's unlikely that movie studios would be brave enough to tackle the homosexual elements of the story. Shame.
- The Mote in God's Eye by Niven & Pournelle
- Plot Summary: In the year 3016, the Second Empire of Man spans hundreds of star systems, thanks to the faster-than-light Alderson Drive. No other intelligent beings have ever been encountered, not until a light sail probe enters a human system carrying a dead alien. The probe is traced to the Mote, an isolated star in a thick dust cloud, and an expedition is dispatched.
- Do I really need to explain why I want to see this on the silver screen? It's one of the defining works of the entire field.
- A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
- Plot Summary: Faster-than-light travel remains impossible near Earth, deep in the galaxy's Slow Zone–but physical laws relax in the surrounding Beyond. Outside that again is the Transcend, full of unguessable, godlike "Powers." When human meddling wakes an old Power, the Blight, this spreads like a wildfire mind virus that turns whole civilizations into its unthinking tools. And the half-mythical Countermeasure, if it exists, is lost with two human children on primitive Tines World.
- This book is so epic in its scope that until recently it would probably have been impossible to film. But with the effects technology it's within the realm of possibility.
- Night's Dawn Trilogy - Peter F. Hamilton
- Plot Summary: The "reality dysfunction" is a break in the fabric of reality that allows the dead to return to our world, where they possess living bodies. Gradually, it becomes horrifyingly clear that all of humanity is at risk of being taken over by the minds of those long dead. More and more of the dead are stealing the bodies of those still living, grouping together into powerful consortiums led by leaders from history. Opposing this development is an increasingly desperate Confederation Navy.
- It would be a huge stretch to cover this gigantic trilogy in a single film. So how about three films? What if I say pretty please? There are just so many cool scenes in this space opera and I want to see them!
- Sundiver by David Brin
- Plot Summary:For nearly a billion years, every known sentient species in the universe has been the result of genetic and cultural guidance–or "uplifting"–by a previously uplifted patron race. Then humans are discovered. Having already uplifted chimps and dolphins, humanity clearly qualifies as an intelligent species, but did they actually evolve their own intelligence, or did some mysterious patron race begin the process, then suddenly abandon Earth? The answer to this mystery might be as close as our own sun, but it will take a daring dive into its fiery interior to know for sure.
- Perhaps not quite as epic in scope as some of the other entries on the list but the ideas are certainly big. Besides… chimpanzees and dolphins. You know you want to see that on screen.
- Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison
- Plot Summary:At the beginning of the first novel, the Stainless Steel Rat believes he has pulled off a successful bank job, but is out-conned into working for the government. In the Special Corps, the elite law-enforcement and spy agency led by the former greatest crook in the Galaxy, Harold P. Inskipp (a.k.a. Inskipp the Uncatchable), he joins the ranks of an organization that is entirely constituted of ex-criminals like himself.
- This is a very different sort of sci-fi than the others on my list, but can't you just pictureit as a movie. The books are begging to be turned into a movie series!
- Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
- Plot Summary:The second of the Culture novels. Gurgeh, a brilliant, though decadent, game player from the Culture, is entrapped and blackmailed to work as a Special Circumstances agent in the brutal Empire of Azad. Their system of society and government is entirely based on an elaborate strategy game, Azad.
- Okay this one is probably wishful thinking. Banks layered prose would be almost impossible to reproduce in a movie, but if any Culture book could be filmed I think it would be this one due to spy/thriller trappings.
So that's my list. What science fiction books do you want to see made into a movie?
Eoghann Irving is amongst other things the creator and Editor of Solar Flare. He has a life long interest in all forms of science fiction and fantasy and a pressing need to share this interest with anyone who will listen. Find out more at his his website eoghann.com.| 3.2 (2 people) |
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100 Comments ... Have Your Say!
April 10th, 2008 -
John C. Wright -The Chaos Chronicles trilogy, duh!
Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett- Good Omens
Robert L. Forward- Timemaster
Alaistar Reynold - Century Rain
John Scalzi- Old Man’ War
S. Morgenstrern- The Princess Bride: Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, oh wait they already made a movie out of this one.
iceberg’s last blog post..from the frontline trenches of the war on patterns
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3.3 (1 person) |
April 10th, 2008 -
Thanks for the suggestions. I haven’t read some of those so I’ll have to hunt them down.
I have Neil Gaiman on my shortlist for the Fantasy list which I’ll probably post next week.
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1.9 (1 person) |
Myrdinn (Profile) April 10th, 2008 -
Helmsman series by Bill Baldwin.
Ah, and Weber’s Honor Harrington series… after watching Sky Captain, I think Ms. Jolee-Pitt will make an excellent Harrington, eye-patch and all.
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Robert Moore (Profile) April 10th, 2008 -
Earth Abides by George Stewart. It is in the same genre as I Am Legend, but about ten times better. It doesn’t involve monsters, mutants, or alien invaders. It is an entirely plausible premise based on the appearance of a new plague to which only a small percentage of people have natural immunity and a high mortality rate. The aftermath is the most fascinating part of the story and comprises 90% of the story. It is a story of what happens in the natural world when humans are no longer the overpowering presence we are now. The survivors are more witness than participants. I found my very old copy of the book recently and remembered reading it at least five times when I was a teenager and young adult.
Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. I don’t consider that abortion of a movie from the nineties to be an adaptation although it could have been the premise for a porno. What was done to the story for that movie should be a felony offense. A proper adaptation with the same faithfulness used with the Ring Trilogy would be fantastic.
There are so many, I’m having difficulty deciding on other suggestions but the Berserker stories by Brett Saberhagen could make for interesting stories. The implacable and entirely impersonal malevolence of the Berserkers was truly chilling to me mostly because was not a war against humans or any other sentient species but a drive to sterilize the universe of all organic life.
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3.5 (3 people) |
Keith Gig (Profile) April 10th, 2008 -
Glad to see HYPERION by Dan Simmons was announced.
Still waiting to see STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND. Years back, Tom Hanks flirted with this a lot.
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3.2 (1 person) |
April 10th, 2008 -
It’s a great list, but if I had written it, I would have placed Ender’s Game in the top slot and left off the Foundation series, as it’s just too cerebral for a Hollywood film.
Pipedreamergrey’s last blog post..This Day in Geek History: April 10
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3.3 (1 person) |
April 10th, 2008 -
Ender’s Game is a deserving candidate, but I’m under the impression that there is a movie planned (stalled maybe?).
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3.3 (1 person) |
Bob Hawkins (Profile) April 10th, 2008 -
“Rogue Moon” by Algis Budrys.
Great dialog.
Barker: “We’ll make a great team!”
Hawks: “Of course we will. You’re a suicide. I’m a murderer.”
Hawks: “You will be killed if you kneel on one knee while facing lunar North. You will be killed if you raise your left arm above the shoulder while facing in any direction. It is fatal to make the hand or arm motions necessary to write the English word ‘yes.’”
Hawks: “Barker! Barker! What was it like to die?”
Barker: “It was magnificent.”
The final trek through the alien artifact would be SFX Heaven.
And you can end with Hawks removing his spacesuit glove, unpeeling the sweat-soaked piece of paper in his palm, and reading the message he wrote to himself.
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3.2 (1 person) |
Keith (Profile) April 11th, 2008 -
Elibeth Moon - Remnant Population - would be a wonderful survior/horror chick flick.
Heinlein - The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress - But only as a full CGI pic, so lunar gravity can be done properly.
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3.4 (2 people) |
April 11th, 2008 -
Interesting. Interesting…
Coquito Von Tito’s last blog post..Brand New Spirit Stills!
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2.5 |
April 11th, 2008 -
[...] Solar Flare has posted a list of 10 Science Fiction Books That Should Be Movies. [...]
April 12th, 2008 -
I recently read a book called Unholy Domain and really liked it. I think this could soon come into a theater near you!
I find the author is similar to Michael Crichton. I liked it. If you liked the Matrix, you’ll like this book.
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2.4 |
Kat (Profile) April 12th, 2008 -
Niven and Pournelle–Dream park. Murder mystery within a LARP adventure held at a next generation Disneyland.
Actually, the sequel California Voodoo Game would probably make an even better movie but so
much of the basic premise is laid out in Dream Park.
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3.5 (3 people) |
April 12th, 2008 -
Dream Park is an excellent candidate. I considered it but decided not to include it because I already had Niven and Pournelle on the list and I wanted to leave space for other authors.
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3.4 (2 people) |
Zorn (Profile) April 12th, 2008 -
William Gibson - Neuromancer. Need I say more?
I heard this was supposed to be a movie, but then it got scrapped, and then I heard nobody really knows. They really should just make it a movie already, considering they made one out of Johnny Mnemonic.
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3.2 (1 person) |
jovianjokerjoe (Profile) April 12th, 2008 -
i dont think any movie will be able to do justice to the Foundation series.
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1.8 (1 person) |
April 12th, 2008 -
John Varley’s Titan trilogy (Titan, Wizard, and Demon) is begging to be made into a series of movies. Great story line, action driven plot, would have amazing visuals.
W. Shedd’s last blog post..Royal Academy of Arts, From Russia Exhibit
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HM (Profile) April 12th, 2008 -
Most things Heinlien would be interesting to see.
Psion, Cat’s Paw, and Dreamfall by Joan D. Vinge
DEFINATELY Enders Game
Perhaps some Pern movies? I could picture Dragonsdawn as a good film.
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3.2 (1 person) |
April 12th, 2008 -
Nice list! I would bump Stainless Steel Rat up near the top with Foundation and Forever War.
Andy’s last blog post..Pie Chart Humor
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3.2 (1 person) |
JURGEN (Profile) April 12th, 2008 -
For shame. None of you has mentioned what is arguably one of the best science fiction novels of all time; “The Stars My Destination”, by Alfred Bester.
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3.2 (1 person) |
Daftword (Profile) April 12th, 2008 -
“Enders Game” by Orson Scott Card,
“Cryptonomicon” by Neal Stephenson- more of a contemporary storyline, action/drama with a technological background.
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2.5 |
tetris11 (Profile) April 12th, 2008 -
No Heinlein! I’m sorry but that man’s stories consist of repeating the same philosophical point over and over again. It would go for an extremely dull movie.
Ender’s Game IS being made into a film, but I can see it being ruined due to poor acting. Let’s face it; the main cast will consist primarily of children, who in general (due to obvious lack of experience) are terrible actors. Still, can’t wait to zero G combat!
“Beggars in Spain” by Nancy Kress => The elite race of the Sleepless
“Cities in Flight” by James Blish => Getting by in a cold universe
“Beyond the Aquila Rift” by Alastair Reynolds => An unpretentious twist at the end
“Off on a Starship” by William Barton => Everybody’s dream reality (possibly)
“Lot” by Ward Moore => Survival is key.
And finally, if anybody even thinks of mentioning Star Maker by Olaf Stapleton as a film, I will personally knock on their door shoot them in the knee-cap (or hip, depending on general mood).
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April 12th, 2008 -
yes…that would be all well, but…it’s just like hollywood to go and screw up another great book. so don’t encourage anybody.
flannery’s last blog post..haha
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1.8 (1 person) |
zombiebob (Profile) April 12th, 2008 -
Totally Neuromancer. They should also do American Gods, by Neil Gaiman, just because that’s such a good book. Also, I’m interested in seeing the book Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson made into a movie.
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nDanger (Profile) April 12th, 2008 -
I really like some of Greg Bear’s stuff. “Eon” with ‘the Way’ comes to mind. Also Stephen Baxter’s “Ring”. I haven’t read any of his other works, but it’s good and Hard Sci/Fi. In a fantasy genre, Richard Adam’s “Maia” would be stunning, but X-rated. I daydream about who to cast in the lead!
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April 12th, 2008 -
The Foundation series as a movie? Read it again, and notice how much of the series is dialogue. You really think they should make a movie about a few people sitting around talking to eachother? Almost nothing actually happens in these books - they’re brilliant, I’ll agree - but it’s all explanation.
Ender’s Game might do a decent job as a movie, but to be true to the book they’d have to gather the most amazing bunch of 6-year-olds ever, which is unlikely to happen. Player of games - well, it’s pretty much the same thing as the Foundation series, but they’d face the additional challenge of visualizing a game that is arguably the main focus of the book, which isn’t explained enough to actually make sense. Nearly the entire book happens within the main character’s head, the action sequences are negligible. John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War could make a great movie, but I’d rather see him write a story specifically made to be a movie script. He’s more than good enough to do it. Hyperion is likely to make a great movie if made by the right team. As to the rest I don’t have too many opinions, but the reservations I’ve made do apply to more books.
But keep this in mind: Just because it’s a great book does not mean it’ll be a great movie. Books excel in portraying the inner drives and emotions of characters while movies are better for stories rich in action and snappy dialogue. They’re completely different storytelling techniques.
Tor’s last blog post..Unplug your network cables - The Internet is being cleaned.
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3.4 (2 people) |
Ron (Profile) April 12th, 2008 -
1. Way Station. A great sense of wonder in this story.
2. Cities In Flight.
Anything by ASIMOV
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2.5 |
April 12th, 2008 -
“Altered Carbon” by Richard K. Morgan
the heritage trilogy by Ian Douglas
and my trilogy of novels which are in process.
James’s last blog post..Speaking of Piracy, Why did I buy Rainbow Six: Vegas 2?
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Milander (Profile) April 13th, 2008 -
Anything by Anne Mccaffrey, her “Ship who - …” series and the Pern novels are simply begging to be made into movies that could just run and run. I’d also LOVE to see the David and Leigh Eddings novels made into moves, the Belgariad and the Mallorean series are the obvious ones that spring to mind.
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3.2 (1 person) |
April 13th, 2008 -
Kim Stanley Robinson: I loved his Mars trilogy, but to do it justice a movie would have to be incredibly long. Perhaps, instead, Icehenge could be turned into a script. The scenes on the asteroid and on Pluto would be pretty special.
Brian Aldiss: Helliconia could be as good as the three Lord of the Rings films, but a massive undertaking.
I agree with Tor’s comments (31). Also, a novel often contains much more plot than a full length movie. Remember that Bladerunner was adapted from a short story.
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2.5 |
netraider (Profile) April 13th, 2008 -
The Legacy of Heorot by Larry Niven et. al. Would be a great pilot to a new HBO series.
The Naked Sun and The Robots of Dawn by Issac Asimov. The Sci-Fi murder mysteries starting terran Elijah Baley and his humaniform robot partner R. Daneel Olivaw would also be a nice vehicle for a new franchise.
Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven. The focus on the aftermath rather than the prevention of the comet strike would have been an interesting alternative to Armageddon and
Deep Impact.
All three have the potential of sequels or new television (cable preferably) series.
Also like Neuromancer.
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2.5 (2 people) |
April 13th, 2008 -
Kim Stanley Robinson’s “The Gold Coast” would be my first choice.
cdogzilla’s last blog post..Gabe Kapler just hit his 4th home runSULLY BASEBALL
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Bear (Profile) April 13th, 2008 -
“The Forgotten Realms” I would love to Drizzt Do Urden on the big screen.
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April 14th, 2008 -
[...] Flare nos ofrece un listado de diez obras de ciencia ficción que deberían tener su versión cinematográfica. Aquí tenéis un pequeño [...]
April 14th, 2008 -
I will say, the book ‘Prey’ by Michael Crichton should also be on this list. That book has the potential to be converted into a great Sci-Fi movie. Nano-machines, with AI hunting in herds….a good director can take Sci-Fi movies to the next level. Similar to what the Terminator movies did when it came out.
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3.3 (1 person) |
Glen (Profile) April 14th, 2008 -
I would like to see the chronicles of Thomas Covenant the unbeliever… That would be amazing… even as a tv series.
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2.5 |
thomas (Profile) April 15th, 2008 -
Night’s Dawn, right. It’s an awesome trilogy, but. You would need more than 3 average length movies to cover it. Maybe, just maybe, 3 movies of 3 hours each would be able to do it justice. Though I’d rather see the Commonwealth Saga as a movie myself, maybe once the Void trilogy is completed we can get all 5 books as movies. (one can hope, right?)
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illmunkeys (Profile) April 15th, 2008 -
At 200+ pages, I wouldn’t consider Do Android’s Dream of Electric Sheep to be a short story. To make Blade Runner, they effectively cut out the philosophical/religious stuff and made it into a mostly action flick.
My number one would be the Man in the High Castle, by Philip. Someone mentioned Snow Crash, and that would be a close second.
I would love for a remake to The Postman, by David Brin. Seriously, Kevin Costner should have stopped with science fiction after Waterworld.
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Ron Moses (Profile) April 15th, 2008 -
I’d love to hand Robert Rodriguez a copy of The Stainless Steel Rat with a picture of John Leguizamo tucked inside. You know, just to plant the seed. 
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3.2 (1 person) |
April 16th, 2008 -
hi,
how about gifting science fiction books to your clients on world book day??
Giftex Blog Admin’s last blog post..Most popular authors in India - perfect as a gift
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2.4 |
Complinitor (Profile) April 16th, 2008 -
Earth ship and star song: A novel: Ethan I Shedley
Earth is dying and we create a black hole that kills an entire race trying to go faster than light. We then become the cockroaches of the galaxy.
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Rohit Sidhu (Profile) April 16th, 2008 -
The house of the scorpion - Nancy Farmer
I’m just a kid, but I do like this novel.
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Alex (Profile) April 16th, 2008 -
According to Joe Haldeman’s website, “the movie rights to THE FOREVER WAR were bought in ‘97, but it’s dormant right now.” I wouldn’t hold your breath, but there’s a possibility. The Forever War has the potential to be a great movie, especially with modern effects. I just hope they don’t dumb it down too much into a plain action movie.
Great list. My suggestion would be the late and great Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama, if only to see Rama brought to life.
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April 16th, 2008 -
[...] Terry Brooks Written by Eoghann and published April 16th, 2008 When I was compiling my list of Ten Science Fiction Books that Should Be Movies last week, I started thinking of all the fantasy books I would love to see on screen to. So here it [...]
mikey d (Profile) April 16th, 2008 -
The book Becoming Alien is a very good choice for book to movie adaptation.
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Necron (Profile) April 16th, 2008 -
Red Thunder by John Varley one of the greatest scifi books I have ever read and the starter to a great trilogy of books. 4 teenagers, a disgraced astronaut, a genius savant harness an unlimited power source to save a group of NASA astronauts who are on the way to Mars.
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John Hawklyn (Profile) April 17th, 2008 -
‘The Moon is a Harsh Mistress’ - by Robert A. Heinlein.
‘The Languages of Pao’ by Jack Vance
‘Riverworld’ by Phillip Jose Farmer
‘Red Mars’ by Kim Stanley Robinson
‘Enders Game’ by Orson Scott Card
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Simon (Profile) April 17th, 2008 -
Forge of God by Greg Bear - Awesome momentum, and the scene at the end, where the Earth’s crust appears on the horizon as everyone’s held down by Gs - that’d be mind blowing…
Use of Weapons by Iain M Banks - I liked Player too, but I think the characters are stronger in this, and the thought of Scarlett Johansson with dark hair playing Sma, mmmmm
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fragomatik (Profile) April 17th, 2008 -
“Blood Music” by Greg Bear, for the awesome challenge of depicting the world overrun by noocytes and altered laws of physics.
“The Forge Of God” & “Anvil Of Stars” by Greg Bear, for the brilliant depiction of advanced alien civilisations, alien morality & the survival imperative.
“Voice Of The Whirlwind” by Walter Jon Williams, an excellent action-packed, futuristic “spy” thriller, which deals with advanced aliens and their affect on human cultures, economics & morality.
“Snowcrash” by Neal Stephenson, just about the best & funniest cyberpunk novel of the last 2 decades, IMHO even better than Gibson’s “Neuromancer” which is pretty damn good!
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fragomatik (Profile) April 17th, 2008 -
…oh!, and what about “Tiger! Tiger!” by Alfred Bester, an absolute classic and WAY ahead of its time.
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April 10th, 2008 -
SF Tidbits for 4/10/08…
addBookLink(”B000LPS47U”);Kevin Maher at SciFi Scanner’s SciFi Dept tells us about Sequels We’ll Never See. (Like Reanimator 4!) Speaking of Reanimator, the latest Sci-Fi Talk podcast features Jeffrey Combs And Ray Park. Free Fiction:”Die! Vampire…