Apr 9, 2008
Ten Science Fiction Books That Should Be Movies
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 personal website eoghann.com..
104 Comments, Comment or Ping
iceberg
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
Apr 10th, 2008
Eoghann
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.
Apr 10th, 2008
Chris Johnston
Robert J. Sawyer - Hominids
Apr 10th, 2008
Myrdinn
Helmsman series by Bill Baldwin.
Apr 10th, 2008
Myrdinn
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.
Apr 10th, 2008
Robert Moore
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.
Apr 10th, 2008
Keith Gig
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.
Apr 10th, 2008
Pipedreamergrey
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
Apr 10th, 2008
Eoghann
Ender’s Game is a deserving candidate, but I’m under the impression that there is a movie planned (stalled maybe?).
Apr 10th, 2008
Bob Hawkins
“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.
Apr 10th, 2008
Keith
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.
Apr 11th, 2008
Coquito Von Tito
Interesting. Interesting…
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Apr 11th, 2008
Sci Fi Chrissy
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.
Apr 12th, 2008
Kat
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.
Apr 12th, 2008
Eoghann
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.
Apr 12th, 2008
ppp
Dean Koontz
Apr 12th, 2008
Zorn
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.
Apr 12th, 2008
jovianjokerjoe
i dont think any movie will be able to do justice to the Foundation series.
Apr 12th, 2008
W. Shedd
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
Apr 12th, 2008
HM
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.
Apr 12th, 2008
Andy
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
Apr 12th, 2008
JURGEN
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.
Apr 12th, 2008
Daftword
“Enders Game” by Orson Scott Card,
“Cryptonomicon” by Neal Stephenson- more of a contemporary storyline, action/drama with a technological background.
Apr 12th, 2008
tetris11
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).
Apr 12th, 2008
flannery
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
Apr 12th, 2008
zombiebob
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.
Apr 12th, 2008
Jeff
RAMA…need I say more.
Apr 12th, 2008
nDanger
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!
Apr 12th, 2008
Tor
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.
Apr 12th, 2008
Ron
1. Way Station. A great sense of wonder in this story.
2. Cities In Flight.
Anything by ASIMOV
Apr 12th, 2008
James
“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?
Apr 12th, 2008
Paul J
The Demolished Man
Apr 12th, 2008
Milander
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.
Apr 13th, 2008
Wavehunter
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.
Apr 13th, 2008
netraider
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.
Apr 13th, 2008
cdogzilla
Kim Stanley Robinson’s “The Gold Coast” would be my first choice.
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Apr 13th, 2008
Bear
“The Forgotten Realms” I would love to Drizzt Do Urden on the big screen.
Apr 13th, 2008
Sandeep
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.
Apr 14th, 2008
Glen
I would like to see the chronicles of Thomas Covenant the unbeliever… That would be amazing… even as a tv series.
Apr 14th, 2008
thomas
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?)
Apr 15th, 2008
illmunkeys
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.
Apr 15th, 2008
Ron Moses
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.
Apr 15th, 2008
Giftex Blog Admin
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
Apr 16th, 2008
Complinitor
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.
Apr 16th, 2008
Rohit Sidhu
The house of the scorpion - Nancy Farmer
I’m just a kid, but I do like this novel.
Apr 16th, 2008
Alex
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.
Apr 16th, 2008
mikey d
The book Becoming Alien is a very good choice for book to movie adaptation.
Apr 16th, 2008
Necron
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.
Apr 16th, 2008
John Hawklyn
‘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
Apr 17th, 2008
Simon
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
Apr 17th, 2008
fragomatik
“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!
Apr 17th, 2008
fragomatik
…oh!, and what about “Tiger! Tiger!” by Alfred Bester, an absolute classic and WAY ahead of its time.
Apr 17th, 2008
gregor
The Book of Lost Things
by John Conolly
I’d gladly go see that
Apr 17th, 2008
Dennis
Stephen King
“The Dark Tower” Serie!!!
Apr 17th, 2008
John
A Mirror for Observers - Edgar Pangborn …in B&W a la The 39 Steps
Morphodite - M A Foster
Escape Across the Cosmos - Gardner Fox
Stand on Zanzibar - John Brunner …in Robert Altman style
The Pride of Chanur - C J Cherryh …very difficult to do with the seriousness it deserves
Starswarm - Brian Aldiss …any of the short stories would make an entire movie
Scanners Live in Vain - Cordwainer Smith …set to an hip-hop sound track, perhaps?
A World Out of Time - Larry Niven … Perfect!
The Book of the New Sun - Gene Wolf …somewhat abridged, of course
I Have No Mouth And I must Scream - Harlan Ellison …bravery required for all involved, including the audience
Nova - Samuel R. Delaney
The Demon Prince (Series) - Jack Vance …to replace the moribund James Bond series
Etc!
Etc.
Apr 17th, 2008
Steve
I’d like to see “Stranger in a Strange Land” by Heinlein. It’s more philosophy/religion/political commentary than hard sci-fi, but still intriguing story.
Apr 20th, 2008
Lee
“Daughter of the Empire” by Raymond E Feist and Janny Wurts.
Apr 20th, 2008
Klaue
OK, third time. last try. this time, I told my noscript to allow all of the scripts here (there are far to many) so let’s see if it works this time:
I think the Mark-Brandis-Series would also make a great movie (or a great tv-series)
But I don’t think anyone who speaks english knows them.. hell even in germany only few people know them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Brandis#Mark_Brandis_series
(I don’t think the description as space opera really fits it, but that’s subjective)
I also would enjoy a well-made movie of Otherland. Otherland is my (as of date) favorite science fiction book (ok, the story is 4 books long, but it’s really just one long book), even if it has a bit too much fantasy elements and too few sci-fi ones in it for my taste
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otherland
but.. when i see what they did to “I, robot”, “hitchhickers guide to the galaxy” (the new film) or “planet of the paes” (also the new one), i hope none of the books above will be made to a movie
Apr 20th, 2008
Eoghann
Actually all of your comments got through, but due to the high level of SPAM I get in the comments, they have to be manually approved before they’ll appear.
Usually once I’ve approved a person’s comments their future ones are automatically approved. But if you change any of your details when you fill out the comments form, it will treat you like a different person and the comment will have to be approved again.
It’s not ideal, but I refuse to make people fill out captchas.
Apr 20th, 2008
Klaue
Ok, makes sense. Maybe you should add a small text above the comment box that it’s moderated or something like that
Apr 20th, 2008
JD
The Unpleasant Profession Of Jonathan Hoag by Robert Heinlien
Radio Free Albemuth and Valis by Philip K. Dick
I Think We’re All Bozos On This Bus by Firesign theater (an album, not a book, but it would be a great movie)
Apr 21st, 2008
Alucard
Ender’s Game man! by Orson Scott Card
Apr 21st, 2008
The Bookshelf
Interesting article! I think I have to read those books first before I make any suggestions.
The Bookshelfs last blog post..NEXT IT BOOKS: Did Generation X Save The World?
Apr 24th, 2008
TB
I am surprised that by now a movie has not been made from the Varley trilogy. Titan-Demon-Wizard. Particularly now with the cgi and animation effects this would blow up on the big screen. Excellent storytelling easiy adapted for the big screen.
Apr 24th, 2008
simon
Two great writers who clearly lend themselves to film are William Gibson and nueromancer trilogy and also fallling out of cars his more recent book. (Johnny neumonic was poor) and Jeff Noon (Vurt, Pollen etc…) . I think that there is a lot of scope for surreal interpretation.
Apr 28th, 2008
BlueWolfD
Seriously I can’t believe Jack l. Chalker wasn’t mentioned even once. The Well of Souls series was one of the best (if not the best) Sci-fi books I’ve ever read. That and his other books The Four Lords of the Diamonds. That guy can write lol.
Apr 28th, 2008
zorbasch
“Rama” miniseries.
Alastair Reynolds’ Revelation Space
How about a game based on Starship Troopers?
Apr 28th, 2008
BloggerDollar
Every Philip K. Dick novel should be movies.
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Apr 28th, 2008
AKFlyFisherwoman
The Dragon Riders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey. The cg would be awesome!
Apr 29th, 2008
AKFlyFisherwoman
Oops! should have added:
The Eden Series, Harry Harrison
The Pelbar Cycle, Paul O. Williams
The Integral Trees and Smoke Ring, Larry Niven
Apr 29th, 2008
Gandalf
Lord Valentine’s Castle - Robert Silverberg
Ender’s game - Orson Scott Card
The City - Clifford Simak
Foundation - Isaac Asimov
The End of Eternity - Isaac Asimov
Childhood’s End - Sir Arthur C. Clarke
Rama - Sir Arthur C. Clarke
Hyperion - Dan Simmons
Chung Kuo - David Wingrove
Master Li’s stories - Barry Hughart
and many more …
Apr 29th, 2008
Sherman
Though there are quite a few worthy books I think the whole, loosely tied together trilogy of Neuromancer, Count Zero, and Mona Lisa Overdrive should be done, along with the other loosely tied together trilogy by William Gibson Virtual Light, Idoru, and All Tomorrow’s Parties.
Apr 29th, 2008
Octopus
Robert Moore said, “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.”
And that is exactly why NONE of these books should be made into movies!!! Leave them alone, please!!
Apr 29th, 2008
Eoghann
I have to completely disagree. Even if the movie adaptations where terrible the books would still be exactly what they are now. There’s just no downside here and there’s always the possibility of a good movie.
Apr 29th, 2008
Disco
Where would you start with Asimov’s Foundation series? Prelude to Foundation or the related Galactic Empire or Robot series. Thats a hell of a lot of movies.
What about Alan Dean Foster - Spellsinger series. Todays CGI makes this a possibility.
Apr 29th, 2008
blah
The Stars my Destination - Alfred Bester
May 1st, 2008
RobSandman
Glen mentioned Thomas Covenant,I think the Gap Series by Stephen Donaldson would make amazing movies…like star wars for adults.can you picture some of the huge battles in those books onscreen? drool.
May 2nd, 2008
Tydigame
The only one I really agree with is Ringworld. It has a very simple plot structure, chasing the McGuffin of escape from Ringworld across it. The idea of a luck lottery, and even the other species seem to fit in with things that are ideologically interesting now. But the others, particularly the Foundation stories, are completely impossible for the screen. They span too many characters and too long a period of time, and are begging for a terribly cliched and simplified film adaptation. Look at what happened to Dune on the screen.
May 3rd, 2008
Tydigame
Forgot to make my suggestion, and I thought this would be pretty obvious: Ender’s Game. Unless they’re already making a movie of that and I’m a complete idiot.
May 3rd, 2008
Eoghann
As a matter of fact Ender’s Game is indeed being made into a movie. The script is by Card himself, however the project no longer has a director.
May 3rd, 2008
justAsItSounds
Hi just stumbled here, so can’t even claim to be a long-time reader/first time commentor.
I’m a big fan of space-operas and dense, multi-faceted SF (Banks, Hamilton, Reynolds, Herbert, Baxter etc.) but am realistic that most of these writers works would not translate well to the screen. However, I would like to say that I have always thought that Slippery Jim DiGriz (Harry Harrison’s Stainless Steel Rat)was made for the screen. Most of H H’s work reads like a screenplay anyway, fast-paced, not overly concerned with detail and without a lot of the internal monologue that doesn’t translate well from SF novels to the screen (cf. Lynch’s Dune).
The wise-cracking Slippery Jim, with his avaricious faults but fundamental human decency and healthy disrespect for authority is a great lead character.
Also, I agree with Disco #79 that Alan Dean Foster’s Spellsinger books would make for great kids fantasy films.
May 4th, 2008
Eoghann
All opinions are welcome, doesn’t matter if you’ve read the site before or not. My main hope when I do lists like these is just to spark some discussion.
You’re right of course that some of my choices wouldn’t work as is in movie form. However I think a good adaptation would be able to capture the spirit of these books, even Foundation.
Might not keep the hardcore fans happy, but then honestly, nothing will.
May 4th, 2008
Jose Galvan
Sorry, nice try but you left out “Armor”. So you need to do your homework.
May 5th, 2008
Eoghann
If you’re going to leave a recommendation, you might want to give people enough information so they can find the book. Like the name of the author maybe?
Armor by John Steakley is about humans warring against an alien race whose foot soldiers are 3 meter tall insects (what is it about SF an insect aliens?) There’s more to it than that actually and the title refers to the exoskeletons the soldiers wear.
Didn’t make my list, but neither did lots of other books.
May 5th, 2008
Dudley Roberts
I agree with most of your books. I would like to see
Lucifer’s Hammer - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle HBO where are you???!!!!
Ender’s Game - Orson Scott Card this would be great
Night of Power - Spider Robinson we will never see this one maybe HBO
Shadows of the Empire - Steve Perry the best star wars movie!!!
May 5th, 2008
TheHoldSteady
I think something should be done with Frank Herbert’s Destination: Void. I don’t know why, but I think it should be done not as a movie, but as a live broadcast stage play.
To me, the entire Known Space series of Niven would be a fabulous playground for movies - maybe just the small screen.
However, whenever thinking or reading about this topic (favorite SF book into a movie), I’m always reminded of the warning “Be carefull what you wish for”. Remember how painful the original Dune movie was to watch (David Lynch = trainwreck).
May 5th, 2008
patrickben
IMHO, I don’t want to see ANY of those made into movies. Hollywood would just shit all over them. I mean, did you see the crap-pile they made with I, Robot?
Hollywood can sometimes do OK with cyberpunk movies like The Matrix, but keep those idiots away from decent, intelligent, “hard” SF!
patrickbens last blog post..She has a boyfriend…
May 6th, 2008
Eoghann
I really don’t see a downside. If the movie is bad, oh well it doesn’t change the book. And if it’s good well cool.
And honestly it doesn’t even have to be a good version of the book to be a good movie. I Robot was a piss poor adaptation of Asimov’s stories, but taken just as a movie, I found it very entertaining.
May 6th, 2008
JesusDiablo
One of the best tomes of the then nascent genre, the widely overlooked, first-published-effort, Kurt Vonnegut’s “Sirens of Titan.”
May 9th, 2008
Rob
The Last coin by James P. Blaylock would make a great summer flick.
Irreverant, witty and a wild ride.
May 9th, 2008
Lewis
Good call on The Player of Games. I’ve always thought Use of Weapons could make a good film if done well, by the right director.
May 9th, 2008
Sharon
How about Weber’s Honor Harrington series; or Moon’s Serrano Legacy series!
Either would make excellent movie series!
May 10th, 2008
WWDD00
An author that seems to be missing from here is CJ Cherryh. Her Foreigner series is very complex, and could be good grounds for a great movie enterprise.
WWDD00s last blog post....::home::..
May 11th, 2008
HomerNet
Sentenced to Prism by Alan Dean Foster. With a bit of a rework of the end (to make the alien’s goals a bit more clear to the average reader/viewer), this book could be a SFX powerhouse in addition to being a great book.
May 12th, 2008
cry4thelion
I think everyone would love to see the Ender’s Game movie, if they every get it all straightened out. I personally would also love to see John Varley’s Gaia trilogy. They tie with the Ender books as my Favorite series. While Hollywood would most likely screw it up it would still be interesting to see made. All of the different species of life in Gaia would probably be a difficult task for any fx team but well worth it.
May 12th, 2008
cry4thelion
Also Anne McCaffrey’s Pern Books Would make excellent movies. It probably won’t be done because there are just so many books and so much power in all of them that it would be a daunting task to tell the story as it deserves to be told. I heard awhile back that they were making a t.v. show based in the Pern novels, but that it was cancelled ecause the writer and director wouldnt make the changes to the story that the producers asked for becaue they thought it took to much away from McCaffrey’s stories
May 12th, 2008
Mark
Stealing Some Time: a two-volume gay-themed scifi adventure story by Mark Kendrick. Time travel, sexy main characters, extremely visual in style. A great novel for the screen.
May 19th, 2008
Ronald Stepp
The Draka Series, S.M. Stirling, about 3 or 4 books but probably will never see it considering the core nature of the Draka Society, Slavery. That would go down in flames to the PC Police. I think the Draka are some of the baddest-ass bad guys in any book series. Especially once they start gene-gineering themselves. STONE DOGS and DRAKON are worth reading.
May 28th, 2008
Ronald Stepp
zorbash, wrote “how about a game based on Starship Troopers.”
There actually was a very enjoyable board game came out a few years back, Avalon Hill put it out in 1976, was a lot of fun to play and you could replay it since the Bug Player could lay out secret hives under the map and then fight the Troopers who dropped onto the map to complete their objectives. The Skinnies were in it too. I might try and track down a copy one of these days and get my little brother to play me.
May 28th, 2008
Solipso
I am pleased to see Foundation at the top of your list. When joining the Science Fiction Book Club, I bought the one-volume trilogy for ten cents. This was when I was in high school, in the ’60s. It remained my favorite book for years. One of the comments on your page here says Foundation would not make a good movie because it is mostly dialog. But there’s an advantage to that: It leaves much to the imagination of high-minded, futuristic Hollywood art directors. Not enough material for a good screenplay? Baloney! Psychohistory and its prophet Hari Seldon, mysterious agents of the Foundation, a Galactic Empire with millions of inhabited planets and trillions of human beings and hundreds of thousands of years of history, mostly forgotten. An Earth that IS forgotten. And don’t forget the Mule, who throws a wrench into the mathematical predictions of the psychohistorians. And of course there’s the visual splendor of the huge, roofed planet, Trantor, the capital of the empire. That’s plenty of material for a two-hour movie, maybe even for a trilogy of movies. I think Peter F. Hamilton could write a good screenplay for it.
May 29th, 2008
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