What is your favorite work of science fiction and why?
TLT Sounding Board February 2009
Star Trek vs. Star Wars—the battle has waged for decades. While both stories received a ton of votes from TLT readers, Luke, Obi-wan and Princess Leia held a slight edge over Kirk, Spock and Bones, according to the 200 survey respondents. Fans of both franchises noted that much of the technology in those stories either has become reality or soon will be. STLE members are a literate bunch, with many of them citing books they read as youngsters as the inspiration for their future careers. “While growing up I enjoyed the Tom Swift series of books,” one member said, “the stories about this young inventor spurred my interest in scientific research.” Jules Verne, H.G. Welles, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke were the authors mentioned most often. Classic movies also received their fair share of praise from members, with “2001: A Space Odyssey,” the 1951 version of “The Day the Earth Stood Still” and the 1960 version of “The Time Machine” garnering the most votes.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, a visionary sci-fi writer in the ’60s and ’70s who was taken from us prematurely in 1982. I like his books because they deal with basic issues of reality, humanity and morality, and they are generally darn good yarns. This book was made into one of the great sci-fi movies, Blade Runner. Many of his other stories/books have been made into movies, including Total Recall and Minority Report.
The book 1984, which seems to be increasingly relevant to our society.
The X Files TV series tied with the Matrix movies. I’m not a big conspiracy theorist, but X-Files had neat ideas and wasn’t too far out there. The Matrix showed the crossover from the real to the virtual (is there a difference?).
The Riverworld books by Phillipe Jose Farmer.
Soylent Green. It really could happen!
Superman. I like the morality of it in that this one being who has the ability to do essentially anything chooses to use his powers for good rather than abuse them to get what he wants or to take over the world, as so many villains wish they could.
2001: A Space Odyssey. The opening scene with the primates is unforgettable.
The original Planet of the Apes movie with Roddy McDowell. The story is a mirror of humanity that has been superimposed over comical creatures simian in origin. The lesson taken from the story is that our struggles are the struggles of all major life forms and equality can be found in the strangest places such as Earth.
Star Wars because of the battle between good, evil and conscience.
Time Enough for Love by Robert Heinlein. This book chronicles a guy who lived for 4,000 years and what he saw and experienced. Knowledge is power.
The Star Trek books, TV series and movies. Wait 10 or 15 years, and much of the technology used will become reality.
The book Alas, Babylon. This is a 1960s account of what happened to the few survivors of a nuclear attack. It was one of the very first works of science fiction I read and has stuck with me all of these years. I saw the movie on late-night TV some years back, and it wasn’t nearly as good as the book, which I find to be the case most often.
Altered States by Paddy Chayefsky. I read the book before seeing the movie. The idea of sensory deprivation leading to an altered state of consciousness was pretty interesting.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, an interesting view of an attempt to perfect humanity.
Fantastic Voyage. Intriguing because of the scientific nature of the plot and applicability to human physiology and health.
Do you actively seek works of science fiction?
Yes
35%
No
65%
Based on results from 200 respondents.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind because it keeps you on the edge of your seat.
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov.
The Doc Savage book series. I read them when I was an early teen. The stories are mysteries and were written in the 1930s to 1940s. Many of the tools and gadgets used in the stories were unheard of and considered fantastic at the time but have come into use today.
Songs of Distant Earth by Arthur C. Clarke. It’s a story of the meeting of two human cultures: one for which earth is only a distant legend, and the other the final group of people who left earth before its final destruction. I found it both uplifting and poignant. Or maybe Asimov’s Robot/Foundation series.
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. When it was published in the late 1890s it was way ahead of its time and genre.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series is the most enjoyable blend of sci-fi and humor I’ve ever seen while still predominantly being a science fiction work. A second-place vote for Spaceballs, the fantastic Mel Brooks Star wars parody.
Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. A truly superior end-of-the-world story. This novel would make a terrific miniseries.
The original film The Day the Earth Stood Still. It was a groundbreaking film for that period of time and presented a single, important message for all mankind—namely that humankind is destroying the earth more or less.
Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov. It illustrates the interconnectivity of human endeavor over time, including developments in technology. Also, how some things endure through big distances in time and space.
Star Trek the TV series. It intrigues me because although it is science fiction it seems sensible enough that it could actually come true and more than likely will.
The movie 2001: A Space Odyssey is my favorite. It intrigues me because it unifies and connects technology, music and visual artistry through the development of mankind. It does so with a minimum of dialogue and no distractions. And 2001 extrapolates into a future that is other worldly, peaceful and sublime beyond our imagination.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne.
The first Alien movie, not the sequels. I like it because it is about normal people doing mundane jobs who are thrust into an extraordinary situation.
I love stories involving the sea and think someday the sea could be inhabited like in the movies.
Jurassic Park. Book by Michael Crichton. Movie by Steven Spielberg.
John Carpenter’s movie The Thing. intriguing because of the possibility (well, not really) that this could occur.
The book A Wrinkle in Time. The theory actually makes sense.
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein.
The classic books by Jules Verne, Ray Bradbury and H.G. Wells.
The Twilight Zone, Rod Serling’s TV series.
The Lensman series By E.E. Smith.
Wow, that is tough! I have tons of favorites! Probably either Fahrenheit 451 or one of Isaac Asimov’s short stories.
Spiderman because he is always fighting evil and wins every time.
War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.
The works from Dune. The worms, the religion and the class structure of the worlds.
Star Trek. It has several incarnations and is available in all three genres. The storyline between the different series are new and intriguing.
Back to the Future. I wish I could do that!
All other factors being equal, would you choose to watch a science fiction movie over a film in another genre?
Yes
49%
No
51%
Based on results from 200 respondents.
Editor’s Note: Sounding Board is based on an e-mail survey of 7,200 TLT readers. Views expressed are those of the respondents and do not reflect the opinions of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers. STLE does not vouch for the technical accuracy of opinions expressed in Sounding Board, nor does inclusion of a comment represent an endorsement of the technology by STLE.