About This Quiz
What do you think of when you hear the term science fiction? If you're like most people, you think of space travel, extraterrestrial life, scientific experiments, zombies, time travel and futuristic worlds. Science fiction can contain all of these things, but it fundamentally deals with humanity's reaction to advances in science and technology and the ethical implications involved. For instance, even if scientists could genetically recreate dinosaurs, does that mean they should?Â
While some ancient myths incorporated elements of sci-fi, science fiction developed as a distinct genre in the 1800s. Many critics believe Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein," published in 1818, to be the first sci-fi novel. It explores the ethics of scientific experimentation and questions what responsibilities a creator has toward its creation. Other notable science-fiction writers emerged during this century, including H.G. Wells, Jules Verne and Edgar Rice Burroughs.Â
Science fiction remains a popular genre today, as evidenced by the host of sci-fi books, movies and TV shows available. Just look at how many stories have come out in the last few decades that focus on the survivors of some apocalyptic event. People have always had anxieties about the future, and science fiction provides an outlet for that uneasiness.Â
So now it's time to put on your robotic thinking cap and identify these popular science-fiction novels from past and present! Ace it and earn bragging rights with all your sci-fi buddies!
Mary Shelley wrote what many critics consider the first science fiction novel, "Frankenstein," when she was only 18 years old! The novel remains popular and spawned a horror film series.
Andy Weir originally self-published this science fiction novel before a publisher purchased it. "The Martian" portrays an American astronaut surviving on Mars alone against all odds.
"I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov established the Three Laws of Robotics, which say that robots must obey humans and protect them from harm. The novel contains a series of loosely related stories.
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French author Jules Verne published this novel in 1870 to great success and acclaim. The novel was remarkable for its detailed description of the submarine the "Nautilus" and marine life.
H.G. Wells published "The Time Machine" in 1895 and popularized the concept of time travel. The narrator, known only as the Time Traveller, goes thousands of years into the future and back again.
P.D. James shows how society would react to sudden, widespread infertility in "The Children of Men." In 2006, the novel was adapted into a thriller starring Clive Owen and Julianne Moore.
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In Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game," Ender Wiggin is a brilliant child at Battle School believed to be humanity's best shot at defeating an alien insect race called the Formics, or "buggers."
A totalitarian and patriarchal society comes to life in Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel "The Handmaid's Tale." In it, Offred and other handmaids are forced to breed because of their unique fertility.
H.G. Wells wrote this novel in response to British imperialism, imagining how Earth would react if an alien force invaded and tried to wipe out humanity. Orson Welles radio performance in 1938 caused a panic!
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Madeleine L'Engle published this children's novel in 1962 and introduced the idea of a tesseract, a portal that allows travel through time and space. The book was the first in a series.
As the novel explains, books burn at Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury wrote this science fiction novel in which society has banned books. The fireman Guy Montag rebels against his destructive role.
This landmark 1961 novel by Robert A. Heinlein focuses on a human raised by Martians who later returns to Earth and struggles to adjust to human society. The book has been banned from some schools.
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"Starship Troopers," written by Robert A. Heinlein, is a military science fiction novel published in 1959. The book explores the philosophical issues related to war and militarism.
Aldous Huxley's 1932 novel "Brave New World" imagines a future where people are sorted into different classes based on their abilities and intelligence. Only John the "Savage" is troubled by this society.
George Orwell predicted the future in 1949 when he published "1984," a dystopian vision of a totalitarian state with heightened government surveillance. You'd better not commit any thought crimes!
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Frank Herbert's "Dune" introduces a futuristic interplanetary world and the character Paul Atreides. When his family acquires Arrakis, a planet with a valuable spice, his life gets more complicated.
Ray Bradbury tied together a series of previously published short stories with some new material in this 1950 novel. The book details Earthlings' attempts to colonize Mars after Earth has become unlivable.
Adapted into a popular movie franchise, "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins depicts a dystopian future in Panem, where children from each district are forced into a deadly battle.
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In Ernest Cline's novel, people escape their gloomy world by entering a virtual reality game, the OASIS. Wade Watts joins a contest to win riches by finding an Easter egg in the game.
Steve Alten's science fiction novel "Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror" shows what happens when a mammoth shark, the supposedly extinct Megalodon, reappears in the ocean. It wreaks havoc, of course!
The first book in Patrick Ness' "Chaos Walking" series, "The Knife of Never Letting Go" follows Todd Hewitt as he escapes from Prentisstown with just his dog, Manchee. But the townspeople come after him....
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Fans of the "Jurassic Park" film series have Michael Crichton to thank for writing the 1990 novel. The book explores the ethical ramifications of genetically recreating dinosaurs for people's amusement.
James Dashner's young adult novel keeps readers guessing about the labyrinth and the children deposited into it with no memory of who they are. Thomas tries to crack the "code" and find an exit to the maze.
Philip K. Dick's 1968 novel inspired the critically acclaimed film "Blade Runner," directed by Ridley Scott. The novel takes place in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco following a nuclear war.
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In Rick Yancey's popular young adult novel, Earth faces five waves of an alien invasion that wipes out most of humanity. Teenage Cassie Sullivan struggles to survive in a hostile new world.
Inspiring a TV series, "The Man in the High Castle" by Philip K. Dick imagines how the world would be different if Germany and Japan had won World War II. The U.S. lives under their totalitarian rule.
Considered Arthur C. Clarke's best work, the 1953 novel "Childhood's End" shows what happens when an alien race indirectly rules Earth. For one, the children start developing psychic powers!
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Max Brooks' 2006 novel "World War Z" contains the accounts of various survivors of a zombie plague. The book inspired a film adaptation starring Brad Pitt and explores the effects of a worldwide epidemic.
Lois Lowry's young adult novel "The Giver" portrays a seemingly utopian (but actually dystopian) world in which there is no pain or suffering. Only Jonas and the Giver see the flaws in this world.
Combining science fiction with a police procedural, "The City & the City" by China Miéville introduces the twin cities of Besźel and Ul Qoma, which occupy the same space at the same time.
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Published in 1959, Walter Miller's "A Canticle for Leibowitz" imagines a post-nuclear war world in which people spurn scientific knowledge. Over the next millennia, an order of monks guards this knowledge.
Kurt Vonnegut's anti-war novel "Slaughterhouse-Five" uses a nonlinear storyline and an unreliable narrator to portray the life of Billy Pilgrim, a fatalistic time traveler. It's certainly a challenging book!
In Daniel Keye's novel, scientists select Charlie, a man with a low IQ, to take part in their study. The surgery boosts his IQ by over 100 points, but it has other, unintended consequences.
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Ursula K. Le Guin's 1969 novel "The Left Hand of Darkness" made her popular as a science fiction writer. In the novel, Genly Ai tries to better understand the ambisexual Gethenians.
In Robert C. O'Brien's posthumously published novel "Z for Zachariah," Ann Burden is excited to discover there's another survivor of a nuclear war: a man in a radiation-proof suit named John Loomis.