What are my Favorite Science Fiction Novels (and Films)?

I was twelve years old when Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” hit the silver screen. I can still vividly remember the awe with which I took it in, and how it transformed my thinking about what was possible and made me think for the first time about something bigger than myself and how insignificant our species homo sapiens is.

My mind was transformed in similar but different ways by Frank Herbert’s “Dune,” “The Sirens of Titan,” by Kurt Vonnegut, and “Jurassic Park,” directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel by Michael Crichton. And there were many more. (I have listed at the end of this blog a few more of my favorite science fiction novels and films, as well as suggestions for social media groups to enjoy discussions on the genre of Science Fiction.)

What did all of these works have in common that they affected me so profoundly? Each one presented an idea, concept or universe that was totally original. They blew the doors off of my limited imagination and really made me think.

Science Fiction provides much more than just entertainment. It forces us to open our minds up to infinite possibilities and presents to us scenarios that may be totally alien, but yet inform us about our own humanity, or lack thereof. More than any other genre, it challenges us to examine ourselves while at the same time exhilarating us with fantastic ideas of what the future may hold.

While I also derive great enjoyment from other genres, such as mysteries, historical fiction, and spy stories, these do not challenge me to think and stretch my mind in the same way that science fiction does. And when my mind is stretched sufficiently, I often learn something new about myself.

*(If you are interested in more discussion about the genre of Science Fiction, please check out these Facebook groups:

All Things Science Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy Book Club, Science Fiction,

Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club, Science Fiction Appreciation Society)

If you haven’t already read or seen these, I highly recommend them:

“2010” by Arthur C. Clarke (and also the film)

“A Brave New World,” by Aldous Huxley

“Andromeda Strain,” by Michael Crichton

“Childhood’s End,” By Arthur C. Clarke

“Cat’s Cradle,” by Kurt Vonnegut

“Fahrenheit 451,” by Ray Bradbury

“Fantastic Voyage,” by Isaac Asimov (and also the film)

“I, Robot,” by Isaac Asimov (and also the film)

“Interstellar,” the film, written and directed by Christopher Nolan

“The Man in the High Castle,” by Philip K. Dick

“The Matrix” Trilogy of films, written and directed by the Wachowski brothers (now sisters)

“The Puppet Master,” by Robert Heinlein

“Slaughterhouse Five,” by Kurt Vonnegut (and also the film)

“Stranger in a Strange Land,” by Robert Heinlein

“Ubik,” by Philip K. Dick