"Best sci-fi novel that does NOT have a movie" Topic

OR A MINISERIES! I tried to get that in the title but it was too long.
Harrumph.

A Canticle for Leibowitz

Earth Abides

Lest Darkness Fall

Ringworld

Tau Zero

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

I ask Dear Editor to exclude from this Poll anything nominated that does actually hav a movie or miniseries.
Personally, I think that the Poll started by Tge Dumb Guy was polluted by movie familiarity.

The Man Who Used the Universe by Alan Dean Foster (later ripped off by the overrated Alan Moore). Great book, no movie.

Time Enough For Love

The Forever War

Bill, The Galactic Hero

The Janissaries

The Heechee Saga by Frederick Pohl

At the Mountains of Madness by HP Lovecraft

Niven & Pournelle's Oath of Fealty--and again for their Mote in God's Eye.

James H. Schmitz' Witches of Karres and The Demon Breed.

Leigh Brackett's The Secret of Sinharat.

Lois McMaster Bujold for Shards of Honor.

Samuel Delaney's Ballad of Beta-2.

H. Beam Piper, Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen and Space Viking.

Poul Anderson's Brain Wave.

It's late. Tomorrow I'll hit the top shelves of the Great Wall of Fiction, which mostly contains books which never had a hardcover edition.

Murph, is "The Janissaries" the Pournelle story or is there something else?

I have a fondness for Lucifer's Hammer by Pournelle and Niven.

Not really sci-fi, I guess, but Post-Apocalypse. Similar!

Zelazny, Isle of the Dead
Zelazny, To Die in Italbar

Waiting for someone to dare nominate The Iron Dream by Norman Spinrad…

The Mote in God's Eye, Niven and Pounelle

Chronicles of Morgaine, C J Cherryh

Lost Fleet, Jack Campbell

Glory Lane, Alan Dean Foster. Not a book hard-core sci-fi readers would like- it's funny in places.

Kalvan of Otherwhen would be a brilliant miniseries.
Or The Black Company (albeit mot strictly sci fi…)

Stainless Steel Rat (series)

Asimov Foundation series

The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K Le Guin.
The Childe Cycle (Dorsai, etc.), Gordon R Dickson.
The Hooded Swan series, Brian Stableford.

The Hobbit.

Dune.

I guess Jurassic Park/Jurassic Park the lost world, depending how you cut it.

First Blood.

Pet cemetery.

To name a few. Not all SciFi though.

Tough question.

Another vote for Lost Fleet by Campbell

I second Ringworld. I am a little surprised that it hasn't been made into a series or a mini series yet. A self contained universe, opposing factions, mystery, and a cool concept.
Though one of my favorite sci-fi books is a collection of short stories. I think the funniest, laugh out loud book I have ever read: "Pirx the Pilot" by Stanislaw Lem. A good read.

'Dragon's Egg' by Robert L. Forward. very hard science
'Thinker' by Wen Spencer it's got Elfs so a bit fantasy

x42

And from the paperback shelves, John M. Ford's The Final Reflection and Dianne Duane's The Romulan Way.

Slightly off subject: If you ever get a chance to read the book adaptations of the original Battlestar Galactica series, take it. Not great SF, but for the most part very good SF. A pity no one took as much trouble with the scripts before they filmed as they did to fix them afterward.

myxemail, funniest SF short of all time is Frank Eric Russell's "Allamagoosa."

Asimov's robot series: Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun and The Robots of Dawn.

Armor by John Steakley would be awesome. IMHO a better version of Starship Troopers. The first half of the book which takes place on the planet Banshee is great military science fiction.

little fuzzy by H Beam Piper, The High Crusade by Poul Anderson, and The Doomfarers of Coramonde by Brian Daley

Not yet nominated:

Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson.

Heir to the Empire, Timothy Zahn (best SW novel anyway).

Wolves on the Border, Robert N. Charette (best BattleTech novel anyway).

Hot Moon, Alan Smale (darn good alternate history sci-fi, nominating to give this newcomer some love and attention; just started 2nd novel Radiant Sky; Burning Night, 3rd and final in the Apollo Rising series due next month).

@The H Man
None of your suggestions qualify. 🙄

I thought I saw a promo for the Earth Abides. I want to say it was a limited series on one of the streaming services.

Both Foundation and Earth Abides have been made into mini-series…..

A Case of Conscience by James Blish would be a good one. I think one of the reincarnations of the Twilight Zone had an episode loosely based off of the novel, but did not focus on larger theme of the novel.

Battle field earth

There is an author mentioned here, who I will not name, who I will refuse to vote for in any circumstance. I met him. He is, or was, a complete ass. 😄

Earth Abides is now a tv series? I guess I missed it.
I guess it doesn't qualify then.
How is it? Has it been "updated for today's audience"? I hope not. I hope "they" didn't pull a Rings of Power on it. 🙄

Everything I was going to add is already here but I will say this: the Locked Tomb trilogy by Tamsyn Muir is astounding.

John,

Foundation was done by Apple+

Earth Abides was done by MGM+

I do not subscribe to either so I've never seen them too. IMDB is your friend….

Dave

The Janissaries for sure and also t6he High Crusade, I believe by Poul Anderson.

Asimovs Robot stuff was a film.

Bill the Galactic Hero.

Golden Apples of the Sun by Ray Bradbury.

The Dorsai series for people who like sci fi warfare.

Out of the Silent Planet
CS Lewis

Some I didnt see mentioned

Academy or Priscilla Hutchkins Series by McDevitt
Bolo Series Laumer and others
StarWolf Series Hamilton
Confederation Series by Tanya Huff
Well of Souls Series Chalker
USS Hamilton McGinnis
Linesman Series Dunstall

Series are specifically excluded.

Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen would be my first choice. My favorite Piper even over Spave Viking and Little Fuzzy.

"@The H Man
None of your suggestions qualify."

Incorrect.

"Battle field earth"

Hmm… Are you including audios?

It's interesting that the person who asked the question would try to exclude people who answer it.

Most people just jumped to the easy answers, instead of reading the question carefully. I find this ironic.

I point out some logical answers that apply then get told they don't qualify, when they clearly do.

Not being a reader, it is good that the question allows myself and others to post answers.

Yet, I'm disqualified for doing so?

Poor form, sir.

@H Man
Every single thing you nominated HAS a movie or tv show. This thread is for novels that do NOT have either.
Therefore they do not qualify.

Not being a reader…

That's quite obvious.

OFM, I notice the poll question as stated does not exclude books which are part of a series of books, as the fantasy poll clearly does. Is this intentional? I might add a couple of nominations if series books are allowed.

And if they're not allowed, my Piper nominations are iffy. Verkan Val from Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen shows up in I think three Piper shorts, and another short has Space Vikings on stage and a reference to Zarathustran Fuzzies. Pretty much all Piper connects one way or another.

I have to admit that I had …issues with starting this poll. Title too long, didn't proceed, etc.
So, series got left out. The MINISERIES in the OP was my feeble attempt to address this.
Frustration with previous polls added to my confusion.

the Iron Dream would be an exciting social study if ever made into a movie…

"Every single thing you nominated HAS a movie or tv show."

No.

They have more.

"This thread is for novels that do NOT have either."

Not disappointing, also wrong.

"Therefore they do not qualify."

Three strikes.

"That's quite obvious."

I can read the topic easy enough.

If only certain others could.

Your statement also sounds derogatory.

Another sci fi novel that does not have A movie or miniseries is I am legend.

Semi clever H Man. But to have a second movie, you have to have had a first movie, which is sufficient to disqualify.

If you put that much effort into reading, you might have a legitimate nomination.

No.

A is one.

Two and three are not one.

Perhaps try reading a math text book next.

Clever. Certainly.

Semi clever? Read the post above.

"If you put that much effort into reading, you might have a legitimate nomination."

That's very ignorant of you.

Did you bully the kids in school who had trouble with reading too?

Apparently people who have difficulties in areas can't have a voice on the topic.

That goes against all the banners I've been seeing around here about free speech.

For a start.

If you legitimately have trouble reading, H Man, I'll back off. First time you've mentioned it. When you don't provide people with information, "ignorant" is exactly the right word--but it's a condition, not a moral failing.

No, I was the kid held in contempt by the jocks--US slang for atheletes--who despised reading and sounded exactly like you.

That said, blind men don't take part in discussions of painting, nor deaf men of music. Why is it discriminatory to confine discussion of books to people who have actually read them?

Following up. H Man, have you had your condition checked out by a professional not employed by a school system? You don't write like the people I know who are dyslexic or semi-literate, at least. It's very tempting for a teacher with a student who's having trouble getting up to speed with reading to "diagnose" them in some way which lets the teacher off the hook. "Well, Joey is dyslexic, so you can't expect me to teach him to read fluently." Then the kid never reads enough to build speed and fluency. It's what they call a self-fulfulling prophecy.

At least get a second opinion.

But if a means one, two and three remain multiples of one. A Catholic priest can't get around the prohibition against taking a wife by committing bigamy.

Or even trigamy.

Oh. And it appears there was a co-ed shower scene in Starship Troopers, though most of the participants aren't named:

link

The article also mentions the possibility of a new version actually based on Heinlein. Certainly an interesting change.

Book is still disqualified for the poll, though.

I am Legend movie.
link

Also made into "The Omega Man" and "Last Man on Earth".