 John the OFM  | 14 Oct 2025 4:58 p.m. PST |
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. |
 Parzival | 14 Oct 2025 6:35 p.m. PST |
The Man Who Used the Universe by Alan Dean Foster (later ripped off by the overrated Alan Moore). Great book, no movie. |
 Murphy  | 14 Oct 2025 6:42 p.m. PST |
Time Enough For Love The Forever War Bill, The Galactic Hero The Janissaries The Heechee Saga by Frederick Pohl |
| glengarry6 | 14 Oct 2025 6:46 p.m. PST |
At the Mountains of Madness by HP Lovecraft |
| robert piepenbrink | 14 Oct 2025 7:14 p.m. PST |
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? |
 piper909 | 14 Oct 2025 10:23 p.m. PST |
I have a fondness for Lucifer's Hammer by Pournelle and Niven. Not really sci-fi, I guess, but Post-Apocalypse. Similar! |
| Oberlindes Sol LIC | 14 Oct 2025 10:24 p.m. PST |
Zelazny, Isle of the Dead
Zelazny, To Die in Italbar |
| piper909 | 14 Oct 2025 10:25 p.m. PST |
Waiting for someone to dare nominate The Iron Dream by Norman Spinrad… |
| Toaster | 14 Oct 2025 11:19 p.m. PST |
The Mote in God's Eye, Niven and Pounelle Chronicles of Morgaine, C J Cherryh Lost Fleet, Jack Campbell |
 Dal Gavan | 14 Oct 2025 11:52 p.m. PST |
Glory Lane, Alan Dean Foster. Not a book hard-core sci-fi readers would like- it's funny in places. |
| RittervonBek | 15 Oct 2025 1:08 a.m. PST |
Kalvan of Otherwhen would be a brilliant miniseries.
Or The Black Company (albeit mot strictly sci fi…) |
| Giles the Zog | 15 Oct 2025 1:20 a.m. PST |
Stainless Steel Rat (series) |
| forrester | 15 Oct 2025 1:34 a.m. PST |
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| noggin2nog | 15 Oct 2025 1:40 a.m. PST |
The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K Le Guin.
The Childe Cycle (Dorsai, etc.), Gordon R Dickson.
The Hooded Swan series, Brian Stableford. |
| The H Man | 15 Oct 2025 1:51 a.m. PST |
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. |
| smithsco | 15 Oct 2025 4:14 a.m. PST |
Another vote for Lost Fleet by Campbell |
| myxemail | 15 Oct 2025 4:48 a.m. PST |
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. |
 x42brown | 15 Oct 2025 5:12 a.m. PST |
'Dragon's Egg' by Robert L. Forward. very hard science
'Thinker' by Wen Spencer it's got Elfs so a bit fantasy x42 |
| robert piepenbrink | 15 Oct 2025 5:21 a.m. PST |
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." |
| bobspruster | 15 Oct 2025 6:19 a.m. PST |
Asimov's robot series: Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun and The Robots of Dawn. |
 aegiscg47 | 15 Oct 2025 6:53 a.m. PST |
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. |
| Wackmole9 | 15 Oct 2025 7:01 a.m. PST |
little fuzzy by H Beam Piper, The High Crusade by Poul Anderson, and The Doomfarers of Coramonde by Brian Daley |
 miniMo | 15 Oct 2025 7:15 a.m. PST |
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). |
| John the OFM | 15 Oct 2025 7:23 a.m. PST |
@The H Man
None of your suggestions qualify. 🙄 |
| cfielitz | 15 Oct 2025 7:33 a.m. PST |
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. |
| PzGeneral | 15 Oct 2025 7:38 a.m. PST |
Both Foundation and Earth Abides have been made into mini-series….. |
| cfielitz | 15 Oct 2025 7:39 a.m. PST |
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. |
| SASTENSLAND | 15 Oct 2025 8:48 a.m. PST |
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| John the OFM | 15 Oct 2025 8:56 a.m. PST |
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. 😄 |
| John the OFM | 15 Oct 2025 9:27 a.m. PST |
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. 🙄 |
| Andrew Walters | 15 Oct 2025 9:37 a.m. PST |
Everything I was going to add is already here but I will say this: the Locked Tomb trilogy by Tamsyn Muir is astounding. |
| PzGeneral | 15 Oct 2025 10:48 a.m. PST |
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 |
| Grattan54 | 15 Oct 2025 11:08 a.m. PST |
The Janissaries for sure and also t6he High Crusade, I believe by Poul Anderson. |
| Martin Rapier | 15 Oct 2025 11:31 a.m. PST |
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. |
| Deucey | 15 Oct 2025 12:04 p.m. PST |
Out of the Silent Planet
CS Lewis |
| DisasterWargamer | 15 Oct 2025 1:46 p.m. PST |
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 |
| John the OFM | 15 Oct 2025 3:29 p.m. PST |
Series are specifically excluded. |
 McKinstry  | 15 Oct 2025 3:56 p.m. PST |
Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen would be my first choice. My favorite Piper even over Spave Viking and Little Fuzzy. |
| The H Man | 15 Oct 2025 10:36 p.m. PST |
"@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. |
| John the OFM | 16 Oct 2025 5:17 a.m. PST |
@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. |
| robert piepenbrink | 16 Oct 2025 6:23 a.m. PST |
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. |
| John the OFM | 16 Oct 2025 7:22 a.m. PST |
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. |
