We all love it when a good science fiction book becomes a movie. Whether or not the movie is better than the book is a whole different story. The problem is that there are so many sci-fi fans that have seen the great science fiction movies, but have never read the books, or even knew that the books existed at all. So here is the short-list of some great sci-fi movies that were much better in book form.
#5 The War of the Worlds
War of the Worlds is probably the most widely read sci-fi novel of all time. At least one of them. It is a classic.
TO say that the movie adaptation with Tom Cruise fell short of the novel may be a bit of an understatement, but not necessarily because it was a bad movie—just that the novel was so good.
The movie was entertaining—as I’d be the first to argue that Tom Cruise does not make very many bad movies—but it cannot compete with the book it was based on.
If you are a fan of the sci-fi book genre and haven’t read this great, or watched the movie and liked it, then you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy and read it.
You won’t be let down.
#4 Sphere
This is a tough one because I thought the movie was very well done. It was very suspenseful and downright scary at times—in a psycho-thriller type of way.
It was so good that I went out and read the book version of the Sphere again.
And what can I say? It is a Michael Crichton classic and great. There’s a reason he was such a successful and prolific author. He truly is a masterful storyteller.
Sphere is a technological and psychological thriller that has a great sci-fi plotline to it.
A must read if you enjoyed the movie.
#3 Ender's Game
*Booktard Staff Favorite
This is a no-brainer. Not only was the movie just OK but the novel quickly became a cult classic within a few years of its publication. Very hard to compete with a movie version of a novel cult classic. Maybe Fight Club came close.
Ender’s Game was the start of a sci-fi series and universe that is easily on par with the Star Trek and Star Wars canon. But far more thoughtful and mentally intriguing.
This is a must-read for any sci-fi book fan. And if you actually liked the movie, then DEFINITLEY read the book.
#2 Starship Troopers
*Booktard Staff Favorite
This movie had everything a good sci-fi yarn should have—especially to a young man that watched it for the first time: action, guns, invading bugs, boobs, explosions, space travel and a great plot.
This is the only example here where I read the book after I watched the movie. And when I found out the movie was based on a book, I was very excited.
But the novel is a bit different than the movie and is just as entertaining, but it was really the political narrative that made it more appealing to me than the movie. Which was a hard task, I assure you.
Essentially, Heinlein tried to demonstrate the importance of personal responsibility in the political process of a constitutional republic like the United States, but he had a twist: suffrage—or the right to vote—wasn’t automatically assumed upon turning 18, but it had to be earned via public service in the federation—which usually meant a few years of hardship in the military.
That was the basis of the book, and it it expands upon this importance in many different ways, and to a degree this is seen in the movie, but oddly enough most viewers of the movie think it was a parody of a propaganda filled fascist regime—which I think the director was actually trying to go for, as he never even finished the book. But ironically, he ended up being more true to Heinlein's militaristic society where service and the republic were paramount and how you participated in that society was largely dependent upon your personal choices.
This was a great coming of age novel and a great and easy introduction into what it means to be a citizen in a country, what it means to serve your country, and how your decisions as a citizen effect the society you are in.
#1 Han Solo Trilogy: Book 1 The Paradise Snare
I read this book a long time ago in a decade not so far away, and I loved it. The official Star Wars canon of the 1990s and early 2000s should have been followed in all of the new Star Wars movies.
Not only would it have been true to what many of the hardcore fans have already read in the books and series on the Star Wars Universe, but it would have been a lot better too.
And that is especially true of the recent Han Solo Trilogy movies they started this past year.
The movie was decent but the storyline was dull. Of course the effects were great, but there was already a three-book Han Solo trilogy written and in place, read by many of the Star Wars fans in the 1990s.
If they would have simply followed this established plot, it would have been a far better movie and trilogy.
The author of the book series did a fantastic job of tying in the original movie trilogy and then weaving the Han Solo trilogy into it and ending with the best and most seamless transition at the Cantina on Tatooine, where Luke and Han meet for the first time.
If you are a fan of the Star Wars Universe and have never read this trilogy, then you need to read it and see what the movie Han Solo trilogy could havebee