MY Top Ten: Science Fiction Novels

Posting one’s top ten favorite this-or-that list has been a trend for years. Recently, I posted my top ten in books and in movies. Today, I’m returning to the written word but narrowing my scope to a single genre, science fiction.

I’ve always enjoyed science fiction works. My reading these days are usually focused in other genres, though. Nevertheless, I decided to take a moment and reflect on the various novels in this subject matter which I have read and attempt to select my favorites. As I expected, it was not an easy task. Yet, here they are as of this writing. They are subject to change.

Some criteria for my selections:

1. It must be a printed publication (I don't do e-books).

2. It must not be a novel written based on a television show or motion picture.

3. It must be a work I have read completely at least once!

4. Its position in the list is, for the most part, indicative of (a) how much I enjoyed it and (b) how often I have read it.

10. “Millennium” by John Varley. Travelers from the future snatch passengers prior to crashes, leaving prefabricated bodies in their place. The life of an air disaster investigator changes forever upon his examination of the event.

9. “After the Fact” by Fred Saberhagen. Financial Advisor Jerry Flint takes a position with the Pilgrim Foundation. His first assignment: travel to 1865 and save Abraham Lincoln from assassination.

8. “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson. The well-known story of the good doctor who develops a potion that releases his wicked, inner self.

7. “Jurassic Park” by Michael Crichton. While the special effects in all the “JP” movies are outstanding, I found Crichton’s original story to be even better in print.

6. “The Lost World” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Yes, the creator of Sherlock Holmes also wrote science fiction! Journalist Edward Malone meets Professor George Challenger, a scientist who claims he has discovered a “lost world” inhabited by prehistoric animals. The expedition begins.

5. “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury. Firemen in the future have a new assignment and it involves books. No, they aren’t reading them! Firefighter Guy Montag, however, falls in love with a book-hoarder and his life begins to change.

4. “The Invisible Man” by H. G. Wells. A scientist named Griffin creates a serum which makes him invisible. Of course, it also drives him to insanity!

3. “Journey to the Center of the Earth” by Jules Verne. Nineteenth century Professor Liedenbrock heads an expedition into an extinct volcano in Iceland on a journey to the Earth’s core. The geologist takes his nephew Axel and guide Hans into the subterranean world.

2. “The Time Machine” by H. G. Wells. The traveler has developed a machine which will carry him through time. Convinced the distant future will hold better days for society, he journeys to the year 802701 and finds something quite different.

1. “The War of the Worlds” by H. G. Wells. It’s the nineteenth century and strange cylinders are falling from space and landing in Britain. The Martians have arrived, and they are not our friends!

Sure, there are many others I could have put on this list. Here are a few also-rans.

·       “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” by Jules Verne

·       “From the Earth to the Moon” by Jules Verne

·       “The Island of Dr. Moreau” by H. G. Wells

·       “The First Men in the Moon” by H. G. Wells

·       “Out of the Silent Planet”, “Perelandra”, “That Hideous Strength” by C. S. Lewis (his space triology)

·       “I, Robot” by Isaac Asimov

·       “Frankenstein” (or “The Modern Prometheus”) by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

·       “Gateway” by Frederik G. Pohl, Jr.

Obviously, my favorite science fiction authors are Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. To be frank, I could have made a top ten list easily from just these two men!

Well, that’s my present list. If you read science fiction, which ones do you enjoy?

MY Top Ten: Movies

So far this week I have posted my top 10 books (books) as well as my top 10 theological works (theology). Today, I decided to add my top 10 movies.  I realize the difficulties in making such choices but, at this stage, who cares. They're MY choices anyway!

My criteria for these selections are:

1. It must be a movie I have watched completely.

2. It may be of any genre.

3. It may be a silent or a "talkie".

4. It may be "black and white" or "color".

5. Its position in the list is, for the most part, indicative of (a) how much I enjoyed it and (b) how often I have seen it.

I'm certain my list today is different from one written a few years ago and, probably, different from one written a few years from now. But, as of today, here are my top 10 favorite movies.

10. "Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back" - 1980 starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Billy Dee Williams (Empire)

No list of mine would be complete without a Star Wars film. These films radically changed special effects within science fiction flicks. Of the eight presently available (I do not consider "Rogue One" in this collection), #5 is the best of the bunch. The characters are cleverly developed, the special effects are outstanding, and the storyline progresses much better than it did in Episode IV. And, of course, it has John Williams' music.

9.  "North by Northwest" - 1959 starring Cary Grant, James Mason, Eva Marie Saint, Leo G. Carroll, and Martin Landau (NNW)

I love Alfred Hitchcock movies and this one tops his list for me. It is a case of mistaken identity, resulting in a chase across the country. Grant is chasing those who have mistaken him while he is being chased by the authorities for the murder of a United Nations member. It is funny and exciting with great camera shots. Of course, you will also find the airplane-human corn field scene.

8.  "The Maltese Falcon" - 1941 starring Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Mary Astor, and Elisha Cook, Jr. (Falcon)

Detective Sam Spade's partner has been killed and he has to find the killer. Suddenly, he is involved with three men and a woman in quest of a priceless statuette. Bogart is at his best as Spade and I believe this is one of Greenstreet's best film. 

7.  "Lawrence of Arabia" - 1962 starring Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, and Omar Sharif (Lawrence)

The story of T. E. Lawrence and his fight for Arabia. The film won 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. The shots of the desert are absolutely stunning. Having read some by Lawrence as well as about him, I thought the film did a good job at telling his story in an exciting manner.

6.  "The Bridge on the River Kwai" - 1957 starring Alec Guinness, William Holden, Jack Hawkins, and Sessue Hayakawa (Kwai)

Winner of the Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor Academy Awards, the movie tells the story of a captured World War II British force (led by Guinness) who build a bridge for the Japanese camp commander (Hayakawa) across the river Kwai. Stunning setting and an actual bridge explosion highlight this film of "madness".

5.  "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" - 1963 starring Spencer Tracy, Sid Caesar, Milton Berle, Ethel Merman, Jonathan Winters, and more (World) 

"It's buried under a big W" and the show begins. It is a mad dash by a crowd of moronic individuals looking for buried treasure. Almost every comedian from the 1950s and early 60s has a role in this film. 

4.  "Arsenic and Old Lace" - 1944 starring Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, and Raymond Massey (Lace) 

Of all the comedies I have seen on film, I think this is the best one. It is not a long film but has one laugh after another. The Brewster sisters are up to no good and things get hectic when their nephews (Grant and Massey) arrive at their home.

3.  "Ben-Hur" - 1959 starring Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, and Stephen Boyd (Ben-Hur)

This film won 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor. The movie is based on the novel by Lew Wallace. It is a long movie but well worth the time. The story revolves around Judah Ben-Hur and his Roman friend Messala. Interwoven beautifully is the story of Jesus Christ leading to his death and resurrection. Of course, the film contains the famous chariot race.

2.  "Casablanca" - 1942 starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Claude Rains (Casablanca)

Rick's is the place to be in North Africa during World War II. Well, that is until the Germans arrive followed by Rick's former girl friend, Ilsa. A classic movie with several well-known quotes. Also starring Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet. 

1.  "Citizen Kane" - 1941 starring Orson Welles and Joseph Cotton (Kane)

The greatest movie ever made! Welles wrote it, directed it, and starred in it. His camera shots are legendary. The movie presents the life story of one Charles Foster Kane (loosely based on the life of William Randolph Hearst). Of course, the infamous "Rosebud" looms over the entire picture. No thrilling special effects necessary, thank you very much! 

So many movies left off. I could include all the Star Wars films, several of the Star Trek movies, the Indiana Jones films, more Hitchcock, and other films with Bogart. How about "The Ten Commandments" with Heston, "Fargo" and "No Country for Old Men" by the Coen brothers, and great westerns ("High Noon", "Tombstone", "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence")? My list also omits disaster movies such as "The Poseidon Adventure" and "The Towering Inferno"). Other sci-fi films such as my favorite pre-"Star Wars" movie:  "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (the 1951 Michael Rennie version, not the recent remake!). Comedies would include the Hope and Crosby "Road" pictures or the "Abbott and Costello Meet" films.  Furthermore, I have no John Wayne movies on my list! 

And so on and so forth...  Perhaps, one day, I will divide my movie lists according to genre. That might provide a better representation of the films I enjoy.

For now, that's my list. How about you?

GORT, KLAATU BARADA NIKTO!

MY Top Ten: Books

Yesterday, I posted my top 10 theological works in another blog (here). I explained in that entry my dislike of such lists, yet, I am repeatedly asked about such things. So, in this blog entry, I am assembling my "Top 10" list of the books I have read. My criteria for these selections are as follows:

1. It must be a printed publication (I don't do e-books).

2. It must be a work I own.

3. It must be a work I have read completely at least once!

4. Its position in the list is, for the most part, indicative of (a) how much I enjoyed and/or learned from it and (b) how often I have read it.
5. The work may be from any genre.
6. The Scripture is intentionally omitted from the list.

Selecting ten favorites from the thousands I own and have read is almost impossible. I'm sure my list has changed from a few years ago and will likely change in the future. As of this writing, though, here are my top 10 favorite books.

10. "Lost Horizon" by John Hilton (NOT Milton!)

I found the story of Shangri-La a fascinating one yet, I must admit, my love of the book became greater after seeing the 1937 movie starring Ronald Colman.

9.  "Journey to the Center of the Earth" by Jules Verne

Verne has been one of my favorite authors since early childhood. In the realm of science fiction, I place him at #2.  I've read most, if not all, of his works but enjoy this tale of adventure to the inner parts of the earth. There's a lesson here on perseverance (or, perhaps, how to be foolhardy!).

8.  "Advise and Consent" by Allen Drury

This is Drury's Pulitzer Prize winner and the first of a series of political books involving the likes of Orrin Knox, Ted Jason, Robert A. Leffingwell, Senator Seab Cooley, Senator Bob Munson, and Vice-President Harley Hudson. Drury followed this hit with sequels employing the same cast of characters and I enjoyed each one. In this case, the 1962 movie was a "let-down" for me when compared to the novel.

7.  "The Time Machine" by H. G. Wells

Herbert George Wells is, in my humble opinion, the best science fiction author of all time. I own, have read, and enjoyed all of his sci-fi works. I could place any of them on this list but I limit myself to only two, the two I consider his best. My fascination with time also made this particular story more fascinating to me. Unfortunately, the movie versions of the book fail to capture the true story.

6.  "Here I Stand" by Roland H. Bainton

Without apology, Martin Luther is my Christian "idol", warts and all. Used by God at a critical time in the history of the world, he helped change the world, at least the western part of it. There are many biographies on his life but the older one by Bainton I find to be the best.

5.  "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson

Another childhood love, I must have read this book twenty times before my teen years. The story of the young boy sailing with the likes of pirate Long John Silver was too exciting to ignore. The 1934 movie version starring Jackie Cooper as the young Jim Hawkins and Wallace Beery as the one-legged Silver is the best one I've seen.

4.  "A Study in Scarlet" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Well, here I have some difficulty. Doyle wrote sixty Holmes stories, four novels and fifty-six short stories. I do own the entire collection and have read each of them several times. Of the four Sherlock Holmes novels ("The Valley of Fear", "The Sign of Four", "The Hound of the Baskervilles", and "A Study in Scarlet"), I have enjoyed the first novel the most (though I do like "Hound"). The recent movies and TV series involving the character of Sherlock Holmes are, in my view, shameful. The best performance of Sherlock Holmes I have ever seen was by the late actor, Jeremy Brett, in the BBC Holmes series done in the late 80s and early 90s. That series tended to stick closely to the original works.

3.  "War of the Worlds" by H. G. Wells

This is my other selection for Wells, the best science fiction work every written in my eyes. The story of the Martian invaders is a repeated theme today but not when the story was written. Two major film versions have been done. The 1953 version with Gene Barry is entertaining while the Martians in the 2005 Tom Cruise version are more like those in the book. However, neither movie grabs me as did the book. I have read this story several times and absolutely love it.

2.  "The Bondage of the Will" by Martin Luther

Luther's book is the one work (apart from the Bible) on any theological subject which has impacted my life the most. I still recall the first time I read it and was blown away by Luther's thought and use of the Scripture to support what he was teaching. Yes, the good doctor can be "raw" at times. Yet I find Luther's argument (this was a response to Erasmus) completely convincing from the Scriptures. Given the fact the work is almost five-hundred years old, it can be a challenging read. Nevertheless, your effort will be well spent.

1.  "Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan

Having read Bunyan's work multiple times, "Pilgrim's Progress" remains refreshing with each pass. I seem to learn or understand something new each time. I would guess I average reading the book about once a year and still enjoy it after several reads. It is challenging English and a more modern English version might help.  However, such a version is NOT Bunyan! The story is, of course, an allegory, an illustration of the Christian life. Bunyan has several references to the Word to demonstrate where  his allegorical message has been taken. 

That's my present list. How about yours?

HAPPY READING!