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Quiz about Judging More SF Books by Their Covers

Judging More SF Books by Their Covers Quiz

You liked the first one, so here's more. I'll describe the cover of a science fiction classic. Then you see if you can identify the correct book from the clues on the cover (and believe me, you won't need to have the same edition).

A multiple-choice quiz by Flamis. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
Flamis

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
329,446

Updated
Jul 23 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
340

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. The classic Penguin edition of this novel shows a plant with a bulbous base, and a tall flower with a long stinger reaching out. You may not be surprised that the stinger is venomous, and the plant can walk...but which of these is the title? Hint

The Chrysalids

The Day of the Triffids

The Kraken Wakes

The Midwich Cuckoos

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Question 2 of 10

2. Modern editions of this classic show a young boy in a blue suit and helmet, floating in freefall, other boys behind him. Is this Battle School? Is he thinking, "The enemy's gate is down!"? And what is the book called? Hint

Ender's Game

The Memory of Earth

Seventh Son

Hot Sleep

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Question 3 of 10

3. Most editions of this work depict the lunar surface, some showing projectiles being launched (probably towards the Earth, quite possibly aimed at Cheyenne Mountain!). Others show a man with an artificial arm. My own copy has two space-suited figures inside a spacecraft above the cratered landscape, Earth hanging in the background. What is this book called? Hint

Farmer in the Sky

Starship Troopers

Have Space Suit-Will Travel

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

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Question 4 of 10

4. This cover of this SF classic is generally adorned with swastikas and rising suns. A modern edition depicts the Statue of Liberty with one arm raised in a Nazi salute, and the Concorde flying across the sky behind it. Which book has this artwork? Hint

Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said

The Man in the High Castle

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

A Scanner Darkly

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Question 5 of 10

5. The cover of this book most often depicts a spaceship named "Endeavour". Behind it, dwarfing the human ship, is a huge cylindrical craft of alien design. What is the book called? Hint

A Meeting with Medusa

Rendezvous with Rama

2001: A Space Odyssey

A Fall of Moondust

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Question 6 of 10

6. One of the most interesting covers for this novel shows a woman soldier in a spacesuit. On her helmet is written the name "Potter". Others show a male soldier (it's probably Mandella), or fighting spaceships. Which of these books has those characters? Hint

Worlds

Tool of the Trade

The Forever War

Mindbridge

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Question 7 of 10

7. Most versions of this cover show a great wheel of a space station in orbit around a planet known as Pell's World, its bright sun Tau Ceti in the background. What is the name of the book? Hint

Downbelow Station

Cyteen

Rimrunners

Port Eternity

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Question 8 of 10

8. The cover of this book generally shows an ecclesiastical figure in the centre, most often in monk's garb, and usually carrying a book. What does the title read? Hint

The Darfsteller

The Ties That Bind

Death of a Spaceman

A Canticle for Leibowitz

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Question 9 of 10

9. My favourite cover art for this novel depicts a farmhouse somewhere in rural America, the roof distorted and drawn up into a galaxy of stars. That house belongs to Enoch Wallace, a man with a very important secret... a gate to the galaxy. What is the book called? Hint

All Flesh is Grass

Time is the Simplest Thing

Way Station

City

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Question 10 of 10

10. This cover commonly shows a man named Miles Vorkosigan and his clone brother Mark looking into each other's eyes. Behind them is a scene of a planet, two spaceships above and a distant nebula beyond. What is title of their book? Hint

Mirror Dance

Ethan of Athos

Paladin of Souls

Beguilement

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: The Day of the Triffids

It has to be said that the theme of biological experimentation gone horribly wrong is at least as relevant today as it was when John Wyndham wrote this novel in 1951, in the early years of the Cold War. And the word "triffid" is now part of the English language, commonly used to refer to unknown plants of unusual appearance!

Answer: Ender's Game

That boy is Ender Wiggin, and he is a military genius. Part of his strategy for winning the games at Battle School is to teach his army to orient themselves so that "The enemy's gate is down!". Of course, those war games develop into something far more real than Ender imagines. The novel won the Nebula in 1985, and the Hugo in 1986.

Answer: The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

Winning the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1967, "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" is one of Robert Heinlein's most highly acclaimed works - and my personal favourite. It is the story of the fight for independence by the lunar colonies, led by a one-armed computer technician, a sentient computer, a blonde agitator, and a professor.

Answer: The Man in the High Castle

"The Man in the High Castle" is set in an alternate history where the Axis powers won World War II and divided North America between them. It won the 1963 Hugo Award for Phillip K. Dick.

5. The cover of this book most often depicts a spaceship named "Endeavour". Behind it, dwarfing the human ship, is a huge cylindrical craft of alien design. What is the book called?

Answer: Rendezvous with Rama

It's the 22nd century, and a strange alien craft is on its way through the solar system. Thinking it is an asteroid, astronomers give it the name "Rama". But it isn't an asteroid, and the crew of Explorer are sent to explore the mysterious vessel. "Rendezvous with Rama" won the complete set of major science fiction literary awards for Arthur C. Clarke, including the Nebula in 1973 and the Hugo in 1974.

Answer: The Forever War

In Joe Haldeman's "The Forever War" the war really does seem to go on forever. Spaceship travel at near light-speed and time dilation effects mean that between battles out there centuries stretch by home. And that makes it really hard for a boy soldier and his girl soldier to maintain their relationship. This book won the Nebula in 1975, and the Hugo in 1976.

7. Most versions of this cover show a great wheel of a space station in orbit around a planet known as Pell's World, its bright sun Tau Ceti in the background. What is the name of the book?

Answer: Downbelow Station

Set in the year 2352, "Downbelow Station" is a story of conflict between the Earth Company and Earth's own colonies among the stars, focusing on events on Pell Station, which circles Pell's World (or simply Pell), a planet of Tau Ceti which is not only habitable, it has its own sentient race, the gentle Hisa. "Downbelow Station" won the 1982 Hugo Award for C. J. Cherryh.

8. The cover of this book generally shows an ecclesiastical figure in the centre, most often in monk's garb, and usually carrying a book. What does the title read?

Answer: A Canticle for Leibowitz

Walter M. Miller, Jr. only published one novel in his lifetime, the post-apocalyptic saga, "A Canticle for Leibowitz" in which the monks of the Order of Leibowitz take up their mission to preserve the scientific heritage of humanity, following a global nuclear war. You might call it an SF one-hit wonder, since it won the Hugo Award for the Best Novel of 1961 - and has never been out of print since.

However, Miller also wrote award-winning short fiction, notably "The Darfsteller" which won the 1995 Hugo for Best Novelette.

Answer: Way Station

The secret that Enoch Wallace hides is a galactic way station - a place where aliens come and go unknown to the rest of the inhabitants of planet Earth. This novel won the 1964 Hugo Award for Clifford D. Simak, who was in 1977 named the third Grand Master of Science Fiction by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

Answer: Mirror Dance

Lois McMaster Bujold's "Vorkosigan Saga" is one of the most highly acclaimed in the history of Science Fiction, having won four Hugo awards for best novel by 2010. "Mirror Dance" is one of those award-winners (chosen here for the distinctive cover). It follows the stories of Miles Vorkosigan and his clone brother Mark as they live through, shall we say,interesting times.

Source: Author Flamis

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor MotherGoose before going online.
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