Sci Fi Authors and Their Titles (2) Quiz

Answer: Ray Bradbury

A fix-up novel published in 1950, "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury consists of a series of his previously published short stories with revisions and linking narratives to make it work. The chapters are chronological, covering three extended periods of Martian fictional history and its relationship with Earth.

The first phase involves the initial exploratory missions and discovery of Martians, next is the colonisation phase, and finally a global nuclear war on Earth and its aftermath. The book has continued to appeal with, for example, 'Bradbury Landing' the name given for the landing site where 'Curiosity', NASA's Mars Rover, set down in 2012.

Answer: Ray Bradbury

Published in 1951, "The Illustrated Man" is a collection of 18 unrelated short stories by Ray Bradbury mixing fantasy, science fiction and horror. They are connected together by the story of the Illustrated Man, a wanderer with a magical canvas of tattoos which each tell a different tale. Three of them ("The Veldt", "The Long Rain" and "The Last Night of the World") were adapted for the 1969 film "The Illustrated Man".

Answer: Ray Bradbury

"The Golden Apples of the Sun" (1953) is a collection of 22 short stories by Ray Bradbury, consisting of a mix of science fiction, realism, magical realism, the macabre and fantasy. The final story shares its title with the book and is also the final line of the poem "The Song of Wandering Aengus" (1899) by W. B. Yeats, a nod to his wife's interest in Romantic poetry.

There is a sense of loss to most of the stories and ambivalent feelings on how technology changes society.

Answer: Frank Herbert

Fourth of the six novels in Frank Herbert's "Dune" series, "God Emperor of Dune" was published in 1981. Frank Herbert died in 1986 and, starting in 1999, many more books in the same universe were co-written by his son Brian and Kevin J. Anderson. The tale starts some 3,500 years into the reign of Leto II Atreides, a despotic ruler who returns his empire to a mediaeval condition in order to save humanity from prophesized destruction.

Answer: Frank Herbert

"The Dosadi Experiment" (1977) is the second of Frank Herbert's ConSentiency universe novels which emerged from his short stories "A Matter of Traces" (1958) and "The Tactful Saboteur" (1964). It is set in a multi-species universe with Faster Than Light travel achieved through 'jump doors' provided by one species. Unfortunately this technology has been abused to set up an experiment with a trapped population.

Answer: Frank Herbert

First of the Pandora Sequence series, "Destination: Void" by Frank Herbert was first published in book form in 1966. The other three books in the series were co-written with Bill Ransom. The book takes a timely look at nascent greater-than-human artificial intelligence.

A first attempt sees the destruction of the research site, an island in Puget Sound. Research, using clones, is transferred to a remote colony on the moon to minimise such destructive risks.

Answer: H. G. Wells

British writer H. G. Wells was writing science fiction from around the end of the 19th century. In "The Invisible Man" (1897) the protagonist has found a way to change the body's refractive index to match that of air with the result that the unclothed body became invisible to the eye. The story follows his attempts to reverse the procedure. The book has spawned many new takes on the idea across multiple forms of media.

Answer: H. G. Wells

Another 19th century tale, "The War of the Worlds" by H. G. Wells was initially serialised before being published in 1898. The planet Mars is the source of much science fiction; however, in this case the Martians invade Earth, first landing in England.

The book narrates how the invasion pans out. Mankind's weapons prove inadequate. Invasion by an extraterrestrial species has provided a rich source of material and this book is one of the earliest in this genre. It appears to strike a chord. In 1938 Orson Welles seems to have accidentally caused panic amongst some listeners when he dramatised the story for radio as a series on news-style bulletins.

Answer: H. G. Wells

Some 35 years after writing "The War of the Worlds", H.G. Wells was predicting the future in "The Shape of Things to Come" (1933). It is framed as being based on the visions of a diplomat of a future history book covering the period from the 1930s to the start of the 22nd century.

It is not a character driven book. The author sees economic pressures leading to war and changing political systems. Some predictions have come to pass, although not necessarily the timing. Religion withers in this scenario and women have no leading roles, a reflection of his times.

Answer: Robert A. Heinlein

"Starship Troopers" by American writer Robert A. Heinlein is a military science fiction novel which was published in 1959. Set in a society dominated by a military elite, the reader follows Johnny Rico through his military training against the background of an interstellar war against an arachnid-type species.

It has themes of militarism, coming of age and moral decline. Not so much plot driven, significant parts of the novel are given over to discussion of political views, morals, punishment and the like.

These views have not escaped criticism.

Answer: Robert A. Heinlein

Taking its title from Exodus 2:22 of the King James Bible, Robert A. Heinlein wrote "Stranger in a Strange Land" (1961), a story about a Martian-raised person coming to Earth and eventually founding a religion. It was intended to be a vehicle to challenge some of the accepted norms of the time and, by 1961, Heinlein felt that it would be commercially acceptable.

Despite this, the publishers had 25% of the manuscript cut. The full-length manuscript was published in 1991, although missing some changes made to the 1961 version.

Answer: Robert A. Heinlein

The setting for "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" (1966) by Robert A. Heinlein is a penal colony on the Moon with a population of 3 million living underground and shipping vital food supplies back to Earth. The plot is the revolt on the Moon against Earth's oppression, with a disparate range of rebellious characters including Mike, a sentient AI.

The novel is credited with the first printed appearance of the saying: "There's no such thing as a free lunch", amongst other things.

Answer: William Gibson

First in the "Sprawl" trilogy, the 1984 near-future dystopian novel "Neuromancer" by William Gibson is basically a computer heist involving an artificial intelligence, a computer hacker called Chase and a traumatised ex-soldier, amongst others. A classic in the cyberpunk genre, it combines low-level society with high technology, introducing into the language such terms as cyberspace and jacking in.

Answer: William Gibson

In the dystopian cyberpunk novel "Virtual Light" (1994) by William Gibson, the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in San Francisco sees an even more divided society. We follow Chevette, a bicycle messenger, who steals some glasses on a whim. It turns out these contain important information which makes her a target. This novel was the first of the "Bridge" trilogy which is essentially about class conflict.

Answer: William Gibson

This time it is a science fiction mystery-thriller from William Gibson. "The Peripheral" (2014) is the first of the planned "Jackpot" trilogy. The experiences of an American woman from the near future intertwine with those of a London-based publicist 70 years into her future. The link between them seems to be a virtual reality environment.