Genres Trivia Quiz

Answer: Fantasy

"The Eye of the World" is the first book of Robert Jordan's 15-book epic "The Wheel of Time" series. It was published in 1990, and performed modestly, selling about 40,000 copies in its initial hardcover release. But, as the world of "The Wheel of Time" expanded, so did the overall popularity of the series, with total sales exceeding 80 million (for the whole series) after the final book was completed by Brandon Sanderson in 2013 (he finished the last three books after Robert Jordan passed away).

With the release of the Amazon adaptation of "The Wheel of Time" in the fall of 2021, "The Eye of the World" found a whole new fanbase, putting the novel onto numerous best-selling lists, more than 30 years since its initial release.

"The Eye of the World" follows many standard fantasy tropes, and Jordan himself stated that he wrote it as a homage to J.R.R. Tolkien, following much of the narrative structure of "The Lord of the Rings" storyline. A prophesied saviour (or perhaps destroyer) of the world is located in a small, secluded village, and a group of youngsters is taken on a quest by a wise magic-user to face the danger.

Answer: Fantasy

Brandon Sanderson was vaulted into fame within the fantasy literature circles when he was chosen to complete Robert Jordan's epic "The Wheel of Time" series after Jordan's death in 2007. Sanderson's own epic series, "The Stormlight Archive" was launched in 2010 with the release of "The Way of Kings" in 2010, reaching Number 7 on the NYT Best Seller list. The next three books in the series, "Words of Radiance", "Oathbringer", and "Rhythm of War" all debuted at Number 1.

"The Way of Kings" takes place on another planet that is nothing like Earth, with a well-realized and fantastical landscape with flora and fauna that seem better suited to the bottom of the ocean than not. A number of focal characters drive the story forward, as an old system of magic is newly realized by the 'modern' people of the world, and they must be prepared to face the coming 'Desolation' and the 'Voidbringers' of old.

Answer: Fantasy

"The Name of the Wind" (2007) is the first volume of Patrick Rothfuss' series "The Kingkiller Chronicles". It is a story that follows the life and accomplishments (both good and bad) of a young man and magic-user named Kvothe, as related by the main character to a scribe. Each volume in the series spans years time passed, but only takes one day in the telling (a story-within-a-story).

The popularity of the series was realized in the release of the second book, "The Wise Man's Fear" (2011), which reached the top of the New York Times Best Seller list, with sales figures (for the first two books combined) exceeding 10 million copies by 2015.

Answer: Fantasy

George R.R. Martin's "A Game of Thrones" was released in 1996 as the first book in his series "A Song of Ice and Fire". It received critical acclaim when it came out, but would not reach the New York Times Best Seller list (Number 1) until the HBO adaptation was first aired in 2011.

"A Game of Thrones" begins the saga of the lands of Westeros and the conflict between the various regions of the 'Seven Kingdoms' as they vie for supremacy following the 'accident' that killed King Robert Baratheon (who claimed the throne years ago following the fall of 'Mad King Aerys' and the House of Targaryen).

Answer: Horror

"I Am Legend" was published in 1954 and tells the story of a man who might be the last man on earth, following a pandemic that has either killed everyone else, or transformed them into vampires. Battling the psychological challenges of being alone in a hostile world, the main character (Robert Neville) tries to find the source of the disease and hopefully, a cure.

"I Am Legend" has been adapted for film on three separate occasions - 1964's "The Last Man on Earth", 1971's "The Omega Man", and 2007's "I Am Legend".

Answer: Horror

Thomas Harris published "Red Dragon" in 1981 and introduced the world to the unsettling serial killer and cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lecter. In the story, retired FBI agent Will Graham, who captured Lecter five years previously, is asked to help apprehend a serial killer by the moniker 'The Tooth Fairy', and Graham ends up seeking assistance from Lecter in the process.

"Red Dragon" was adapted into the 1986 film "Manhunter", but as a novel it did not achieve best seller status until "The Silence of the Lambs" (1988) was made into the the incredibly successful 1991 film of the same name. The series of horror novels was further popularized by another sequel in 1999 ("Hannibal"), with the subsequent 2001 film. With heightened popularity, "Red Dragon" was remade into another film, this time using the original book title, in 2002. A prequel novel, "Hannibal Rising", was published in 2006.

Answer: Horror

"Flowers in the Attic" was published by V.C. Andrews in 1979 and is a psychological gothic horror story in which four children (Chris, Cathy, Carrie and Cory Dollanganger) have their lives turned upside down with the death of their father in a car accident. Their mother, in an effort to earn her lost inheritance from their dying, estranged grandfather, must hide the children away. Their lives become a horror of confinement, abasement and illness as a dark history is revealed.

The first book in the "Dollanganger" series of eleven books (including 'spin-offs'), "Flowers in the Attic" has been twice adapted to the big screen (in 1987 and 2014). More than 40 million copies of the book have been sold.

Answer: Horror

"Needful Things" was published by Stephen King, the 'King of Horror', in 1991, continuing his successful run of novel releases that began with 1974's "Carrie". "Needful Things" was adapted to the silver screen in 1993, joining a plethora of other adapted King works.

In the story, the mysterious Leland Gaunt comes to the town of Castle Rock, Maine, and opens a store called 'Needful Things'. The store always seems to have what a person wants (or feels they need), but in the end, but the cost for these items is higher than anyone thinks.

Answer: Science fiction

"Stranger in a Strange Land" was published in 1961 by Robert A. Heinlein and made history by becoming the first science fiction book to make it onto the New York Times Best Seller list. It also happened to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1962.

The novel is set in a post-World War III world, where there is a world government and religious institutions have vast political power. Michael Valentine Smith was born on an ill-fated expedition to Mars, and is the sole survivor of the mission, raised by actual Martians. When he comes to Earth, he discovers and embraces the way of the world, then makes it his own by incorporating his seemingly mystical Martian learning and abilities.

Answer: Science fiction

Neal Stephenson's 1992 novel "Snow Crash" was his breakout novel, launching him to success. Set in a future where private companies and entrepreneurs have all the power and where the internet has evolved to a virtual reality 'Metaverse', Stephenson explores the idea that the Sumerian language was actually a code that could 'program' people, and someone in the 'present' has rediscovered that code and has incorporated it into a new, addictive virtual program (read: virus) called 'snow crash', that has also been developed in a physical form for the real world as a drug.

In addition to coining the term 'metaverse', Stephenson's novel also popularized the term 'avatar'.

Answer: Science fiction

"Childhood's End" was published in 1953 by Arthur C. Clarke and became his first successful novel, selling out its initial printing of more than 200,000 books. It was adapted into a radio drama in 1997, and a SyFy Channel mini-series in 2015.

The story tells of a world on the brink of war between the United States and the Soviet Union as they compete to put the first spacecraft into orbit and to obtain military supremacy. Before the situation comes to a head, however, the Earth is 'invaded' by a fleet of large alien ships, positioning themselves around the globe above major cities, and forcing a peace on the planet. Thus begins a benevolent age for Earth with its unseen alien 'Overlords'. But what is their ultimate purpose; benign or evil?

Answer: Science fiction

"The Left Hand of Darkness" was published in 1969 by Ursula K. Le Guin, and falls within a series of novels all set in the same fictional universe, called the "Hainish Cycle" (where humanity evolved on the planet 'Hain' and colonized the Earth, naming it 'Terra'). While "The Left Hand of Darkness" was not the first book in the series, it was the first one to achieve the popularity that launched Le Guin's career into a highly successful one.

The story revolves around the efforts of a man who is sent as an envoy of a planetary federation (called the Ekumen) to the planet Gethen. His mission is to convince the citizens of the planet's two nations to join the Ekumen, but his efforts are hampered by incomprehensible (to him) social interactions, which are based on their ambisexuality (neither male nor female, yet possible to be either).