The Rockets Ride Into Sci-Fi Literature! Quiz

Answer: a robot

Norby is a second-hand robot. Norby appears in over a dozen books by Isaac Asimov and his wife Janet Asimov. The books run from 1983 with "Norby, the Mixed up Robot" to 1991 with "Norby and the Court Jester". The adventures of Norby is a series of delightful science fiction books for children.

(Source: Fantastic Fiction)

(Contributed by: funnytrivianna)

Answer: Captain W. E. Johns

Mr. Johns, whose real name is William Earl Johns, has written under the name Captain W. E. Johns.

"Kings of Space," published in 1954, is an interesting tale of Interplanetary Exploration and how the future was viewed in the 1950s.

(Contributed by: TriviaGuy245)

Answer: Gentry Lee

Gentry Lee was director of mission planning for NASA's Viking landers. He began collaborating with Clarke in 1986 on the book "Cradle". This was soon followed with the Rama sequels: "Rama II", "The Garden of Rama" and "Rama Revealed." Lee has since become a successful novelist in his own right.

(Contributed by: jrroecks)

Answer: Book paper catches fire and burns

"Fahrenheit 451" was written by Ray Bradbury. It was originally published in the February 1951 issue of "Galaxy Science Fiction" as a short story entitled "The Fireman".

It takes place in a future era in America when the possession of books has been banned. Guy Montag is employed as a fireman whose job is to burn books and the houses in which they are discovered.

(Contributed by: cyberhen)

Answer: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" was a set of 5 novels written by the late Douglas Adams. It follows a group of hyperintelligent pan-dimensional beings as they demand to learn the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything from the supercomputer Deep Thought. Written in 1979, there are now many adaptations of the novel whether it be movies, stage shows, tv series, computer games or comic books.

(Contributed by: gidday_mate)

Answer: Rocket Ship Galileo

Robert Heinlein began by publishing short stories in magazines like "Astounding Science Fiction" and "The Saturday Evening Post" His first novel, "Rocket Ship Galileo" is also considered the first of the "Heinlien Juveniles". Though these books were written for a younger audience, they still stand up well for the older reader.

(Contributed by: jrroecks)

Answer: "2010:Odyssey Two" by Arthur C. Clarke

Released by Ballantine Books in January 1982, this book was the sequel to the award winning "2001: A Space Oddyessy" and was also made into a movie.

(Contributed by: lagrastar)

Answer: Corran Horn

Corran Horn was once a CorSec officer, but has since retired. He is forced to use his CorSec abilities in the end, along with his newly acquired Jedi training, in order to save his wife.

Wedge Antilles is a well-known pilot in rouge squadron. Ooryl Qrygg is Corran's wingman and Luke Skywalker is the hero of Episodes 4-6 of the movie series.

(Contributed by: bw5550)

Answer: Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?

Philip K. Dick (1928-1982) was very protective of his work and was wary of director Ridley Scott's adaptation of his novel. Upon seeing some filmed scenes and select special effects shots, he reconsidered and described the film as "exactly as I'd imagined it." "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" was the basis for the 1990 film "Total Recall", starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

(Contributed by: ranbun)

Answer: Kaos

Kaos was the 5th Horseman who left before they became famous. He now works as a milkman and is generally known as Ronnie Soak.

(Contributed by: foamy1haup)

Answer: Stranger in a Strange Land

The character is from Robert Heinlein's "A Stranger in A Strange Land". The name was Valentine Michael Smith who had been born on Mars of Earth parents. The novel was a favourite of Charles Manson who based his own commune on the one in the book. It's a shame that such a cool story was besmirched by the mass killer Charles Manson. I admit I read the story only after reading about Manson's interest in it. I quite like Heinlein's stuff.

(Contributed by: magicpete)

Answer: Arthur Dent

When the Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything was calculated by a supercomputer to be "42", a better supercomputer had to be developed to figure out what the corresponding question was. This supercomputer is known to us as "Earth", and some form of the question is implanted in the brains of the creatures that have evolved and lived here. Arthur Dent is (so everyone thinks) an earthling.

(Contributed by: Eruditio)

Answer: South Africa

World War Z is a book about a war against zombies that takes place in 2010, in which the zombies take over the world and the humans are fighting for their existence. The turning point of the war takes place in South Africa, while the other three are all but taken over.

(Contributed by: bw5550)

Answer: Adam Selene

Written by sci-fi author Robert A. Heinlein in 1966, it is about a lunar colony's revolt against rule from Earth. The novel expresses and discusses libertarian ideals in a speculative context.

(Contibuted by: pathetictoo)

Answer: melange

Key is the control of the desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the valuable spice melange, which gives those who ingest it extended life and prescient awareness. Melange is crucial as it enables space travel, which the Spacing Guild monopolizes. Navigators use the spice melange to safely plot a course for the Guild's heighliner ships via prescience using "foldspace" technology, which allows instantaneous travel to anywhere in the universe. "Dune" was written in 1965 by Frank Herbert. He wrote a sequel of 5 novels before his death in 1986. His son Brian Herbert and his good friend Kevin J. Anderson started co-writing a series of prequels and sequels in 1999.

(Contributed by: gidday_mate)