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science fiction stories that would ROCK as an anime
Sosseres:
Hard sci fi is the sci fi I dislike the most. ^^ Btw, how is Dune that?
--- Quote ---Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail,
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So I would probably suggest other things:
Darkover series by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Science fiction with a magic system. A lot of great stories there since all books I've read are free standing.
Will add in more when I am not going to go to bed.
datora:
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--- Quote from: Sosseres on October 22, 2010, 08:19:50 PM ---Hard sci fi is the sci fi I dislike the most. ^^ Btw, how is Dune that?
--- Quote ---Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail,
--- End quote ---
--- End quote ---
OKay ... I'll admit, given that particular definition, that I've probably misused the term ... slightly. My intention was that the sci fi of greatest interest to me has usually been that which makes logical, scientific sense and is generally consistent with 1) our known science knowledge and 2) follows reasonable and logical paths of speculation based upon a "reality" oriented physical universe. Queue up Time of Eve and Ghost in the Shell and Pale Cocoon for anime examples of what I had in mind.
The entire Dune cycle (original six novels) actually follows that nicely in nearly every way ... but also note that I bypassed Dune in favor of other stories. But, the ability of human mind to see and affect space and time is still well within the realms of hard sci fi. The Golden Path was merely the ability to expand the mind & spirit enough to grasp very complex chains of logic and cause & reaction and set them in motion to reach a specific target, including setting all of humanity on a path through extreme Chaos Theory that transcended the ability to trap itself within the limitations of such visions.
Herbert played a lot with the fragile and obscure line between human mind and being a god in quite a few of his stories, a couple of which I mentioned in my first post. Becoming a god - in comparison to our current state of evolution and mind - is NOT a disqualification from hard sci fi.
Anyway, by "hard sci fi," I merely intended to focus (for myself) on novels that didn't just rely on numerous plot points of "then a miracle happened."
Anyone who wants to jump into this topic, by no means feel limited by preferences I stated for myself. Recommend anything you think is a solid sci fi story and would make a great anime. The more obscure the better.
--- Quote from: Sosseres on October 22, 2010, 08:19:50 PM ---Darkover series by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Science fiction with a magic system. A lot of great stories there since all books I've read are free standing.
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I'm totally down with science fiction that uses some sort of a "reality-based" magic system in its universe. Note my mention of the Niven Magic Goes Away stories ... a great example of that.
Barbara Hambly wrote two trilogies that I would be extremely excited to see turned into quality anime. The Darwath Trilogy (and I would include the 4th book after that: Mother of Winter as a follow-up after-series) would make people shit themselves in fear if done right. Heavily tech-combined-with-magic world, and an invincible, magic-using alien entity that dregs up some of the darkest primordial terrors out of the most frightening corners of the psyche. I would be afraid to watch that anime alone in a dark room, and would probably have to keep the lights on for a month afterward.
I was really "meh!" on that 5th book, though. It added in some interesting details on the world, especially its past history and likely immediate future, but I felt the story itself really fell short and rather abused a couple of my favorite characters from the previous books.
The Sun Wolf and Starhawk stories are also just as "hard" sci fi mixed with a universe where magic is just another field of scholarly & scientific study. These would make a fantastic set of series' that are related only in that they use the same world & characters, but what a fantastic world she builds with them. It's even consistent enough with the Darwath books that there could be a crossover between their universes (as well as Earth).
I've read most of her other books and don't feel they really match up to a movie/anime treatment, but the above stories are highly recommended as some action-packed entertainment.
Given all that, there are still numerous other projects I'd want to take on first ... but I'd certainly take on the Darwath books if I wanted to produce a horror-based series that still follows science & logic and includes magic that would give people nightmares.
I'm reserving the post for later, if this topic stays alive for a while ... but I will suggest some Andre Norton novels that would make the hard sci fi cut. But, she also wrote some great stuff that crossed lines into mystical-ish themes, as well as quite a few outright magic & fantasy stories ... the Witchworld novels, for example, which I won't recommend here, but others may well prefer of her writings.
vlakner:
Larry Niven is one of my favorite SF authors, my dad had a large collection of his books and I grew up reading Ringworld and the Man-Kzin Wars books. Most of the books of his that I'd like to see made into a series have been mentioned, except for two. A World out of Time would be interesting as an OVA, and I'll always have a special spot in my heart for the stories of Gil the ARM and would love to see his "imaginary" arm depicted. He can't chop off limbs like Lucy, but he does kill a man by reaching into the guy's chest and squeezing his heart until it stops(HA!).
I know The Mote in God's Eye has already been mentioned, but Jerry Pournelle's larger Empire of Man universe that Mote and its sequel The Gripping Hand are set in would be just as fascinating. The rise of the CoDominium as man starts colonizing other planets, the collapse of the CoDominium and the formation of the First Empire of Man, then the rebellion of the Sauron Supermen(a genetically and cybernetically enhanced race) and the war that pulls the First Empire down. The discovery of aliens in The Mote in God's Eye happens amidst the rise of the Second Empire of Man and the consolidation of planets into it.
Let's see, what else...
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Isaac Asimov's Foundation series yet since it is something of a mainstay of the genre. The imminent collapse of a galaxy spanning human civilization and the titular foundation set up to safeguard knowledge and shorten the "dark ages" before the rise of another advanced civilization. It really is an epic series of books, and thinking about it like this makes me want to read it again.
And, just for the hell of it, I'd like to see some OVAs based on the Berserker stories by Fred Saberhagen. Massive killbots programmed to exterminate life. They were developed in a war between advanced races millennia ago as doomsday weapons and ended the war by killing both sides, then they went on to kill any living creature they came in contact with.
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