xkcd

by **Altercator** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 3:00 pm UTC

My choice:

Dune

Uplift series

House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds
A forbidden love story between two clones or "shatterlings?" How could they not resist?

Neuromancer

Ender's Game
Teen angst? Check. School shenanigans? Check? Tortured hero? Check.
All you need to make an anime

What about yours?

by **darwinwins** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 5:09 pm UTC

Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.

by **Aequitas** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 1:55 am UTC

darwinwins wrote:Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.

Haibane Renmei is supposedly inspired by the End of the World sections of that book. I've seen Haibane, but haven't read the book.

by **thecommabandit** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 8:05 pm UTC

They'd need to make Neuromancer well (and not an ongoing series) for it to be good. Also, I'd kinda prefer it not to be written in Japan. They'd probably screw it up somewhere important, like making Molly (that the right name? been a while since I read it) less badass and/or making her wear less.

by **Narsil** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 10:49 pm UTC

thecommabandit wrote:They'd need to make Neuromancer well (and not an ongoing series) for it to be good.

Quite.

I want to see this done by the guys that did Afro Samurai. Few anime series I've seen have dealt with sex very well, and they would have to in order for this to be done right. It'd also be tricky to get across the fact that Chase's enemy isn't the family or Wintermute, but himself. But I would love to see that, considering how heavily japanese the book already is.

I've always kinda wanted to see Lord of the Rings as an anime, but that's not sci-fi. Maybe a Clive Barker book? That could work. The Great and Secret Show would be interesting to see.

by **psyck0** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 3:00 am UTC

Star Trek.

No, seriously. It would be hilarious.

by **0range** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 7:34 am UTC

I think the Riddlemaster series by McKillip would be pretty neat. Also there's a ton of stuff by GRRM that would be amazing - A Song for Lya, Tuf Voyaging, Fevre Dream, Windhaven, Dying of the Light, etc..

Have any been made out of Musashi?

by **AntonGarou** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 11:59 am UTC

I don't think the Riddlemaster will work in any visual medium.Too much happens purely inside the characters' mind for it to be made visual without some major cuts.Remember the scene where Morgon goes through the Wizards' College and follow a flame rising from molten iron with his mind, and only after breaking it by mistake he understands that it and the pool were a bit of knowledge?That's the kind of scene I have yet to see done well anywhere in visual media.

by **Bisyss** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 6:59 pm UTC

psyck0 wrote:Star Trek.

No, seriously. It would be hilarious.

Star Trek: The Manga?

by **Azrael001** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 7:04 pm UTC

The Electric Church. I think this would transfer over very well to a visual medium.

by **nsmjohn** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 7:07 pm UTC

The Wheel of Time
The Nights Dawn Trilogy
Snow Crash
Vampire$
The Book of the New Sun

by **Azrael001** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 7:33 pm UTC

But The Wheel of Time has no ending...

...

Nor a beginning, for there are neither beginnings nor endings...

by **nsmjohn** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 9:17 pm UTC

Azrael001 wrote:But The Wheel of Time has no ending...

...

Nor a beginning, for there are neither beginnings nor endings...

To quote The Shadow Rising, which is the only WoT book I have close at hand:

Robert Jordan wrote:There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.

Emphasis is his. See, there is a beginning to the narrative.. as for an ending though... ok, you're right.

by **Azrael001** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 9:41 pm UTC

I haven't read it in years, and they are all at home, rather than School land.

I wish you hadn't brought it up, I am sad now.

by **nsmjohn** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 9:55 pm UTC

Azrael001 wrote:I haven't read it in years, and they are all at home, rather than School land.

I wish you hadn't brought it up, I am sad now.

Sorry, I just started reading it again myself. I am about 3 or 4 weeks in and on book 4. I have been long saddened by the series; first the disappointment that was Crossroads of Twilight, second the death of my favorite WoT forum, and finally the death of the author.

by **Azrael001** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:02 pm UTC

Was that book eleven? Eleven was one of my favorites.

by **nsmjohn** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:11 pm UTC

Check your PMs.

To rerail the conversation: The Takeshi Kovacs novels. Lots of violence and sex treated in a manner that I find somewhat similar to anime and has a fairly decent narrative that ends the way many animes do: life carries on, not everyone lives happily ever after.

by **Mighty Jalapeno** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:15 pm UTC

The Mote In God's Eye

Robert A. Heinlein, who gave the authors extensive,
detailed advice on the novel, blurbed the story as
"possibly the finest science fiction novel I have ever read".

by **Altercator** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 10:19 am UTC

Snow Crash *doh* How can I forget?

What about The Stars My Destination?

by **Rinsaikeru** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 5:30 pm UTC

Not sci fi, but I'd like to see Garth Nix's Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen &c animated. Maybe--depends whether it'd get wrecked up or not.

I really enjoyed those novels.

by **TexasBelle210** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 11:41 pm UTC

I actually think Speaker for the Dead would make a good anime. Which feels kind of blasphemous to say since Ender's Game has been, and always will be, my favorite OSC book.

I just think that the style and telling of many anime stories is somewhat in line with the story telling and characters that drove SftD.

by **Jorpho** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 1:02 am UTC

Kiln People! I cannot think of anything more tailor-made to be an anime.

Cool science-fiction concepts, giant and/or hideous monsters coexisting with average citizens, big evil corporations with mysterious goals, mad scientists, gore, film-noir detective work, and most importantly, some really whacked-out metaphysics about the nature of the soul. Is this not the distilled essence of every quality sci-fi anime to date?!

by **Altercator** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 1:13 pm UTC

Anathem by Neal Stephenson

Erasmas seems like a perfect anime hero; a secluded young man suddenly called in to leave his home and save the world. Of course, Neal wouldn't be that straight with that storyline.

by **thecommabandit** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 11:53 pm UTC

Bisyss wrote:
psyck0 wrote:Star Trek.

No, seriously. It would be hilarious.

Star Trek: The Manga?

I was about to say I thought they'd already done that.

by **Nyarlathotep** » Sun Sep 21, 2008 7:35 pm UTC

Snow Crash would work marvelously well as an anime, I think.

Part of me wants to see Dune done with a really beautiful and high-art anime style... but I also know that whoever does Dune invariably butchers it.

Well, the Scifi miniseries was OK, but suffered from laughably bad effects. Everything in that screamed MATTE PAINTING! to me.

by **Shadowfish** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:16 am UTC

Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson. That would be fucking epic.

by **scowdich** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:32 am UTC

Somehow I feel like the Pacific Theater of WWII wouldn't make for tasteful anime.
Just a hunch.
Snow Crash and Anathem have my vote, though. Very talky and philosophical sometimes, but this happens in lots of animes from time to time.

by **Shadowfish** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 3:57 am UTC

Damn, you're right. That didn't even cross my mind.

I was too busy thinking about how well some scenes(like Bobby Shaftoe getting the safe off of the German submarine) would translate into anime.

by **Nyarlathotep** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 5:00 am UTC

Snow Crash also has the advantage of having a guy named Hiro Protagonist. HOW CAN YOU GO WRONG?!

by **electronic mily** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 3:04 pm UTC

Rinsaikeru wrote:Not sci fi, but I'd like to see Garth Nix's Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen &c animated. Maybe--depends whether it'd get wrecked up or not.

I really enjoyed those novels.

I so want to see these as movies. But good movies. Like ones for big people, not kids. There are so many ways that they could do it very, very wrong.

I was always a little surprised that they sold those books at our middle-school bookfair, considering the death and destruction and severed hands and stuff. Then again, I bought them there, so they did have an audience.

by **nsmjohn** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:05 pm UTC

Not exactly Sci-Fi but... Good Omens.

by **OmegaLord** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 7:53 pm UTC

electronic mily wrote:
Rinsaikeru wrote:Not sci fi, but I'd like to see Garth Nix's Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen &c animated. Maybe--depends whether it'd get wrecked up or not.

I really enjoyed those novels.

I so want to see these as movies. But good movies. Like ones for big people, not kids. There are so many ways that they could do it very, very wrong.

I was always a little surprised that they sold those books at our middle-school bookfair, considering the death and destruction and severed hands and stuff. Then again, I bought them there, so they did have an audience.

NEED. TO. SEE. THIS. MOVIE. NOW.

by **Arpy** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 7:57 pm UTC

Phillip Reeve's Mortal Engines trilogy-plus-one would be most excellent. For those of you not familiar with the books, they're a post-apoc sci-fi steampunky mashup. I'm no anime fan, but that series seems like it would be good with anime style.

by **pollywog** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 8:51 pm UTC

Definitely Dune. The first 4 books. That would be so awesome.

I would have said the Hitchhikers books, but they wouldn't really work.

by **Jorpho** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 9:17 pm UTC

pollywog wrote:I would have said the Hitchhikers books, but they wouldn't really work.

Maybe as one of those really abstract anime series that look pretty but make no particular sense no matter how much you try?

by **Altercator** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 11:15 pm UTC

Jorpho wrote:
pollywog wrote:I would have said the Hitchhikers books, but they wouldn't really work.
Maybe as one of those really abstract anime series that look pretty but make no particular sense no matter how much you try?

Like, say, FLCL or Gurenn Lagaan?

by **Jorpho** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 2:22 am UTC

Altercator wrote:
Jorpho wrote:
pollywog wrote:I would have said the Hitchhikers books, but they wouldn't really work.
Maybe as one of those really abstract anime series that look pretty but make no particular sense no matter how much you try?
Like, say, FLCL or Gurenn Lagaan?

Actually SoulTaker was the first one that came to mind. (Good times, SoulTaker.)

by **AntonGarou** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 6:03 am UTC

pollywog wrote:Definitely Dune. The first 4 books. That would be so awesome.

The original Dune won't work as any kind of visual medium, exactly for the same reasons as The Riddlemaster of Hed: too much of it happens in the characters' head.

by **arbivark** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 6:31 am UTC

not exactly scifi, but wagner's ring cycle as an anime or movie (without the singing).

otherwise, zodiac might work. haven't read the big u, or anathem yet.

by **pollywog** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 10:08 am UTC

AntonGarou wrote:
pollywog wrote:Definitely Dune. The first 4 books. That would be so awesome.

The original Dune won't work as any kind of visual medium, exactly for the same reasons as The Riddlemaster of Hed: too much of it happens in the characters' head.

Maybe. I'd still like to see it thought. if it's bad I'll just forget it ever existed.

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