Arthur C. Clarke has passed away at the age of 90. My first encounter with Clarke did not go well, though I didn’t even know who Clarke was at the time. We watched 2001 at school in 4^th or 5^th grade, and it bored me to tears. Still does. I may be the only person on earth who actually thinks the movie 2010 is better.

A few years later, as I was starting to get deeper into science fiction, I became more aware of Clarke. I knew he was one of the most renowned figures in the field, so I thought I ought to see what he was like. On one of my regular trips to the local library, I checked out a book called Rendezvous with Rama.

Keep in mind that this sort of science fiction was pretty new to me at the time. I had grown up on Star Trek: The Next Generation, the old Star Trek animated series, and whatever schlock the local video stores had, back in the glory days before the big chain video stores like Blockbuster became so dominant. I loved reading about science from an early age, starting with an old yellowed book about the solar system (probably written back when the Galilean moons were an amazing new discovery) that my grandfather had given me, but science fiction that wasn’t based on some media property was something I came to later. Growing up, I had a whole shelf of Isaac Asimov’s science books that I read over and over, but I somehow managed for years to remain ignorant of the fact that he was also a science fiction author.

So, I read Rendezvous with Rama, and I loved it. It had no malevolent aliens, no ships zipping around like World War II aircraft, no fighting, and very little that could be called “action,” and yet it was wonderfully exciting. All it had was a big weird empty spaceship, full of mysteries that the book largely doesn’t explain. And it was awesome. I’ve read and enjoyed a number of his books since then, such as the novel version of 2001 (Which I like much more than the movie, because the book actually has stuff happening with some regularity) and the unjustly obscure and neglected Earthlight. Rest in peace, and thank you.

Inspired this post at John C. Wright’s livejournal from a little while back, I’m taking a look at what science fiction books and stories would (or wouldn’t) make good movies, and how they might fare in that medium. I am evaluating on the basis of not only the quality of the book, but how well it would translate to the medium of the feature film, as well as the likelihood of achieving commercial success in that format. As much as I love John C. Wright’s Golden Age trilogy, for instance, I can’t see it being made as a movie without it being mutilated beyond recognition.

Since I’m mentioning John C. Wright, I think his “War of the Dreaming” books would be great, as two or perhaps three movies. It’s got likable characters, exciting and often over-the-top (in a good way) action, evil conspiracies, and all sorts of fantastic creatures and locations that would look awesome with modern movie-making technology. I would love to see the city of Acheron rising from the sea in modern CGI.

There are a couple of David Drake stories that might work. Rolling Hot would be a good choice: lots of action, a lot of emotional power, and a good audience identification figure in the form of the young journalist who gets dragged along with the mercenaries. It also has the advantage of not requiring a lot of setting background exposition to fully understand, which is a big advantage if you’re translating a science fiction novel into a two-hour movie. Commercially, though, such a movie might be hampered by the sheer darkness of its source. The novel was utterly heartbreaking; faithfully putting it on screen would probably not make for a rousing action blockbuster.

Drake’s Cross the Stars would be cool to see on screen, though its episodic nature might not really work for a feature film.

I would love to see Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous With Rama as a movie. The interior of Rama realized with modern effects would be stunning to see. Morgan Freeman has apparently expressed an interest in making this, so there’s a chance.

John Steakly’s Armor would be awesome, but there’s a serious problem: it would be hard to conceal the big surprise near the end if you’re using live actors. If you’ve read the book, you know what I mean.

I can’t leave Poul Anderson out, of course. “No Truce With Kings” has everything: big battles, family conflict, secret manipulative aliens, and crazy mind powers that would look great in CGI. I’m not sure Hollywood would be likely to leave in the pro-localist, anti-collectivist themes, though. People of the Wind would probably work pretty well as a movie, but the amount of background exposition needed might be too much.

There’s a lot of stuff by William C. Dietz that would work pretty well, with the McCade stories probably being the best choice. Lots of action, and the story would remain readily understandable without a lot of setting exposition.

I often hear David Weber’s “Honor Harrington” series suggested, but I think there would be too much explanation needed. Specifically, the way space combat works in the Harrington universe is fairly atypical, and would require some awkward explaining, not to mention the political setup. For Weber, Mutineer’s Moon would probably be a better choice. Very fun story, and the way the story is set up (human from present day discovers ancient artificial intelligence that explains what’s going on to him) makes it easier to relate to, as well as making it easier to explain the setting without resorting to narration or “As you know, Bob” dialogue.

The problem, I think, is that a lot of great science fiction would either be too short or too long for a typical movie. The miniseries would probably be a better medium; I can think of science fiction that would work in that medium much more readily than I can think of books that would make good two-hour movies.

Well, I’d like to hear what anyone reading this has to say. What do you think would translate well to film?