First Lines and Fun Facts: Sci-Fi (2000-2025) Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. "I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday. I visited my wife's grave. Then I joined the army." -John Scalzi What 2005 John Scalzi space opera features widower John Perry, who at age 75 enlists in the Colonial Defense Forces?

Answer: Old Man's War

"Old Man's War" is the first novel by John Scalzi, published in 2005. The story begins with John Perry, a 75-year-old widower who enlists in the Colonial Defense Forces (CDF). The CDF doesn't recruit the young. They recruit the elderly, who are then sent off to defend humanity's colonies among the stars. The question nagging at the recruits as the novel begins is how they make them fit to fight.

The book is military sci-fi with a twist: retirees get a second shot at life, but only if they're willing to fight to the death. The book was well received by critics, who liked its wit, fast-paced storytelling, as well as the occasional philosophical musing about mortality and aging. Will the wisdom of old age make for better decision-making with a "new and improved" body? It's an enjoyable, thoughtful, and at times gruesome space opera.

2. "When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim's warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress." -Suzanne Collins What dystopian young adult novel by Suzanne Collins, first published in 2008, introduces us to Katniss Everdeen, who must represent her district in a battle of children fighting to the death on live TV?

Answer: The Hunger Games

"The Hunger Games" was published in 2008 and is the first book in Suzanne Collins's bestselling trilogy. The story follows Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old from impoverished District 12, who volunteers to take her sister's place in the annual Hunger Games. The games are a brutal form of televised entertainment where children, known as "tributes", fight to the death as a--um... subtle way to remind the districts of the Capitol's power.

I'm not going to join the Team Peeta or Team Gale debate, but while I don't generally enjoy young adult fiction, this one was certainly enjoyable and probably the best of the series.

3. "The Scopuli had been taken eight days ago, and Julie Mao was finally ready to be shot." -James S. A. Corey What 2011 science fiction novel by James S. A. Corey features a rogue ship captain and a washed-up detective on Ceres who form an unlikely alliance to uncover a conspiracy involving a mysterious alien substance?

Answer: Leviathan Wakes

The answer we're looking for is "Leviathan Wakes", the first book in "The Expanse" series, written under the pen name James S. A. Corey (Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck). Published in 2011, the novel introduces two very different protagonists: James Holden, the idealistic executive officer of an ice hauler, and Detective Joe Miller, a jaded and cynical investigator on Ceres. Their paths collide as they uncover a conspiracy tied to a dangerous alien protomolecule that could reshape the future of humanity.

Thus kicked off the nine-book saga of "The Expanse", which I have yet to get through. It is one of the most acclaimed modern science fiction series, cheered for gritty realism, political intrigue, and blending some hard science with noir and space opera. Definitely a fun ride.

4. "I have never been what you'd call a crying man." -Stephen King What time travel novel by Stephen King, first published in 2011, tells the story of a high school teacher who discovers a portal to 1958 and gets the notion to stop JFK's assassination?

Answer: 11/22/63

"11/22/63" is Stephen King's hefty time-travel thriller published in 2011. The novel follows Jake Epping, a high school English teacher who stumbles across a portal to 1958 hidden in the back of a diner, as one does. Urged by the diner's owner, Jake takes on the daunting task of preventing the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. What follows is a blend of historical fiction, suspense, and classic Stephen King storytelling.

No scary monsters here for King, just the horrors perpetrated by humanity and the stubborn weight of history. It's an enjoyable ride, meticulously researched, with an ending you won't forget.

5. "I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites." -Martha Wells In what 2017 sci-fi novella by Martha Wells do we meet a self-aware security android who calls itself Murderbot and enjoys binging soap operas?

Answer: All Systems Red

If you said, "All Systems Red", congratulations. It's the first entry in Martha Wells' "Murderbot Diaries". Published in 2017, the novella introduces readers to a SecUnit (a part-organic, part-machine security android) that has hacked its own governor module, giving it autonomy. Rather than going on a rampage, it just wants to be left alone to watch endless hours of soap operas, all while reluctantly getting drawn into protecting the humans it's assigned to guard.

"All Systems Red" won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novella with its mix of dry humor, action, and exploration of identity. The series has expanded to include several novellas and the full-length novel "Network Effect" (released in 2020), which also won both the Hugo and Nebula. Murderbot has become one of the most beloved recent characters in science fiction, known for being awkward, sarcastic, and surprisingly relatable.

6. "The cold air blowing in through the vents still carried a faint tang of overheated metal and burned equipment." -Jack Campbell What 2006 military sci-fi novel by Jack Campbell features the legendary Captain "Black Jack" Geary, awakened after a century in stasis, who must save a battered space fleet trapped behind enemy lines?

Answer: Dauntless

"Dauntless" is another debut novel, this one by Jack Campbell as the first book of the "Lost Fleet" series. It was published in 2006. The story introduces Captain John "Black Jack" Geary, a hero from the very early days of the century-long war between the Alliance and the Syndics. Presumed dead, Geary is instead found in survival stasis and awakened 100 years later to discover that his legend has grown far larger than the man himself. Fortunately (or unfortunately), he's immediately handed command of a shattered fleet trapped deep in enemy territory and expected to live up to the myth.

This book incorporates various real-world naval strategies, considers relativistic factors, and interestingly addresses the time-delay in communications over vast distances during battles. It is the first in a long series, which gets a little repetitive in the middle books but should appeal to anyone who enjoys a good, hard-boiled military sci-fi collection.

7. "The children were playing while Holston climbed to his death; he could hear them squealing as only happy children do." -Hugh Howey What dystopian novel, first published in 2011, centers around a large community of survivors living in an underground silo?

Answer: Wool

"Wool" began life as a self-published novella by Hugh Howey that first appeared online in 2011. It quickly expanded into a full series, known as the "Silo" series. It's a claustrophobic setting: a massive underground silo where humanity has survived after the surface of the Earth became uninhabitable. The rules are strict, the order is fragile and paranoid, and no one is allowed to speak of going outside, lest they be given the ultimate punishment: being sent to "clean", a one-way trip into the toxic wasteland above.

Apple TV+ turned it into a streaming series starring Rebecca Ferguson called "Silo". While the pace of the show is much slower (20 episodes to cover the first book), it's actually a fairly decent representation, despite Tim Robbins being somewhat painfully cast as the short and stubby villain of the book. (I was meant to play the part.)

8. "The Red Union had been attacking the headquarters of the April Twenty-eighth Brigade for two days." -Cixin Liu In what hard science fiction novel, first published in China in 2008 (with an English translation six years later), does a secret Chinese military base make contact with aliens from a planet in an unstable star system?

Answer: The Three-Body Problem

"The Three-Body Problem" ("三体") was written by Liu Cixin and first published in Chinese in 2008. The English translation, by Ken Liu, arrived in 2014 and quickly won the Hugo Award for Best Novel. The story begins during China's Cultural Revolution, when a secret military project sends signals into space. That outreach doesn't just echo back, though. It reaches the Trisolarans, an alien species living in a chaotic star system where survival is constantly threatened by the gravitational chaos of three suns.

It's the first in Liu's "Remembrance of Earth's Past" trilogy, which blends astrophysics, computer science, and philosophy into a brain-melting saga of first contact and human survival. It's definitely one of the most celebrated works of modern hard science fiction and helped bring Chinese sci-fi to a wide global audience. If that sounds like your cup of tea, and you haven't read it yet, what ARE you waiting for?

9. "There were no windows in the Brin 2 facility - rotation meant that 'outside' was always 'down', underfoot, out of mind." -Adrian Tchaikovsky When a terraforming experiment goes awry, a planet meant for humans becomes home to artificially hyper-evolved jumping spiders in what 2015 science fiction novel by Adrian Tchaikovsky?

Answer: Children of Time

"Children of Time", published in 2015 and winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award, begins with a well-meaning (and somewhat arrogant) terraforming project intended to uplift monkeys into a new intelligent species. Instead, a series of unexpected events leaves only jumping spiders exposed to the genetic "nanovirus", resulting in the rise of a highly advanced arachnid civilization.

Meanwhile, the remnants of humanity, fleeing a dying Earth, discover the planet and are forced to grapple with the unsettling fact that evolution's "next big thing" might have eight legs. The action bounces between the humans and the spiders, with similar themes explored side by side.

If you never thought you could relate to a spider, think again. The spider society is described in vivid detail, exploring themes of cooperation, culture, and survival across generations. It's a bold idea, and one that pays off with dividends.

10. "'What's two plus two?' Something about the question irritates me. I'm tired. I drift back to sleep." - Andy Weir What 2021 science fiction novel by Andy Weir tells the story of a lone astronaut with no memory who wakes up on a spaceship with the fate of all mankind in his hands?

Answer: Project Hail Mary

Andy Weir's 2021 bestseller, "Project Hail Mary" opens with schoolteacher-turned-astronaut Ryland Grace waking up alone on a spaceship, with no memory of who he is or how he got there. Slowly, he recalls that he is humanity's last-ditch effort ("Hail Mary") to stop a mysterious cosmic organism that is feeding off the Sun's energy and threatening life on Earth.

It's tempting to say more, but if you haven't read it, the less said the better. Suffice to say, that it's all Weir, beautifully written, clever, filled with science, humor, peril, and surprisingly tender moments.

Source: Author JJHorner

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

How well do you know some of the most acclaimed sci-fi novels of the first quarter of the 21st century given a brief synopsis and first line? Here, you'll find Collins, King, Corey, Wells, Weir, Tchiakovsky, Liu, and more. Enjoy and... mind the spiders!

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