Three Sci-Fi Series Writers Should Check Out

Science Fiction is a very complex genre. Sometimes what is and isn't Science Fiction is up for debate. So someone deciding they want to get into writing the genre can be a big deal since it's so vast. People will get easily confused of what does and doesn't work.

For the help of future sci-fi writers, I will list three of my favorite sci-fi series so you'll have some basis of where to look for inspiration. I will also remind readers that I am only focusing on the sci-fi parts and not any other issues like representation and the like.

TERMINATOR

 For those of you wanting to keep your sci-fi story here on Earth, have no fear. While I love a good alien sci-fi story, the truth is that not every Science Fiction story has to be in outer space or involve aliens. Terminator is my favorite sci-fi series that takes place on Earth.

I would highly recommend Terminator to those looking to write a Post-Apocalyptic story. While the majority of the Terminator franchise takes place before Judgment Day (the event that destroyed the world and left the remaining humans to fight the Terminators), there are still a few times when a Post-Judgment Day Earth is shown (Terminator Salvation [whole movie], The Terminator [Kyle Reese's flashbacks], and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles [flashbacks]).

Also, if you want a nice taste of how to write your invincible machines this is also a good pick. Even Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, a movie loathed by the majority of the fandom, has a good new Terminator. The new Terminator being the T-X who added even more features to Skynet's arsenal.

Finally: Terminator involves time travel. While it might not be the best time travel series, it should still give you a good taste on how to do them. When Bryan Singer made X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) he discussed with James Cameron about time travel so he didn't mess his own movie up.

ANIMORPHS

I am talking about the book series by K.A.Applegate and not the godawful Nickelodeon series. Because the show changed way more than any good adaptation should.

Besides telling a complex war story about children, this book does a great job at alien species. And, yes, that's why I'm pointing it out in this post.

Since I only have a limited amount of space here I will only list a few alien species:

Andalites are the 'good guys', though that becomes extremely complicated as the series progresses. They are centaur like creatures with no mouths and a tail-blade. The females are a different color and have smaller tail-blades than the males of the same species. They are the species that created the morphing power that the Animorphs use in the series. They are also backwards in some areas such as they don't respect females or the disabled.

Yeerks are the 'bad guys', though that becomes as complicated as the Andalite situation. They are slug-like creatures that need a host to fully experience the world. Because they need hosts, a good majority of the species is in favor of invading planets for more hosts. Yeerks must leave their host every three days to feed in the Yeerk pool to get nutrients from the Kandrona ray. The Kandrona ray imitates the Yeerks' own sun.

The final species I will mention are the Hork-Bajir. They are bladed creatures that look like they are predators but they are actually a simple-minded, pacifistic, and herbivore race. They were created by another species to tend to the trees of their home planet and so they eat wood. It wasn't until the Yeerks invaded that they had any need, or knowledge, of fighting.

STAR WARS

This is a series that really needs no introduction. Even if you haven't seen any of the movies you know about it. It's one of those series that has seeped into every place of pop culture. For simplicity sake I am only going to refer to the movies but highly suggest reading any of the Star Wars novels by Timothy Zahn if you like the movies.

I am bringing up Star Wars to point out about the complex world building that is needed for a vast series like this.

The Jedi and Sith are ancient orders that use a mysterious energy called The Force. The Jedi use the Force for peace while the Sith view it as a weapon to control the galaxy.

There are also different type of governments. A rebel alliance, a galactic empire, and a republic have all had their time in the spotlight in this series.

There is also different types of technology that makes different races in the Star Wars Universe unique. From the simplistic weapons of the Ewoks to the world destroying weapons of the Galactic Empire, there are a lot of things covered.

Finally, I will mention that Star Wars aliens look like aliens. A good majority of them don't look like a guy in a suit which I think is really important for sci-fi as a whole. Alien species should look alien and not like someone you'd meet on the street.

I hope this brief list helps a future sci-fi writer out there. Or at the very least, gives people an idea of some great Science Fiction series to check out.