We've collected various book covers from a number of classic science fiction novels to see how different artists have interpreted the same book. The covers are sometimes surprisingly pulpy, others are elegantly minimalist, and still others are variations on the same theme. Some of these are actual covers from various editions of the books, and some are concept designs created by individuals — on spec, for a class project, or just for fun. Bear in mind that a few of the actual book covers may not be work-safe.

1984 by George Orwell:

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley:

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury:

Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham:

The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham:

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick:

A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick:

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein:

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood:

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov:

John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs:

Neuromancer by William Gibson:

We by Yevgeny Zamyain:

The Space Merchants by by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth:

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess:

War of the Worlds by HG Wells:

Yesterday, the Libertarian Party announced the launch of its “1984 Campaign,” and by today, each Member of Parliament will have received a copy of Nineteen Eighty-Four from volunteer members of the grassroots campaign. The books will be inscribed with the admonition: “This book was a warning, not a blueprint.”

But some MPs have been angered by the comparison between modern day Britain and Orwell’s dystopian nightmare. Tom Harris, MP for Glasgow, received his copy of the book a few days ago. In his blog, Harris railed against the intended message in his blog:

[T]here seem to be an awful lot of people out there - perhaps dozens of them - who seem to get strangely exercised at the prospect of a “police state”. Except that what they define as a “police state” is a million light years from what Orwell himself described. CCTV cameras in the street? That’s just like Nineteen Eighty-Four, when families were monitored in their own homes, 24 hours a day! Can’t use racist terms to vilify people any more? Well, surely that’s thought crime, just like Orwell predicted!

What rubbish. As I’ve written here before, this is all paranoid fantasy, and why so many people get off on it, I’ll never know. I recently had the latest in a series of requests from constituents regarding CCTV. Requests to have the cameras removed? No, no, no… Requests for more cameras…

We live in a democracy, and just because those — including my anonymous benefactor — who get excited about such things are unhappy that Labour is in power, that does not make us anything other than a democracy. And democratically-elected governments govern with the consent of the people. Yes, even this one!

The UK government may be democratically elected, but with four million CCTV cameras, Britain is the most-surveyed nation in the world. And censorship of online material, and legislation like the 2006 Terrorism Act, have put increasingly severe restrictions on speech. It might be worthwhile for British legislatures to take this opportunity to pause and reflect on what kind of country they're creating.

Press Release Libertarian UK [via The Labour Party via Reddit]

Why did you decide to adapt Brave New World into a movie, why do you want to make this story?

I didn't choose to do it, someone came to me with it. In fact it was Leo's [Leonardo DiCaprio's] production company that came to me with that. And it's a big challenge, in fact. Because when you look at the two players or visionaries in the field, at that moment [it] would be Huxley and it would be Orwell and that was 60 or 75 years ago. They were predictions in a way, they weren't aware at the time, but they were predictions. One could argue that Orwell kind of got there first and Orwell was closer to the notion of "big brother," [with the] Cold War. But I don't think that's it, I think that big brother may be the internet. I don't know but I think that's the way it's going to go. And so the Aldous Huxley's [novel] literally what is called Brave New World that's a very hard adaptation. So we're still dancing with that one, but it's a challenge.

Have you finished the script or are you close?

No, no no we're still struggling with that one. I have 40 things on the go at once. But that's a very important one. And sometimes, some surface faster than the others. It's partly luck of the draw. Even with a good writer, he'll do it and screw up. So then you go back to the table and start all over again, it's hard. The hardest single thing is getting it on paper.

I'm very excited about Leo's involvement.

Oh yeah, he is perfect for it.

So while we wait for what will undoubtedly be an amazing look into a classic story, and find out what kind of new spins Ridley will throw in (will there still the year of "our Ford"?) Scott's new movie Body of Lies is out October 10th.

Here are the top 10 books to read to save the world, according to Sci Fi's visitors:

• 1. 1984 by George Orwell
• 2. The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
• 3. Dune by Frank Herbert
• 4. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
• 5. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
• 6. The Stand by Stephen King
• 7. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• 8. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
• 9. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• 10. The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

Similarly, the TV choices include a lot of paranoia, anti-authoritarianism and apocalytic narratives, with a dash of optimism further down the list:

• 1. Firefly
• 2. Battlestar Galactica (2004)
• 3. The X-Files
• 4. Heroes
• 5. Stargate: SG-1
• 6. Doctor Who
• 7. Star Trek: The Next Generation
• 8. Babylon 5
• 9. Star Trek
• 10. Buffy The Vampire Slayer

And here are the top movies. I'm not sure what the world-saving message of Jurassic Park is, other than "don't clone dinosaurs." There's a definite optimistic strain in a couple of these choices, like 2001 and Close Encounters, but otherwise it's pretty much doom across the board. Science goes too far, humans ruin the Earth, we're too violent and ignorant, and we're likely to become slaves of machines. Or enslave our own creations.

• 1. Blade Runner (1982)
• 2. The Matrix (1999)
• 3. The Terminator (1984)
• 4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
• 5. Jurassic Park (1993)
• 6. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
• 7. The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
• 8. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
• 9. Children of Men (2006)
• 10. Armageddon (1998)

So what do you think? Can 20,000 readers be wrong?

The 20,000 respondents in the Sci Fi poll voted "reading" the number one thing to do to save the world, so the Visions For Tomorrow initiative will partner with Booksfree.com, the internet's biggest paperback and audiobook rental service. If you sign up for Booksfree through Sci Fi's Visions For Tomorrow site, you get an extra 20 percent discount. The other activities that could save the world included recycling, giving blood, voting, eating healthy and being kind.

Visions For Tomorrow is the Sci Fi Channel's public affairs campaign, which aims to use the power of science fiction to inspire people and organizations to "meet the growing challenges of the future."

Munroe says:

When I think about the dynamics of politics and science fiction, my
favourite case study is Orwell's 1984 . . . Instead of a totally plausible story, Orwell gave us the phrase "big brother", which was a cultural inoculation against intrusive technologies. Not to say it was 100% effective, but can you imagine what the world would look like now if all we didn't have a suitably foreboding term? Warning people about "interconnected databases" just wouldn't have the same effect as invoking Big Brother. Orwell could have produced a book that was more believable, if you look at his subtler and more nuanced works, but I think he intended this to be a political act rather than an artistic work . . . Naming, as our fantasy brethren tell us, has Power. (Or at least, frames a starting point for a discussion.) I don't think there's many policy-makers coming out of a SF movie with bold new plans for America.

If you haven't seen Munroe's nanopunk movie Infest Wisely, check it out. It's free!