I too loved Caidin's Cyborg.

I really loved James P Hogan's Giants novels as well as his Proteus Operation. The Giants novels are based on the premise that we found a body on the Moon that belonged to an ancient race that lived on Minerva (the planet that broke apart & is now the asteroid belt). The Proteus Operation is a time travel novel that has WWII influenced by two factions from the future.

Slam Bradley's must read SF from the 1940s (only one entry per author). 

1984 by George Orwell
.  Simply one of the great novels of the 20th Century.  The dystopia by which all others are judged.  

Earth Abides by George R. Stewart
.  One of the great "end of the world" novels.  

"First Contact" by Murray Leinster
.  Very good first contact between species of equivalent tech.  

Foundation by Isaac Asimov
.  Published as a novel in 1951, the stories that make it up were from the 40s.  

Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
.  The vast majority of the stories in this one are from the 40s as well.  Elegiac SF.  

"Mimsey Were the Borogroves" by Henry Kuttner & C. L. Moore (Lewis Padgett)
.  How to describe this one without giving away the plot?  Just suffice to say it is a beautiful story.  

Orphans of the Sky by Robert Heinlein
.  Picking one Heinlein is like picking a favorite child.  The two novellas that make up this one are one of the early and better examples of a "generation ship." 

Slan by A. E. van Vogt
.  Mutant humans, Slans, must try to survive anti-Slan humans.  

What Mad Universe by Fredric Brown
.  One of the early instances of alternate universes.  I have no doubt Gardner Fox was familiar with this one.  

"With Folded Hands" by Jack Williamson
.  Early and good example of robots replacing people.  

I'd also like to add Cronos, written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, which helped to set his place in current genre-stardom.  In Cronos, he took the vampire sub genre and made a wonderful sci-fi/horror sub-sub-genre film, without being a lacking-genitalia deconstructionist (as per Helena Bonham Carter's ex hubbie did in his abuse of Planet of the Apes).

From Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley onwards, since folks argue that she created the first true sci-fi novel, horror has been intermixed with sci-fi, as a 'spice on the meat'.

In Cronos, Guillermo del Toro respectfully chose to do the same.

Although ostensibly a 'vampire' film, it is in fact a sci-fi film.

Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers is a great read, even if it is militaristic propaganda of the worst kind. However, Paul verhoeven turned it into a delightfully subversive film, inspired in as much by his experiences as a child, in occupied Holland. Heinlein is great reading period and you have to mention stuff like A Stranger in a Strange Land. It was a hippie favorite, for very obvious reasons and seems at odds with something like Starship Troopers.

On the other end of the military sci-fi spectrum, from heinlein, is Joe Haldeman's The Forever War. Brilliant piece of work, informed by his experiences in Vietnam, as a combat engineer. Imagine a draft based on IQ, travelling at relativistic speeds, so when you return from a tour of duty, decades have passed on Earth and you don't recognize your home. It's very anti-war, getting into the dehumanization that accompanies training and seeing the other side as "the enemy" rather than living beings. He shows the alienation of combat veterans from society and how that alienation often pushes them back into the military. He also gets into a lot of ideas built around physics; but, at the heart of it, it's a human story. Later, he came back to his main character, in The Forever Peace and throws an interesting twist into things.

Alfred Bester is a name to try, with The Stars My Destination and The Demolished Man. Stars features Gully Foyle, a man who is shipwrecked and imprisoned, and becomes a sort of Count of Monte Cristo, seeking his revenge, involving teleporting and other sci-fi concepts. The Demolished Man features a murder mystery in a world of psychic detectives, where murder shouldn't be possible. It was one of the works that inspired the tv series Babylon 5, especially the Psi Corps.

For pure epic space opera, try the Lensman Saga, from EE "Doc" Smith (he was a chemist, who worked for a baking company, designing flavor mixes, while writing stories for the pulps). The series features a eugenics progect by two warring alien races that leads to a group of intergalactic peacekeepers and their opposition, a race of intergalactic pirates. george Lucas swiped much form it, for the more militaristic aspects of the Jedi, as well as the plot for the opening of Star wars, which mirrors that of the first Lensman novel, The Galactic Patrol. The Lensmen also influenced the Rangers of Babylon 5. Smith also wrote the Skylark series, about a space opera adventure hero.

CL Moore's Northwest Smith is another from the pulp/space opera era, with a smuggler hero, which had an influence on Han Solo. Along similar lines are the "planetary romances" by Leigh Brackett, and the work of her husband, Edmond Hamilton, who wrote the Captain Future stories. He also produced the Starwolf trilogy, about an intergalactic pirate who switches sides, which was the basis for the Japanese series, which was edited together into the MST3K favorite movies Fugitive Alien and Starforce: Fugitive Alien II.

Similarly, Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series, about an intergalactic con-man.

You have to read Ray Bradbury, especially The Martian Chronicles and Fahrenheit 451, as well as his short stories (such as The Electric Grandmother). I also recommend the Francois Truffault movie adaptation of Fahrenheit 451.

I also recommend Harlan Ellison's work, especially "A Boy and His Dog," "Repent Harlequin, Said the Tick-Tock Man;" "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream," and "The Prowler in The City at the Edge of the World." Also recommended are his Outer Limits episodes, "The Soldier" and "Demon With a Glass Hand," which James Cameron shamelessly ripped off, leading to a lawsuit and an acknowledgement at the end credits of the video editions.

Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide series is great sci-fi fun. The BBC tv version is decent, though hampered by budget. The film version is pretty good, if a bit uneven. Try the radio series, too.

Phillip K Dick's Do Android's Dream of Electric Sheep? Valis Trilogy, Man in the High Castle, his short stories

Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five

Theodore Sturgeon's More Than Human

For comics:

Adam Strange had a great series of science-based adventures and some fantastic art. The original Flash Gordon strips, from Alex Raymond, are more space fantasy/opera; but, thrilling adventure. Jack Kirby's Skymasters is a good one, as was the Gold Key Space Family Robinson. Tim Eldred's Grease Monkey is a nice homage to the great juvenile sci-fi books, like Heinlein's earlier work, while also mixing a nice bit of humor, with gorillas and humans serving on a starship. Christopher Moeller's Iron Empires books (Faith Conquers and Sheva's War) are fantastic pieces, about galactic empires threatened by parasitic lifeforms. Dan Dare has great space adventure and Ministry of Space, from Warren Ellis is a nice alternate history of the space race. There are some great Star Trek comics and the Babylon 5 comics from DC were quite good.

For TV: The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits
Lost in Space (the 1st season, more than anything else, especially the early episodes
Star Trek (especially the original series)
Babylon 5-great epic science fiction
Farscape
Quark-for some nice sci-fi comedy
Red Dwarf-even better comedy and some really good sci-fi plots
Blake's 7-Intergalactic freedom fighters in a guerrilla war.
Doctor Who-classic stuff has some great sci-fi. plus some good old fashioned scary monsters. Keep a forgiving eye on the low budget special effects and monster suits. Their hearts were in the right place
Battlestar Galactica (original)- early episodes are great space opera. Newer version has an excellent 9/11 and aftermath allegory, with some interesting sci-fi mixed in.
Buck Rogers-good old fashioned space hero, with tongue in cheek; early episodes are the best.
Space Rangers-Pretty good, criminally under-exposed syndicated tv series, from Pen Densham.

Animation:
Space Angel-"animation" is a stretch; but, great sci-fi stories, with the space faring troubleshooter; some art by Alex Toth.
Jonny Quest-plenty of sci-fi plots and monsters
Jetsons-Fun take on the futurist ideas and really funny comedy.
Star Trek-really picked up where the tv series left off. Repetitive music cues and stock footage, though.
Battle of the Planets, aka Gatchaman-great war between a team of teen-age super-ninjas and an alien-led army.
Macross/Robotech-Alien invaders attack the Earth and soldiers of Earth, with morphing battlemecha must fight them. Made up of three similar, but unrelated tv series.
Star Blazers-space opera series about a starship travelling through enemy-held alien territory to retrieve a device that will help cleanse a poisoned Earth. Great epic, with two sequel series.
Space Captain Harlock-grand space opera pirate.
Akira-apocalyptic story of psychics, motorcycle gangs and government conspiracies.
Ghost in the Shell-early cyberpunk, heavily influenced by Blade Runner
Bubblegum Crisis-ditto
Mobile Suit Gundam-more aliens vs battle mecha.
Movies:
Flash Gordon serials-captures the comic strip adventure well, though some shaky acting.
Buck Rogers-similar, also with Buster Crabbe
Metropolis-dark tale of a city ruled by an elite, with workers who are all but slaves, and the upheaval that nearly destroys both.
War of the Worlds-great alien invader stuff
Forbidden Planet-proto-Star Trek, great effects and sets, awe-inspiring stuff below ground.
The Day the Earth Stood Still-Alien visitor confronts mankind about its dangerous militaristic ways.
2001, A Space Odyssey-great hard sci-fi, leaves a lot to the imagination
Silent Running-ecological story
Planet of the Apes-mother of all post-apocalyptic films
Rollerball-cautionary tale of corporate power and the use of violence entertainment to get the populace to turn off their brains
Colossus, the Forbin Project-sentient computer meets its mate in the USSR, dictates the rules to humanity. Another that Cameron ripped off.
Logan's Run-post-apocalyptic world where population control means life ends at 30 (21 in the original novel). A policeman goes on the run, hunted by his friends. Looks a bit dated now; but, still a great story.
Star Wars trilogy
Alien and Aliens
Outland-uneven but often great film, excellent visuals and a realistic idea of a space mining colony.
2010-from Peter Hymas, of Outland; but, with a better story and acting.
Last Starfighter-great juvenile stuff, as Earth teenager saves the galaxy from invaders-effects are dated now, still a good story
Trek films, especially the evens.
Blade Runner-visual feats, interesting concepts, often uneven acting, obtuse plot. Repeated viewings help.
Escape from New York-post-apocalyptic fun from John Carpenter and Kurt Russel
the Thing-same as above; also, original Howard Hawks version
Solaris-Russian film, based on the Stanislau Lem novel.
Fifth Element-great European sci-fi, in the tradition of Moebius and Jean-Claude Mezieres, who were conceptual designers. Also, Valerian looks like it will be good.
Enemy Mine-Wolfgang Peterson directs, tale based on the film Hell in the Pacific-enemies marooned together, must make peace to survive.
Total Recall-great Phillip K Dick stuff, though the original story has more mindf@#$.

UltraQ, from Japan, which predated Ultra Man and led to it. In fact most classic 'ultra' monsters came from UltraQ.

very much a surrealist Japanese 'quatermass' mixed with Kolchak the Night Stalker, though it's tears earlir than Kolchak.

filmed in delicious black and white, with pacing/tempo somwhere between the original TZ and Outer Limits.

many eps currently on youtube

also, the original Quatermass episodes are on youtube, the tv eps from before the films, which in terms of dialogue-expressing-concept are simply exemplary, and many say led to Dr. Who.  

Spent time wandering around the local Barnes and Noble last night to avoid the heat and found a new old book to purchase. B&N has a hardback collection of all the James Blish paperback Star Trek novelizations. Great way to relive younger memories of when these books were the only new "Trek" you could ever find around. 

Can't go wrong with classic Trek. Episodes like Amok Time, The Doomsday Machine, Trouble with Tribbles and City on the Edge of Forever. Collects 45 episodes for $20. 

I can guarantee that the film will be nowhere as good as the series, even if it turns out to be in the same league as Star Wars. Valerian is in the Lt. Blueberry category as far as greatness goes.


My favourite titles are

The empire of a thousand planets, which inspired my own work so much;

 Ambassador of the shadows, which is the inspiration for the film;

Châtelet station, destination Cassiopeia and the three following books, the kind of book that would get non comic-book readers to take notice.


These are my favourites, but none of them are bad.