5 Sci-Fi Novels That Deserve Film Adaptations (& 5 That Deserve Better)

2. Virtual Light - William Gibson

Ol' Billy Gibson is probably best known for Neuromancer and the two subsequent novels that make up The Sprawl Trilogy. Neuromancer is a killer novel too, don't get me wrong, and it's influenced not only countless other works of fiction but also our culture as a whole, however an adaptation of Neuromancer has been in the works for...Christ knows how many years now. So let's go with one of Gibson's lesser read novels.

Virtual Light is arguably Gibson's most entertaining cyberpunk romps. Set in a neon drenched San Francisco in the distant future where the lower classes have constructed a vast shanty town from shipping containers atop the disused and abandoned Golden Gate Bridge.

That alone begs to be shown on the big screen, but beyond just the setting Virtual Light boasts some of the best characters that you're likely to find in any sci-fi novel out there and it's all led by the effortlessly cool and endlessly likeable Chevette. Chevette is a courier who's street smart and possesses a wit and tongue that are both sharper than that a new kitchen knife. Oh, and she also has a bike that tells people to bugger off if they get too close.

And, of course, it wouldn't be a Gibson novel without a big techno-conspiracy at the heart of it all, and who doesn't love that, right?