Contact
Contact by Carl Saganby Carl Sagan
Shares rank 56 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
People recommend the novel and its audiobook and rate the 1997 film above Interstellar. The most common caveat is that the film misses the novel's ending punchline.
People recommend the novel and its audiobook and rate the 1997 film above Interstellar. The most common caveat is that the film misses the novel's ending punchline.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 89%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Better than Interstellar
“For me much better than Interstellar”
Comment from 16 Jan 2026 in “SETI Home Flags 100 Signals After Sorting 12B Others” “Way, waaay better than Interstellar.”
Comment from 16 Jan 2026 in “SETI Home Flags 100 Signals After Sorting 12B Others”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Film misses the novel's ending punchline
“Read the novel, or listen to the audiobook.”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “Earth's Radio Bubble: Every Signal We've Ever Sent into Space” Film removed the artist signature
“They completely removed the "artist signature" from the movie.”
Comment from 16 Jan 2026 in “SETI Home Flags 100 Signals After Sorting 12B Others”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Contactby Carl SaganThis page | 8 | 1 | 89% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
8 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“It set the standard for behind the scenes moving making special content.”
“The film was good but totally misses the punchline at the end of the novel.”
“Read the novel, or listen to the audiobook.”
“was a really cool “visualization” of this”
“They completely removed the "artist signature" from the movie.”
“Way, waaay better than Interstellar.”
“For me much better than Interstellar”
“based on the fantastic word game, Contact”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.