If watching Cyrus Harding (Smith) lead Pencroft, Gideon Spilett, Neb, and Harbert in turning Lincoln Island into the Granite House—complete with pottery, a telegraph line, and even nitroglycerin when needed—was your favorite part of The Mysterious Island, you’ll love how the Robinsons systematically tame their island. Like the colonists’ makeshift ship, the Bonadventure, the family’s ingenious carpentry, agriculture, and animal husbandry deliver that same practical thrill of survival by brains and teamwork.

Did you adore the way Cyrus broke down problems—how to make fire, smelt iron, craft nitroglycerin, and outthink pirates—step by step? The Martian offers that same “explain-every-bolt” satisfaction as Mark Watney MacGyvers air, water, food, and communications on Mars. It hits the exact itch scratched when the castaways in The Mysterious Island debug their way from shipwrecked strangers to self-reliant colonists.

If you were moved by how Cyrus, Pencroft, Spilett, Neb, and Harbert (plus Top!) become more than shipwreck survivors—truly a family who will risk everything for one another—this warmly echoes that vibe. Aboard the Wayfarer, a mismatched crew forms bonds as steadfast as the Mysterious Island colonists’ loyalty in the face of storms, pirates, and volcanic doom.

If the buoyant tone of The Mysterious Island—where ingenuity and decency prevail, from the Granite House to the colonists’ last-ditch escape—left you smiling, Nation will too. After a cataclysm, Mau and Daphne rebuild community with the same humane pragmatism Cyrus champions, turning loss into hope through craft, learning, and kindness.

Were you captivated by the hidden hand behind Lincoln Island—the unseen interventions that Cyrus and the others slowly trace back to Captain Nemo? Rendezvous with Rama channels that same wonder and investigation, as explorers probe an enigmatic starship whose design and behavior pose puzzles every bit as eerie as the colonists’ secret benefactor.