Most memorable sentient races in science fiction and fantasy

This post completes a series of posts on the best animals, fictitious creatures and sentient races in science fiction and fantasy. I will list the most memorable sentient races; this means creatures with intelligence at least equivalent to a human being, perhaps greater.

Without further ado…!

1. The Goa’uld symbiote from Stargate. This creature may appear to be a harmless insignificant worm but through its control of humans it has dominated the galaxy.

2. The Portia spiders in the novel Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

3. The Ents from Lord of the Rings. If there was ever a nicer more grand-father-like creature in SFF, I haven’t encountered it. But don’t make them mad, as the picture below shows…

4. The Ewoks from the Star Wars film Return of the Jedi. They’re irresistibly cute little furballs. At least they are when they aren’t planning to roast you alive.

5. The Shrike from the novel Hyperion  by Dan Simmons. 

6. ET from the eponymous film by Steven Spielberg. We can all remember that amazing scene when the children’s bicycles fly away.

7. Myrddraals or Fades in the Wheel of Time series of novels by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. They were the battle leaders of the Shadow during the imprisonment of the Forsaken, after the demise of the Dreadlords. They have no eyes, but can “see” with perfect clarity.

8. The Ferengi in Star Trek. They are conniving bastards but are nothing if not memorable and distinctive.

9. Turians from the Mass Effect videogame series. There’s something very likeable, and dare I say fanciable, about them!

So that completes our exploration of the best sentient races in science fiction and fantasy, and also concludes our look at animals, creatures and races in the genre.  

What other sentient races and/or individuals do you think should make the list? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!