For various reasons—mainly the use of sexual assault as plot parsley—I haven’t been following HBO’s Game of Thrones. That’s not, however, going to stop me from suggesting other SFF book series that might survive the transition to television. After all, everyone else is doing it…
The candidates should be series of at least three books or more—preferably complete. I mean, we wouldn’t want the TV writers to have to imagine their own ending. (Nor would we want the writers to re-imagine the ending. Just to make that clear.) Here are a few that more than fit the bill…
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from television it is that one should under no circumstances move to Midsomer everyone loves a good mystery. People also seem to like unusual detectives: best-selling authors, nosy spinsters, gardeners. Or priests. It seems to me that if Father Brown can carry a series, so too could Acatl, High Priest of Mictlantecuhtli, protagonist of Aliette de Bodard’s Obsidian and Blood trilogy: Servant of the Underworld (2010), Harbinger of the Storm (2011), and Master of the House of Darts (2011). Acatl serves the Aztec god of Death; it’s his duty to deal with the dead. Mysterious deaths require closer attention. Acatl often finds himself playing detective. Unlike most modern-day detectives, Acatl must sometimes suspect the gods themselves.
Buy the Book
Servant of the Underworld
Rebecca Ore’s Becoming Alien trilogy—Becoming Alien (1988), Being Alien (1989), and Human to Human (1990)—focuses on Tom Gentry, an American teenager who is in the right place at the right time to aid Alpha, a covert alien observer. Unfortunately for the alien envoy, Tom is a troubled kid on the fast track to prison; his older brother is worse. By the time Alpha’s co-workers arrive, Alpha is dead. The aliens replace Alpha with Tom, drafting him as a junior Federation diplomat. Tom must reinvent himself or die trying.
Buy the Book
Becoming Alien
Joan Vinge’s Snow Queen Cycle—The Snow Queen (1980), World’s End (1984), The Summer Queen (1991), and Tangled Up in Blue (2000)—is really two intersecting series. One focuses on Moon, a young woman whom the planet Tiamat’s ruler, Arienrhod, has groomed to replace her as ritual sacrifice. Things do not work out as Arienrhod had planned. The other series focuses on BZ Gundhalinu, a dutiful policeman best described as “fate’s chew toy.” The two protagonists, Moon and BZ, reshape galactic politics and find true love. Eventually.
Buy the Book
The Snow Queen
The plot of Jo Clayton’s Duel of Sorcery trilogy—Moongather (1982), Moonscatter (1983), and Changer’s Moon (1985)—is set in motion by Ser Noris, a formidable magician who has achieved all the power he had ever desired … and is bored. Tired of reshaping worlds, Noris decides to destroy them, instead. The only thing standing between Ser Noris and the end of the world(s) is one green-skinned mutant sorceress named Serroi. As a girl, Serroi was traumatized by a first encounter with Ser Noris. Yet she persists in her defiance and saves the world. Again, eventually.
If this series were to be produced, and if viewers were to like it, a possible second Clayton series might build on the Dancer Trilogy.
Buy the Book
Moongather
Melissa Scott and Jo Graham’s Order of the Air series—Lost Things (2012), Steel Blues (2013), Silver Bullet (2014), Wind Raker (2014), and Oath Bound (2016)—is a secret-history series set in the years immediately prior to the Second World War. Unbeknownst to common folk, the world is rich in occult relics—all of them sealed evil in a can. Dig one up and DOOM! But fools keep digging them up, leading to interesting plot complications. Our protagonists (a whole slew of them; they are both a company and a family of choice) fly aeroplanes. (“Aeroplanes” because this is the 1930s, kids.) Imagine the spectacular scenery and edge-of-your-seat air races! Plus polyamory, queer love, consensual BDSM, and more! Hollywood, this one has your name on it…
Buy the Book
Lost Things
Finally, Martha Wells’ Books of the Raksura encompasses five novels and two collections: seasons and seasons worth of material. Set in a secondary world with a forgotten history and a bewildering abundance of intelligent tool users, the series begins with a seemingly straightforward question—Who or what exactly is the protagonist, Moon?—before blooming into an exotic bouquet of plots that should keep viewers glued to their screens for many episodes to come.
Buy the Book
The Cloud Roads
Yo, Hollywood execs, you hear me? Load up the money truck and let’s make some television magic…
In the words of Wikipedia editor TexasAndroid, prolific book reviewer and perennial Darwin Award nominee James Davis Nicoll is of “questionable notability.” His work has appeared in Publishers Weekly and Romantic Times as well as on his own websites, James Nicoll Reviews and Young People Read Old SFF (where he is assisted by editor Karen Lofstrom and web person Adrienne L. Travis). He is surprisingly flammable.
I have to say I get a little endorphin rush every time I see an old-style DAW cover.
I would love to see:
Katherine Kurtz’ Deryni or Adept series, David Eddings’ Belgariad, Patricia McKillip’s books done as an anthology.
@1 Has anyone ever told you that you’re bad for their TBR pile?
Really? My goal is to facilitate TBR mountains. It’s spare time I am hell on.
I want Katherine Kurtz’ Deryni series (well, the Camber prequels) done using the exact cast, costumes and sets of the BBC Wolf Hall miniseries — Mark Rylance as Camber of Culdi …
I would also accept Jennifer Roberson’s Del & Tiger books.
There are currently only two novels, but maybe if we started adapting Michael Reaves’ Shattered World books we could convince him to finish the third?
Ancillary Justice (actually the Imperial Radch trilogy) and The Left Hand of Darkness on big-budgeted series on HBO!! They would look great on episodic format, and for The Left Hand of Darkness the short stories Winter’s King and Coming of Age in Karhide could be added as episodes.
I’m just looking at those books, and all I can think is that the covers of the Ore and Clayton books really sell the damn books. Those are some awesome covers, and frankly a return to that sort of cover art is long overdue; they really pop out at you.
I would love to see Anne McCaffrey’s Dragon series done, so many books means so many plots to pick from. Who wouldn’t love to see Ruth growing up and flying on your screen
How about Cherryh’s Foreigner series? Or something built on her Merchanter-Alliance universe?
I’d love to see James White’s Sector General used to make a long running tv series. Grey’s Anatomy crossed with House with aliens – what’s not to love!
Yes! Alliance/Union! Or Morgaine, for that matter.
Of more recent vintage, Elizabeth Bear’s Eternal Sky trilogy.
I don’t think we should wish what was done to ASOIAF on any other series.
My favorite: Kushiel’s Legacy by Jacqueline Carey. It would be visually stunning.
I’d like to see:
Anne McCaffrey’s ‘Crystal Singer’ trilogy
Harry Harrison’s Stainless Steel Rat series [Could Bruce Campbell be enticed to be the mature Slippery Jim? Zach Levi as the younger Jim plus both the twins. Lucy Lawless as the maturer Angeline?]
The Hunter Kiss series by Marjorie M Liu [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2281814.The_Iron_Hunt]
‘Silver smoke winds around my torso, peeling away from my ribs and back, stealing the dark mist covering my hands and lower extremities…tattoos dissolving into demon flesh, coalescing into small dark bodies. My boys. The only friends I have in this world. Demons. I am a demon hunter. I am a demon. I am Hunter Kiss.’
Also, ‘Dresden Files’, please. Paul Blackthorne was awesome as Harry Dresden, but I’m greedy and want more…
Also, the Vorkosigan Saga on television would be really something, wouldn’t it? I would love to see live-action/CGI Quaddies. Television needs more space opera.
@9 Oh man someone making an intelligent, tautly plotted political sci-fi thriller series out of the Foreigner books………….
“The Warlock in Spite of Himself” by Chris Stasheeff and Moon’s Paksenarrion books always spring to mind for me. Also upvoting Kurtz Adept series.
How is The Dresden Files not at the top of this post? Spectacular action, many femmes fatale, long-term character growth, and 15+ books (and counting); this can be a series for 20 years!
Also, ANYTHING by Lois McMaster Bujold…although adapting the Vorkosigan or Chalion/WotFG series will be more challenging.
For modern, I like Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers series. (3 books and counting) For classic, Richard Purtill’s Kaphtu books- 3 published by DAW and a couple of self-published.
A properly-done Dresden Files series would be awesome. I also think that Crawford Killian’s Chronoplane Wars could be the basis for an excellent series
@18, the big problem with a television Vorkosigan Saga is where are you going to find a skinny, 4’9″ actor capable of being manic, charismatic and borderline insane? That’s one demanding role.
@21 – harder still to find an actor who could pull off Ivan, faking blissful ignorance punctuated by moments of brilliance, confidence, sexuality and courage?
But perhaps the hardest to cast would be Cordelia…
I think Leckie and Cherryh will probably be the best possible adaptations. The Imperial Radch, Alliance/Union.
If I had a name/login here before it probably wasn’t this one, but anyway, the only answer I have for this is the Arbai trilogy by Sheri Tepper… I’ve wanted to see Grass for so long and the other two books would be great as well.
For old-school, Patricia Kennealy’s Keltiad series – KELTS IIINNNN SPAAAACE complete with both laser swords and high magic. Also Mercedes Lackey’s Tarma-and-Kethry adventures, and the Doyle-and-Macdonald “Mageworlds” space operas.
For newer material, any of Seanan McGuire’s series, but perhaps especially the Velveteen superheroes-with-meta cycle. Really, Seanan almost demands her own streaming channel.
Atticus Shaffer from “The Middle” is a good physical match for Miles, although I’m not sure about the personality. One problem is that he has a brittle bone condition in real life, which ironically would make it very difficult to do some of the action scenes.
I didn’t know Robin Williams was 4′ 9″, or was that post not intended in jest?
Robert Jordan’s the Eye of the World could run 20 seasons and would be awesome
I just finished ‘Kings of the Wyld’ by Nicholas Eames and I highly recommend it to be adapted into a mini-series! Netflix could have a BALL with this one!!! The sequel ‘Bloody Rose’ is out and hopefully there will be a book 3. It’s high fantasy, firmly tongue in cheek! similar feel stylistically to Hellboy. Highest recommendations to everyone to read!
Books that would make great TV:
Burning Bright by Melissa Scott
Dream Years by Lisa Goldstein
Carve the Sky by Alexander Jablokov
Sean Stewart’s Nobody’s Son (what REALLY happens after the fairy tale ends)
and
Malazan Book of the Fallen – They’d have to trim it down some (12 books) but there’s plenty of material. And it’s actually finished!
Love that you put Jo Clayton in here! Woot to the old school with Norton and Kurtz (I think the Deryni books would be intriguing but the stylized Catholic church might have some issues.). Would love to see Sheri Tepper’s Game series as well. McCaffrey’s crystal singer is good, and I know Pern has been wandering through options and development for at least a decade.
@29 If speculation is to be believed, Amazon Prime is doing a Robert Jordan’s Wheel of time Series.
While I’ll squeeze onto the bandwagon with those who’d love to see The Dresden Files come back to TV… and although I’m all for giving new authors a time to shine… I’m also big on GRRM (et al)’s Wild Cards books, and think they would make great television. I mean, a span from post-WWII to today, aliens, superheroes, drama, action, sex, violence, humor, pathos, and enough twists and turns to keep an entire nation riveted… and each book is packed enough to be a full season in itself, making for enough shows for almost 3 decades… just what every growing boy and girl needs out of their TV!
Because I didn’t see it listed, and it should be anytime someone discusses SFF series for tv. Robert Lynn Asprin’s Thieves’ World series would be great AND be a great springboard for other writers since it was a shared world concept. It’s already pretty much divided into episodes in each book…
@33 We’re well past speculation at this point, they start production this fall.
Barry Hughart’s The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox anthology trilogy!
If history teaches us anything, it is that the Hugart adaptation would be unjustly cancelled all too soon.
And while I am dreaming, I would love to see Moorcock’s Elric material to get a treatment on either TV or movies. Of course, I think the only way it could be does aesthetically in a serialized way would be through animation. Maybe movies but I think the proper look and feel would be too pricey for television. There was apparently rumor of such a while back but fizzled apparently.
@39 — Apparently, the BBC is looking at doing a Hawkmoon series.
It was great to see Melissa Scot/Jo Graham’s Order of the Air books on this list – I learned about them last year (after seeing Scot at Balticon) and gave them to multiple people at Xmas.
Barbara Hambly has several series that would make fabulous television – her Hunters of the Night vampire series set just before WWI and while more historical fiction than fantasy her Benjamin January mystery books set in New Orleans of the 1830’s have everything – multi-racial characters, interesting history, costumes galore, horror, humor – and there are a lot of them.
I guess it would have to be animated, but C J Cherryh’s Chanur series could be terrific.
@40 That’s awesome and makes some sense given the direct relationship of Great Britain and Granbretan in the series. Just a bit more obscure than Elric (at least in the US I would wager). Heck let’s do Count Brass and Corum while we are at it! A whole Eternal Champion series…
Perhaps some of those series would be interesting but not of them would compare to the following I fell in love with growing up: They are not in any particular order of importance.
1. The Belgariad by David Eddings (with the Mallorean Series if you want it)
2, Saga of the Pliocene Exile by Julian May
3. Stainless Steel Rate Series by Harry Harrison ( I so want this)
4. Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman
5. Fafrd and The Gray Mouse by Fritz Leiber (so Epic)
6. Magician Series by Raymond E Feist ( they had cool Computer game for this as well)
I have runner ups
7 The Lost Swords First Triad (perhaps more) by Fred Saberhagen
8 Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelaney
9 Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J.Maas
We’ve had a few dribs and drabs, but DISCWORLD RULES. YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST.
Granted, I am so looking forward to seeing David Tennant as Crowley. <G>
@42 — If they can do a “live action” Lion King, surely they can do a “live action” Chanur …
Oh, and while I did enjoy the John Carter movie, I’d love to see a TV adaptation that’s on a larger scale and is a bit more faithful to the books.
And my real dark horse dream would be something based on M.A.R. Barker’s Tekumel, as shown in the Empire of the Petal Throne RPG and the novels (primarily Man of Gold and Flamesong).
And I’m a bit surprised we haven’t gotten some kind of adaptation (live action or animated or what have you) of Drizzt.
@43 — The other advantage of Hawkmoon/Runestaff is that it’s a single, contiguous story with a beginning, middle & end, as opposed to Elric, which has a beginning & end, but lots of kind of unrelated adventures in the middle.
@1 what I’m trying to figure out is how I never knew there was a 4th book to the Snow Queen series. Now I will have to find it. And agree about the old Daw covers.
Wonderful suggestions in the article and this thread.
Going old school: Andre Norton’s Witch World/High Hallack. Piers Anthony’s Xanth (done well, this would be both funny with a fascinating world).
More recent: Mark Lawrence’s Broken Empire trilogy (though may be too dark for folks). Brian Stavely’s Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne (would love to see a Kettral fly!).
The problem with EPT is the EPT curse, which is that a surprising number of the companies, DAW being the main exception, that produced EPT products met a terrible demise. Now, I understand entertainment is built on a foundation of human sacrifice but you’d be surprised how many financiers are cool on the whole “and also your enterprise will collapse into insolvency and your children will be carried off by Ssu and Hluss.”
I forgot one, Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries as a limited ep series.
@12 I’m in agreement. But sometimes we get lucky. American Gods turned out just fine, didn’t it? And I think Grossman’s Magicians is better on the screen than on the page, at least for the second book onward.
@14 and others: I’ve heard rumors that a second attempt at Dresden Files is in the works, but I’m worried they might “butcher” it again. I’d rather it was just left alone and we got some new material. Not seeing much love for Codex Alera, which makes me sad.
I could get behind Caffrey’s Tower and Hive, though I suspect some audiences wouldn’t be happy about the intimate relationship between Afra and Damia. PG13 or R to do it right.
Me, I’d love to see Stephen R Donaldson’s “the Real Story” series made into a SyFy or Netflix series!
I would love the Kingkiller Chronicle to be made into a series! Although… still waiting on that third book.
The only Pern novel I’d like to see on screen is the first one, expanded from the Hugo winning novella, Weyr Riders, I think was the title?
It would be perfect HBO content as we do indeed have rape . . . .
Beyond that though, it would look splendid on screen if done right.
Kind of surprised that no one has mentioned Philip José Farmer’s Riverworld books!
I think Farmer fell off people’s radar around 1980…
The Broken Earth Trilogy by NK Jemisin
@52 Kingkiller
It already is. A TV show set years before the Kingkiller books following a performing troupe and a series of movies for the books themselves.
Lin Manuel Miranda is exec producing and in charge of the music for both.
Just like the first series mentioned in the article, John Scalzi’s Lock In (2014) & Head On (2018) books could make for a nice SFF twist on the mystery/investigator type of program. I could see a first season or two with these stories and then taking the characters/concept to new mysteries/plot lines beyond that.
Elizabeth Lynn’s The Chronicles of Tornor. It goes from the viewpoint of a noble tough guy who sees a change in the definitions of combat and masculinity on the horizon, to a dance/fighting troupe that is multicultural and multisexual, to a young woman in a lush, accepting society who reaches back to some of the old northern traditions.
I always imagined Tom Cruise for a grownup Miles. Young Miles is harder. Still, action, romance, comedy, angst.
?!? It just occurred to me, that we may NEVER see an adaptation of McCaffrey’s wonderful Pern series, because the main draw of that series was the DRAGONS, and that theme has been beaten to death to death in the HBO series “The Game of Thrones”. Also, there might be a viewer objection to a dragons series. because from a physics standpoint, they CANNOT fly, and that SOP fire-breathing thing, breaks the laws of physics as well. There apparently have been sightings of a large, bat-winged lizard in SE Asia, a kind of Gryphon shaped like an eagle, but a flying behemoth? Ain’t possible!
Oh yes, Warlock In Spite of Himself was great fun to read. It would could be a more family friendly series than The Real Story which would make GOT look like a rom com.
Well I mean if you want a wonderful-but-impossible TV adaptation, there’s always The Malazan Book of the Fallen, by Steven Erikson.
It would blow ASOIAF out of the water on every level. The battles, the monsters, the sorcery, the grimdarkitude and sheer badassery of every single thing… but the sheer complexity of the thing and cast of hundreds would be unmanageable, and you can’t do in media res to nearly the same degree on-screen.
I think that one’s doomed to eternal fancasting and nothing more. Which is a terrible shame, but on the other hand a hundred times better than getting ruined by a halfassed attempt.
@@@@@ 61 Robert G. Schreib
Flying behemoth…
@44: I’ve thought for years that Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser would make a great TV series. Aside from the swashbuckling sword and sorcery aspects, you’ve got the two unlikely friends with the wry sense of humor.
What about Earthseaaaaaaaaaaa?! Ursula deserves i
Fafhrd, yes, and Stainless Steel Rat. There is also a novel series by Simon Hawke, in which a team of time commandos travel through time to fix attempts to change history – yes, I know others have done it, E.g. Poul Anderson, but the quirk in these is that this is literary history, eg the events of Ivanhoe and The Prisoner of Zenda. They are treated as real history, though the reader(or viewer) knows better. They would be great fun as a TV series. You could make at least one full season just from the books and then come up with more classic novels for our heroes to put right.
The Amber Series. It has it all, literally.
“@18, the big problem with a television Vorkosigan Saga is where are you going to find a skinny, 4’9″ actor capable of being manic, charismatic and borderline insane? That’s one demanding role.”
Tyrion Lannister and Miles have a lot in common…
I would love it if they made a series based on the original Conan books and short stories by Robert. E. Howard, or Mcaffrey’s Pern novels as has been mentioned. Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files done right would be great, if the rumors are true, I hope they stay true to the books. I also think that there’s plenty to mine from C.J. Cherryh’s works. Her Pride of Chanur stories for example.
@54 Eric
The Syfy channel did an adaptation of Riverworld in 2010. I haven’t seen it though.
@71 I saw the first Riverworld telemovie. It was good, but I’m told another attempt didn’t work.
Honor Harrington series, Tanya Huff’s Valor series, Dragonlance to name a few…
I’m glad I’m not the only one who would be excited to see the Malazan BotF adapted for television. But that’s a well-bruised horse.
Great list. I’d love to see all of them. I think Katharine Kerr’s Deverry series would be a good follow up to Westeros (only it doesn’t have body parts hacked off as often).
@61 The fire breathing part of McCaffrey’s dragons is easy. Pern has a ton of naturally occurring calcium carbonate deposits, which the descendants of the colonists call firestone. Crush and mix that with water, you get acetylene gas.
The dragons have a second ‘stomach’ into which they swallow the crushed calcium carbonate. When enough gas evolves to reach critical pressure, the dragon belches. To flame, the dragon would have to belch just an instant before the gas hits 15 PSI so that as the gas stomach contracts it spikes the pressure in the throat. Once spontaneous ignition is achieved, the dragon would belch harder to push the flame front out of its mouth while continuing to feed gas out to sustain the flame burning in ambient air. The mucous lining of the throat and mouth protects from the fire long enough to get it started and pushed out.
In one of the books her son wrote (I don’t recall if it was a solo one or one he did with his mother) they get hold of some impure firestone that has some other mineral mixed in. It causes the gas stomach pressure to rise too quickly and the dragon explodes, which would be due the acetylene going over 15 PSI in the gas stomach.
The native fire lizards were genetically modified to grow to the size capable of carrying a human, and over hundreds of years were bred larger and larger to where they could also carry a considerable amount of additional load.
A Dragonriders of Pern series would at least have to have something about the colonization of the planet, first thread fall, and the problems that caused which forced them to abandon higher technology. There’s also the goof they made establishing the first settlement close to a volcano that they thought was extinct.
I think the Codex Alera by Jim Butcher would be fun to see. Also, the Black Sheep of Soulan series by N.C. Reed.
We have been blessed with some fairly decent Prachett-approved Discworld videos, but would love to see the whole series done. I love Discworld most of all. Different seasons could follow the various groups, the Witches, the Watch, the Wizards,…
Another meaty source that modern CGI would make incredibly awesome: Stephen R. Donaldson’s Thomas Convenant series. Medieval + Magic + Creatures and Beings + Serious Bad Guy. It has it all. The visual aspect alone would blow GoT off the island.
Along with others, I’d love to see Cherryh’s Foreigner series, Farmer’s Riverworld series, Zelazney’s Amber series, and Harrison’s Stainless Steel Rat series. Asprin’s Myth series as well.
How about Chalker’s Well World series, Keith Laumer’s Retief series (for the laughs), and Alan Dean Foster’s Flinx series?
Saberhagen has a series of vampire stores that are pretty good (especially the first one, which is the Bram Stoker story from the Count’s point of view — that Harker guy got it all wrong). But I always thought Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s Saint–Germain series was about the best sexy vampire ever.
How about Piers Anthony’s Incarnations series? That’d be kinda awesome. Or Saberhagen’s Swords series.
And we’re talking just series… Individual books that would make awesome crowd-pleasing movies? That list is endless. I never understood why Hollywood didn’t get some of us to make suggestions… the well is so deep!
I’d like to see one or more of David Eddings three fantasy series adapted for TV. The Belgariad and The Mallorean books are in one world – 12 books plus a tome of info (The Rivan Codex) that could be mined for expanding the series, then there’s The Elenium and The Tamuli trilogies in another – six books to work with, thirdly there’s the four book Dreamers series in yet another world.
The Dresden Files had a TV series which thankfully didn’t last very long. It was decent enough – if you hadn’t read any of the books before watching it. The only things the TV series had in common with the book series was both are about a wizard named Harry Dresden and they’re both set in Chicago. Aside from that and some other names of characters they’re totally different. The only thing the TV series could’ve done worse was having Harry wear a hat. Harry Dresden *never* wears a hat, despite the running joke of him wearing a wide brimmed hat on all the book covers.
The series swapped his old VW Bug for a WW2 Jeep, his staff for a hockey stick and blasting rod for a drumstick. Now which is going to draw more attention? A guy packing a hockey stick everywhere, or a guy with a carved walking staff? Another thing the TV show did away with was the effect of magic on technology, it had Harry owning cell phone! The White Council was renamed the High Council, the queen of the red court vampires was converted into a sympathetic character, Harry has a girlfriend, his basement apartment and upstairs office in separate buildings are mashed together into a ground floor space combined apartment and office. Literally nothing in the series is like anything in the books aside from character names and the city. One excusable alteration is Karrin Murphy was changed to Connie Murphy because at the time there was a Karen Murphy in the real Chicago PD, but in the TV show she’s an average height woman with dark auburn hair instead of a 5 foot nothing blonde.
So if a new Dresden Files series happens, please allow nobody who had anything to do with the SciFi Channel series anywhere near it. The “Starship Troopers” movie had more in common with its source material.
@21: If you can make Steve Rodgers five foot tall I imagine another three inches isn’t the end of the world :v
@@@@@ 76, It’s actually phosphine gas that Anne Mccaffrey’s dragons emit. The problem in the book you referred to was that due to a loss of knowledge over an interval or two, they had gotten pure white phosphorus firestone confused with the less volatile red phosphorus stone that was originally used by fire lizards and dragons alike.
I do agree that the series should be near the top in a list for being made into TV though. I think that Mercedes Lackey’s Serrated edge / Diana Tregarde books, and entire Velgarth universe series would make awesome TV too.
I’m sooooooooo tired of all the medieval-ish fantasy everywhere. Enough, REALLY.
I wonder why no laundry already, i think it’ll be REALLY REALLY good, especially with mr. stross himself onboard (the american dirk gently is a great, gory and inchoerent example of how some idiots screenwriters can distort and ruin something so thin and funny and british into… That.)
I second murderbot, too.
Many mentions of The Dresden Files but how about Jim Butcher’s The Furies of Calderon books. Six awesome books with great characters, action, romance, strategy, magic…how can that not appeal to everyone?
Thanks for the shout-out on The Order of the Air. I love the series… is there a reason there is only a B&N link for it? The paperbacks are published through the Amazon KDP system… the books are available everywhere…
https://www.amazon.com/Order-Air-Omnibus-Books-1-3-ebook/dp/B00T85XL1S
DNW
@83 – note that @77 asked for it as well. I re-read the series this year and re-enjoyed it.
I’ve always wanted to see a live adaptation of CJ Cherryh’s Foreigner series. It’s one of my favorite all time series and it would be interesting to be able to see that world through a wider selection of point of view characters than just simply Bren Cameron or Cajieri.
The Demon Accords by John Conroe.
It has everything you could want in a fantasy series: vampires, werewolves, demons, angels, magic, witches, elves, etc. It’s a well-developed world with over a dozen books. The characters are interesting, fun, and pretty.
How about anything from the Cosmere?
While there are many, many series that I would love to see made into TV or movies, thinking about ones that would both translate well AND be popular enough with your average non-reader viewer to be successful, that cuts the list waaaaaay down.
I think that Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Retrieval Artist series would work well – set on a Moon colony and each book has a mystery or puzzle to solve. (Babylon 5 viewers would love this one.)
Books of the Raksura would also translate well into a series/small screen format as well.
Memoirs of Lady Trent would also translate well, and it has dragons, but as wild animals, not as domesticated animals/helpmeets. Each book could be a season, since each is self-contained, but the series overall arc is excellent, and sadly complete.
Another good series would be the Liadan books by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. The chronology of the series is all over the place, so producers could start anywhere with it and branch out.
Fun thread!
Some excellent series here, with exclamation points for Hawke, Hughart, Leiber, May, Moon, and Moorcock. Would also love to see:
Daniel Abraham’s Long Price Quartet and The Dagger and the Coin
Iain M. Banks’ Culture series (in development?)
Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt’s The Sixth Gun
David Brin’s Uplift trilogies
Jane Gaskell’s Atlan Saga
Peter F. Hamilton’s Night’s Dawn trilogy
Lian Hearn’s Tales of the Otori
Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta’s East of West (in development?)
J. Gregory Keyes’ Age of Unreason
John Layman and Rob Guillory’s Chew
Wil McCarthy’s Bloom and The Queendom of Sol
Simon Spurrier and Jeff Stokely’s Six-Gun Gorilla
Allen Steele’s Coyote series
Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man (2020!)
Robert Charles Wilson’s The Chronoliths, The Harvest, and Darwinia
Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli’s DMZ (in development?)
Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun, Book of the Long Sun, and Book of the Short Sun
Fun to think about.
I will add my name to Tepper’s Game series and the Lock In series by Scalzi. As much as I loved the Codex Alara, I’m not sure if it would be good TV. So much of it happened in the mind that I’m not sure how well getting it verbalized would work. But maybe Michelle Sagara’s Chronicles of Elantra would be cool, especially with all of the different races.
Jane Gaskell’s Atlan Saga… I am rereading that. I think modern audiences might want a lead a bit quicker on the uptake than poor Cija.
“(“Aeroplanes” because this is the 1930s, kids.)” Aeroplane is the correct spelling in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Re Pern: Also, late in the series it’s established that unbeknownst to the original genetic engineers, Pernese dragons manifest telekenesis. Anything they think they can lift…they can lift. Including themselves, when they have grown vaster than the colonists planned for. (This ties into McCaffrey’s psychic soap opera fast transport and communications network series, and also prompts an idea for a credits stinger at the end of the series finale, in which a Tower operative and a gold on her nest suddenly become aware of one another and react with mirror-image “what the hell?!” expressions.
I can think of more Andre Norton that would work:
Zero Stone – Uncharted Stars
Judgement on Janus – Victory on Janus
The Solar Queen series
The Time Traders series
And, as a standalone, “Ice Crown” (Ruritanian romance in space)
I would love to see The Chronicles of Amber (Roger Zelazny) done as a TV miniseries.
Victor Milan’s “Dinosaur Lords” trilogy: The Dinosaur Lords, The Dinosaur Knights, The Dinosaur Princess. “It’s like a cross between Jurassic Park and Game of Thrones.“— George R.R. Martin.
As far as I can tell (though it’s hard to believe), so far no one has mentioned Marion Zimmer Bradley’s sprawling “Darkover” series, more than forty books and counting.
@98 Because nobody wants to be the one who stans for a child-sex predator, that is why.
“It’s like a cross between Jurassic Park and Game of Thrones.“— George R.R. Martin.
Cardboard characters and an eight-year wait between volumes? Can’t wait!
(At least Michael Crichton didn’t go “Aha, I see that Jurassic Park has been a tremendous bestseller! Time to capitalise on that wave of popularity with “The Complete Corporate History of InGen, Vol. 1: From Business Plan To Initial Venture Capital Fundraising Round”.)
I disagree with your choice of the Rakshura books by Wells, not because I dislike them, I have all of them and love them and agree that the visual would be stunning, but there are no humans. stories need a human avatar that the audience relate to even if it is the only human, the Rakshura books are very unusual as there are no humans whatsoever.
I will vote for Jaran by Kate Eliott and Kushiel by Jacqueline carey
@100: When I finally read Jurassic Park, I was surprised to discover that Crichton’s most famous novel may also be his worst. I speculate he knew early on that the book was being sold to the movies, so he filled it with as many scary scenes of humans being menaced by dinosaurs as he could possibly fit, sans rhyme or reason.
Perhaps the choicest moment is when, midway through the book, park employees go back to their normal routines, instead of launching search parties for the owner’s grandchildren, lost somewhere in the crippled park along with two (2) Tyrannosaurs.
N.B.: None of this rules out some kind of TV series adaptation.
In any case, Victor Milan‘s depiction of armored knights on dinosaurback is great fun, though perhaps too expensive to adapt even today. Also he made the climate hot and humid so that, unlike in Game of Thrones, it actually makes sense that people are often scantily clad. But you’ll have to wait longer than eight years for more books: after completing the third volume, Milan died last year.
@99: I tried to respond to your comment, but it didn’t make it through.
Just a reminder that if comments remain unapproved, you’re welcome to consult our moderation guidelines and try again; just keep mind that we aim to keep the discussion civil, constructive, on topic and relevant to the original article.
Very belatedly, The Book of the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe. It’s something of a (slightly smug) truism in the world of Wolfe fandom that he’s more or less unfilmable, and that’s probably true of the New and Short Sun series. But Long Sun would be much more doable, and I can imagine it being really good.
@94 / Jenny Islander – I think the settings are already linked, though not explicitly, in the books. A Ship and their Brawn (from the Ship Who Sang) made contact at the end of one of the Pern books, and the it’s been established that the Ships and Brawn combo are also in the Tower books. Still a nice visual, though
@105 — Is Arnold Schwarzenegger available?
@105 — Is Arnold Schwarzenegger available?
[Note to moderator: This is a joke about how Hollywood adapted an introspective Philip K.Dick short story into the garish action movie, Total Recall.]
Never move to Midsomer.
If you are foolish enough to do so your chances of survival improve if –
You avoid living in one of those picturesque villages. Causton is relatively safe.
Avoid involvement with the local gentry.
If Joyce Barnaby joins your class or club QUIT!
Avoid the Church of England. Watch out for the Catholics too.
Never, ever go out alone at night!
Never put off sharing important information. If you wait for later there will be no later.!
And try not to get too upset when you find the inevitable body. Tell Tom or John Barnaby everything you know and distance yourself as much as possible from the ensuing investigation.
#98/99: The posthumous revelations about MZB’s conduct certainly haven’t helped, but that might not absolutely preclude development of a TV project. The real roadblock here is the question of who’d benefit from licensing of the relevant rights from the trust set up to manage them – and there’s never been a clear statement on that point (at least that I know of) from either those administering the trust or the direct personal heirs. In the circumstances, the lack of such a statement may be an answer in itself. In fairness, depending on how the terms of the trust were framed, the trustees themselves might not have the ability to authorize proper restitution absent a legal challenge (and indeed might be obligated as trustees to actively oppose such a challenge if one were mounted).
Having said all that, a happier thought: the [noun]LIGHT modern paranormal quartet, originally published as by MZB but properly credited to Rosemary Edghill, is certainly worth looking at in today’s market, perhaps for Netflix or Amazon. And in that case, I believe the copyrights were in fact ultimately reassigned to Ms. Edghill, such that there’d be no real taint associated with optioning and developing that set of books.
Kate Elliot’s Crown of Stars if you need to be medieval but also want it to feel more authentic.
@111 — Is there anything objectionable in the MZB books themselves?
My recollection is, no*; but I may not be the best judge. When I read the first “Gor” novels, when they were originally published by the Ballantines, they struck me as nothing more than average E.R. Burroughs pastiches. I didn’t notice the author, um, had something on his mind!
*Regis Hastur was the first positive gay character I remember reading.
Once you remember what she was, there is a lot of subtext towards grooming and paedophilia apologia in her books. It is one of those things which flies under the radar without context. Like OSC using “buggers” to describe his aliens which must be destroyed, on the surface it is just an odd word choice to describe insectiods, but taken with his homophobic views then you realise that it him using that word, which also is an older slur on homosexual people, is highly suspicious and problematic. Or JKR using masculine language to describe how hateful and deceptive Rita Skeeter is in her HP books.
Context is everything. The author cannot be removed from the work. And MZB’s paedophilia positively drips from her books once you know about it.
I must admit I never once considered pedophilia when I read all the Darkover books. It broke my heart when I finally heard what went on in her real life.
I think the “The Warlock in Spite of Himself” would be a very fun series.
Ah, Midsomer. That is a more dangerous place to live than next door to Jessica Fletcher.