Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. Today’s topic is Books based on games/shows/movies/comics?
“The book is better” is a common outcry amongst book worms, because the book came first…but what about when it didn’t? How do you feel about book adaptations of movies? Books based on video game worlds? Books that tell alternate stories from television worlds? Or even books featuring your favorite superheroes? Do you have any favorites in these genres? Is the book still better?
This is going to be a short one. I am definitely a huge proponent of ‘the book is always better’ when it comes to deciding between a book and any of its adaptations. However, in the scenario that the book was not, in fact, the original and it is based on other material like a movie, video game of TV show, the situation is quite different.
While I haven’t personally read anything that would fall into this category, I would always prefer the original, that is the first version the story appeared in, over any adaptation. Regardless of the type of media, there is always a lot lost in translation. It would take a really skilled writer to take something tailor made for viewing and turn it into something readable, adding the more subtle touches that a book needs so that it doesn’t just read like a script.
As pertains to genres, I feel that if I had to pick one just to see how such an adaptation might be, I would definitely choose fantasy. The genre allows much more leeway and imagination and is likely to work best for such scenarios. I have come across comic book adaptations of superhero movies before, and they weren’t too bad, but I have yet to try any such full length novels. However, in my opinion, the original format is always the best, because it is the form in which the creator imagined the story, which any adaptation, no matter how good, would still have a hard time trying to beat.
Which do you think is better when it is the book that is the adaptation? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Worlds Unlike Our Own 
Wise words, Raji. The original is better because that’s how the creator of the story intended. I rarely came across an adaptation better than the original. I think one of the worst adaptation I saw was Ready Player One. I loved the book but the movie was like watching a different story…
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Ready Player One really was an awful adaptation. I agree, while there are several really good adaptations, few, if any are ever better than the original.
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I generally prefer the book before film but there are the odd occasions where I enjoyed the movie or TV series just as much. This is particularly true when the author has a role in filming the production.
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That’s so true, adaptations always tend to be better when the author has a say in how things are portrayed.
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