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I didn't read this series when I was a kid, but I finally got around to reading Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber.

Given it's an older series, I wasn't sure how much I'd like it (some of those older series age horribly), but it was actually REALLY good still, and the few minor things that'd aged too much wouldn't be hard to update for a modern audience.

But the concept of Amber is fantastic, Corwin's behavior and arc perfect, and I think a TV series could do it justice nowadays. Man, some CGI artists could do some beautiful work depicting a hellride through shadow.

I also would really, really love to see Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern adapted...but there's a few parts that have aged pretty badly, so it'd need careful handling of things like Lessa and F'lar's relationship and such. And maybe, you know, keep Jaxom the hell away from Corana.

But I think the whole idea of threadfall, and Impressing dragons, could be done beautifully on the screen. I think a run from Dragonflight to All The Weyrs of Pern (including the Harper Hall Trilogy) could be done. (Then leave the later books out, they don't really add much, lol.)

The series would need a top-notch composer scoring it, though. I'd vote for Natalie Holt. She did wonderfully with Loki, and it'd be a nice touch having a woman score the series that'd have the Harper Hall Trilogy included in it.

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[-] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 35 points 1 year ago

I've long wanted Terry Pratchett's Discworld to be made into a series. I used to think it wouldn't be possible because of how much the humour relies on the narrator, but after seeing the (IMO successful) Netflix adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events, I think it is possible.

[-] redditron_2000_4@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago

Good Omens showed how well his work can translate to the screen. Just focusing on Ankh Morpork and Vimes could be a great series.

[-] IonAddis@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago

My entry into Discworld was Guards! Guards! and I'd love to see a really good rendition of that. I know a lot of people loves Vimes, and I do too, but I also love Carrot and his werewolf girlfriend and I'd like to see Carrot being Carrot.

I think Susan's story as the grand-daughter of Death could be great, too.

I know Neil Gaiman has a great deal on his plate shepherding his own works onto the screen, but I wish he magically had a bit of extra time and energy to do something (besides Good Omens) of Pratchett's.

[-] IonAddis@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

I think it's possible, but that none of the attempts so far to do so have had the type of success I'd like to see.

Some of the BBC for-television adaptations have been ok. And some series haven't.

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[-] phanto@lemmy.ca 24 points 1 year ago

Old Man's War! Pretty green people fighting aliens! What's not to like?

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[-] HubertManne@kbin.social 22 points 1 year ago

well it used to be wheel of time.

[-] IonAddis@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago

My condolences for your loss.

[-] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

Still is for me. I want to see Jordan's story and world, not this other one loosely based on his.

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[-] VegaLyrae@kbin.social 20 points 1 year ago

No one has mentioned The Culture?

There really wouldn't be much to update because a good chunk of it is still modern. Not only that, but Banks really fucked with gender, ideology, and civil rights in a way that is still incredibly relevant in 2023.

I also really want someone to try to portray Fwi-Song from Consider Phlebas.

[-] teft@startrek.website 7 points 1 year ago

I came looking for The Culture. Those are such great stories.

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[-] athos77@kbin.social 19 points 1 year ago
[-] spittingimage@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

Stephen Colbert strikes me as someone who knows how to respect the source material.

[-] athos77@kbin.social 11 points 1 year ago

Given his love for fannish things, he's one of the few people I'd trust with the adaptation.

[-] IonAddis@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Huh--crossing my fingers then! It'll be interesting to see if it actually gets into development.

I was thinking about casting Corwin, and after the finale of Loki, I kinda think Tom Hiddleston would do a great Corwin. I think he could portray Corwin's arc of fighting for the throne at first just so his brother wouldn't get it, to someone who doesn't even want the throne wonderfully. He'd also do great as one of Corwin's brothers.

But I'd also kinda like to see some newcomer knock it out of the park too.

[-] Starglasses@lemmy.blahaj.zone 14 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Discworld. I would love to see the shenanigans of Samuel Vines and co, Mort, the witches, and so many other wonderful stories

[-] Pirasp@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

I have good news and bad news, you can indeed watch Samuel Comes in a TV series, but it's utter shit. They just took the names and fucking butchered the rest. It's called "The Watch" if you really want to do this to yourself.

Somewhat related, the hogfather and going postal adaptations are great!

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[-] theywilleatthestars@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

Still waiting for a Mistborn adaptation.

[-] tuxtey@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

All of Cosmere. Do a Marvel with it.

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[-] teejay@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago
[-] TheLowestStone@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

I'm in but only if Rothfuss finishes it first.

[-] teejay@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

Agreed. And only if the movie or show is not produced by Netflix.

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[-] llamapocalypse@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago

The Lies of Locke Lamora would make a fantastic show/movie if done well, and I feel like the vast majority of it is pretty screen-friendly. Basically just some minor cgi for the scorpion-hawk and Falselight and you're good.

[-] Thassodar@lemm.ee 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series of books. The first book alone, where a guy who was about to unalive himself accidentally kills death instead as he walks in the door to take his soul, would make an awesome series. Each book takes on a different aspect of Immortality (Death, War, Time, Nature, etc.) and how they overcome Satan by not being used for ultimate evil.

That last sentence may seem religion-forward but the author, Piers Anthony, is not a religious writer by any means. Another series of his, Bio of a Space Tyrant, could be an ultra gritty R rated Sci-fi epic with the right director.

[-] IonAddis@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

It's unlikely Hollywood will ever touch Piers Anthony with a ten foot pole after some of the stuff he's self-published in his later years. Like Marion Zimmer Bradley, the SFF world has decided it's wisest to quietly forget him.

[-] Thassodar@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago

I need to look into this, I was heavily invested in the Adept and Xanth series, and finding book 2 of Bio of a Space Tyrant, physically, is near impossible. I had no idea he was wrapped in any kind of controversy, but to be fair I haven't kept up with him in over a decade.

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[-] pound_heap@lemm.ee 11 points 1 year ago

"Chasm City" by Alastair Reynolds. It's a standalone novel in a much bigger Revelation Space series. But the plot of this book is quite independent of the series, you don't need to know the lore to understand it. I think it is very well suited for a movie or a short series.

The setting is hard SciFi, very detailed, but not too crazy.

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[-] BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago

Abhorsen / Old Kingdom series.

I don't like reading but I breezed through the first three books. I think all the dark, necromancy type stuff would be generally well received. The gates of the afterlife also sound really cool to be put in a visual form.

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[-] TheKingBombOmbKiller@lemm.ee 11 points 1 year ago

Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere universe would be fantastic. The last thing I remember hearing was that he was working on a script for a Mistborn movie. I would've preferred a TV-show, but he feels it would work better as a movie, and I trust his judgement.

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[-] ChrisMcMillan@lemm.ee 10 points 1 year ago

The ministry for the future by Kim Stanley Robinson. And moreso after the Texan republicans are trying to keep climate science out of classrooms!

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[-] Vaggumon@lemm.ee 10 points 1 year ago

I'd absolutely love a faithful adaptation of SnowCrash by Neil Stephonson to a TV series, don't think a movie would be doable, unless they did a trilogy or something.

I have often thought about dragonriders of pern as a movie. I am not sure thread really would show well. The books really emphasize people's fear of thread. But I don’t see anything visual about it that would really inspire that fear on the screen. Even while reading, I often felt the fear level was unrealistic. And a lot of peoples motivations were based on that fear. Now a great writer might be able to adjust things to work aroundvthat, but it seems tough.

[-] Transcendant@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

Hyperion Cantos (Dan Simmons)

Any of the Xeelee series (Stephen Baxter)

Quantum Magician series (Derek Künsken)

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[-] shalafi@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Drangonlance could be as epic as The Lord of the Rings. Yes, really.

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[-] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 year ago

Firefly looks good.

[-] CoughingwithCoffee@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

The Caves of Steel quadrilogy. Especially now that we're on the eve of AI mates, this one would be fitting for the times.

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[-] Usernameblankface@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I read some Halo books that seemed like they'd make for great TV.

[-] TheLowestStone@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

It's a shame that instead of any of that we got the garbage Paramount+ version.

[-] xia@lemmy.sdf.org 8 points 1 year ago

More "The Expanse" would be awesome.

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[-] daqqad@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

I always wonder why sci-fi gets mixed in with fantasy so much? It's always a pain to find decent movie/show or a book because these categories are treated as the same thing.

In my mind they are trivial to separate and I struggle to think of a single book or a film/show that even comes close to crossing over.

I enjoy quality writing in either genre, but as I get older I gravitate towards sci-fi because most fantasy seems to be written for younger audience with some great exceptions like Chronicles of Amber or Witcher.

And just to stay on topic, I nominate Asprin's Myth Adventures.

[-] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 year ago

I always wonder why sci-fi gets mixed in with fantasy so much? It's always a pain to find decent movie/show or a book because these categories are treated as the same thing.

As Arthur C. Clarke famously said: ~~"You have reached the end of your free trial subscription to ArthurCClarkeQuotes.com"~~ "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"

A lot of Sci-Fi stuff is just fantasy with a different coat of paint. Any universe where the technology is just acting as a stand-in for magic qualifies. There are even many settings that blur the line between the two, like Warhammer 40K.

"Hard" Sci Fi is another beast entirely. That would be more like OG Star Trek or even something like The Twilight Zone. Something where the "magic" exists to explore thoughtful/philosophical "What if?" questions rather than simply as a system of magic to serve the fantasy.

[-] Transcendant@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

As Arthur C. Clarke famously said: ~~“You have reached the end of your free trial subscription to ArthurCClarkeQuotes.com”~~ “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”

I lol'd

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[-] GenesisJones@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Project hail Mary is my favorite literature I've read in the last few years.

I would love to see it done justice with a movie done right.

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[-] IvanOverdrive@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago

I came here to say Chronicles of Amber. Damn, I thought I was the last fan left.

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[-] TheInsane42@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

I'd love to see the Foundation and the Robot series of Asimov.

As single movie, Asimov's End of Eternity would be great.

[-] Grimy@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Foundation is currently being adapted. They have changed quite a bit and it's a bit clumsy at times but Trantor, Cleon and Demerzel are very well done.

They wrapped up season 2 a few months ago.

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[-] Vertelleus@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 year ago

Warhammer 40k - Horus Heresy, live action, to the books. Then Eisenhorn eventually.

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this post was submitted on 12 Nov 2023
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