Hey everyone! Today I'm so happy to be doing the Top 5 Tuesday Book Meme, which is hosted by the wonderful Meeghan at MeeghanReads. So how this works is that, we have a list of topics, one for every Tuesday, and we have to share any 5 things that we know that fit the theme. And the topic for this Tuesday is“5 Books Better than The Adaptation.”
1) Shadowhunters (Adapted from The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare)
Alright everyone, no need to come at me with your swords. I know so many of you love it, but unfortunately it didn't work for me.
IMBD Description: After her mother disappears, Clary must venture into the dark world of demon hunting, and embrace her new role among the Shadowhunters.
The book series (see my review for it here) was some of the very first fantasy books I read, which is why I always feel so attached and nostalgic towards it, even though I know that if I re-read it now, there will be some things I don't like.
But no matter what, the series adaptation, didn't stand a chance.
I feel like the Shadow World was just butchered and bent to become really mainstream. There was just so many little things I didn't like, for example the fact that the basic rules of the world were changed.
For people who have only watched the series, let me tell you- the inside of the Institute does not look like the headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D
The dialogues are a cringe-fest from episode 1. What takes away majorly from the series is drama that's a little too on the nose, and much less insta- love in the books.
So you know, read the books, ditch the series.
2) Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief (Adapted from Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan)
I think this is the one all of us can agree on.
If you don't already know this about me I am a huge Rick riordan fan I have read almost every book in the world of Greek gods written by him and I was genuinely delighted to find that they were movies for the first two books as well. until I watched the movie I thought the rest was just in the process of being made but now I know why they stopped at just 2.
The Percy Jackson movie adaptation suffers the same dilemma of being bent and butchered, and veering too off course from the source material.
IMBD Description: A teenager discovers he's the descendant of a Greek god and sets out on an adventure to settle an on-going battle between the gods.
Percy is 11, and not as a huge fan of Annabeth in the books, and in the movies he is 16, and already making doe-eyes at her; all while surviving unexceptionally muddled plotline..
I wish that the makers could have at least stuck to the actual sequence of events. Even though the first adaptation was a fail, now that Disney+ has acquired the series rights, I hope we have something better to look forward to.
(If any of you are interested I hear auditions are still open?)
3)The Chaos Waking series (Adapted from the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness)
From what I could see on social media and from IMDB ratings, this is not really an extremely popular series. Comparatively, the series I think is more well known, and it always comes as a surprise to me which is the cast of the Netflix series are really famous actors Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley.
IMDB Description: Two unlikely companions embark on a perilous adventure through the badlands of an unexplored planet as they try to escape a dangerous and disorienting reality, where all inner thoughts are seen and heard by everyone.
When I say that the books are better than the series, I in no way mean that the series is terrible. Personally, I feel like if you are interested in the story, but aren't a huge reader, then you can still watch the series and still have an equally enjoyable experience.
It's just that I liked the books more, and the reason for that could be, that with the books, you get a lot more insight into the world and its workings. And even though I am a very character-driven reader, I really liked just knowing more and more about the setting.
The story is set in another planet where the humans are currently living, but something has killed all the women, and men can hear each other's thoughts.
Another thing that I was not a huge fan of, was the extremely fast facing. In most cases it would have been a positive point, but this time I felt that it was a little too fast.
For example, the inciting incident happens right in the beginning of the first episode, and from there on we move from point A to point B in a blink, without the audience really being able to grasp what's going on.
4) His Dark Materials (Adapted from His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman)
Based on the high fantasy trilogy of the same name by Philip Pullman, His Dark Materials is a wonderful, wonderful story that I feel deserves so much more attention.
It also has a fascinating animal companion theme that I adore.
The only reason I feel that the book is kind of better, is similar to what I had to say about the Chaos Walking series, which is that the world (or worlds, I should say) that the book is set in are truly so unique and different and interesting; and exploring that in the book is a delight. I the HBO series, it feels kind of lacking. Although it does not go cheap in its special effects.
There were also quite some impactful scenes that were not kept in the series, so I was a little upset about that. But honestly, other than that, I think the adaptation is great as well, and if you go by my recommendation I would say you will devour both.
IMDB Description: A young girl is destined to liberate her world from the grip of the Magisteriumv which represses people's ties to magic and their animal spirits known as daemons
5) The Da Vinci Code (Adapted from The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown)
Alright, so I'm pretty sure you might have heard of either the book or the movie. But despite what you think by looking at the length of the book, it is not a history lesson I'd go as far as to say that the book feels more edge-of-your-seat than the movie.
Sadly, the movie fails in its execution as well as the engagement with history because it can't deliver these really crucial pieces of information that really tell the audience was going on, as well as the book does.
And without those, it's just a wild goose chase.
For a person who hasn't read the book it's very difficult to understand characters talk about the origins of Illuminati, the Knights Templar, the long story of the Holy Grail, et cetera.
For every one good Dan Brown adaptation, there are 10 bad ones, and this is one of them.
So you know, go read the book.
IMBD Description: A murder inside the Louvre, and clues in Da Vinci paintings, lead to the discovery of a religious mystery protected by a secret society for two thousand years, which could shake the foundations of Christianity.
LET'S CHAT!
So what did you think of today's post? Any others of your own picks that you wanna share? Any mire adaptations I need to keep on my TBR? Or just tell me how your reading went this month? I'd love to know! 💕
Until then,
I hope everyone's doing well,
Bye!