Books I’d Make into Movies

“I have often thought it was very arrogant to suppose you could make a film for anybody but yourself.” ~ Peter Greenway

“Books and movies are like apples and oranges. They are both fruit, but taste completely different.” ~ Stephen King

“The book is a film that takes place in the mind of the reader. That’s why we go to the movies and say, ‘Oh, the book is better.’” ~ Paulo Coelho

Maybe it’s because I’m a visual learner, but, in general, I like to see the movie first, then read the book after. Once I’ve seen the movie, I can use images from the film and translate them to the book. I know, most people will think I’m crazy.

Most of the time, descriptions of characters and environments in books are things that don’t create clear pictures in my head. I don’t dream in clear pictures, or color either. What I connect with are the emotions of the characters. If I’m not connected to the characters emotionally, I don’t continue to read the book, or watch the movie, or TV show.

Having written that, there are books I’ve read that I would love to see made into movies, or a series, because I want to SEE the countryside, or what someone else thinks the characters look like. It’s probably my many years doing theatre that makes me want to turn my favorite books into a visual representation.

Some years ago, I read a wonderful book titled, His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik. Novik is a historian, and the book, which is the first in a series, takes place during the Napoleonic Wars. Most of the events are historical with a little twist. The combatants each have an aerial corps made up of dragons, and the captains they choose to bond with.

In fact, that is what happens in the first pages of the first book. An unusual dragon egg has been confiscated from a French frigate by the British ship, Reliant. When it begins to hatch, the Captain, William Laurence, asks for a volunteer from among his officers to bond with the dragon. But, in inscrutable dragon fashion, the hatchling Temeraire, chooses Laurence as his companion and captain. This thrusts Laurence into a completely unfamiliar world. The aerial corps is not a particularly prestigious posting, nor do the airmen and women, like interlopers. Most of them have been part of the air corps most of their lives and some are part of long generational lines in the service. The dragons live very long lives and not only bond with a single person, but their captain’s children as well. Having been chosen, though, Laurence can not refuse and dragon and man begin a fascinating journey together.

His Majesty’s Dragon is the beginning of a nine book series. There are book series that I’ve started and after three or four books, I get bored, but I was hooked on these books. They are extremely well written, Laurence and Temeraire travel the world, betray Britain in order to save French Dragons from a plague, win their country’s trust back, begrudgingly, when it is discovered that Temeraire is a rare Imperial dragon from China. This later requires the Chinese Royal family to adopt Laurence as a Chinese prince since Temeraire will have no other companion. This does gain the Britain a valuable ally to help fight against Napoleon. In the end, Temeraire and Laurence play a major part in winning the war.

Another thing I love about the series is that Novik has elevated certain women to be part of the aerial corps. They are intelligent, strong, capable, and do not adhere to the standard roles other women were supposed to fill during the time period. In fact, the Admiral over all of Britain’s aerial corps is a strong woman who’s daughter is part of Laurence’s crew, and who has an intimate relationship with Laurence when they can manage to be on the same continent, or hemisphere.

Mostly, I’d love to see this series made for TV or movies because of the enduring relationship that develops between Temeraire and Laurence. Novik has created dragons who are intelligent, for the most part have extensive educations, and who have very distinct personalities. They help strategize for battles, and maneuver through difficult political situations. And, the British dragons at least, must also overcome fear and prejudice. I think these books would add to the interesting array of series like Game of Thrones, Outlander, Vikings, and the like.

I’d like to know what books you’d like to see turned into movies. I’m always interested in authors and books I’ve never heard of. My TBR list is very long, but I’m willing to add to it.

Thanks for reading, liking, and commenting. I appreciate it. Have a fun filled weekend.

Lucinda Sage-Midgorden © 2018

Lucinda is the author of The Space Between Time, an award finalist in the “Fiction: Fantasy” category of the 2017 Best Book Awards. It’s a historical, time-travel, magical realism, women’s novel, and is available in all ebook formats at Smashwords, or you can find the ebook at iBooks or Barnes and Noble. If you prefer a physical copy, you can find a print-on-demand version at Amazon. To join her email list, click here. She will never sell the names on her list.