“My father was a king and the son of kings.”
First line in The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Today’s prompt for Wyrd and Wonder is Page to Screen and combining that with my own theme of Historical Fantasy means I’m going to be talking about some Historical Fantasy books that would be great on a screen whether it be as a movie or a TV show. The market is definitely lacking in Historical Fantasy adaptions, and there are so many great ones to choose from.
The Diviners by Libba Bray – TV Show
This one is so obvious that I have no idea why it isn’t a thing yet. This series has a big cast of diverse characters that each has very fleshed-out storylines that could run across multiple episodes. The issues the story deals with are also very relevant in our current society even though it takes place in the 1920s. And I also just want to see its amazing eerie atmosphere brought to life.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – Movie
I know we already have a movie about Achilles and Troy from 2004, but that one is old and clearly wrong, so we need Madeline Miller’s version instead. A movie where they focus more on characters and their interactions instead of fighting sequences and blood everywhere. You know, one with more of the chill vibe we also get from the book. It could be a very beautiful movie.
Burn by Patrick Ness – Movie
Taking place in an alternate version of the 1950s, an adaption of Burn could provide a new and interesting take on the racism issues of that era because anything gets more interesting when you add dragons. The book is on the shorter side, so I imagine writers would expand the story a bit because the book definitely leaves opportunities for that, and I would love to see it.
Timekeeper by Tara Sim – Movie/TV Show
I could see the Timekeeper series work as both a movie series and a TV show because you definitely have a contained story, but it provides so many opportunities for expanding it further. I would also love to see the many beautiful clock-related shots an adaption of this would entail. And of course, this is another series with a diverse cast of characters, so there’s really no excuse not to make it.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab – Movie
This is one of those instances where I wasn’t the biggest fan of the book but I would be very interested in seeing what a movie adaption could do with this story. It wouldn’t be the easiest book to adapt because of the many flashbacks, however, I do think it would give some creative freedom to the writers. It would be more about creating the right atmosphere as opposed to recreating every single scene exactly as Schwab wrote them.
Would you be interested in seeing these books adapted? Do you think they would work or fail miserably like so many other adaptions? Let me know in the comments, and happy Wyrd and Wonder.
First Line Reader 
I don’t know if I could cope with an adaptation of The Song of Achilles but, considering Circe is supposedly getting an adaptation I’m surprised this one isn’t. I really don’t understand how The Diviners hasn’t been picked up yet when every book in the series has the perfect arc for a season of a show. Plus everyone’s revisiting the 1920s now that we’re in the 2020s – I need an adaptation immediately!
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Yes, The Song of Achilles would be tough to watch but now that the idea of it is in my head I can’t get it out 😄 If Circe turns out to be a success we might get Song of Achilles too. I’m hoping at least.
And The Diviners just needs to happen!
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Gosh, I NEED that Diviners adaptation – if done, right, it would be absolutely epic! Besides, if they started filming now, it would give me ample time to read The King of Crows, which I still haven’t done 😅 I’ve heard some pretty mixed things about it, which has made me extremely apprehensive…
I’m not so sure how I’d feel about the Addie LaRue adaptation, though. A big reason why I loved it so much was the writing and all the Faust references, and I don’t know if that would come across that well on screen… But if we got one, I’d obviously watch it! 😁
And all those other ideas sound really intriguing, too, although I haven’t read any of the books yet. But these pitches are really making me want to!
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Oh, I haven’t read The King of Crows yet either, and I’m also very scared of it. I haven’t really read any reviews, but I feel that if it had been really, really good, I would have heard about it some way 😅 But yes, that adaptation needs to be a thing!
I was conflicted about the Addie LaRue adaptation too because I think a truly faithful adaptation would be very hard to pull off. Just incorporating all those flashbacks would be a nightmare. So no, that adaptation would probably not satisfy fans of the book but perhaps it would click more with weirdos like me who don’t like it or people who haven’t read the book 😁
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I haven’t really read full reviews for The King of Crows either, but a friend of mine read it and wasn’t too thrilled, and I’ve seen lacklustre mentions in a couple of wrap-ups 😅 But then again, everyone else also hated The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, so maybe I should keep an open mind 😂
And if that adaptation will get you to like Addie LaRue, I will support it even if it’s unfaithful to the books! I can definitely see all the time jumps being horribly confusing, too 😁
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I’d love to see an adaptation of The Diviners! I never could really get into the books, but I still think the premise is fantastic and it’d definitely work as a spooky tv show!
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The Diviners would be spectacular as a show, and I agree it would maybe work even better than the books, especially if one wasn’t a fan of those. Thank you for your comment! 😊
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