Awesome Adaptations is a weekly bookish meme, hosted at Alisa Selene’s books blog, Picturemereading. Anyone can play along! Each week there is a new category of adaptation to blog about. Any format (television series, film, web series, etc.) is acceptable as long as it is based in some form on a book. If you’re playing along on your own blog, just mention Picturemereading in your post and include the banner above. Let them know which film you’d pick and why it is an awesome adaptation worth watching. Oh, and don’t forget to share the link to your own post in the comments for that week’s challenge so that everyone can read your thoughts!
An awesome altered adaptation
Adapted from The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind
The books by Terry Goodkind are an involved epic high fantasy series. It centers around Richard who has lived most of his life as an ordinary woodsman and discovers his true heritage and calling when he helps a mysterious (and of course beautiful) woman, who turns out to be the most powerful woman in the the Midlands. It’s a long saga to defeat the dark wizards who want to rule the land, and the books definitely have a mature, thought-provoking and philosophical edge to it. I'm especially inspired by the ultimate message in the books: "Your life is yours alone, rise up and live it."
Legend of the Seeker is the TV series based on the books that ran for two seasons. It was toned down and broadened for family audiences, making the episodes more light hearted and focused on the adventure. The original story arcs of the first two books were preserved very loosely in the two seasons, but elements from other books, and new ideas were understandably worked into the show - the story had to be chopped up into bite-sized episodic serials. There are elements of the books that also had to be discarded, though I was surprised by how much they included, especially about the Mord-Sith who are master torturers and are only a master at it because they were tortured as children.
I absolutely love both versions of the story. The books are incredibly immersive and detailed, and shocking sometimes, but the storylines are flawless, and the journey of Richard and Kahlan is beautifully told. The TV series is captivating and entertaining television. My favorite episodes are actually the funny ones - that took the characters and almost did a pastiche on them. (There was one "funny" episode per season) The show also does justice to Richard and Kahlan’s characters and their romance - making them sympathetic and relatable, and in the second series they made an incidental character in the books - Cara - a main character in the show and she became a completely awesome, badass female character. Just for that, I think the TV show did something very special in their interpretation of the books.
Although the book series has so much more than the TV show could possibly do justice to, the TV show filled a void for fun adventure stories with incredible backdrops (it was filmed in New Zealand) and managed to capture the heart and soul of the characters and the importance of their journey.
An awesome altered adaptation
Title: Legend of the Seeker
The books by Terry Goodkind are an involved epic high fantasy series. It centers around Richard who has lived most of his life as an ordinary woodsman and discovers his true heritage and calling when he helps a mysterious (and of course beautiful) woman, who turns out to be the most powerful woman in the the Midlands. It’s a long saga to defeat the dark wizards who want to rule the land, and the books definitely have a mature, thought-provoking and philosophical edge to it. I'm especially inspired by the ultimate message in the books: "Your life is yours alone, rise up and live it."
Legend of the Seeker is the TV series based on the books that ran for two seasons. It was toned down and broadened for family audiences, making the episodes more light hearted and focused on the adventure. The original story arcs of the first two books were preserved very loosely in the two seasons, but elements from other books, and new ideas were understandably worked into the show - the story had to be chopped up into bite-sized episodic serials. There are elements of the books that also had to be discarded, though I was surprised by how much they included, especially about the Mord-Sith who are master torturers and are only a master at it because they were tortured as children.
I absolutely love both versions of the story. The books are incredibly immersive and detailed, and shocking sometimes, but the storylines are flawless, and the journey of Richard and Kahlan is beautifully told. The TV series is captivating and entertaining television. My favorite episodes are actually the funny ones - that took the characters and almost did a pastiche on them. (There was one "funny" episode per season) The show also does justice to Richard and Kahlan’s characters and their romance - making them sympathetic and relatable, and in the second series they made an incidental character in the books - Cara - a main character in the show and she became a completely awesome, badass female character. Just for that, I think the TV show did something very special in their interpretation of the books.
Although the book series has so much more than the TV show could possibly do justice to, the TV show filled a void for fun adventure stories with incredible backdrops (it was filmed in New Zealand) and managed to capture the heart and soul of the characters and the importance of their journey.
Loved the books. Loved the series.
ReplyDeleteCool another fan of the both! Thanks for commenting!
DeleteI keep thinking that I really need to try this series out properly (I've seen a couple of episodes but never managed to keep up with it!). Particularly as I've been on something of a fantasy kick lately! Thanks for putting it back in my mind to give this a go. :)
ReplyDeleteOh I'm so glad! I hope you do get a chance to get into the series! And maybe the books too, but they are a big time commitment! :)
DeleteI didn't realize this was a book series as well! I need to check it out! :)
ReplyDeleteOh I highly recommend it! I got into it because a college friend of mine loved the books - she used to keep them in a stack on her desk. :)
DeleteLoved loved loved the Books ( I own all 11) Thought the series was okay, not great but okay. Until I looked at it from the perspective of someone who hadn't read the books then I really started to enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteOh I'm glad you came to like the series! I was a bit disappointed when I realized the tone of the show would be so different from the books, but I started loving it as I watched more because I loved the characters so much!
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