Whenever there is a choice of either reading the book or watching the
on-screen adaptation, I tend to prefer reading the book and let imagination
build my own creative world. However, when I first started watching the TV
series Game of Thrones I had to reconsider this aim. First of all, I hadn’t
really heard much about the novel series by George R.R. Martin, A Song of Fire and Ice. Second, as I had
come across the TV series first, I really saw no need to read the novel
afterwards. However, after watching series 1-3, I had grown too impatient
to wait another 9 months for the series 4 to premier. Therefore, I decided
to go to our local bookstore and buy the actual
volumes that were meant to tie in with the latest on-screen events. But
while reading A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, I became more and
more disappointed with the books. Neither Martin’s writing style nor his
language appealed to me. Somehow I had expected the novels to be written in
more refined style, using the various devices of the English language to
enhance the thick and complex plot-lines. Furthermore, I was really annoyed to find out that
the actual books differed considerably from the TV series. For one,
there were storylines in the novel concerning characters that didn’t even
appear in the screen adaptation. In other cases, the storylines concerning characters
that were both in the book and in the TV series were changed so much, that they
didn’t relate any more (e.g. in the case of Sansa Stark/Alayne)[1].
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| George R.R. Martin. Look at his smug face. |
For obvious reasons our perception
of literature differs individually. So too does our preference for film
adaptations. If we look at various books and their screen adaptations, e.g.
Umberto Eco’s Name of the Rose, J.R.R.
Tolkien’s The Hobbit, John Buchan’s Thirty-Nine Steps, Rudyard Kipling’s Kim, John LeCarré’s The Constant Gardener etc. there is plenty of room for agreement or
disagreement, approval or disappointment. Naturally, there will be readers claiming
the book to be better, while others prefer the screen adaptation. Our
individual perception will always differ in one way or another from that of
others, e.g. from that of film directors or scriptwriters. Consequently, this
difference in individual interpretation or even criticism can also lead to
disappointment. (I am still wondering whether I should watch the screen
adaptation of John Fowles’s The French
Lieutenant’s Woman or not.)
Coming back to the Game of Thrones
series, the initial reason why I started reading the books was so that I could
follow up the storylines without having to wait for the launch of the next part
of the TV series. Though the experience of reading Martin’s novels influenced
my view of both the TV series and the book series considerably. Due to the high
amount of contextual disagreements, the mutilation of storylines and the lack
of refined language, I started judging both versions negatively. My discontent
has only increased, since I finished the last available volume of the book
series, A Dance with Dragons, and the
promised sixth volume, The Winds of
Winter, still unavailable. Although I didn’t really like the book series, I still fought my way through them, expecting to find some closure
for the various plots and subplots. However, nowI am still waiting for the next volume
to appear. Though despite his sincere promises, George R.R. Martin has not even
finished book six yet. There are recurring updates on his webpage that keep
postponing the actual publication of the next instalment. For true fans this
must be extremely annoying, but I fear that Martin’s publisher doesn’t enjoy
this ongoing delay either. As the next TV series is due out in April this year
(and obviously people have been working on the production of the TV series for
the better part of last year) the appearance of volume six seems to have become
somehow redundant. From my point of view, the delayed publication of the sixth
volume in close correlation with the launch of series six of the on-screen
adaptation clashes quite negatively. But who will suffer from the obvious
disadvantages of this development besides time-pressed fans? I am afraid
Martin’s publisher will suffer via a reduced interest in the books and
consequently lower sales figures.
I therefore wonder, whether there
should be some further restrictions that could help avoiding these sort of
developments. Even though I didn’t really enjoy the novels, I would have read
them just for the sake of finding out what happens to the various characters.
However, with Martin not being able to produce the next volume before the TV
launch, I will probably reconsider reading The
Winds of Winter, and I am sure I won’t be the only one. But I feel that
this is the wrong development. Is it not more beneficial to read a book and
engage your mind than just to watch TV? Even though I can recommend both the
Harry Potter films as well as the books, I know of some people who just watched
the films. When I asked them if they’ve read the books, they only shook their
heads. Why read the book if you can watch the film?! I feel that people miss
out by only watching the screen adaptations of certain books, for example the Harry Potter series or Eco’s Name of the Rose. Reference George R.R.
Martin’s Songs of Fire and Ice this
is a very different story.
1)
Why
do publishers take on the production and publishing of (unfinished) book series
when the rights for screen adaptations are sold initially?
2)
How
has the accelerated pace of screen adaptations changed book publishing? What
are potential effects of this change?
Some news regarding the (non)publication of volume 6:
[1] In this case it is interesting to take a look at Martin’s excerpt from
volume six The Winds of Winter to the
TV series. http://www.georgerrmartin.com/excerpt-from-the-winds-of-winter/.
The plot-line concerning Sansa/Alayne has become incoherent.
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