From the Novel to the Tube

You may already know that the new series "True Blood" is based on the books by Charlene Harris. I haven't read any of them, nor am I much a fan, but it's good to acknowledge a Mississippi native in the know (She lives in Arkansas, but was born in Tunica, MS).

She's not the only one. I read in a magazine that a tv series based on the books of Terry Goodkind is in the works. Someone I know, is wondering why not his favorites (David Eddings and L.E. Modesitt Jr.) haven't made it to the big or small screen. I told him not to worry, their day will come.

Though I have yet to read any of Terry's books, I am looking forward to his tv series, coming from someone who loves Sword and sorcery. But as I tell my customers (and I just don't say this, it's a fact) the book is always better.

Word. I always try to see the movie before reading the book otherwise I'm always disappointed. I remember watching Gone With the Wind after having read the book, and I HATED the movie. I had really invested in creating the characters in my imagination, so when I saw them on screen and they were nothing like my characters, I just couldn't get into it.

That's why I think LOTR movies are some of the ebst out there, becuase it was the only time in my life when the movie was actually BETTER than my imagination made the books.

Here's something I didn't know. I knew the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" was a book before it was a film, but I had no idea how old the book was. What brought me to this revelation was 1) an old friend of mine read the book back when we were in high school, and 2) It was a television series in England and one of the stars, was an american actress who would later be the wife of the Fifth Doctor Peter Davison. Shocking huh?

I can tell you the reason the Eddings' books haven't made it to the big screen yet is because David Eddings himself is an egotistical prick. His hollier-than-thou attitude about their work and how "difficult it is...you should just give it up" just rankled many of his fans. (Read his general notes/essays in The Rivan Codex and check fan sites on the net.) I admit, I would like to see the Belgariad made into a movie series, as long as it was done right (ala Lord of the Rings). But, I doubt that's going to happen until after David passes on. His wife died last year, I believe.

Still, I do love their first couple of series. I reread them every few years. Their recent works, however, just rehash the same moral, situational, and comedic grounds of the previous works. It gets dull reading the same things in a different setting.

I just thought of something. The Dark Tower series was actually the glue to Stephen King's other books. And the Man in Black made apperances in other books like the Stand.
Was he Carrie's father?