Comments on: The Big Idea: James Swallow

By: ChrisB

ChrisB — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 03:52:15 +0000

Novelisations that come out early do have problems. I can remember years ago looking at the novelisation of Mad Max II (AKA the Road Warrior) and finding that it had a completely different ending from the film; they’d presumably made an abrupt change after delivering the author’s copy of the script.

By: Cuper MacLeod

Cuper MacLeod — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:10:28 +0000

I am a voracious reader of science-fiction, and in addition to “real” SF, I’ve read a lot of novelizations and tie-ins. Like anything else, some are quite good and some are quite bad. However, some really tremendous authors have done this kind of work. Joe Haldeman, who wrote The Forever War (and who has won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards), wrote two Star Trek novels!

What I like most about novelizations is the insight it gives to earlier drafts of screenplays. From what I understand, the authors rarely work from a final shooting script, since the book and the movie are generally timed for release at the same time. The novels for Star Treks 2-4 by Vonda N. McIntyre fill in a lot of the gaps. The novels that followed the StarGate story in a totally different direction from SG-1 provide entertaining stories as well as a fascinating “what if?” scenario.

One of the craziest, though, has got to be the novelization of Gremlins. That movie is a favorite from my childhood, but the book goes in some strange directions. Who knew that Gizmo was genetically engineered by an alien scientist from another planet?

By: Java Monster

Java Monster — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:36:27 +0000

Um, that “good luck” did not come out the way I meant it to come out. Good fortune and success to you with translation and sales.

By: Java Monster

Java Monster — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:34:07 +0000

Some of my favorite writers have written tie-ins: Sherwood Smith, Alan Dean Foster, Diane Duane (I think she wrote some kick-butt Star Trek), the ones mentioned already on this thread, and Vonda MacIntire. I’m sure there are more. Translating what is on a script, or directly from film, is not easy; especially to satisfy the fans of that particular movie/TV show.

Good luck!

By: Ibid

Ibid — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:18:36 +0000

I tend to steer away from novelizations. Sometimes, however, they’re brilliant.
How often do you see a movie based on a book and say that the book was better? Most of the time, right? Sometimes the movie is better, but that’s rare.
A movie or TV show has a block of time in which to convey a story and has to keep it entertaining. A book has flexibility in that regard. Keep it entertaining, sure, but the book can convey so much that can’t be illustrated successfully.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy works best as text or audio because so much of what makes it work is the phrasing and explanations. The movie lost

Keeping the original storyteller is involved in the conversion is extremely valuable. I liked the Red Dwarf book “Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers” more than the series (and I loved the series) because the two who wrote the show also wrote the book. It was their story and they were able to introduce a lot of material that never made it to screen.

Sometimes it’s just having the right author. While they’re series related instead of actual novelizations, I have a bunch of the Star Trek:TNG books. When picking out my favorites I found that Peter David had written all but one of them.

Then you get those novelizations that you’re sure were written by the publisher’s nephew or are based on “Ernest Goes To…” level movies. So it all depends.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:58:44 +0000

This book may be available in the UK before we have a chance to see the TV series. Would we lose anything by reading the book first?

By: Dirty Wizard Hunter

Dirty Wizard Hunter — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:17:30 +0000

I remember reading Alan Dean Foster's Splinter of the Mind's Eye in the early 80s. Movies and action figures weren't enough. When my cat ate the Millennium Falcon, I needed another way into the Star Wars universe. So I found portals tucked away in the folds of a weathered paperback. Before Splinter I'd never thought of such books. It was this book that turned me on to the Star Trek books, which in turn led me to Scalzi's SGU decades later. Time is weird. I enjoyed The Butterfly Effect. I'll check your book out next time around.

By: John Scalzi

John Scalzi — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:57:57 +0000

No. TV shows get enough attention. I want to give attention to books.

By: mythusmage

mythusmage — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:53:08 +0000

John, since you did a “The Big Idea” on a novelization, how about a “The Big Idea” on a TV show. The series “Flash Forward” for instance. The premise for that show and the implications of it just fascinate me.

By: Liz

Liz — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:20:26 +0000

A novelization of a favorite show is a neat bit of luxury. Free of that 42-minute limit, an author can really delve into the details of a story and flesh out scenes.

Neat to read about the process and the challenges. Thanks for posting this.