I LOVE Alfonso Cuarón’s sci-fi action movie Children of Men. I’ve watched maybe six times and every time, the ending always almost brings me to tears. So when I learned it was adapted from P.D. James’ book of the same name, it was a no-brainer deciding what my next book would be.
After finishing the book, it wasn’t difficult to reach to the conclusion that I enjoyed the movie better.
While James’ book gives a more in-depth look at how human infertility and humanity’s slow death march towards extinction affects the sexual dynamic between men and women and almost demented ways humans try to cope with a world without children or a race of dead men walking, I feel the book dedicates WAY too much time describing the failing of human civilization and the Regrets and guilt of Theo Faron. It’s not even until after 2/3 through the book where it feels like the plot and story are properly paced and stuff of consequence actually begin to happen.
The film’s adaptation by, comparison, feels consistent in its pacing and the world building and woe-is-mes of Theo feel more compact a take up less of the audience’s time.
What books do you feel were worse than its film adaptation and why?
Jaws
The book is decent enough, needed more than a few subplots chopped, but the film is legendary.
And The Terror. The book is plodding and keeps stopping for random sex scenes. The miniseries is excellent.
Damn.. i literally almost bought The Terror the other day because it’s on my read list but opted for Mickey7 instead. Is The Terror worth reading at all!? I havent seen the miniseries
I really enjoyed it, but I get why anyone here says they wouldn’t. It’s a lot of book, too much book, but it paints the hell they’re going through so well that I literally felt freezing cold whenever I was reading it.
The parts that focus on the atmospheric horror of arctic exploration and suspense of being hunted were all done so, so well. It was such a heavy, claustrophobic read and I loved most of it. However, Simmon’s almost pathological need to force a weird, fetishized romance is very distracting. He does it in almost all of his books, so I was prepared, but I wish Silna’s character had been given the depth she deserved. Also, there are some choices that are made to characterize the villain that were very cringey and cartoonish. Overall, though, if you have even a passing interest in the terror of exploration pre-modern conveniences, I recommend it.