# Are there any novelisations that are better than the films they're based on? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 26, 2017, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103 "2017-03-26T21:58:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Pork-Chop\_Express](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@The\_Pork-Chop\_Express](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Pork-Chop_Express)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/1 "2017-03-26T21:58:39Z")
A friend said the Assassin’s Creed novelisation is a lot better than the film. > **[Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization: Golden, Christie:...](https://www.amazon.com/Assassins-Creed-Official-Movie-Novelization/dp/1945210052)** > > Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization \[Golden, Christie\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization Can you think of any others? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/2 "2017-03-26T22:28:48Z")
- Fantastic Voyage\* (And yes, it’s a novelization. Asimov was hired to adapt the script. However, the movie was delayed so the novelization came out first.) ---
**Author:** ![plankter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ba0ec/32.png) [@plankter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plankter)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/3 "2017-03-26T22:29:33Z")
The novelization of “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” was written by Vonda N. McIntyre. It’s been a long time since I read it but I remember it having far better dialogue than the screen version. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/4 "2017-03-26T22:59:35Z")
[Labyrinth](https://www.amazon.com/Labyrinth-C-H-Smith/dp/0030073227/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1490569001&sr=8-14&keywords=Labyrinth+book) was a better book than the movie. The movie was incredible, but there were plot gaps explained in the novelization. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/5 "2017-03-27T00:10:03Z")
The novelization of _The Wicker Man_ was pretty good. It was written by Anthony Shaffer and Robin Hardy, who wrote and directed the original film. It sadly lacks Britt Eckland nudity, but it goes into more depth on the conflict between Sergeant Howie and Lord Summerisle. Besides the obvious legal and religious conflicts, there were also social and political angles that were surprising to a non-Brit like me. Howie is less of a jerk than the movie depicts, and Summerisle plays a more physically active role in the conspiracy. The book was re-printed when the Nicholas Cage re-make was in the theaters, and you can get new copies from Amazon. Christopher Wood was one of the screenwriters who adapted the Ian Fleming novels _The Spy Who Loved Me_ and _Moonraker_ for the screen. He also wrote novelizations of the movies, titled _James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me_ and _James Bond and Moonraker_. Wood’s novels are not great, but they are at least as good as the movies. I have not read Delos W. Lovelace’s novelization of _King Kong_, but it has been re-printed many times since the copyright lapsed, so somebody must like it. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/6 "2017-03-27T00:20:57Z")
> [@Poysyn](#): > > [Labyrinth](https://www.amazon.com/Labyrinth-C-H-Smith/dp/0030073227/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1490569001&sr=8-14&keywords=Labyrinth+book) was a better book than the movie. The movie was incredible, but there were plot gaps explained in the novelization. I was going to mention this one, but you got here first. So I’ll go with The Dark Crystal and E.T. The 80s were a pretty sweet era for Juvenile and YA film novelizations. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/7 "2017-03-27T00:33:03Z")
Buckaroo Banzai, by Earl MacRauch, tells the movie story a lot better, with some hilarious detail about the BB fan club. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/8 "2017-03-27T00:38:16Z")
I’m told that one of the Star Wars prequel novelizations- I think maybe it was RotS?- is actually pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/9 "2017-03-27T00:59:09Z")
The dean of them all is probably 2001, which may be less visually stunning in print but is a hell of a lot clearer. And has one of the best closing lines I can recall. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/10 "2017-03-27T02:51:49Z")
> [@Poysyn](#): > > [Labyrinth](https://www.amazon.com/Labyrinth-C-H-Smith/dp/0030073227/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1490569001&sr=8-14&keywords=Labyrinth+book) was a better book than the movie. The movie was incredible, but there were plot gaps explained in the novelization. I came across the novelization posted online at some point – it may have just been the first chapter or two – and it cleared up a couple of things that are suggested by the movie but that I missed as a kid. I remember assuming that, in traditional fairy tale fashion, Sarah’s mother was dead and that the pictures of her in Sarah’s room (including one with David Bowie) were a sort of memorial. The novelization makes it explicit that Sarah’s parents are divorced and her mother is a successful stage actress. The novelization also notes that Jareth the Goblin King reminds Sarah of the actor who her mother frequently co-stars with (presumably the guy in the photo), which actually takes things even farther into Electra Complex territory than I’d thought. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/11 "2017-03-27T04:51:24Z")
Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/12 "2017-03-27T05:31:02Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > The dean of them all is probably 2001, which may be less visually stunning in print but is a hell of a lot clearer. And has one of the best closing lines I can recall. +1. First one that came to mind. The movie was great in its own way, but the book was far more riveting and memorable. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/13 "2017-03-27T07:43:09Z")
As a twelve-year-old, I really enjoyed the three _Omen_ novelizations. From what bits of the films I’ve seen in recent years, I think the books may be better overall (though not as great as I thought they were when I was twelve, probably). ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/14 "2017-03-27T11:06:45Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > So I’ll go with The Dark Crystal and E.T. Heck, I was going to _mock_ the novelization of E.T. E.T. was _falling in love with Elliot’s mom_, for heck’s sake! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/15 "2017-03-27T11:43:07Z")
> [@plankter](#): > > The novelization of “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” was written by Vonda N. McIntyre. It’s been a long time since I read it but I remember it having far better dialogue than the screen version. She also did the novelization for _Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan_, which was much better than I thought it’d be. A novelization at least as good as the film was Orson Scott Card’s for **The Abyss**. unlike most novelizations, where the author has nothing to do with the filming, Card really got involved, even going as far as to put on a diving suit and go into the giant tank that was the set. His backstories for the characters were adopted by James Cameron, who insisted Card’s work wasn’t a mere “novelization”. He also had bad things to say about previous novelizations of his movies, which I think is a dig at King of the Novelizations Alan Dean Foster. Another novelization that deserves a look is the novelization of **Forbidden Planet** by “W.J. Stuart”, actually mystery writer Philip MacDonald. Although Anthony Boucher derided it as “an abysmally banal job of hackwork”, it’s actually much better than run-of-the-mill novelizations. It delves into what’s going on, even giving a slightly different interpretation than the film does. I hadn’t realized that it had been released in hardcover. I do have two different paperback novelizations – one contemporary with the release, the other from the late 1960s. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say: > [@](#): > > Shortly before the film was released, a novelization appeared in hardcover and then later in mass-market paperback; it was written by W. J. Stuart (the mystery novelist Philip MacDonald writing under the pseudonym), which chapters the novel into separate first person narrations by Dr. Ostrow, Commander Adams, and Dr. Morbius.[20] The novel delves further into the mysteries of the vanished Krell and Morbius’ relationship to them. In the novel he repeatedly exposes himself to the Krell’s manifestation machine, which (as suggested in the film) boosts his brain power far beyond normal human intelligence. Unfortunately, Morbius retains enough of his imperfect human nature to be afflicted with hubris and a contempt for humanity. Not recognizing his own base primitive drives and limitations proves to be Morbius’ downfall, as it had for the extinct Krell. While not stated explicitly in the film (although the basis for a deleted scene first included as an extra with the Criterion Collection’s LaserDisc set and included with both the later 50th anniversary DVD and current Blu-ray releases), the novelization compared Altaira’s ability to tame the tiger (until her sexual awakening with Commander Adams) to the medieval myth of a unicorn being tamable only by a virgin. > > The novel also includes an element never included in the film: when Dr. Ostrow dissects one of the dead Earth-type animals, he discovers that its internal structure precludes it from ever having been alive in the normal biological sense. The tiger, deer, and monkey are all conscious creations by Dr. Morbius using the great machine as companions (“pets”) for his daughter and only outwardly resemble their Earth counterparts. Since the Krell’s Great Machine can project matter “in any form” it has the power to create life. Thus, the Krell’s self-destruction can be interpreted by the reader as a cosmic punishment for misappropriating the life-creating power of the universe. This is why Commander Adams says in his speech to Altaira “… we are, after all, not God.” > > Upon its publication in 1956, Anthony Boucher dismissed the novelization as “an abysmally banal job of hackwork”.[21] > > The novelization has a 4.4 star (out of 5 star) rating at [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/16 "2017-03-27T11:59:09Z")
For years they re-released the James Bond novels with covers reflecting the movies, as the movies were released. This wasn’t too bad when the films at least somewhat resembled the novels – it worked pretty well with \*From Russia, With love; Goldfinger; Thunderball; \*[ and _On Her Majesty’s Secret Service_ (I don’t recall a movie tie-in with either _Dr. No_ or _You Only Live Twice_ – the most I saw with that was a fluorescent sticker attached to the cover of the pre-movie paperback). But they released Fleming’s novel _Diamonds Are Forever_ with the poster from the movie on the cover, even though the film had precious little to do with that novel (they selected elements – the Las Vegas setting, the American gangsters, the killers Kidd and Wint, the death in the mud bath, but mostly it was completely new plot). That must have been a bit of a surprise for readers looking for Jill St. John and a laser satellite. In any event, I don’t recall any movie cover tie-ins for the next two movies, _Live and Let Die_ and _The Man With the Golden Gun_. Then they made _The Spy Who Loved Me_. By this time, the movies had departed completely from the novels. But even if they’d wanted to, they couldn’t have filmed Fleming’s novel as he wrote it – he explicitly sold only the title, retaining the rights to the actual story. Probably a good thing, too – I think the novel would’ve made a poor film, especially for people expecting the usual Bond extravagances. The movie _The Spy Who Loved Me_ and the next one, _Moonraker_, were undoubtedly James Bond at his most puerile. They’re the films that had Richard Kiel in them as “Jaws”, the simplistic, outrageous plots, and stuff. And for these two films, they decided for the first time to have new novelizations, where the novel fit the movie plot. And the got Christopher Wood, the guy responsible for those awful scripts, to write the novelizations. And to my utter surprise, the novelizations are much better than the films. Granted, they’re worse than most James Bond novels not written by Fleming himself. But they’re not as juvenile as the movies, and show a better understanding than I’d give Wood if I’d only seen the movies. He even manages to give “Jaws” a plausible back story. After Bond, Wood went on to write the abysmal script for _remo Williams_, but not a novelization (AFAIK) – there were already plenty of bad Destroyer novels out there. As for Bond, I don’t think there were any more movie novelizations until John Gardner wrote the one for _License to Kill_ (which was better than the movie) and Raymond Benson wrote the novelizations for \*Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, \* and _Die Another Day_. Although I liked Benson’s original Bond novels, I wasn’t impressed by these. I don’t think there have been any other Bond movie novelizations. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/17 "2017-03-27T12:19:27Z")
J. M. Barrie wrote \*Peter Pan \* first as a stage play, then novelized it. I don’t know if it’s \*better \*than the play, but certainly it’s a classic. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/18 "2017-03-27T12:20:19Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > The novelization of _The Wicker Man_ was pretty good. It was written by Anthony Shaffer and Robin Hardy, who wrote and directed the original film. > > It sadly lacks Britt Eckland nudity, but it goes into more depth on the conflict between Sergeant Howie and Lord Summerisle. Besides the obvious legal and religious conflicts, there were also social and political angles that were surprising to a non-Brit like me. Howie is less of a jerk than the movie depicts, and Summerisle plays a more physically active role in the conspiracy. > > The book was re-printed when the Nicholas Cage re-make was in the theaters, and you can get new copies from Amazon. > > Christopher Wood was one of the screenwriters who adapted the Ian Fleming novels _The Spy Who Loved Me_ and _Moonraker_ for the screen. He also wrote novelizations of the movies, titled _James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me_ and _James Bond and Moonraker_. Wood’s novels are not great, but they are at least as good as the movies. > > I have not read Delos W. Lovelace’s novelization of _King Kong_, but it has been re-printed many times since the copyright lapsed, so somebody must like it. Sorry I missed your mention of the Wood novelizations in my recap of Bond. I actually think they’re better than his movies, as I said. I _have_ read the Lovelace novelization of _King Kong_. It’s pretty good, although it includes some things not in the film (the triceratops attack) and it _still_ doesn’t explain how the hell they got Kong from Skull Island to New York. They based the 1969 Gold Key comic book adaptation on the Lovelace book. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/19 "2017-03-27T12:22:06Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > I’m told that one of the Star Wars prequel novelizations- I think maybe it was RotS?- is actually pretty good. Actually, I liked to novelization of _Star Wars_, which was supposedly by George Lucas, although everyone really thinks Alan Dean Foster wrote it. It’s definitely in his style. But it’s not “better than the film”. You’d have to have a freaking GREAT novelization to be better than the original \*\* Star Wars\*\*. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-novelisations-that-are-better-than-the-films-theyre-based-on/783103/20 "2017-03-27T12:32:29Z")
To complete the James Bond novelizations – they didn’t issue one, AFAIK, for **For Your Eyes Only** , but this was arguably about the last time they could have – the movie was the first time they tried to take Bond back to his literary roots, after the wide departure of the many previous films, culminating in the awful Christopher Wood duo. So they actually based much of the movie on two stories in that collection – the title story _For Your Eyes Only_ and the bulk of the movie from _Risico_. (They also added an unused bit from _Live and Let Die_). So they actually coulda released Fleming’s book with a movie poster cover as a tie-in. But they didn’t. They might also have gotten away with releasing _Octopussy_ as a tie-in for the film **Octopussy** – they actually do refer to the events in the title story (Like _For Your Eyes Only_, it’s an anthology). and they use virtually all of the story “Property of a Lady” in the Faberge Egg auction scene (That story wasn’t in the original hardcover edition, but was added to the paperback edition. Fleming actually wrote that short James Bond story to be included in a Christie’s auction catalog, which it was.)