I was just chatting with my friend Joe Farr. We were ruminating on the book Road Kill by Dennis E. Taylor (see also Human Artifacts Discovered on Mars!) when Joe said, “I really wish they would make this into a movie.

Ooh, I totally agree. This would make an awesome film.

Which set me thinking about some of the books that have already been made into movies—some triumphantly and others… not so much.

Take The Lord of the Rings, for example. I’d seen so many disastrous interpretations over the years—including one that combined traditional 2D animation with rotoscoping and only covered about half the story—that, when I heard Peter Jackson was going to attempt it once again, I put my head in my hands and sobbed, “No! For the love of God, no!”

So, you can only imagine my delight when the resulting trilogy—one movie for each book—turned out to be spectacular and far exceeded my expectations.

Much the same thing happened with Dune. I was unimpressed by the 1984 film version directed by David Lynch, and uninspired by the 2000 TV miniseries. I’d almost given up hope, only to find myself delighted with Denis Villeneuve’s interpretation in Dune Part 1 (2021) and Dune Part 2 (2024), with Dune Part 3 scheduled for release in December 2026 (see also my column, Dune 2021: First Impressions).

Sad to relate, things don’t always work out well. I can still remember my excitement when I first heard that Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy was being brought to the small screen by the folks at Apple TV (see OMG! Asimov’s Foundation is Coming to TV!). But what a steaming pile of #$%^%^& that turned out to be! I’m left with the impression that the producers hadn’t actually read the books, because they totally missed the point (much like the bozos who wreaked havoc on Heinlein's Starship Troopers).

I just heard that Netflix is going to make Narnia: The Magician's Nephew. This is scheduled for release in 2027. I cannot wait! I must admit that I liked Walden Media’s interpretation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005), which was the first offering in their Chronicles of Narnia film series, but I was less impressed with their Prince Caspian (2008) and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010). Thankfully, Walden Media’s film rights expired in 2011 before they could do any more damage. My hope is that if The Magician's Nephew does well, Netflix will follow up with their own interpretations of the other six books in the series.

Now I’m thinking of other books I would love to see made into films, just so long as they make a good job of it. Let’s start with Rendezvous with Rama, for no other reason than that Denis Villeneuve is supposed to be directing it once Dune is finally put to bed.

I’d also like to see movie versions of Eon, by Greg Bear, and all the Bobiverse books by Dennis E. Taylor. Also, the Yestertime Series by Andrew Cunningham (see also my Tortuously Tricky Time Tunnels blog), the Chronicles of St. Mary's Series by Jodi Taylor, and, of course, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

Well, that should keep us going for a bit. How about you? Do you have any suggestions you’d like to share with the rest of us?