Honestly–like, really honestly, I’ve given this thought, honestly–I think an audiovisual medium like TV might be better for conveying the worldbuilding and cast than the books were.
There’s a lot of elements–especially in Book 1–that are confusing at least as much because you’re trying to figure out the peculiar vocabulary Erikson’s adopted to describe his world’s take on some fantasy standards as because they are “tough” books. Having the visual cues for “opening a Warren” or the zombified nature of the T’lan Imass would be a fantastic way of easing people into the world, as compared to relying on readers to be expert users of context clues with picture-perfect memories.
Moreover, you also get some very typical–but vital–storytelling “tricks” with the cast. Between color correction, the recognizable qualities of a great actor, and even things like recurring musical cues, you build up a whole arsenal of “reminders” of who people are and where they lie in the story. Weaving “Fiddler’s Theme” and a telltale shock of bright red hair over a busted-up instrument throughout his multi-continent journey through the books could go a long way toward reminding people of who he is as he crops up after four-episode absences. And hearing that theme twisted into something grandiose and epic when a certain someone lays a hand on his shoulder would be. . . awesome :)
That Gardens of the Moon was originally shopped around as a screenplay also implies to me that Erikson and Esselmont came at the series with a highly visual, cinematic eye. Scenes like that initial glimpse of Moon’s Spawn cement that belief, I feel.
This. All this. Problem is, the Black Company needs a rated “R” approach, not PG-13. In a masturbatory fantasy, HBO does The Black Company after Game of Thrones. Starz will do in a pinch.
But as for SyFy, I’m all in on a great Wheel of Time adaptation, where PG-13 will work just fine.
There really are very few large battle scenes–since most of the stories are told from Croaker’s perspective, they tend to focus on individuals rather than huge fights. And most of the details come from confrontations with individual boss enemies (the Lady and her wizard allies/enemies/sister). I actually think production costs would be pretty low, since its mostly trudging around in the mud.
Yeah, they’re not showing The Expanse in the UK either (nor is anyone as far as I can tell), and I can’t find any way to legally watch it online. Very tedious in this day and age.
There are ways to buy it and download it. I have a US debit card (it’s easier), but I don’t think you need one. You might need a VPN if you don’t have one, though.
Yes I’m 4 books from the end. Ill probably be ready for the last book before its published this summer (at least since I last I checked when I started reading anyway). I love this series so much I’m going to be lost without more Admiral Geary…seriously there has to be another space battle series this good to recommend! This is literally the best space series I’ve ever read! All things I read from now on will be graded against it…
