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Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
My personal internet this week was chock full of adaptation news, reviews, announcements, teases, reveals, and other digital publicity efforts. And you know what? I was into it. So as a way of covering some of the notable fall adaptations: my personal hype rating of six notable upcoming adaptations, scaled 1 to 10 (1 being this should not exist and 10 being I would drop everything and watch this now if I could).
If I left something you are pumped about off the list, assume not that I am not interested but rather I forgot to bookmark it.
Before the hype meters, mini-reviews of two adaptations that are already out:
HotD Season 2 was better than the first season, but still would be probably my 6th favorite season of Game of Thrones television. The two standouts though really do stand out. Emma D’Arcy is giving a stunning performance that blends ambivalence and resolve in a way I certainly have never seen before and frankly would not have thought possible. Like Hamlet, she really doesn’t want to initiate violence, however justified within the code of the story. But this hesitation is conveyed as moral rightness rather than squeamishness.
The second highlight is the CGI work on the dragons themselves. There is a moment in which D’Arcy’s Rhaeyna Targaryen summons a dragon to serve, and when it emerges from the depths of its lair, awe is inspired. I am so accustomed to how competent and prevalent visual effects are now that I rarely am struck by amazing something is rendered, but in this moment I couldn’t help but appreciate just how damn cool it looked.
I have never read a Carl Hiassen novel, but I know people who swear by them (or maybe drink-poolside-by-them) as great vacation books. Last weekend, in a jet-lag purgatory of half-consciousness, I threw on episode 1 on the strength of Vince Vaughn quipping in bucolic scenery. And I got what I thought. If you are in the market for something that is about 60% as good at doing things Only Murders in the Building does, then do I have the show for you. Not as winning nor as warm as OMITB, Bad Monkey has enough banter and wackiness to keep the “next episode” button firing.
OK on to anticipation ranking:
Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim (in Theaters, Dec. 13th, based on The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Hype Rating: 7
I somehow missed in the pre-trailer marketing breadcrumbs that this animated installment in the Middle Earth cinematic universe was going to be anime. And while I can take or leave anime itself, the choice is shrewd. My sense is that LOTR is not as big of a deal in the rest of the world as it is in the English-speaking part of it, but anime is a heckuva way to get different timezones interested. Would I be more excited if this were live-action? Yes? Does that change the fact that I will see this in theater in one of the two first weekends? No.
Slow Horses Season 4 (Apple TV, September 4th, based on the Slough House series by Mick Herron).
Hype Rating: 8
My favorite running show doesn’t get a 10 only because this is the third season and I know what I am going to get: smart, well-acted, propulsive spy stuff that looks terrific (Apple’s streaming offerings are many things for good and for ill, but I have not seen one where the budget was the problem). I probably am taking it for granted, which just might be the highest compliment I can give.
Pachinko Season 2 (Apple TV, out now, based on Pachinko by Min Jin Lee).
Hype Rating: 7
Speaking of Apple TV budgets, I cannot believe what they have done to bring early 20th century Japan and Korea to life in this show. Could be the best looking historical fiction TV show ever made that isn’t primarily about wars or gangs or other action-oriented subject matter? Lee’s novel is emotionally sophisticated with enough love story and generational drama to keep both the head and heart engaged. While I was watching Shogun, which I adored and thought looked great itself, I kept thinking about how Pachinko just felt more lived-in and real. (Fog does a lot of heavy lifting in Shogun).
Hype Meter: 8
Oh man. Keefe is my favorite non-fiction writer (Provisionally. I think. Maybe). And I don’t think I am alone in that. His Say Nothing: A True Story of Memory and Murder in Northern Ireland got enough votes to make it on The New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century list and deservedly so. Expertly reported, of course. Compelling subject, obviously. But Keefe is also so unfairly good of a writer that his books transcend their genre, in this case true crime. I would have bumped this to a 9 if I knew anything really about the cast and creative team. Hard to believe this will be bad, but equally hard to believe it will live up to the book. Would love to be wrong.
Hype Meter: 6
Even though the trailer is dazzling, this would not be on this list if not for my kids, who when I asked what they were most looking forward to seeing next, both listed The Wild Robot. They have both read the book and tell me that the movie looks to capture the charm and real sense of peril that Brown conjures in the novel. A-list voice cast is encouraging, even as original non-Pixar animated movies don’t normally get me out of the house.
The only reason that this adaptation of my favorite novel by my favorite novelist is not 10 is because I am afraid that is is going to be good. And if it is good, it is going to be harrowing. I struggle to pin The Nickel Boys into a genre, but I have called in True Horror, and I will stick with that. If you don’t already know what it’s about, I might suggest keeping it that way. The Underground Railroad has become Whitehead’s signature work, but the real heads know that The Nickel Boys is where it’s at.