From Page to Screen — Fantastic Fantasy Adaptations

Sometimes, fantastical worlds are just too enchanting to exist only between pages. From sprawling kingdoms and magical academies to unforgettable heroes and fearsome villains, book-to-screen adaptations present readers with another doorway to experience the stories they love so dearly again. They invite us to revisit beloved characters and epic adventures, and view them through an entirely new lens. 🎥 ✨

The Benefits of Consuming Stories in Multiple Formats

While many readers will firmly believe that the book is always better, there are still so many wonderful reimaginings that preserve the heart of the original stories and complement them. Plus, there’s just something ever so special about experiencing the same tale through different mediums. Watching your favourite cast of characters step out of your imagination and into a cinematic landscape is just like watching them be conjured into real life, and that feeling is unmatched!

Each book-to-screen adaptation offers a fresh perspective, revealing new elements and provoking different emotions, all while deepening your understanding of the fictional world. Whether it’s a small detail you missed amongst the pages of lengthy novel or the perspective of a character that you don’t get to see the point of view from in the book, a film or TV show can showcase these elements front and centre, uncovering new layers of the same story.

Consuming both the book and its screen adaptation, in any order, also encourages deeper analysis and greater appreciation of the story. Once you know the general plot, your attention can shift to the finer details, allowing you to notice subtle foreshadowing, creative decisions from both the author and the producers, and so much more. Comparing what was adapted, expanded upon, or completely removed can open up fascinating discussions, enabling richer reviews and complex debates for book and film clubs.

Fantastic Fantasy Book-to-Screen Adaptations

Whether you’re planning your next read or searching for your next watch, here are some of the fantasy adaptations we believe deserve a place on your list. 📖 🎬

The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.

The School for Good and Evil is originally a 2013 middle grade novel series written by Soman Chainani, following best friends Sophie and Agatha who soon discover where all the lost children go. It was adapted into a film in 2022, directed by Paul Feig.

Clary is only fifteen when she first meets the Shadowhunters; warriors covered with strange tattoos who are dedicated to ridding the world of demons. Within twenty-four hours, Clary is pulled into this new world with a vengeance when her mother disappears and she herself is attacked by a demon.

The Mortal Instruments is originally a 2007 young adult novel series written by Cassandra Clare, following Clary as she works with the Shadowhunters to figure out why demons would be interested in ordinary mundanes, and how she suddenly got the Sight. The first book, City of Bones, was adapted into a film in 2013, directed by Harald Zwart, and again into a TV series in 2016, created by Ed Decter.

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered by sixteen-year-old Jacob.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is originally a 2011 young adult novel series written by Ransom Riggs, following Jacob journeying to a remote island in Wales after experiencing a horrific family tragedy. It was adapted into a film in 2016, directed by Tim Burton.

A young, naive, but ultimately courageous hedge knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, towers above his rivals in stature, not experience. Tagging along is his diminutive squire, a boy called Egg, whose true name is hidden from all he and Dunk encounter.

A prequel to the beloved novel series, A Game of Thrones, which also has an epic TV adaptation, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a 1998 novel written by George R. R. Martin, following these two improbable heroes. It was adapted into a TV series in 2026, created by Ira Parker.

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee, Alina Starkov, who is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Shadow and Bone is originally a 2012 young adult novel series, written by Leigh Bardugo. This, alongside her other series in the Grishaverse, Six of Crows, was adapted into a TV series in 2021, created by Eric Heisserer.

One cruel night, Meggie’s father reads aloud from a book called Inkheart, and an evil ruler escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room. Suddenly, Meggie is smack bang in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in books.

Inkheart is originally a 2003 novel series written by Cornelia Funke and translated by Anthea Bell, following Meggie as she learns to harness the magic that has conjured this nightmare. It was adapted into a film in 2008, directed by Iain Softley.

Living in peaceful Shady Vale, Shea Ohmsford knew little of the troubles that plagued the rest of the world. Then the giant, forbidding Allanon revealed that the supposedly dead Warlock Lord was plotting to destroy the world. The Sword of Shannara is the only hope against this Power of Darkness, which can only be used by a true heir of Shannara, and Shea is the last of the bloodline.

Shannara is originally a 1977 novel series written by Terry Brooks, following Shea as he flees to draw danger away from the Vale. It was adapted into a TV series in 2016, created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.

Lately, mythological monsters and the Olympian gods seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy Jackson’s Greek mythology textbook and into his life. Zeus’s master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is originally and 2005 novel series written by Rick Riordan, following Percy and his friends as they try to find and return Zeus’ stolen property and bring peace to the warring Mount Olympus. The first two books, The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters, were adapted into films in 2010 and 2013 and directed by Chris Columbus and Thor Freudential. The books were also adapted into a TV series in 2023, created by Jonathan E. Steinberg.