Are these books any good?

[Laerten]

I have just read about a film released on DVD in early March called The Seeker. It is apparently based on a book by Susan Cooper in The Dark is Rising Sequence (children's author).

As the film sounds quite good, I would like to know if antone has read these books and are they any good? I always like to read a book before watching a film of it.

[The Ace]

Over Sea, Under Stone,
The Dark is Rising
Greenwitch
The Grey King
Silver on the Tree

By Susan Cooper. Individually (over sea, under stone was intended as a standalone) or in sequence, they are excellent reads. I don't know about "The Seeker," but I do know the forthcoming film of "The Dark is Rising," is a travesty.

Read and enjoy the books, they're well worth the search, but the film is a waste of time and money.

Sorry, I just googled, 'The Seeker,' and it's the same film. If you read the book, you'll be one up on the people who made the film. The book is brilliant, the film is a pile of cr*p.

[High Eight]

What Ace said. The books are subtle, mostly based on Cornish and Welsh legend. The film is............... Hollywood.

[zabylin]

This series was one of my favorites when I was younger, and I've been meaning to reread it for a while now. From what I've heard about the movie, it seems pretty awful.

[Laerten]

So basically, if I watched the film I could expect a repetition of Eragon - the book was great but the film was absolutely rubbish and hardly followed the book?

[The Ace]

Pretty much, yes. The large, crazy but close-knit Buckinghamshire Stanton family become a dysfunctional LA mess, Will goes from an amiable thirteen-year old to a sixteen-year old American brat, the depth of the book is lost to allow a US audience to understand it...... the list goes on.

Christopher Eccleston (the Rider) and Ian McShane (Merriman Lyon), while well cast, should hang their heads in shame at adding respectability to this dross.

[Clansman]

I suppose it is to be expected, now that Hollywood has discovered that fantasy can sell, that fantasy stories will be destroyed like science fiction stories, espionage stories, murder/mystery stories, and drama stories have been destroyed.

Give me a good independent film any day of the week. I mean, look what they did to I, Robot.

[zabylin]

I didn't think they were all that great, but I didn't mind Eragon (the movie) or I, Robot (the movie). I expect it is b/c I never read either of the books (though they are on my list).

Nothing can ever be worse, however, than the movie adaptation of Queen of the Damned. I'm not even that much of an Anne Rice fan, but the movie really should not have had the same name as the book.

[Connavar]

Over Sea, Under Stone i bought yesterday. Not cause of the movie, that looked very lame in the trailers i saw before.

My brother lost the library version of the book i had borrowed. So i had buy a new version of it for the library or pay a huge fine.

I get to read it before i give it to library. Lucky them, the paperback version i got is better looking,condition than 99% of their newer books.

[pyan]

Originally Posted by zabylin

I didn't think they were all that great, but I didn't mind Eragon (the movie) ....

Nothing can ever be worse, however, than the movie adaptation of Queen of the Damned.

Betcha? Eragon-the-movie is pretty dire, but wait until you read the book....

[Sathai]

I thought the books were excellent. Sorry to hear the movie was awful, I can scratch that one off my list to see.

[zabylin]

Originally Posted by pyan

Betcha? Eragon-the-movie is pretty dire, but wait until you read the book....

I like bets, but this would require me to read Eragon, and rewatch the movie. So, I'll get back to you.

I must note that I am highly skeptical it is worse.
(oh and Eragon the movie gets points for having John Malkovich in it, though I will try not to let this color my judgement).

[Michael01]

While I don't know anything about The Dark is Rising (hmmm...I think I'd like to look that one up), I read I, Robot and seen the movie. Now this is usually not the case, but in this instance I'd have to say that I prefer the movie. But, of course, I'm usually the odd one out when it comes to movies anyway, so...

[Nesacat]

Read Susan Cooper's books. They are wonderful. They were so when I read them way back in school and they still are. The movie is an abomination and someone needs to be fed to the shogoths for doing such a thing to a wonderful book.

The less said about Eragon the book and the movie the better.