5 Sci-Fi Novels That Deserve Film Adaptations (& 5 That Deserve Better)

2. Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

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Hill & Wang

Oh, good god! Yet another classic of science fiction relegated to the action flick chopping block. Maybe 'action' is the wrong word here, but it was nonsense either way. Back in 2018, HBO adapted Farenheit 451 and they made such a phenomenal mess of it that if there was any justice they'd cancel the whole damn channel. The saddest part of it all was the fact that they got two of the OGs in the biz to play Guy Montag and Captain John Beatty, those being Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon respectively. Those men deserved better. The audience deserved better. And by Christ, Ray Bradbury's classic novel deserved/deserves so much better.

Farenheit 451 is a beautiful, slow burning (yes, pun intended, no apologies) meditation on the horrors we as a society might face if we willingly allow censorship to run amok, willingly allow information to be destroyed and willingly remain ignorant to not only history but also the present that we happen to occupy. Now, tell me, doesn't that sound pretty goddamn relevant to where we're at now, what with the utter goblins we have in power and those who hang on their every word?

This is a gorgeous, poignant novel that deserves to reach an even larger audience than it already has. And if you haven't read it before, do yourself a favour and get on it. Hey, it'll only take about three hours if that's any incentive

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Johnny sat by the fire, idly swirling his brandy, flicking through the pages of War and Peace, wondering whether it was pretentious to write his bio in the third person.