When I first thought of this as a separate feature, there was one thing I had in mind that I haven't really gotten to until now, and that is movie novelizations. I can't really say when I first got interested in this area. Of course, I always loved to read, and I went a long time without regular access to TV or home video. Yet, I can't recall seeking out movie novels until quite a bit later. What quickly fascinated about such things was that the books could not only go into greater depth than the movies, but often went in different directions entirely. I would figure out that this was mainly because of how movies get shot and edited, but reasons never greatly concerned me. I liked movie novelizations, sometimes as much as the movies, and I got in the habit of picking them up when I had the chance. My pick for one of the very best (really only behind the Orson Scott Card novelization of The Abyss) is the present selection, which also happens to be the one that deviates most heavily and frequently from the movie.
Going to the movie side, Dragonslayer was a 1981 fantasy film made by Paramount and Disney. It was part of a wave of early 1980s big budget fantasy films, and with an $18 million budget against a $14.1M gross, it was possibly the most expensive failure among them after Krull. The movie received favorable critical attention, notably from Roger Ebert, who described it as "a movie with the courage to be grungy". The stop-motion creature effects by ILM's Phil Tippett, just off Empire Strikes Back, received especially favorable attention. The movie continued to receive favorable attention from fantasy writers and critics, and has long since reached cult status. There was a bit of further drama over its early 2000s DVD release, which was criticized harshly enough that many deemed the aging VHS tapes better. Fortunately, the movie is now available as streaming, including on Amazon Prime, where it ended up after I already paid money for it.
Unfortunately, the same can't be said of the novel, though if anything, it's fared somewhat better than average for a literary genre that's usually treated as disposable as toilet paper. It was written by Wayland Drew (1932-1998), a reasonably accomplished genre writer active mainly in the 1970s and 1980s. He was known for original fantasy that centered on ecological and anthropological themes. He also wrote several more movie novelizations, including 1988's Willow. Unusually, Dragonslayer was made available both in paperback and hardcover, both from Del Rey. Here's a few more pics of what you get with the hardcover.
For my personal experiences, I first saw the movie in junior high. During college, I ran across the novel in paperback, which I read just enough of to regret not buying it back then. It was probably a little later that I bought my own copy on VHS, as I recall after seeing the DVD in stores and learning of its notoriety. It was only in the last year that I finally ordered it online. I very quickly decided that it was even better than I could have known from my brief reading long ago.
It's hard to describe the novel or how it differs from the movie without going into a much longer review. I must say as part of this that the movie has never exactly been a favorite. A lot of things rub me the wrong way then and now, including the borderline anti-religious tone. What keeps it watchable and admirable are Tippett's effects, followed by John Hallam's performance as the villain Tyrian (see also
Flash Gordon). By comparison, the book starts with a quite nuanced introduction to the various characters, including a more poignant backstory of the hero Galen and his master Ulrich. The book quickly follows with a vivid picture of the various settings, from Ulrich's crumbling castle to the dragon's lair. Even the princess becomes marginally less annoying.
Things really take off when the novel gets to the arrival of Vermithrax the dragon. While the movie is never completely clear when this is supposed to have happened, the book definitely seems to place this further back. It is specifically stated, "There were men in (the) Urland villages who claimed they could recall hearing their grandfathers say that their grandfathers had witnessed the coming of the dragon...." This leads into the already familiar setup of the lottery for feeding the dragon, only carried out so long that rationales are muddled or half-forgotten. There are some darkly amusing passages revealing that the choice of a maiden doesn't seem to matter that much if at all. Then a scene that is a dream sequence in the movie is drawn out into the actual offering of a victim, complete with a tragic connection to one of the main characters.
Then there is the section that kept the novelization in my mind, the big faceoff with the dragon using the superweapon Sicarius. The book is so big on worldbuilding that even the lance gets a lengthy backstory (barely recognizable from what's seen in the movie), and it's impressively grim. Then, in the midst of the battle, the narration reveals Vermithrax's recognition and fear of the weapon, followed immediately by single-minded determination to destroy it along with the hero. There is even a sense of Sicarius's point of view, in which it is hidered more than helped by the hero wielding it, that makes the outcome more heart-wrenching.
With that, I'm wrapping this up. It will suffice to say that this is one of the most amazing artifacts I've run across in the course of my collecting. It's certainly worth the cost of acquiring it, though that might change if the word ever really gets out about how good this is. I for one hold out some hope that this book finds its way to ebook format. At least we still have the source material with us. I just might watch it myself.
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