20 Fantasy Adaptations That Could Be Bigger than Game of Thrones
By Jenn Reid
The Immortals. Image via Simon & Schuster
13. Tortall
The Books: Tortall by Tamora Pierce
The Story: The Tortall Universe consists of five book series that follows a legacy of young women throughout a fantasy world. The first series, The Song of the Lioness, follows Alanna of Trebond who disguised herself as a boy to train as a knight (very Mulan). By the second series, The Immortals, the characters from The Song of the Lioness are older and now the leaders of the world. Protector of the Small follows another young woman who trains as a knight, this time openly as a female, and Trickster’s follows the adventures of Alanna’s daughter. The series wraps up with The Provost’s Dog, a prequel set 200 years before Alanna’s time.
Each series revolves around young women carving a place for themselves in society, and how they have impacted one another. It’s no surprise the series has been a massive hit, especially amongst young girls.
The Song of the Lioness has four books: Alanna: The First Adventure, In the Hand of the Goddess, The Woman Who Rides Like a Man and Lioness Rampant. The Immortals also has four books, Wild Magic, Wolf-Speaker, Emperor Mage and The Realms of the Gods. Protector of the Small has First Test, Page, Squire and Lady Knight. The Trickster series is only two books, Trickster’s Choice and Trickster’s Queen. Finally, The Provost’s Dog series has three books, Terrier, Bloodhound and Mastiff.
The Adaptation: How have Tamora Pierce’s works never been adapted before? It seems ripe for the taking. There’s an extensive world that’s been created with tons of source material to draw on. Even if they just want to adapt one series, they could use allude to the others with Easter eggs for books fans. This could be a fantasy show that lasts for almost a decade with a series of young female protagonists – seriously, how has no one done this? ABC? CW? Anyone?