Do you prefer to read or watch Sci-Fi/Fantasy?

[jenniferhailey]

Hmm I cheat. I like reading scifi books and teen books like "Wicca" which is a very good teen series. But I usually read the Buffy or Angel novels. I love those!

And when it comes to LOTR, I read them as I watched the films. I didn't read Return of the King so I didn't spoil the ending of the film lol!

But I prefer to watch, generally.

And write. Fan fic.

[Supreme Commander Thor]

BTW - Two series of Sci-fi books I have read in the last year are the Otherland Series (4 books total by Tad Williams) and the Hyperion Series (4 books total by Dan Simmons). Both were excellent!

[MagnoliaAnaglypta]

Any preference? Or is it dependent on your mood and/or what's currently available.

I have to admit that I prefer to read any day....

If I had all the time in the world, I would read. I would read all of those books that I haven't had the chance to over the last decade or so. But the bottom line is, a thousand page book (and sci fi/fantasy books do tend to be quite long) takes a minimum of six hours to read - and that's really motoring - wheras a film is an hour and a half. A book demands that you take quiet time to think about it afterwards, a film usually doesn't.

I'm usually quite leery about watching adaptations of books that I have read and loved. I thought Dune was pretty bad - and the sci fi channel's attempt didn't impress me much either, although their Dune:Messiah/Children of Dune combined sequel DID impress me, and I can sum up the reason in two words: Alice Krige... anyway... I have to say that there were some visualisations in the Lord of the Rings films which were way better than I had imagined when reading the books. That probably speaks more to my own visualisation skills than anything else, but a really well done film like LOTR sometimes helps to firm up my ideas of what something looks like which can enrich my reading experience if I go back and open the book again.

[anubis3355]

ilike to see...............well is it because im lazy??? well who knows.y en fin....siempre si leo un libro(por lo que casi nunca) luego veo la pelicula y se me ase muy corta y sin un fin que quede aca muy misterioso.....todo se descubre!!

[anubis3355]

whatever........

[Supreme Commander Thor]

ilike to see...............well is it because im lazy??? well who knows.y en fin....siempre si leo un libro(por lo que casi nunca) luego veo la pelicula y se me ase muy corta y sin un fin que quede aca muy misterioso.....todo se descubre!!

heheheh... you been watching Dora the Explorer, haven't you!?!?!?!

[ReplicatorX]

They are both as good as each other but if I had to pick i'd have to say Sci-Fi.

As for reading or watching; I'm not much of a reader period. well actually I don't read any novels at all, if i'm going to read something, it'll be comics

[spg_1983]

it really depends for me. generally if the books are based on a scifi tv show or movie i dislike the books (with the grand exception of the Star Wars novels, I have read every single one to date) but if the books came first i tend to prefer the books, not to say i dont like the show/movie i just like the books better. im a huge fan of cheesy B scifi movies and shows but that is really more just out of amusement. Geneally i prefer scifi books over movies/shows simply because it is very hard to do sci fi right and not have it sem really corny or unbelievable in the movies'television.

[Spaceminx]

On the whole I tend to watch more SF than I read, mostly because of lack of time and a lack of patience. And a book isn't a shared experience like a film is(unless you go to a book club I suppose).

But books go into more detail and I'm not judging them on anything other than the story. A film could have a good story but if the acting/directing etc is cr*p then I'm too busy thinking about that than the plot. And someone should tell George Lucas that SFX alone do not make a good film. Try having a plot and some decent actors matey. Ep 2 was the biggest pile of poo I've seen in a long time. Anyway, I digress....

Everyone *must* read War of the Worlds. Its absolutely bloody marvellous.

[SkyDancer]

Well... it depends on how well the movie/serie is made AND how well it is cast!!

But i never could put a good book down, and FX and eyecandy is one thing, but it will NEVER replace a vivid imagination. Besides in most movies/series they never get the details right.....

[Sela]

I love to read. I love to watch movies on TV. I can read the book and watch the movie or vice-versa and like both for different reasons.

A great example is the Lord of The Rings. I've been reading those books off and on since I was in high school and was sure the movies would not measure up to the pictures in my mind. If asked, I would have cast the film differently and put more emphasis on Bilbo as opposed to Fordo. But when I saw it, it was great - it was exactly right.

Another great thing is books on tape / CD. With an hour long commute both ways to work, I listen to a look of sci-fi in the car.

[joker_smile]

I like to watch it better than read it. I'm more of a person who needs to see stuff in order to understand what's going on.

[Elwe Singollo]

I like to watch it as well.

[gateslacker]

Well, I guess I could say both. When I read, it is most often something in the sci-fi genre and when I watch TV/Movies, it is most often in the sci-fi genre. I believe that reading allows you a more in depth view of the character but, at the same time, watching really enhances the visual aspect of a story (naturally).

In my opinion, when it comes to books made into feature film or TV, it is best, if you are able, to read the book after viewing. I know this isn't an option most times but sometimes a feature film can entice me to read a book I had never read. For some reason I am more disappointed in a film/TV show if I have read the book first. I think the only exception I have ever encountered is TNT's telling of The Mists of Avalon.

I forgot to ask.....are we including fanfic in this question?

[auralan]

I prefer to read. When I'm watching, I tend to spend too much time focused on the effects. The CGI still looks too much like CGI. Models often have scale issues. Actually, many kinds of effects have scale issues once they're blended into scenes. I notice things like that and it pulls me out of the story as I try to figure out why something looks not quite right. Maybe one day effects will be seamless enough that I won't have that issue, but they're not there yet.