This Sci-Fi Classic Will Never be Adapted Into a Movie… for Good Reason

The breakaway success of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune franchise, not to mention Blade Runner‘s long cinematic legacy, has ushered in a new wave of sci-fi adaptations. Apple TV+ brought Isaac Asimov’s Foundation to life in 2021, and even Netflix got in on the mind-bending action last year with 3 Body Problem. More adaptations of beloved sci-fi novels are currently in the works, like Apple TV+’s upcoming Neuromancer series, based on the novel by William Gibson. But there’s one science-fiction epic that is, literally, unadaptable.

Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun series is lauded as one of the greatest sci-fi book series ever written, on par with Frank Herbert’s Dune, Asimov’s Foundation, and the works of Philip K. Dick. The series is comprised of four, modestly-sized novels, beginning with The Shadow of the Torturer (published in 1980), and finishing with The Citadel of the Autarch (published in 1983). Wolfe also released a fifth novel in 1987, titled The Urth of the New Sun. The Book of the New Sun is mind-bending, incredibly complex, heartbreaking, and would never, ever work on the big screen.

What Is The Book of the New Sun About?

The Book of the New Sun is a story that has to be read to be fully experienced. As a result, even giving some basic information away here would reveal major spoilers. To carefully summarize, The Book of the New Sun series follows Severian, an apprentice in the Order of the Seekers for Truth and Penitence, a.k.a. a torturer, in the colossal city of Nessus. After showing mercy to a prisoner, he is banished from the city and sent as a journeyman executioner to the distant city of Thrax. During his journey, Severian is caught up in an ongoing war between Nessus and the totalitarian empire of Ascia, with the threat of the planet’s dying sun looming over them all.

That is an incredibly reductionist synopsis of the series and doesn’t do justice to any of its complex themes, world-building, or character development. The Book of the New Sun draws thematic inspiration from several sources, including Classic Greek plays, other monolithic sci-fi books, and the Christian Bible, all of which are blended together into one complex series of novels.

There are certain elements of the books that would be stunning on the big (or small) screen. Severian’s sword, Terminus Est, is one of the most iconic swords in the sci-fi genre. The novels also feature gorgeously detailed dream-like sequences, which could bring a Lynchian element to any adaptation. But, there’s one major problem… The Book of the New Sun only works as books.

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Why The Book of the New Sun Is Unadaptable

If trying to explain the plot without spoilers was hard, this segment will be much harder. To put it simply: there are major reveals in The Book of the New Sun that are only effective because of its prose. Certain world-building details, character traits, and the entire setting of Urth only maintain their mystery because we cannot physically see them, and are forced to trust Severian as our, incredibly unreliable, narrator.

In fact, The Book of the New Sun is so mysterious and complex, that scholars have even released compendium books explaining the terminology from the series, and the real-world influences behind them for dedicated readers. But, even the accuracy of those accompanying compendiums is hotly debated by fans. The Book of the New Sun is a series that demands re-reading, and even then, you still won’t catch every detail and reveal.

While new adaptations of novels tend to divide fans, almost the entire Book of the New Sun fan base understands that the story only works as a novel. The question of adapting it into a movie was posed in a Reddit thread last year. “I would actively fight against any and all attempts to “adapt” it,” read one of the most upvoted responses, continuing, “It is its medium. Any attempt to take it out of it is to destroy it.”

Others have tried calculating how The Book of the New Sun could possibly be adapted. The results are a drastically scaled-back version of the novels. “I think if there ever were to be an adaptation it would be [a] rather diluted/very loose adaptation of the book just to please the masses,” wrote another user.

The Book of the New Sun is available to purchase and read.

Fun fact: Gene Wolfe, the author of The Book of the New Sun, is also the inventor of Pringles, the brand of potato chips.