2025’sIn the Lost Landsis the most recent adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s writing, adding it to the divisive list of visual media to come from his beloved fiction. Martin is one of the most prolific writers of the past fifty years, with his best-known work being theA Song of Ice & Firebooks, which served as the source material for HBO’sGame of Thrones. These books weren’t just massive for television; they alsochanged fantasy literature for years, subverting what Tolkien did withThe Lord of the Ringsand pushing the genre toward what we have today.
George R.R. Martin’s best booksaren’t just theA Song of Ice & Firetitles, though. He’s been a published writer since the 1970s, and he initially built his career on works of science fiction short prose. There are still readers who consider his sci-fi novellas and short stories to be his strongest work, though his fantasy world is almost certainly his opus in scale.BeforeA Game of Throneswas published in 1996, Martin wrote another three full-length novels and dozens of short works of imaginative fiction, all of which are worth exploring.
5Nightflyers (1987)
Based on Nightflyers (1980)
Nightflyersis one of George R.R. Martin’s most celebrated works of short fiction, but it’s unfortunately been used as the source material for his least successful adaptation. In the aftermath of masterwork films likeAlienandThe Thing, adapting Martin’s sci-fi/horror novella might have been a no-brainer. However,the 1987 movie wasn’t a faithful depiction of his story or a well-made production. It currently holds a 15% score on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the lowest-rated adaptation of his work.
Nightflyersis set in George R.R. Martin’s “Thousand Worlds” universe, which also includesDying of the Light,Sandkings, andA Song for Lya.
It’s worth noting that George R.R. Martin originally wroteNightflyersin 1980, but the more expansive version was written in 1981, providing additional exposition related to several characters. For whatever reason, the film adaptation chose to use the shortened narrative and still had to cut out plot elements for its budget. Itperformed poorly at the box office, and unlike many 1980s sci-fi films that weren’t financial hits at the time,Nightflyersnever found an audience as a cult classic, even after Martin’s writing blew up.
With a veteran filmmaker like Paul W. S. Anderson (Resident Evilseries) and big-name actors like Dave Bautista and Milla Jovovich,In the Lost Landsseemed like an opportunity to make something out of George R.R. Martin’s 1982 short story. While the author praised this adaptation,Screen Rantwas among many reviewersto find it lacking in the prestige quality that definedGame of Thrones, with a more direct focus on action and a particular tone. Reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes have highlighted the lack of a cohesive narrative as a major issue.
This 2025 George R.R. Martin adaptation holds a 17% score on Rotten Tomatoes, only slightly better than 1987’sNightflyers. The Audience Score is slightly better at 46%, which is fairly consistent with Anderson’sResident Eviladaptations, which were never received well by critics despite having a fanbase. It’spossible thatIn the Lost Landscould find its footing on streaming, but the film has performed poorly at the box office, making it doubtful that this title will be theGame of Thronesreplacement.
Why The Rotten Tomatoes Score For Milla Jovovich & Dave Bautista’s New Action Movie Is So Low
In the Lost Lands, the new post-apocalyptic action movie starring Milla Jovovich and Dave Bautista, has a very low score on Rotten Tomatoes.
3Nightflyers (2018)
2018 was the perfect time for a television series to be advertised as an adaptation of a George R.R. Martin story, but Syfy’s version ofNightflyerswasn’t the hit they were looking for. The 2018 TV series only ran for one season, whichholds a 38% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a slightly better 55% Audience Score. It’s worth noting that this series, while not Martin’s work at its best, was a much stronger iteration than the original film, with a talented cast bringing it to life.
Unfortunately,Nightflyersstillsuffers from a low budget, and the writing doesn’t do justice to the original novella. Trying to make a movie out of a work of short fiction is a challenge, but making a ten-episode TV series is even more difficult, requiring the show’s writers to take drastic creative liberties with Martin’s work.Nightflyersis mediocre TV that was released during the Golden Age of its medium; it’s no wonder why it was left behind.
AfterGame of Thronesseason 8 and the controversy surrounding the original show’s ending, the pressure couldn’t have been higher onHouse of the Dragon. Unfortunately, like the original show, the responses are still rather mixed. The streaming world saw a boom of fantasy adaptations followingGame of Thrones, with Prime Video, Netflix, and HBO itself trying their hands with new adaptations to emulate its success. WhileHouse of the Dragonis arguably the best of these shows, it’s still not living up to theGame of Thronesstandard.
Let’s start with whatHouse of the Dragonhas done right. The series' first season, in particular, hasrelaunched the energy surrounding Martin’s fantasy universe on television, kickstarting another spinoff for 2025,A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Actors like Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Paddy Considine, and more have proven just as capable as any onGame of Thrones, bringing fantastic characters from the history of the Targaryen dynasty to life. Not to mention, the opportunities for dragon action are everything that one could have hoped for while reading the books.
House Of The Dragon “Huger” Season 3 Will Include 4 Major Book Events, Showrunner Teases One “Character-Driven” Conceptual Episode
House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal teases a much bigger season 3, with four major book events and an untraditional conceptual episode.
House of the Dragonachieved strong reviews with its first season, butthe series never really seemed to have the capacity to outshineGame of Thrones. Even if season 2 had been reviewed better, the show was always too similar to the original HBO show to stand out as much. TheDance of the Dragonsoffers compelling drama, but it’s anti-climactic in a way, given that readers already know the ending. Part of what madeGame of Thronessuch a phenomenon was the feeling that anything could happen, creating television stakes like nothing before.
Instead of diving intoGame of Thrones’endingand all the controversy, it’s worth noting what this show did for television, drastically changing the landscape in an unprecedented way. Aside fromThe Lord of the Rings,this isarguably the best fantasy adaptation of all time and undoubtedly one of the best TV shows ever made. HBO brought production value and cinematic elements to this series that still haven’t been seen on TV since, with a sprawling cast, an enormous CGI budget, and more, somehow managing to deliver a new season annually for its first seven years.
At the show’s best,Game of Thronesstuck closely to George R.R. Martin’s material and offered something masterful and entirely unique.
As mentioned,Game of Throneschanged what was possible with television. The death of Eddard Stark in season 1 was such a drastic plot twist, unlike anything that had been on TV prior. The prospect was so bizarre that book readers had anticipated the show would take a different direction, keeping him alive and making an enormous change to the narrative. At the show’s best,Game of Thronesstuck closely to George R.R. Martin’s material and offered something masterful and entirely unique.
Even ifGame of Thronesseason 8 took a turn for the worst, damaging the cultural perception of the series, that doesn’t take away from what the show achieved at its best.Game of Throneswas an Emmy juggernaut, one of the highest-viewed shows ever made, and introduced millions of viewers to the fantasy genre. UnlikeIn the Lost Lands,Game of Thronesdemonstrated what George R.R. Martin’s writing could be like at its absolute pinnacle, combining it with the best talent available for an outstanding production.
