Nightflyers by George R.R. Martin (1980)

I. have. so. many. thoughts.

Not necessarily about the book (re. if it was good or bad), but, ho boy, do I have OPINIONS about the adaptation done by Syfy/Netflix. So, my apologies in advance if this post is vigourous, opinionated, and maybe a little sloppy as I try to make my . . . for lack of a better word -- frustration -- come out in a more coherent matter than it currently is in my brain.

To read a science fiction novel by George R. R. Martin seems like a counterintuitive endeavour because he is so synonymous with the fantasy genre because of A Song of Ice and Fire. And yet, I think he did well. I quite liked the book actually and would rate it an 7 out of 10. 

Nightflyers (1980) is a mystery thriller in space with supernatural tendencies and extraterrestrial outreach. All of this is a strange mix of vibes for a Mexico vacation, which is when I read this book. The plot follows a nine-member team of academics as they board the Nightflyer on an expedition to make contact with an alien species known as the volcryn. The captain of the Nightflyer is Royd Eris and the crew members are:

       - astrophysicist Karoly d'Branin
       - genetically engineered human Melantha Jhirl
       - telepath Thale Lasamer
       - psipsych Agatha Marij-Black (a psychologist for psychics basically)
       - xenotech Alys Northwind
       - cyberneticist Lommie Thorne
       - xenobiologist Rojan Christopher
       - xenolinguists Dannel and Lindran 

I was surprised when I guessed the twist early on and got it right. I wasn't mad about how the twist was carried out either as sometimes it can deter you from reading further. In Nightflyers' case, it actually made me want to keep reading to see what Martin did with it once revealed. It was sufficient.

A mystery thriller in space obviously leaves room for some potentially uncomfortable scenes, whether that means violence, gore, death, or psychological messiness, and this book had it all. Be warned. There were definitely some creepy-crawly parts which I expected of a science fiction mystery, but there were also the supernatural aspects too that add to the thriller vibes.

My biggest gripe about the book was the annoying use of the word "sexed" for when Melantha was sleeping her way through the members of the crew during the long voyage of the story. I mean, it was the 80s, and Martin was writing sci-fi, but it was still so weird of a term to use. I cannot really delve into this complaint further without possible spoilers ... so, there it is. 

Now, despite my actual liking of the book, I was so disappointed with the TV show adaptation.

BEWARE THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD FOR BOTH THE BOOK AND SHOW!

Come to think of it, I might have to do this in point form in order to keep on track and my thoughts coherent for reading.

1. Thale was supposed to DIE. He lived, the WHOLE time and they made him a threat/antagonist. That was NOT the point of his character in the book at all. In the book, despite being being very powerful himself he was supposed to crumple at the power of the ghost/spirit mother antagonist. By keeping him alive, they had to justify the lore about psychic people for they concocted for the show and overall his character was WAY more annoying than the book.
   
   
2. It tracks that the television adaptation would need to expand on the universe, lore, and backgrounds of the characters more from the book to help with audience connectivity, but then because of those expanded backgrounds it made character relationships and connections that didn't make sense, and d'Branin's history in the show was truly frustrating.
   
   
3. The show added SO many more characters to the ship's crew -- like a full ships' crew worth. I feel like adding more crew to the cast made the stakes of the story different. The novel was focused on a smaller ship with a small intimate crew on a scientific mission. When things go off the rails in the show it is like "There goes another expendable crew person" whereas in the book you could connect more with the limited characters and the losses were felt more deeply.
   
   
4. The reveal of the "real" threat that is the ghost/spirit of Royd's mother happens way sooner in the show and then because if this I felt like they created other plots to fill time and stretch the adaptation out to 10 episodes. The show's side plots often had nothing to do with the ship's original mission of finding the volcryn or in some cases with the main crew at all. For example:
1. The probe that gets magically sent back full of alien tissue (more on this later).
2. The other drifting ship they randomly encounter in deep-space full of cannibalistic women who harvest sperm from the male crew members. LIKE WHAT?
   
3. The baby infected by spores that kills some people bEcAuSe ThEy'Re NeArInG tHe AlIeNs. Urgh. And then there is an off-handed comment about all space pregnancies need to be terminated BUT THEY NEVER EXPLAIN WHY. 
   
   
5. However, the spore-baby side-plot reveals that Royd (after no longer appearing as a hologram to the crew) is an android which is not at all in the book. The reveal that he is hybrid-clone of his mother is the same except that his physical appearance in the show is way weirder than in the book. The whole android thing also really bugged me because the show had him hooking up with Melantha and made them out to kind of be in love. Like... just so weird compared to the book where Mel is curious and compassionate towards Royd and his condition.
   
   
6. I also feel like the show didn't do the volcryn justice at all. In the book they were mysterious, non-threatening, and an awe-inspiring spacefaring species. Karoly d'Branin was just fascinated by them and wanted to find them to make contact. TV show Karl d'Branin experiments on the volcryn tissue sent back in the magical probe and is obsessed with finding them to cure humanity with their weird time-altering powers which weren't in the book either. Did not like this change.

Clearly, I have A LOT of gripes.

I could go on and on and on and on about the show, but these are the things that really irked me... and based on a cursory internet search, I'm not the only one. But, it appears some really loved what the show did (maybe they didn't read the book) and others despised it like me. Either way, this blog is about my opinions and analysis whether others agree with me or not and vice versa. 

I also found out there was another universally panned adaptation that came out in the 80s as well. Ha. I don't think its an un-adaptable story, but I feel like a shorter - 3 or 4 episode - mini series that stuck closer to the events of the novel would have worked still too. You don't need to always fill out the world so much and have so many more characters; mystery, questions, and a more intimate cast can work too.

The book was more about what the crew goes through physically and psychologically in space while on the way to the end goal of meeting up with the volcryn. They sort of did that with the show too, but the volcryn had way more actual influence in the outcome of the show. The main plot of the book was the wrath of Royd's spirit-mother stuck on board with the end point of travel being finding the volcryn fleet and not so much about how the aliens could help humanity. Martin's novel was about curiosity, the voyage to the end goal, and what happens to you along the way to get there.

I recommend the book, but definitely not the show.