Books Behind the Films and TV Shows

A Song of Ice and Fire

By George R.R. Martin

Adapted as: Game of Thrones

A sprawling, incomplete epic fantasy series famous for its complex political maneuvering, vast cast of characters, and subversion of fantasy tropes.

Alex Cross

By James Patterson

Adapted as: Kiss the Girls / Along Came a Spider / Alex Cross / Cross

Alex Cross has been adapted into several films starring Morgan Freeman (Kiss the Girls, Along Came a Spider) and Tyler Perry (Alex Cross), as well as an upcoming Amazon Prime series.

Aurora Teagarden Mysteries

By Charlaine Harris

Adapted as: Aurora Teagarden Mysteries

Charlaine Harris's cosy mystery series was adapted into the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries TV movie run, making the books a natural next stop after the Hallmark adaptations.

Bill Hodges Trilogy

By Stephen King

Adapted as: Mr. Mercedes

Stephen King's crime trilogy was adapted as Mr. Mercedes, following retired detective Bill Hodges and killer Brady Hartsfield across a darker, more grounded King story.

Castle Rock Novels

By Stephen King

Adapted as: Castle Rock

Castle Rock draws on Stephen King's shared Maine setting and characters rather than adapting one book directly, so this collection works best as a route into the stories behind that world.

Stephen King: Classic Standalones

Adapted as: Stand By Me / The Shawshank Redemption / The Green Mile / Misery

This Stephen King collection includes several novels and novellas that became major screen adaptations, including Stand By Me, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and Misery.

Derry Novels

By Stephen King

Adapted as: It / Welcome to Derry

Stephen King's Derry stories include the source material behind It and the wider Derry mythology explored in Welcome to Derry.

Dune (Original Series)

By Frank Herbert

Adapted as: Dune / Dune: Part Two / Dune: Prophecy

The original six Dune novels written by Frank Herbert.

Harry Potter

By J.K. Rowling

Adapted as: Harry Potter

The 8-part film series closely follows the 7 core books (with the final book split into two films). If you've seen the films, you can confidently start with the first book, as the novels contain a wealth of detail and subplots not shown on screen.

Inspector Rebus

By Ian Rankin

Adapted as: Rebus

Ian Rankin's Edinburgh detective novels were adapted for television as Rebus, following the same brooding crime world as the books.

Jack Reacher

By Lee Child

Adapted as: Jack Reacher / Reacher

If you watched the TV series first, start with Killing Floor. It is the first Jack Reacher novel and the basis for the first season of the show. After that, continue in publication order unless you specifically want to follow the books connected to each season.

Jane Austen Novels

By Jane Austen

Adapted as: Pride and Prejudice / Sense and Sensibility / Emma

The complete works of Jane Austen.

Joe Pickett

By C.J. Box

Adapted as: Joe Pickett

The series was adapted into a TV show called Joe Pickett on Paramount+. The Cassie Dewell books were also adapted into the ABC show Big Sky.

King & Maxwell

By David Baldacci

Adapted as: King & Maxwell

David Baldacci's former Secret Service agents Sean King and Michelle Maxwell were adapted for television in King & Maxwell.

Mickey Bolitar

By Harlan Coben

Adapted as: Shelter

Harlan Coben's Mickey Bolitar novels inspired Shelter, a mystery series centred on Mickey's search for answers after a family tragedy.

Middle-earth Core Works

By J.R.R. Tolkien

Adapted as: The Lord of the Rings / The Hobbit / The Rings of Power

Tolkien's core Middle-earth works inspired The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and the wider screen mythology explored by The Rings of Power.

Midnight, Texas

By Charlaine Harris

Adapted as: Midnight, Texas

Charlaine Harris's supernatural small-town trilogy became Midnight, Texas, bringing the town's psychics, vampires, and outsiders to television.

Outlander

By Diana Gabaldon

Adapted as: Outlander

Outlander follows former wartime nurse Claire Randall and Highlander Jamie Fraser through a long, time-spanning historical story. New readers should begin with Outlander, also published in the UK as Cross Stitch, and continue through the nine published main novels in publication order. The related Lord John Grey stories add optional context after Voyager but are not required to follow Claire and Jamie's central story.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

By Rick Riordan

Adapted as: Percy Jackson & the Olympians

The original five-book series introducing Percy Jackson, a demigod son of Poseidon.

Professor Challenger

By Arthur Conan Doyle

Adapted as: The Lost World

Arthur Conan Doyle's Professor Challenger stories are best known on screen through adaptations of The Lost World.

Sherlock Holmes

By Arthur Conan Doyle

Adapted as: Sherlock / Elementary / Sherlock Holmes

The definitive detective fiction series following the brilliant, logical deduction of a consulting detective and his loyal friend Dr. John Watson.

Sookie Stackhouse Series

By Charlaine Harris

Adapted as: True Blood

Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire Mysteries became True Blood, using Sookie Stackhouse's world of vampires, shapeshifters, and small-town secrets as its foundation.

The Bromeliad Trilogy

By Terry Pratchett

Adapted as: Truckers

Terry Pratchett's Bromeliad books were adapted as Truckers, following the tiny nomes as they discover the wider world beyond the department store.

The Dark Tower

By Stephen King

Adapted as: The Dark Tower

The series was adapted into a highly controversial 2017 film starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey. A new, more faithful television adaptation is currently in development by Mike Flanagan.

The Discworld Series

By Terry Pratchett

Adapted as: The Colour of Magic / Going Postal / The Watch

Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels have inspired several screen adaptations, including The Colour of Magic, Going Postal, and The Watch.

The Dresden Files

By Jim Butcher

Adapted as: The Dresden Files

An episodic urban fantasy series following Chicago's only openly practicing professional wizard as he solves supernatural crimes.

The Expanse

By James S.A. Corey

Adapted as: The Expanse

The Expanse is a nine-book epic space opera set in a future where humanity has colonized Earth, Mars, and the Asteroid Belt. When an ice-miner captain and a detective stumble upon a missing girl and a mysterious alien protomolecule, they trigger a conflict that changes humanity's place in the cosmos. Start with Leviathan Wakes (2011) and follow the core novels in publication order.

The Foundation Series

By Isaac Asimov

Adapted as: Foundation

Isaac Asimov's Foundation stories inspired the television series Foundation, built around psychohistory, empire, and long-range civilisational collapse.

The Johnny Maxwell Trilogy

By Terry Pratchett

Adapted as: Johnny and the Dead

Terry Pratchett's Johnny Maxwell stories reached television with Johnny and the Dead, one of the trilogy's strange, comic adventures.

The Sword of Shannara Trilogy

By Terry Brooks

Adapted as: The Shannara Chronicles

Terry Brooks's Shannara world was adapted as The Shannara Chronicles, drawing especially on the early fantasy novels.

The Wheel of Time

By Robert Jordan

Adapted as: The Wheel of Time

An epic high fantasy series spanning 14 volumes, following a farm boy destined to either save the world or break it in his fight against the Dark One.

Westeros Prequels & Companion Books

By George R.R. Martin

Adapted as: House of the Dragon / A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

George R.R. Martin's Westeros histories and companion material feed into House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

Women's Murder Club

By James Patterson

Adapted as: Women's Murder Club

James Patterson's crime series was adapted as Women's Murder Club, centred on four women solving murder cases in San Francisco.

Alex Cross

By James Patterson

Adapted as: Kiss the Girls / Along Came a Spider / Alex Cross / Cross

Alex Cross has been adapted into several films starring Morgan Freeman (Kiss the Girls, Along Came a Spider) and Tyler Perry (Alex Cross), as well as an upcoming Amazon Prime series.

Stephen King: Classic Standalones

Adapted as: Stand By Me / The Shawshank Redemption / The Green Mile / Misery

This Stephen King collection includes several novels and novellas that became major screen adaptations, including Stand By Me, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and Misery.

Conan the Barbarian Chronicles

By Robert Jordan

Adapted as: Conan the Barbarian

These Conan stories connect to the sword-and-sorcery world made famous on screen by Conan the Barbarian and related films.

Derry Novels

By Stephen King

Adapted as: It / Welcome to Derry

Stephen King's Derry stories include the source material behind It and the wider Derry mythology explored in Welcome to Derry.

Dirk Pitt Adventures

By Clive Cussler

Adapted as: Raise the Titanic! / Sahara

Clive Cussler's adventure hero Dirk Pitt reached the screen in Raise the Titanic! and Sahara, both drawing from the long-running treasure-hunting series.

Dune (Original Series)

By Frank Herbert

Adapted as: Dune / Dune: Part Two / Dune: Prophecy

The original six Dune novels written by Frank Herbert.

Fantastic Beasts

By J.K. Rowling

Adapted as: Fantastic Beasts

Fantastic Beasts is a three-volume sequence of published screenplays following Newt Scamander and the conflict with Grindelwald decades before Harry Potter's story. These are film scripts rather than prequel novels. Read them in publication order if you want this branch, preferably after the seven Harry Potter novels; they are optional and are not needed for Harry's main story.

Harry Potter

By J.K. Rowling

Adapted as: Harry Potter

The 8-part film series closely follows the 7 core books (with the final book split into two films). If you've seen the films, you can confidently start with the first book, as the novels contain a wealth of detail and subplots not shown on screen.

Jack Reacher

By Lee Child

Adapted as: Jack Reacher / Reacher

If you watched the TV series first, start with Killing Floor. It is the first Jack Reacher novel and the basis for the first season of the show. After that, continue in publication order unless you specifically want to follow the books connected to each season.

Jane Austen Novels

By Jane Austen

Adapted as: Pride and Prejudice / Sense and Sensibility / Emma

The complete works of Jane Austen.

Middle-earth Core Works

By J.R.R. Tolkien

Adapted as: The Lord of the Rings / The Hobbit / The Rings of Power

Tolkien's core Middle-earth works inspired The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and the wider screen mythology explored by The Rings of Power.

Mitch Rapp

By Vince Flynn

Adapted as: American Assassin

An action-packed political thriller series following a lethal CIA black ops operative dedicated to stopping terrorist threats against the United States.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

By Rick Riordan

Adapted as: Percy Jackson & the Olympians

The original five-book series introducing Percy Jackson, a demigod son of Poseidon.

Professor Challenger

By Arthur Conan Doyle

Adapted as: The Lost World

Arthur Conan Doyle's Professor Challenger stories are best known on screen through adaptations of The Lost World.

Sherlock Holmes

By Arthur Conan Doyle

Adapted as: Sherlock / Elementary / Sherlock Holmes

The definitive detective fiction series following the brilliant, logical deduction of a consulting detective and his loyal friend Dr. John Watson.

The Dark Tower

By Stephen King

Adapted as: The Dark Tower

The series was adapted into a highly controversial 2017 film starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey. A new, more faithful television adaptation is currently in development by Mike Flanagan.

The Discworld Series

By Terry Pratchett

Adapted as: The Colour of Magic / Going Postal / The Watch

Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels have inspired several screen adaptations, including The Colour of Magic, Going Postal, and The Watch.

The Shining Series

By Stephen King

Adapted as: The Shining / Doctor Sleep

Stephen King's linked horror novels inspired The Shining and Doctor Sleep, two major screen versions of Danny Torrance's story.