Is the book better?

Yes! The book is so much better. I enjoyed the first episode of this series but then was let down by the following two since they focused on boring love stories that didn't even exist in the book and glossed over the interesting concepts that made the book as wonderful as it is. Quick, read it while the series is fresh in your mind so that you're able to truly feel how superior the book is.

Yes. A thousand fold.

Book is pretty similar though like all of Clarke's work it lacks characters that populate the world.

That's TV for you. They're happy to put in inconsequential love stories and leave out anything you might have to think about.

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I read the book many years ago and enjoyed it, but found it to be a pretty big downer.

It was okay to read once, but I don't need to experience those kinds of things again.

Once you've read or seen one story about how aliens trick us into destroying Earth ourselves or how time-traveling to prevent Hitler actually CAUSES Hitler, etc, they don't really have much appeal any more.

Or at least that's how it goes with me.

Books are always better...partly because they are you're vision..if you enjoy the novel,continue reading,you're forming your own movie as it were,in your own mind,,and the adaptation f's with that...right? So rarely,I would think..although GAME OF THRONES proves it is possible to do both well enough!
You watch an adaptation and 1st there is that..it is someone else's vision. Plus what a mind can do and what a production company can do,even with today's cgi is very different..
Some have been able to bridge the problems..The Godfather is always mentioned too,as one that was able to do do both. And there are probable many ...but sci fi,that is the hardest I would think..

But you're question is more I bet..if you haven't yet read the book...so different point of view..can you really enjoy the story and all that without reading the book,,how could you know??? ...and that depends on if your a book person or not,,but generally no adaptation is ever as good as a successful novel...
That said,...What do I know,,lol..

In my opinion not really. The tv series has more drama and contrived conflicts, but the characters are slightly more engaging than the ones in the book. It also makes the world a little bit more interesting, you see more of the conflict that mankind has while adapting to its new situation, in particular there is a greater emphasis on the religious conflict. I never really enjoyed the book, the lack of characters means it lacks emotional weight but the science fiction narrative isn't particularly well developed either. I found the moral ambiguity of the Overlords was better in the series, and of course we get Charles Dance in Satan makeup which is amazing. The book tells us that the Overlords were right and that everything is, though sad, inevitible and basically for the greater good. While the series ultimately reaches the same conclusion, I think it makes the events ambiguous enough for the audience to question this, as you can tell from this message board.

For me the best thing about the book is its bizarre surreal tone, particularly the ending where the children become a hive mind and just hold hands chanting and swaying rythmically for years or something. That image really stayed with me. It's a shame we didn't see this in the show, all we got was flying kids then a special effects finale. It's also really frustrating that Milo just wants to return home to his girlfriend as soon as he gets to their home planet when in the book he stays there and learns about the Overlords species and way of life. Ultimately I think the book is more focused but less engaging while the tv series is weighed down by cliches but has enough material to make it watchable. I'd give both around three stars out of five.



Boardwalk Empire Review (no spoilers)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWNdJTU8Bos