Next up: Emma Bull’s War for the Oaks
Why the book is awesome:
War for the Oaks is one of the modern classics of fantasy, and one of the books that founded urban fantasy as a genre.
It’s a great book. It’s very 80’s, but in a good way. It’s rich in mythology. It’s got a great, atmospheric setting (Minneapolis) that isn’t played out. And it merges music with magic in a way that is elegant and charming (without being cute).
Why a TV show would be awesome:
A War for the Oaks show would be just ahead of the curve for television. Why? Consider:
Sexy vampires in TV and movies have sort of peaked. I mean, we’re already seeing the second or third generation derivatives of the hits, and there’s a definite sense of vampire fatigue.
Sexy fairies are totally the new sexy vampire. They’ve already got them on True Blood, right? And I think they also figure into Lost Girl, that Canadian show that’s about to come to Syfy. And certainly sexy fairies have achieved expanded popularity over the last decade (or whatever) in popular urban fantasy fiction. Seems like their star is on the rise. There’s even a perfectly good love triangle. (Team Phouka/Team Willy Silver.)
People seem to like period shows.
War for the Oaks culminates in a mystical, magical battle of the bands. Okay, technically it’s just one band versus a wicked fairy queen, but close enough. People have an apparently insatiable desire for the conjunction of unrealistically high stakes with musical performance on television (Glee, shitty singing competitions, etc.). War for the Oaks would have all that good drama and performance anxiety and yes, honest to god musical numbers, plus sexy fairies. Come on, people!
Why it will never happen:
A non-ironic take on the 80’s might be a hard sell. People have pretty firm preconceptions about how we’re supposed to feel about that decade.
The gods of TV mostly hate me.
Honestly, I can’t think of any other objections. How is this not the greatest idea ever?
