In My Nostalgia Era
Media Tie-In Novel Trends of the Eighties and Nineties
By ThriftBooks Team • July 30, 2024
For a good dose of nostalgia, there's nothing quite like rewatching an old favorite movie or marathoning a season of that one 1990s show you were super into as a teen. But settling in for an afternoon of Star Trek or Buffy the Vampire Slayer reruns isn't the only way to experience these classic media franchises. Many of the most popular TV shows, movies, and even video games of the 1970s, '80s, and '90s were made into novels as well. Here are ten of the best of those media tie-in novels and series from the 1980s and 1990s, from sci-fi classics like Star Wars and Star Trek to teen dramas like Clueless and Dead Poets Society.
1980s
What could be more fun than a novel based on a spoof of a classic movie? R. L. Stine, author of the bestselling series Goosebumps, brings his signature wit to this wacky space satire. Featuring a princess fleeing her wedding in a space coupe and the unforgettable Pizza the hut, this book is a rollicking good time for Star Wars fans and newcomers alike.
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is one of the most successful media tie-in franchises in history, with new books continuing to come out. Though the franchise began in the '60s, the '80s saw the beginning of the Pocket Books Star Trek series, which includes classics such as The Entropy Effect by Vonda N. McIntyre and The Klingon Gambit by Robert E. Vardeman.
Another popular sci-fi series in my nostalgia era, the original Battlestar Galactica novel franchise began in the '70s and ran through the 1980s. The first 11 books in the series, written by show creator Glen A. Larson, along with an array of other writers, are all novelizations of specific Battlestar Galactica episodes.
Dead Poets Society by N.H. Kleinbaum
Book nerds who were kids and teens in the 1980s will certainly remember the 1989 film starring Robin Williams as an unconventional teacher who uses poetry to inspire his students at an elite all-boys boarding school. In this novelization, readers can revisit the world of drama and literature that Williams's character evokes.
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial by William Kotzwinkle
Arguably one of the most defining films of the 1980s (and perhaps the century), E.T. got a novelization the same year the film came out. There may be nothing quite like seeing him on screen for the first time, but Kotzwinkle's novel captures all of E.T.'s alien charm.
1990s
Here's a fun setup: a book adaption of a film based on the classic book, Emma by Jane Austen. This tie-in series, based on the hit film Clueless, is a fun teen romp centering on the romantic drama of Cher Horowitz and her friends at Beverly Hills High. The first novel, Clueless by H.B. Gilmour, came out in 1995, and the series ran through the end of the 1990s, with 20 books in total.
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
If you were a kid in the 1990s, there's a chance you still know the catchy title song of the kids' geography game show that aired from 1991-1995. The show, which consisted of kids competing in geography trivia rounds, was based on the Carmen Sandiego video game franchise. The book series is a blend of adventure fiction and do-it-yourself mystery solving.
No list of 1990s media tie-in novels would be complete without a nod to the Star Wars franchise. Still going strong today, the franchise includes dozens of novelizations and original novels. The Star Wars: Tales series, published in the 1990s, includes several short story anthologies featuring tales from all over the Star Wars universe, including Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina, Tales of the Bounty Hunters, and Tales from Jabba's Palace.
The first Buffy novelization came out in 1998. The series follows the exploits of Buffy, an ordinary woman living in Sunnydale, California, who also happens to be the latest in a long line of vampire slayers. The 1990s books mostly follow the events of the first few seasons of the show; the later novels have spun off in different directions.
Revisit the chaotic lives of a group of teenagers and young adults during their high school and college years in Beverly Hills with these novelizations of the classic teen drama. There are a total of 12 books in the series, mostly written by author Mel Gilden, and they're just as entertaining and dramatic as the show.
These are just a few of the many media tie-in novels from the 1980s and '90s, but they make a fantastic place to start for readers looking to dive into some summer nostalgia.
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