Game of Thrones Books and TV Show

[John F Kennedy III]

A thread for discussing the books and the tv show.

Please don't post any spoilers. In the interest of not ruining anything for someone, please talk of spoilers in PMs. If someone says something you would like to discuss by talking about a spoiler, please PM that person. Thank you. I have seen all episodes of the show and read all 5 books, so feel free to PM me about anything. Thank you.

I am a huge fan of both the books and the show. Just discoverd them back in November. Before this I had never read a fantasy book. I was hooked from the get go. George RR Martin is a masterful writer, simply amazing talent. One of the biggest reasons I love this series is you never know what will happen next. Which character will die and which will live? You have to keep reading to find out. The books are full of clues to certain events that will happen next, but you really have to be paying attention.

The main characters are very well written. My favorite characters are Tyrion Lannister, Eddard Stark and his sons Robb Stark and Jon Snow and daughter Ayra Stark, Robert Baratheon, Ser Barristan Selmy (aka Barristan the Bold) and Daenerys Targaryen.

The characters I dislike the most are Cersei Lannister, her son Joffrey and her father Tywin, Ramsay Bolton, Gregor Clegane and Walder Frey.


The TV show is very good as well. I think they did as good a job of adapting the books as could be done, and they should since the production cost is about $5 million per episode.

Feel free to speak more specifically than I did, I just figured I'd do it like this to start it off.

By the way, would you like a piece of Manderly's pie?

The Books:

A Game of Thrones:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Game_of_Thrones

A Clash of Kings:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Clash_of_Kings

A Storm of Swords:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Storm_of_Swords

A Feast For Crows:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Feast_for_Crows

A Dance With Dragons:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Dance_with_Dragons

With The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring still in the works.

TV show:

Game of Thrones:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of...es_(TV_series)


Tyrion Lannister:


Eddard Stark:


Robb Stark:


Daenerys Targaryen:


Jon Snow:


Cersei Lannister:


Robert Baratheon:


Arya Stark:


Sandor Clegane:

[WilliamC]

I was angry with GRRM for years waiting for 'A Dance With Dragons', and now I'm even more angry after reading it.

I think by the end of the series there will be a desolate wasteland of a world with Dragons having destroyed everything living, at least that seems where he's going.

But never fear, I'll buy the next book as soon as it comes out in hardback.

It is known.

[MelissaWV]

I'm still watching and reading, but I don't like what they've done with some of the characters this season. I will not spoil any plot points, but I will say that they played up a certain aspect of Renly's character in the first season and I forgave it because at least, at its core, it was a true thing.

This season they have Stannis utterly wrong. Things they got wrong include the status of his wife, the implication he has no children, and his prudish nature.

Dany's current plight bears no resemblence to anything in the books. Her situation at the end of the second episode of the second season is a total puzzler. There were other things but again, not spoiling.

[WilliamC]

I'm not following the TV shows, I've seen a few and they seem very good but hey, it's TV.

But Peter Dinklage was born to play Tyrion Lannister.



<waits for mods to remove offensive image>

[MelissaWV]

Oh and Tyrion's eyes are supposed to be mismatched.

Seriously, HBO? You couldn't afford ONE CONTACT LENS?

[bluesc]

Not reading the thread to avoid spoilers, since the whole internet is out to spoil the $#@!ing show for me.

Just checking in to say this is my 2nd favorite show after Breaking Bad and Peter Dinklage is my 2nd favorite TV actor after Bryan Cranston.

[Occam's Banana]

I saw the 1st season of the TV series & liked it. So I went to Barnes & Noble to buy the first book, but all they had was a boxed set of the first four books. So I swallowed my reservations, took a chance & bought the set.

Now, Martin is a very good writer. His Haviland Tuf science fiction stories are great (Tuf is one of my all-time favorite science-fictional characters, and Cornucopia of Excellent Goods at Low Prices is *the* best merchant spaceship name *ever*). He is as good a writer of high fantasy as he is of science fiction. But ...

I absolutely *detest* these never-ending stories that just go on and on and on - volume after volume after volume, with no end in sight. The first four volumes of the GoT series weigh in at 1000+ pages each.

And the fourth volume only concerns itself with some of the main characters. The fifth volume, as I understand it, "goes back" to the start of the 4th book in order to cover the remaining main characters over the same period of time. As of the end of the 4th book, you have over 4000 pages of a story that looks like it only getting started. That, IMO, is waaaay to much.

And given that there was a 5 or 6 year gap between the publication of books 4 & 5 ... will Martin end up pulling a Robert Jordan and croak before the "story" ends (assuming it is even intended to end)?

"A Song of Fire and Ice" (the actual name of the series) is not a "story" (stories have endings) - it's a treadmill. And after book #4, I'm getting off.

I just don't like having my chain regularly & periodically yanked by authors & publishers who seem more interested in racking up page-counts & profits than in telling a story with a beginning, a middle, and and end (and then moving on to another story).

YMMV. The writing is good & the characters are interesting (especially Tyrion). But if you share my antipathy for never-ending "soap opera" fantasy fiction, you'll want to think twice before getting sucked in.

I may try to keep up with the TV series, though. The "soap opera" nature of the thing is much more well-suited to a television series, and the first season did a very good job of following the book closely & accurately. In fact, you can probably watch the series without missing much from the books at all.

[brandon]

I follow the show, and I actually just ordered the box set of books last week. I got them on wednesday, and I'm already 100 pages in on the first one. This is the first time I have read a fiction novel in many years. It's actually quite enthralling. I don't have any trouble with concentration and having to re-read and re-read the same page, which is a problem I have had with some fiction before.

So far in the books I have picked up quite a few things I missed in the show. For example, pretty relevant pieces of the kingdoms history and the relationships between people are very obvious in the books but either the TV show didn't cover them or I just am not that good at watching TV. The other thing I noticed is the drastic age difference. In the book Danaerys is only 13 years old, but in the show the actress the portrays her is in her mid 20s and I had no clue she was supposed to be that young. Jon Snow and Robb Stark are only 14 years old, but from watching the show I assumed they were in their early 20s.

[MelissaWV]

I follow the show, and I actually just ordered the box set of books last week. I got them on wednesday, and I'm already 100 pages in on the first one. This is the first time I have read a fiction novel in many years. It's actually quite enthralling. I don't have any trouble with concentration and having to re-read and re-read the same page, which is a problem I have had with some fiction before.

So far in the books I have picked up quite a few things I missed in the show. For example, pretty relevant pieces of the kingdoms history and the relationships between people are very obvious in the books but either the TV show didn't cover them or I just am not that good at watching TV. The other thing I noticed is the drastic age difference. In the book Danaerys is only 13 years old, but in the show the actress the portrays her is in her mid 20s and I had no clue she was supposed to be that young. Jon Snow and Robb Stark are only 14 years old, but from watching the show I assumed they were in their early 20s.

Yep. They did that a lot, which sort of messes with everything. The casting was generally for older children, which led to casting older parents, and so on.

[QuickZ06]

Just watched season one and the first two episodes of season two. I really enjoy the show but season two seems a bit slower.

[brandon]

Yep. They did that a lot, which sort of messes with everything. The casting was generally for older children, which led to casting older parents, and so on.

When I read in the book that Eddard is only 35 it definitely took me back. I assumed he was kind of like a wise elder approaching his 60s.

[John F Kennedy III]

I was angry with GRRM for years waiting for 'A Dance With Dragons', and now I'm even more angry after reading it.

I think by the end of the series there will be a desolate wasteland of a world with Dragons having destroyed everything living, at least that seems where he's going.

But never fear, I'll buy the next book as soon as it comes out in hardback.

It is known.

Fortunately I only discovered ASoIaF about 5 months ago. So I haven't had to wait for any books yet. With that said, I think it will be ridiculous if we have to wait past the end of 2014 for The Winds of Winter. GRRM is past the material he hadn't planned on writing. He should now be in the home stretch and it should be alot easier to write. I don't see this series wrapping up in two more books though. From what I can tell he had 100-150 pages of TWOW done when ADWD was released. And in January he began writing more. However his schedule is pretty much full with other projects and book signings, etc. for the next year to year and a half, and he only writes at home. I'm hoping when his schedule does clear up he will be re-energized and crank out the remaining books at the speed he wrote the first three (four years). It is possible to do it, it's all about whether or not he wants to.

[John F Kennedy III]

I'm still watching and reading, but I don't like what they've done with some of the characters this season. I will not spoil any plot points, but I will say that they played up a certain aspect of Renly's character in the first season and I forgave it because at least, at its core, it was a true thing.

This season they have Stannis utterly wrong. Things they got wrong include the status of his wife, the implication he has no children, and his prudish nature.

Dany's current plight bears no resemblence to anything in the books. Her situation at the end of the second episode of the second season is a total puzzler. There were other things but again, not spoiling.

I had only read book 1 and started book 2 by the time I watched season 1 and I thought they did a very good job, even though some things are different. Since then I have finished reading the rest of the 5 books, so my memory of book 2 isn't that great. Can you PM me what you mean exactly? I've seen the season 2 episodes so far.

Oh and Tyrion's eyes are supposed to be mismatched.

Seriously, HBO? You couldn't afford ONE CONTACT LENS?

If you remember the first couple books that can't be the only difference you've noticed :P

[John F Kennedy III]

Peter Dinklage was born to play Tyrion Lannister.



<waits for mods to remove offensive image>

I completely agree. Though I admit before watching the show I had imagined him as a twisted, near crippled version of this guy:

[MelissaWV]

...
If you remember the first couple books that can't be the only difference you've noticed :P

Of course, but it would be the easiest to fix. You don't even need two contact lenses! Just one!

[John F Kennedy III]

I saw the 1st season of the TV series & liked it. So I went to Barnes & Noble to buy the first book, but all they had was a boxed set of the first four books. So I swallowed my reservations, took a chance & bought the set.

Now, Martin is a very good writer. His Haviland Tuf science fiction stories are great (Tuf is one of my all-time favorite science-fictional characters, and Cornucopia of Excellent Goods at Low Prices is *the* best merchant spaceship name *ever*). He is as good a writer of high fantasy as he is of science fiction. But ...

I absolutely *detest* these never-ending stories that just go on and on and on - volume after volume after volume, with no end in sight. The first four volumes of the GoT series weigh in at 1000+ pages each.

And the fourth volume only concerns itself with some of the main characters. The fifth volume, as I understand it, "goes back" to the start of the 4th book in order to cover the remaining main characters over the same period of time. As of the end of the 4th book, you have over 4000 pages of a story that looks like it only getting started. That, IMO, is waaaay to much.

And given that there was a 5 or 6 year gap between the publication of books 4 & 5 ... will Martin end up pulling a Robert Jordan and croak before the "story" ends (assuming it is even intended to end)?

"A Song of Fire and Ice" (the actual name of the series) is not a "story" (stories have endings) - it's a treadmill. And after book #4, I'm getting off.

I just don't like having my chain regularly & periodically yanked by authors & publishers who seem more interested in racking up page-counts & profits than in telling a story with a beginning, a middle, and and end (and then moving on to another story).

YMMV. The writing is good & the characters are interesting (especially Tyrion). But if you share my antipathy for never-ending "soap opera" fantasy fiction, you'll want to think twice before getting sucked in.

I may try to keep up with the TV series, though. The "soap opera" nature of the thing is much more well-suited to a television series, and the first season did a very good job of following the book closely & accurately. In fact, you can probably watch the series without missing much from the books at all.

If it was about profit the series would have at least 8 books released by now. The delays have mostly been caused by his over-perfectionism and backing himself into plot corners he can't get out of and then having to re-write and figure out how to get out of it. With that said I am severely disappointed with what GRRM did with AFFC and ADWD dragons. He moved the plot too slow and used them as a way of letting his characters age and mature more. Which wouldn't be that bad if he hadn't taken from 2000-2011 to write those two books. If he had gotten them done by 2005 we probably would have seen the release of The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring by now and awaiting books 8 and 9 (mark my words, it's not ending in 7, too much story left).

For you I recommend waiting until TWOW is released before you read ADWD.

[John F Kennedy III]

Of course, but it would be the easiest to fix. You don't even need two contact lenses! Just one!

Lol that's true. And the other differences would have made the character much harder to play and wouldn't have played as well on TV.

Just watched season one and the first two episodes of season two. I really enjoy the show but season two seems a bit slower.

The pace will pick up. Have you read any of the books?

[John F Kennedy III]

I follow the show, and I actually just ordered the box set of books last week. I got them on wednesday, and I'm already 100 pages in on the first one. This is the first time I have read a fiction novel in many years. It's actually quite enthralling. I don't have any trouble with concentration and having to re-read and re-read the same page, which is a problem I have had with some fiction before.

So far in the books I have picked up quite a few things I missed in the show. For example, pretty relevant pieces of the kingdoms history and the relationships between people are very obvious in the books but either the TV show didn't cover them or I just am not that good at watching TV. The other thing I noticed is the drastic age difference. In the book Danaerys is only 13 years old, but in the show the actress the portrays her is in her mid 20s and I had no clue she was supposed to be that young. Jon Snow and Robb Stark are only 14 years old, but from watching the show I assumed they were in their early 20s.

From the way you describe it, you're going to love the books. It's one helluva journey

The books go into way more detail than what the show does. It isn't that you're bad at watching tv, the details just aren't there. I was confused by the age differences as well. I seem to remember them saying the ages of a few characters on the show, i think mostly being 2-3 years older.

[2young2vote]

He needs to write a 2000 page book. I'd love to read a 2000 page book. The longer the better. Haven't watched the show yet, but I will when i can get it cheap. I don't know why people are complaining about ADWD. It may be slightly confusing from a timeline perspective, but it was a good book and we learned a lot about other parts of the world.

[John F Kennedy III]

He needs to write a 2000 page book. I'd love to read a 2000 page book. The longer the better. Haven't watched the show yet, but I will when i can get it cheap. I don't know why people are complaining about ADWD. It may be slightly confusing from a timeline perspective, but it was a good book and we learned a lot about other parts of the world.

Oh yes. I'd love that. I'd read it if it was 10,000 pages. I think the majority of the ADWD complaints stem from knowing we have to wait 3-5 years for the next book.

[MelissaWV]

Screw it.

[John F Kennedy III]

My complaint is that it's taking longer and longer for things to happen, and there are a lot of dead ends.

This is getting sadly similar to Jordan's work, as some have pointed out.

This is the first fantasy series I've ever read, but from what I've been told it's very similar. Except GRRM is currently still alive. And yes it is compounded severely by the lack of action in AFFC and ADWD.

[John F Kennedy III]

[John F Kennedy III]

[Lafayette]

I gotta thing for Sibel Kekilli , the actress who plays Tyrion Lannister's whore, Shae. She reminds me of this woman i used to work with, that accent drives me crazy!



Apparently she did some porn when she was younger Don't everyone hit the search button at once.

[Lafayette]

[matt0611]

People who have read the books...does anything good happen ever in this story? I love this show but its so depressing to me. Please tell me it has a happy ending?

[Lafayette]

[John F Kennedy III]

I gotta thing for Sibel Kekilli , the actress who plays Tyrion Lannister's whore, Shae. She reminds me of this woman i used to work with, that accent drives me crazy!



Apparently she did some porn when she was younger Don't everyone hit the search button at once.

Must find now..must feel whole again...

[John F Kennedy III]

People who have read the books...does anything good happen ever in this story? I love this show but its so depressing to me. Please tell me it has a happy ending?

All I can say is the books are WAY BETTER than the show. And I love the show.

Edit: Yes good things do happen in the story. I misread your post at first.