"When you play the Game of Books, you read, or you die." - George R.R. Martin, probably
Full disclosure, I am a Game of Thrones nerd. I've seen every episode at lease three times and I can talk for hours on end about any aspect of the series. I love it.
Unfortunately, I have never had the pleasure of reading the books as there are a lot, they are quite long, and I know exactly what happens in them. However, I believe a true fan reads the book as well as watches the show (or the movie). And I am of the opinion that the books are almost always better than their movie adaptations. With this mentality, I went right into the first book.
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Genre: Fantasy, Political Strategy, Epic Fantasy
Setting: Fantasy World
Published: 1996
Pages: 674
First off, I'd like to debunk a common misconception; the series is not called Game of Thrones. That is only the name of book one. The actual series is called A Song of Ice and Fire. I know, I was as shocked as you are.
But anyway, WOW. This book was fantastic, even though I knew what was going to happen. The way Mr. Martin was able to create a whole fantasy world around the reader was very impressive. It's one thing to see it in the show, but it's a whole other to have to visualize it yourself in your head. Somehow, things were more vivid in my mind then I remember seeing them on TV. I loved seeing each character described, as each has a very distinct and complicated personality that took a while to develop (which Mr. Martin was able to do masterfully).
The book toggles between 8 characters; Bran, Catelyn, Daenerys, Eddard, Jon, Arya, Tyrion, and Sansa. Their stories are all vastly different, but each delves deeper into their personality and into their unique stories. It's hard to talk about each story without giving anything away, since there are so many twists within the first few chapters alone, but I can tell you this; Daenerys is my absolute favorite person ever. Her story is so heartbreaking but empowering, and I would flip ahead to see when her story would come next (not that the other stories weren't equally as enticing).
Compared to the show, I do have to say they did a very good job keeping it to the book. There were whole scenes that were verbatim from the book, which is impressive. However, there were some glaring differences that were made (I think) to make the book less disturbing. Characters were made older, which made certain scenes somewhat less shocking. However, neither the book or the show are family friendly. At all. Both are very gory and incredibly inappropriate so it was difficult to read at times, but soooooo worth it. Also, had I not watched the series first, I would have been incredibly confused because there were so many characters with so many overlapping stories.
All in all, I'll definitely finish the series (even though I know what will happen) because the books are a lot more detailed and interesting than the show. I won't be posting a review on my blog about each one, as anything I say past the basics will give away a information about the story, and I don't want to ruin it for anyone, because it is AMAZING. Literally my MIND was BLOWN almost every episode. There was one twist that was so unexpected that I gasped loud enough to wake up my roommate (it was 3 AM, one doesn't simply fall asleep while in the throws of a good episode of Game of Thrones). Thon weekend probably isn't the best time to start this series because you will be glued to it and you won't make it to Thon. But definitely read it at some point, or at least watch the show.
And hey, if you do, let me know; I'm always up for a good GoT discussion!
Full disclosure, I am a Game of Thrones nerd. I've seen every episode at lease three times and I can talk for hours on end about any aspect of the series. I love it.
Unfortunately, I have never had the pleasure of reading the books as there are a lot, they are quite long, and I know exactly what happens in them. However, I believe a true fan reads the book as well as watches the show (or the movie). And I am of the opinion that the books are almost always better than their movie adaptations. With this mentality, I went right into the first book.
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
 |
| via iceandfire.wikia.com |
Setting: Fantasy World
Published: 1996
Pages: 674
First off, I'd like to debunk a common misconception; the series is not called Game of Thrones. That is only the name of book one. The actual series is called A Song of Ice and Fire. I know, I was as shocked as you are.
But anyway, WOW. This book was fantastic, even though I knew what was going to happen. The way Mr. Martin was able to create a whole fantasy world around the reader was very impressive. It's one thing to see it in the show, but it's a whole other to have to visualize it yourself in your head. Somehow, things were more vivid in my mind then I remember seeing them on TV. I loved seeing each character described, as each has a very distinct and complicated personality that took a while to develop (which Mr. Martin was able to do masterfully).
The book toggles between 8 characters; Bran, Catelyn, Daenerys, Eddard, Jon, Arya, Tyrion, and Sansa. Their stories are all vastly different, but each delves deeper into their personality and into their unique stories. It's hard to talk about each story without giving anything away, since there are so many twists within the first few chapters alone, but I can tell you this; Daenerys is my absolute favorite person ever. Her story is so heartbreaking but empowering, and I would flip ahead to see when her story would come next (not that the other stories weren't equally as enticing).
 |
| Daenerys via fanpop.cm |
All in all, I'll definitely finish the series (even though I know what will happen) because the books are a lot more detailed and interesting than the show. I won't be posting a review on my blog about each one, as anything I say past the basics will give away a information about the story, and I don't want to ruin it for anyone, because it is AMAZING. Literally my MIND was BLOWN almost every episode. There was one twist that was so unexpected that I gasped loud enough to wake up my roommate (it was 3 AM, one doesn't simply fall asleep while in the throws of a good episode of Game of Thrones). Thon weekend probably isn't the best time to start this series because you will be glued to it and you won't make it to Thon. But definitely read it at some point, or at least watch the show.
And hey, if you do, let me know; I'm always up for a good GoT discussion!
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