Game of Thrones.

[Leifmk]

Yes. If anything, HBO's depiction is a little less edgy than the books' A Song of Ice and Fire.

There are some very good reasons why they made most of the main characters just a few years older than in the books, for example.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

Season one covers the first book A Game of thrones, and covers it pretty well. All important plot points are there and you won't be lost when you start with the second book now, you'll just lose out on a bit of characterization and you'll notice that some minor details are changed, but most of them aren't that important (for example: in the books Tyrion is very ugly and has one black and one green eye, Dothraki wear small bells in their hair for every battle they have won) and some minor characters who hardly do anything in book one didnt appear in the series (Daenerys has three Dothraki bodyguards in the book, in the series it's only the guy wih the whip).
Lond story short: You'll mis out on some things, but if you can't wait and want to continue the plot you can begin with book two

I have read books 1 - 4 years ago, and after the first season was finished I started rereading them with A Clash of Things. Right now I'm reading the last hundred pages of A Feast for Crows, and today is the day I'll finally start with A Dance with Dragons.

Then there's also a certain part that was completely left out, and it concerns Ned remembering Lyanna's death at various occasions, as well as some related things. I can't adequately describe what's so important about it (you have to read and figure it out for yourself), but in my opinion it's the most brilliant aspect of the whole series so far.

That's the only thing I really missed in the series, but it could be summed up in two sentences. I must say that Martin sometimes repeats himself a bit too often with
"Promise Me" or "...Lancel and Osmund Kettleblack and Moon Boy for all I know".
They also didn't get the looks right. Gendry should look much more like Robert, and Jon should look more like Ned.

 

[Thoughtful Thug]

Season one covers the first book A Game of thrones, and covers it pretty well. All important plot points are there and you won't be lost when you start with the second book now, you'll just lose out on a bit of characterization and you'll notice that some minor details are changed, but most of them aren't that important (for example: in the books Tyrion is very ugly and has one black and one green eye, Dothraki wear small bells in their hair for every battle they have won) and some minor characters who hardly do anything in book one didnt appear in the series (Daenerys has three Dothraki bodyguards in the book, in the series it's only the guy wih the whip).
Lond story short: You'll mis out on some things, but if you can't wait and want to continue the plot you can begin with book two

I have read books 1 - 4 years ago, and after the first season was finished I started rereading them with A Clash of Things. Right now I'm reading the last hundred pages of A Feast for Crows, and today is the day I'll finally start with A Dance with Dragons.



That's the only thing I really missed in the series, but it could be summed up in two sentences. I must say that Martin sometimes repeats himself a bit too often with
"Promise Me" or "...Lancel and Osmund Kettleblack and Moon Boy for all I know".
They also didn't get the looks right. Gendry should look much more like Robert, and Jon should look more like Ned.

You are indeed a trusted adviser here on guiding people about the details of the books, but surely you would give the screen writers a massive headache if they ever had been exposed by your extreme attention to details.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

You are indeed a trusted adviser here on guiding people about the details of the books, but surely you would give the screen writers a massive headache if they ever had been exposed by your extreme attention to details.

I live to serve.
The memory is just fresh because I'm rereading the books in preparation for A Dance with Dragons (which I shall start reading in half an hour). My attention to detail didn't prevent me from turning Iings into Things. That's not even a typo, and now that you've quoted me editing can't hide my shame.

I'm not complaining about the changes I'm just pointing them out. I know that budgets matter and you don't hire actors for three characters who don't do much and can be replaced by one guy, and some things work on paper but look silly onscreen.
I also think making Tyrion really ugly on top of being a dwarf was unneecssary cruelty on Martin's part.

 

[warpus]

I didn't know anything about the series but I kept hearing people say good things about it, so when my friend came over with an external harddrive full of "new TV shows that his friend at work copied over", and I saw game of thrones on the list, I urged him to put on the first episode.

Had no idea what it was about.. Could have been a cop drama, a romantic comedy, or a cartoon.. So we went in there knowing NOTHING and were quite blown away by the opening episode.

Now we wait for season 2

 

[Leoreth]

That's the only thing I really missed in the series, but it could be summed up in two sentences. I must say that Martin sometimes repeats himself a bit too often with
"Promise Me" or "...Lancel and Osmund Kettleblack and Moon Boy for all I know".
They also didn't get the looks right. Gendry should look much more like Robert, and Jon should look more like Ned.

Of course it could be summed up in two sentences, but the fact that he doesn't do it is what's great about it (there's more to it than "promise me"). I agree that certain parts are repeated too often, though.

Actually the casting is one of my favourite aspects of the show. There are several characters who I would consider captured dead on, even secondary ones like Ser Barristan or Maester Luwin.

Jon really doesn't look very Stark-like at all, which is unfortunate.

Don't know about Gendry, we have no idea how Robert looked in his youth. Who actually should look more like Robert is Renly, who is the only character whose onscreen representation didn't meet my imagination at all.

 

[Yeekim]

Now we wait for season 2

Oh, my sweet summer child! What do you know about waiting?
Waiting is for the long night, when GRRM hides for years and children are born and live and die - all before the next book comes out...

 

[GoodSarmatian]

Oh, my sweet summer child! What do you know about waiting?
Waiting is for the long night, when GRRM hides for years and children are born and live and die - all before the next book comes out...

Is there any news on a release date for The Winds of Winter .

 

[cman2010]

Season one covers the first book A Game of thrones, and covers it pretty well. All important plot points are there and you won't be lost when you start with the second book now, you'll just lose out on a bit of characterization and you'll notice that some minor details are changed, but most of them aren't that important (for example: in the books Tyrion is very ugly and has one black and one green eye, Dothraki wear small bells in their hair for every battle they have won) and some minor characters who hardly do anything in book one didnt appear in the series (Daenerys has three Dothraki bodyguards in the book, in the series it's only the guy wih the whip).
Lond story short: You'll mis out on some things, but if you can't wait and want to continue the plot you can begin with book two

I have read books 1 - 4 years ago, and after the first season was finished I started rereading them with A Clash of Things. Right now I'm reading the last hundred pages of A Feast for Crows, and today is the day I'll finally start with A Dance with Dragons.



That's the only thing I really missed in the series, but it could be summed up in two sentences. I must say that Martin sometimes repeats himself a bit too often with
"Promise Me" or "...Lancel and Osmund Kettleblack and Moon Boy for all I know".
They also didn't get the looks right. Gendry should look much more like Robert, and Jon should look more like Ned.

thats for the informative post I think I will take your advice and start on book 2.

 

[Leifmk]

when GRRM hides for years

Or to be more realistic, spends years editing Wild Cards books and blogging about football.

 

[Leoreth]

Which he had and has every right to. GRRM is not our b..., folks

 

[TheDanish]

I would say it's safe to start with book 2, but you really should read book 1 just because it's a fantastic piece. Also, a few differences that will come into play later:

Spoiler :

Aggo, the Dothraki rider Khal Drogo killed in Episode 7/8, is not killed in the books and Martin has said he will play an important role in the future.

Marillion, the bard who plays a song for King Joffrey, does not have his tongue cut out in the books. He shows up in book 3 and is actually quite important.

 

[Thoughtful Thug]

If that is so in the books, then why did they have his tongue cut out in the show? Kinda odd there..

 

[TheDanish]

If that is so in the books, then why did they have his tongue cut out in the show? Kinda odd there..

My thoughts as well. I guess he could play the same role he does in the book:

MAJOR BOOK 3 SPOILER

Spoiler :

Petyr pinning Lysa Tully's murder on him

but it would be a bit different. No opportunity to

Spoiler :

defend himself

This is all assuming the series makes it to Season 3 of course (likely, given its popularity and how awesome book 3 is).

 

[North King]

I thought that was a random singer, not Marillion.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

Spoiler :

Aggo, the Dothraki rider Khal Drogo killed in Episode 7/8, is not killed in the books and Martin has said he will play an important role in the future.

Marillion, the bard who plays a song for King Joffrey, does not have his tongue cut out in the books. He shows up in book 3 and is actually quite important.

The Dothraki guy killed by Drogo is called Mago, not Aggo.
In the books Mago isn't killed and later founds his own Khalasar but afaik doesn't appear again.
Aggo is one of Dany's three Dothraki bodyguards -Aggo, Jogo and Rakharo- who have been compressed into one character in the show (the guy with the whip, afaik no name given). I guess he'll do everything the three original guys do in the books.

I thought that was a random singer, not Marillion.

In the books the guy who loses his tongue is a random singer, in the show he's the same guy who accompanied Catelyn Starks party to the Eyrie. I suppose the show will just have a different random singer for the events in book three and four. They probably didn't want to depend on one actor's availability over four years for such a minor character.

 

[Leoreth]

It doesn't really matter that it's Marillion who's involved into the Lysa Arryn business later. Although it's always pretty cool when Martin doesn't forget his characters and their whereabouts.

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

It doesn't really matter that it's Marillion who's involved into the Lysa Arryn business later. Although it's always pretty cool when Martin doesn't forget his characters and their whereabouts.

It's bloody irritating, is what it is. I'm rubbish with names at the best of times, so to have a character turn up for me to think 'hmm, isn't that? Ooh gosh, what's his name? Let's dig through the previous books to double check."

But yeah, it's a nice little nod to a character otherwise.

 

[TheDanish]

The Dothraki guy killed by Drogo is called Mago, not Aggo.

Yes, you're right. Those Dothraki names always sound so alike

 

[Leifmk]

In the books the guy who loses his tongue is a random singer, in the show he's the same guy who accompanied Catelyn Starks party to the Eyrie. I suppose the show will just have a different random singer for the events in book three and four.

They could do that, or they could notice that he doesn't necessarily have to have his tongue in order to play the necessary part. Still has his fingers, can still play instruments and make a living that way, so can still have an excuse to be where and when he needs to be in order to do what he does. (Any more detail than that would be a spoiler, I guess).