So I finally tried Game of Thrones (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)

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So I finally tried Game of Thrones (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)

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1Jakeofalltrades
maj 15, 2011, 7:12 am

Okay, I've finally begun reading the first outright fantasy genre novel I've read in a long time, A Game of Thrones.

So far it's I, Claudius for the D&D crowd, but I like where the author is headed with this.

My brother showed me part of the TV show and I was interested enough to borrow the book from an actual University library, the Sutekh Sci-Fi and Fantasy library to be exact.

I'm up to the part past the bit in the first episode where they get the two wolves in the show, and so far the Barbarian dude in the first episode hasn't showed up.

Any other people who only found out about Game O' Thrones (What my brother calls it because it sounds like "Bucket O' Chicken") through the TV show?

2maggie1944
maj 15, 2011, 10:10 am

Yes, I started my reading the series after much was made of the then up-coming TV series. I like both: show and book.

3suitable1
maj 15, 2011, 12:15 pm

I have a first edition of A Game of Thrones, but just never read it. I just bought the paperback boxed set, and I've started the read. So far, so good.
I like the show. The biggest difference that I've noticed so far is that all the characters are much younger in the book.

4catzteach
maj 15, 2011, 8:44 pm

Heard about it on here. I plan on reading them this summer. I don't get HBO so I wont' be trying the show.

5tjm568
maj 16, 2011, 2:45 pm

I read the first two. The problem I ran into was that there were so many characters, even with only a short break between the books, I had a hard time keeping everybody straight. I decided to wait until the series was complete, and start over and just read the whole thing straight through.

6saltmanz
maj 16, 2011, 3:10 pm

I've accumulated the first four from used bookstores. I definitely want to read them at some point, but I'm going to wait until at least ADWD comes out. I might pick that one up at the library, or I might wait for it to come out in paperback. But I'll have them read within the next two years, one way or another.

7DeusExLibrus
aug 19, 2011, 11:29 pm

After being bugged constantly about the series by a freind I finally watched the entire first season of the HBO series and loved it. I'm now in the midst of reading the first book, though I've been distracted by a Sherlock Holmes kick inspired by "Sherlock."

8Severn
aug 20, 2011, 1:01 am

5 - that's my plan too. Same with Steven Erikson's Malazan series, which is ridiculously complex and crazy in terms of plots and characters.

9majkia
aug 20, 2011, 7:23 am

#8 I've gotten back to the Malazan series and am finding the re read of the Malazan series articles on Tor. com exceptionally helpful for that.

10Severn
aug 20, 2011, 10:22 pm

Oooh do you have a link for that? That sounds wonderfully useful!

11majkia
Redigerat: aug 20, 2011, 10:47 pm

Here's the link for the first introductory post. They use tags, so if you are reading a book other than Gardens of the Moon, look for the title. At the moment they are working on House of Chains.

http://www.tor.com/features/series/malazan-reread-of-the-fallen

ETA: I changed the link to a better one, I think

12Severn
aug 21, 2011, 2:59 am

Wonderful, thank you!

I think I'll get the ones I'm missing and read 'em, and read through this as I go. Probably take me a few months to get there.

/glares fondly at to-read pile

13Death_By_Papercut
aug 21, 2011, 3:01 pm

Actually, AGOT was suggested to me by a tenant of mine about a year before the HBO series became "a thing." I hated myself for watching the LOTR movies before I read the books because I could then only picture the characters as their cinematic counterparts. That said, I am determined to read at least the first book of AGOT to see if I like the series in book form before I watch the TV adaptation.

14Severn
aug 21, 2011, 3:48 pm

The characterisation is amazing...and much of the dialogue is taken directly from the novels. GRRM was on hand on the set to ensure it remained true to the books. So, it's not a hard adjustment.

15Death_By_Papercut
aug 22, 2011, 12:59 am

#14 Sweet! That's good to hear.

16ReddishHerring
Redigerat: aug 30, 2011, 11:55 pm

I tried to read the book years ago when my brother recommended it to me, but couldn't get into it. I decided to give the show a shot and loved it. Then I bought AGoT and read through it in a couple of days. It's also the first genre fantasy book I've read in ages, and I would have never given it a shot if it weren't for the show. I'm glad I did though.

17KindleKapers
aug 31, 2011, 6:59 am

In my review of Book 1 - Game of Thrones I wrote, "Remember those fairy tales we were told as children about knights in shining armor, happy princesses, and charming princes all living happily ever after in their elegant castles? If you’re looking to return to those innocent tales, run away…and fast! ;-) However, if a fantasy world filled with dragons, a dwarf, walking dead and a wide variety of characters, ranging from kings, queens and knights to children, thieves, old crones, prostitutes and murderers, you just might love this book as much as I did.

Incredibly, I had not heard of George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series until HBO started airing Season One of The Game of Thrones series. I started watching it before I started reading the book and my husband recommended the books to me. I decided to take his advice in the hopes that reading the book would help me gain a more comprehensive understanding of the story & greater insight into character motivation before continuing with the television series. So glad I did too because I really found Martin’s writing style engrossing and he just creates such an incredible, albeit quite dysfunctional, fantasy world. Especially like the way each chapter is told from a different character’s perspective…and I love the way the book ended!"

I never thought I would hear myself say this, but since I started Book 1, I admit it - I have become a Song of Ice and Fire "fan girl" (can I still be a "fan girl" if I'm 44-years-old? ;-)) Since then I have also read A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords and A Feast for Crows and right now I am about 1/4 of the way into A Dance with Dragons. Then comes the waiting for the next HBO season and for the remaining books to be written.

18majkia
aug 31, 2011, 8:30 am

Hahaha! I'm a 64 year old fangirl!

Winter is coming (again) in April of 2012! As for the next book, please let it be soon!

19maggie1944
aug 31, 2011, 8:30 am

What do we know about the next HBO season???? Or do we know anything about DVDs? I'd like to watch Season 1 again, too.

20majkia
aug 31, 2011, 8:31 am

#19 They are currently filming season two to air in April. DVDs: HBO typically waits until just before the next season airs to release DVDs from previous season but hopes are high they will release them for the holidays.

21KindleKapers
Redigerat: aug 31, 2011, 11:53 am

Here are some good articles about the HBO series -

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/29/david-benioff-d-b-weiss-discuss...

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/04/13/game-of-thrones-for-dummies.htm...

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/08/22/game-of-thrones-croatia-iceland/

http://www.accesshollywood.com/exclusive-tyrion-lannisters-squire-podrick-payne-...

etc, etc...I find out about these by following Game of Thrones on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/GameOfThrones

I think it's so cool that Season One has 13 emmy nominations...I hope Peter Dinklage wins best supporting actor for his role as Tyrion!

Also, if you haven't already checked out www.towerofthehand.com, it's a great fan site!

22mamzel
aug 31, 2011, 12:02 pm

The series was on my radar but I was intimidated by the number of characters and the size of the books. The HBO series nudged me to read the books. It was easy to keep the characters straight since I had their pictures in my head.

I loved the comment that I read somewhere that warned the reader not to become too attached to any characters. How true!

23jmortier
jan 14, 2014, 6:03 pm

My sons have seen the first 2 series, but have not read the books, whereas I have read the first 2 books without seeing the series. Both parties agree that it is worth reading and seeing, and the result is that I will watch the film and they will read the books.

24PhilJackson
mar 13, 2014, 7:37 pm

Gave into the hype and finally tried Game of Thrones, the book not the pursuit. Cheap on Kindle.
Vile (mostly) people being vile to one another. All the characters were well drawn thopugh and their motivations made sense. The action races along and is reasonably easy to follow, compex as it is. I liked the children - all this nasty grown-up stuff seen through their innocent eyes. The kids are really the only light relief except in places the dialogue is really funny. I don't want to read the second one yet. Towards the end all the gang rapes, the backgound (and often the foreground) of callous and casual brutality, children being forced into prostitution was getting a bit much.

One problem I had with is that it depicts a feudal society whose technology (presumably driven by war) gets as far as making steel but then stops dead. It's history is constantly referred to. For tens of thousands of years they don't advance a single step; they hack each other to bits with their steel weapons, rape and murder without distinction between man, woman or child, and learn nothing. This struck me as thorougly depressing.

But then I thought of machetes and Rwanda and the CAR, etc, etc, now. And that was even more depressing.

25jplolo
jun 24, 2014, 6:35 am

I love the TV show. I liked the start of the book. But it just got to be too long, too drawn out, and not fulfilling enough. I finished it just to finish it, but I won't be reading any more of his.

26justjukka
jun 25, 2014, 2:24 pm

I first heard about A Game of Thrones by chance, back in 2002.  My library had a take-a-book/leave-a-book rack, upon which sat GoT.  Loving both LotR and Pern, I thought this would be a great addition to my collection.  It did not turn out that way.  I didn't hate it, but the writing style never hooked me.

27hfglen
jun 25, 2014, 2:59 pm

>26 justjukka: Yay! Someone like me! I borrowed the first volume from the library over a year ago, and gave up about 1/4-way through. Neither writing nor story attracted me at all, let alone like both LotR and Pern did.

28Meredy
jun 25, 2014, 4:33 pm

>26 justjukka:, >27 hfglen: Some time ago I took a peek on Amazon, made a quick survey of the writing, and said "Nope." No further interest. If anything, all the hype turns me off.

29stellarexplorer
jun 25, 2014, 6:21 pm

It remains poised in limbo, neither read nor definitively rejected. Perhaps it is my Schrodinger's book?

30Meredy
jun 25, 2014, 6:36 pm

>29 stellarexplorer: Schrödinger's book: I like that. I may borrow it. Or not.

31sandstone78
jun 25, 2014, 6:41 pm

>30 Meredy: The rest of us won't be able to tell whether you have borrowed it or not, because we can't see the shelf.

32justjukka
jun 27, 2014, 3:03 am

For anyone interested in discussing the matter, Austin_Dragon asks in FantasyFans: Does Game of Thrones Hate Women?  No put-downs or whatnot.  This question is in reaction to HBO's liberties.  I can't guarantee that this discussion is, or will remain spoiler-free.

33pwaites
jun 27, 2014, 6:04 pm

I've just finished the first book. It might be dark, but it doesn't feel like anything really new, which was the impression all the hype gave. I did like it - as someone else said it's easy enough to follow and the action moves along.

24> That's a really good point. If the world has thousands of years worth of history, why haven't they progressed more? Or is steel a recent invention? We're not given that impression. I also had some issues with the world building. To quote from my review:

"The only thing that makes it really different from the standard fantasy world is the seasons: winter and summer are variable and can last for years at a time. In the North, there are dire wolves and supposedly mammoth, but dire wolves are the only prehistoric animal to appear in the book and for all intents and purposes, they could have been normal wolves. I really like the idea of the variable seasons, but I wish that it was better integrated into the world building. Perhaps it will be shown in a later book, but how do people survive during ten year winters? Are they storing food all summer long? Are they migrating to warmer lands in the South? What work are they doing during the winter, when they can’t plant the fields?"

34clamairy
jun 27, 2014, 10:57 pm

>33 pwaites: "how do people survive during ten year winters?"

Apparently a lot of them don't, which is why the phrase "Winter is coming" strikes such fear into their hearts.

The writing certainly lacks the grace and lyricism of Tolkien's stuff, that's for sure. But George RR Martin writes some seriously kick-ass female characters.

35kassetra
jun 28, 2014, 11:22 pm

Hmmmm.
I've had friends throwing both the books and the episodes at me for a while, swearing up, down, left, right and centre that I would be utterly entranced by it... Uhhhhh.... "not no how, not no way." Not a character, setting or premise in this series is in alignment with my tastes, apparently.

Now, of course, I have to avoid all of those people and not make eye contact.

36janerawoof
Redigerat: jul 1, 2014, 4:13 pm

I am reading it only because a friend's daughter lent it to me and she really liked it. I must be the only person in the world who didn't see the television show; at least I don't have preconceived notions of the characters.

37RowanTribe
jul 2, 2014, 11:38 am

@35 - Kassetra, I have the same issue - several friends just KEEP pushing this, and quite a few other "grimdark" fantasy books or TV series (Hannibal, Supernatural) at me, and I'm like - "Y'all, I have an ANXIETY DISORDER. I suffer from DEPRESSION. Can you not see how this is not going to work for me?" I'm glad they love it, I'm sure it's great and awesome and wonderful and the best thing ever and I don't even mind looking at the plot summaries on Wikipedia so I know what the heck is going on, but I really just don't want to read or watch something that will make me have to adjust my medications, you know?

:)

38Morphidae
jul 2, 2014, 4:19 pm

>37 RowanTribe: I SO know what you mean. I love Robin Hobb's writing. And she's an excellent story teller. But DAMN, you want to slit your wrists after reading one of her books.

39kassetra
Redigerat: jul 6, 2014, 10:55 pm

>37 RowanTribe:
I mean, I'm totally happy that my friends and such lurrrrrrve it, but I know from previous experience that if I explain that it's not exactly my thing... well then, it will be because I just haven't seen/read *enough* of it yet... thus... more pushing.

Also, I'm really over stories that show just how horrible humans can be to one another. So I totally get you there Rowan.

40justjukka
jul 6, 2014, 11:49 pm

I hear you both, there.  I hate hearing, "But it's so realistic!  You've gotta appreciate that!"  Realistic according to whom?  To which aspect of life?  Do you think the entire world is like this?  There's good in the world, too, so why don't we focus on that?

41lohengrin
jul 7, 2014, 3:04 am

>39 kassetra: Uuuugh, the "you just need to give it more time!" thing drives me crazy. I really don't see the need to read things I don't like through to the end just for the sake of "giving them a fair chance/it gets better further in," when there are more things I like better already than I can ever possibly finish in my lifetime.

42kassetra
jul 7, 2014, 4:20 am

>40 justjukka: Yeah... I have a few friends like that as well... And wow, I hope the whole world isn't like that... or else, stop the earth I want to get off. XD

>41 lohengrin: I have been told to "give it more time" with ummmm, I think the last three series I've started... and I think some of my friends forget that I mayyyyyyybe don't like certain kinds of books, no matter how many of them I read. XD

43humouress
jul 12, 2014, 3:54 am

I read the first GoT book years ago, and my favourite character was killed off. And then by the end of the second book, about half of the rest of my favourites were done for, too. At which point I gave up, because it didn't look like any of the characters, good or bad, were going to survive to the end of the story arc and the number of books GRRM seems to have planned.

But now my husband has started watching the series, and loves it. So even if I avoid watching it, I get all the gory descriptions.

>38 Morphidae: Oh, Morphy, no! I only hated the middle of the Liveship trilogy like that. Obviously I'm going to have to postpone the reread for a bit longer.

44MrAndrew
jul 12, 2014, 6:17 am

Hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor.

45suitable1
jul 12, 2014, 10:47 am

>44 MrAndrew:
The OP asked for no spoilers.

46justjukka
jul 12, 2014, 1:44 pm

>45 suitable1: You beat me to it! XD