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Game Of Thrones - Should I Read The Books First?
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I have completely ignored Game of Thrones for the past few years, but now I'm thinking of watching the box set on Sky.
Is it something where I would need to read the books first, or would I be okay just diving into the television series?
I ask, because it seems everyone I know who enjoys the show, has read the books first.
Is it something where I would need to read the books first, or would I be okay just diving into the television series?
I ask, because it seems everyone I know who enjoys the show, has read the books first.
Answers
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The Books and the TV series are gradually diverging, although there's plenty still in common. I think you should find the TV series is essentially self-contained, though, so there's no need to read the books. On the other hand, they're also rather good (although the last two have perhaps dragged on a bit), so you might want to read them anyway.
Read the books sp. There is much more detail, and the first 5 at least encapsulate what George Martin was weaving much more than the TV series does. I have mentioned before that my friends and family, who have only watched the TV version, all have difficulty threading the storyline. If you could manage 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy it is peasy. Bloody good read, I have re-read the last two so as to stay up to speed with the forthcoming sequence 'The Winds of Winter'. My mental version of the characters is so much more imaginative than the easy on the eye versions done for the viewer.
Two very different perspectives on the books there. For my part, I found the most difficult thing about the books not the "boredom" but because many of the POV characters are, one way or another, irritating. Either they are incredibly naive (Sansa, Ned), or manipulative and evil (Theon), or both at the same time (Cersei).
I'm an avid reader and will often read books before watching films but I've not been tempted by the Game of Thrones books, they seem like a big ongoing investment in who is who, doing what, where, why etc... as it's so spread out and I have been quite happy to watch the TV version, which is fantastic.
At least with LOTR it is more compact with one main theme, more than I imagine the GOT books are and there is more of a finality to it in one big book and the option to read The Hobbit separately, as a story in its own right (if that makes sense?).
At least with LOTR it is more compact with one main theme, more than I imagine the GOT books are and there is more of a finality to it in one big book and the option to read The Hobbit separately, as a story in its own right (if that makes sense?).
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