Game of Thrones Series: Books vs. TV

[J_D_Allen]

I was living out in the bush for a few years and I had a lot of books but I always felt the need to read the books again and usually discuss it with my son.

[ijeoma ugorji]

Haven't read d book but am a big fan of d movie. The movie is so full of suspense and so interesting can't wait for next season.

[Jsovermyer]

The tv series follows the books very well until about the 3 or 4th book. Then the tv series goes its own way. The books are good, but I prefer the tv series. It is excellent.

[Monet_va]

I think that the books held a lot more intricate plotlines than the series - which is to be expected of something this extensive. While I think the show did a good job of portraying the story, I still think the books will always be better!

[Nym182]

the books really make the series was more interesting... I love the series but if had to choose it would be the books.

[ShayM08]

I began reading the books when season 3 was on tv. I hadn't watched any of the show yet but had heard good things about it and being a book snob, I had to read the books first. Until of course, I ran out of books and the show kept going.

The books are a beautifully crafted fantasy of epic proportions. I love the intricate plot and subplots and twists. The characters are so well written and each and every one of the hundreds (or more) characters are unique and developed at least deeply enough to seem realistic in the given situation. Of course, many beloved characters are killed of and as heartwrenching as that was at times, the necessity of it for the story is understandable.

The fantastical elements are exciting but not overwhelming like many fantasies can be. Martin chose a handful of fantastical elements and built a world that made them seem so realistic, even the more dramatic ones.

As for the tv show, which I have now watched in its entirety, it's not bad. Which means I enjoyed it thoroughly and didn't mind many of the changes needed for on screen, but the book is always better. But on its own, the show was done phenomenally. Amazing acting and graphics as well as general picture.

I do have to say that I was disappointed with the ending. It was definitely not how I saw it going down. Not so much the major death, as who actually ended up on the throne. I felt that maybe Martin was hearing all these fan theories about who was going to die and who was going to win the throne, that he he chose to go for a complete blindside and end it the way he did even if it didn't make sense. Twists are one thing, but breaking from the story to throw in a random ending that doesn't fit with the story is another. This is presuming that HBO kept closely with what Martin gave them for an ending (we all know how that can go).

Regardless, GOT is one of my favorite book series and tv series and I will revisit them again and again... mostly imagining the ending I want.

[slj3988]

I gave up on the show and moved to the books. The series was just unnecessary filth to keep ratings. Not many were impressed with the diversions from the books

[TheMichaelD]

It's hard to even compare books to TV series, because there's just not enough time to show every plot on screen. But in my opinion the TV version is even more addictive than books across first seasons. But I also think that the further from books content TV series is getting worse and last season is perfect example. I was in pain when 7 seasons of suspense was just thrown away by season 8. Confrontation between white walkers and humans? Just a fight no plot, no answers. And the last episode when Daenerys goes crazy without a reason is just ridiculous. It seems to me that most of the season 8 is just DOING STAFF without a reason.

[asuccintbeta]

Like most, I loved the books, and hope the author will complete the series. However, I also enjoyed the HBO GoT series because I viewed it as a separate entity from the books. A literary license is always grander in a visual medium versus the printed word, although the world-building in the book version was on a scale we will be hard-pressed to find again. I enjoyed most of the seasons, but like most, I'm still repeating "WTF?" after the series finale season.

[B_Lacey]

SPOILER ALERT*****

I was late to the Game of thrones bandwagon, but now that the television series has ended I can give a full review. I was introduced first to the show by my mother in law. She had already read and owned all of the books. I started watching a couple of episodes with her before she realized I hadn't read them for myself. She INSISTED that I read the books first and I am glad she did. George R.R. Martin was a genius in creating his characters and in making you feel a certain way about each one. He could turn your favorite into an enemy and vice versa in a few, expertly written words. The show left much to be desired and saved certain characters with "plot armor" at the expense of George's typical shock factor twists. The creators bit off more than they could chew towards the end with no further books to go off of. For me I would have loved to see more loose ends tied up, or at least to have seen a redemption arc for Cersei as she watched the city crumble around her. It would have been a devastating twist to see her sorrow and regret in her final moments instead of her cold acceptance of fate.

[Barbara Larkin]

I was reading the book in the middle of the aired episodes. It's a lot of detail, the plots and characters change and there are some people who are in the book but not in the TV series. I prefer the books, but I still like the series.

[grgmrn]

It was around the third season of the show that I began to read the books. Even though the adaptation discards many interesting parts and story threads from the books, I still liked them both very much (with the exception of the last season of the show).

[HanElizabeth397]

The first book to series was an almost perfect adaptation but after that they moved in two seperate directions

[eratherton]

Usually I am all for books over TV/films as they tend to cut out so much detail. However, GoT is my one exception. I read the first two books when I heard they were coming out with a series, and the first book was great, if a little wordy. The second started to show a slip in standards; the writing style started to become sloppy, there were too many characters and not enough movement within the story. The third book I couldn't even get past the first chapter! I am glad most of the TV series turned out to be as amazing as it was, they cut out all the noise and focused on great character development and a proper storyline.

[Niloofar_]

I watched the series completely & I really enjoyed it. I want to read the books too. I bet it's books are even more interesting, because of seeing other series/movies which made base on books. For example, Harry Potter books are more fascinating than the movies(of course I like it's movies but books are something else).
So I guess the same goes for game of thrones.