Game of Thrones Series: Books vs. TV

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roberts-rl
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Re: Game of Thrones Series: Books vs. TV

Post by roberts-rl »

I think that the TV show did as good a job as was possible because the producers were facing a daunting task. The books are so complex with so many characters so it would be hard to live up to that. I still haven't finished the TV series or read the most recent book, but I am definitely looking forward to it!
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Post by vermontelf »

I began reading the series just before it came out on tv. I haven't been reading far ahead of the show because I don't want to spoil the surprise...but I completely agree the books are far better. If I had to choose I would have to go with reading.
The next tv season starts in April so I'm about to start the corresponding book. There are nuances in the books that I would have missed with tv alone, so I do intend to read the full book before the tv season starts.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, I rather liked the series initially (before getting too far in) just because my daughter shares a name with the youngest Winterfell daughter. They have similar personalities, I'm writing this from our equivalent of "dancing lessons" - karate.
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roberts-rl
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Post by roberts-rl »

I agree with vermontelf about the books being more satisfactory than the show, but then again I almost always prefer the books to the movies :)
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Post by jhollan2 »

I thought that the first season was the most accurate translation of book to screen that I had ever seen. There were some elements that weren't exact, but overall it was extremely well done. The past two seasons have been less accurate and true to the books, but I believe that is more of an issue with budget than anything else. The scope of the books is so massive, with so many characters and so many things that require CGI (the Dragons, the Wall, etc.), that it is impossible for even a big name like HBO to afford to use every scene.

One of my gripes is that they called it Game of Thrones and not A Song of Ice and Fire. I love the quote and all, but I just think the real title of the series is much more appealing and lyrical.
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Post by samuyama »

I watched the tv show first, then read the books. it was hard getting through the first book because I felt it was so well adapted for the screen and it was like reading it all over again. But from the second book on you start to see all the things that are left out in the show (like all books to movies).
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Post by CONSTARA »

kavayee wrote:Do you recommend to read books even if I've already watched TV series?
Absolutely, if you enjoyed the movie, it's always good to find out what the writer originally planned for the characters. You can do more in your own mind to expand on the characters and actions than they can do with CGI. However, the word is still the most powerful tool/weapon/power in the world.
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Post by jhollan2 »

You should definitely still read the books! I have heard a few people saying that they skipped the first book because it was so similar to the first season, and you could maybe get away with it, but I still think it is worth reading. The other books differ slightly and are much more in depth and complex than the show. There is also more taking place than they can film with CGI, so the things that are cut are the more epic scenes. You should read them for sure.
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Post by Caz1+ »

I have watched the tv show and was debating whether to read the books. Thanks for the reviews as they have made me decide to go and buy the books
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Post by readbtwnthelines1 »

From what I saw of the series, which wasn't a ton, I thought they got most of the characters dead-on. I might have gone another direction with Catelyn. The others seemed perfectly cast. Especially Tyrion. My favorite!
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Post by Nadezda »

ConnectiveStardust wrote:I loved Littlefinger in the books and I feel that they have butchered his character in the show. The constant placement of him with whores and prostitutes is there simply to get the nudity on t.v while ignoring the damage it does to his character.
How interesting. I haven't read the books, so I can't disagree with you. But I do think he seems like a pretty evil person on the show.

What do you like about him in the books?
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Post by krichardson »

It is a good thing they did this series as a TV show and on HBO, they could not have done this series as a movie or any other cable station.
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Post by TheBookMaven »

I've both watched the TV show and read the books. I was really impressed with how well they did with the TV show. I agree with those that think it was better as a TV show rather than if they had tried to make it a movie. I was glad to have read the books first though, there were some things that made more sense with the additional background the book provides.
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Post by sophiachic »

Should i start to read these books? I'm eager to read new books.
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Post by Lhall22 »

people keep telling me to read this series. I've debated on it but I feel like it may be too much like Tolkein's books; I can't get into him.
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Post by jhollan2 »

Lhall22: Though they may be the same genre, Tolkein and Martin have very different styles. Martin is very readable, even though the books are long, and the books are broken into many segments of different perspectives, which helps it seem more manageable. I adore Tolkein, but he was writing literature. His work is dense and wordy and needs a lot of pondering and unpeeling to read. You should definitely look into A Song of Ice and Fire!
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