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salvete
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#1
Old 02-29-2016, 10:36 PM

Has anyone read the Game of Thrones books? I have so many friends who watch the Game of Thrones show but have never read the books.

If you have read them, how much do they differ from the show?

If you haven't read them yet, do you plan to in the future?

Ikuto Akihiko Hasegawa
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#2
Old 03-02-2016, 12:39 AM

Haha, I'm one of those people that watches the show, but doesn't read the books. I do that with so much really.

The way I've heard about it though reminds me a bit of the Lord of the Rings trilogy as far as writing style (long descriptions and stuff).
I end up hearing about a few differences of note for some people and I've sided with the books in some cases, but overall I enjoy having the books and shows works as separate entities in a way.

I probably won't read them as watching the show is brutal enough.

dapperlace
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#3
Old 03-11-2016, 05:14 PM

I've read them and overall prefer them, though they can drag on for a bit in a way the show might not. Some female character development gets kind of shafted in the show, especially with Sansa.

Velvet
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#4
Old 05-10-2016, 09:44 PM

I'm currently reading the series. Halfway through the 4th book.

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#5
Old 05-10-2016, 10:08 PM

I've read the first three books I think? But now I just watch the show because reading takes more time than I actually have.

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#6
Old 05-12-2016, 06:31 PM

I started with the show, because I wanted to be able to watch it while it aired. Plus, I knew that if I read the books first, I would spend all my time critiquing the changes in the show instead of just enjoying it. By watching the show first, I get to enjoy if for it's own sake, and then I get to read the books and have them be different and deeper and so on.

I'm currently about 1/4 of the way through the 4th book, Feast for Crows.

Comparing the series to Lord of the Rings is probably apt. The books are quite detailed, which is sometimes great and sometimes tedious. I try to take the details in stride, but sometimes I get bogged down. Also, there are SO many point of view characters, and the story switches between them for every chapter, which can be pretty disruptive. You're all in the mood with Tyrion or someone, and then all of a sudden you're halfway across the country with Theon and it's just like nooo, take me back! But then by the end of the next chapter, you don't want to leave Theon, and now you have to hang out with Cersi... you get the idea.

dapperlace, I think you're right that the womens' character development is much better in the books. It's not the worst in the show, but it's much more...conventional? Like, I feel like the women in the show follow much more traditional gender roles, whereas in the books, Martin actually paints a much more complex picture of those characters. I've talked to people who complained about how Dany is portrayed, and they felt like Martin was being a sexist pervert with her character, and I could not disagree more, omg. I held my tongue though, because I didn't know those people well and didn't feel like getting in an argument with them about it. That conversation still haunts me though. XD

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#7
Old 05-13-2016, 01:12 AM

I do agree that the books can drag out a bit. And some scenes are handled better the show than in the books, in my opinion.

But I love the amount of detail the author puts in the surroundings, though it can be tedious when he describes in great detail what EVERYONE is wearing.

And some scenes are completely different in the show compared to the books, but I like the way they are played out better on the show. It just makes more sense in some ways.

But the character development in the books are soo much better. You can really see Arya grow up in the books and see all her struggles and challenges.

Meph Scwartzmann
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#8
Old 08-19-2016, 09:55 PM

The books are awesomely detailed and yes, they do have some different plots than in the show. But realistically speaking, employing as many actors as here are characters in the books to keep the show the same would be insane. Time wise too, as some were saying, they drag on sometimes, it gets really complicated and it would be hard to show all that. Read them but enjoy the show as well. they are both really good.

MercyGrim96
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#9
Old 08-29-2016, 04:35 PM

I own all of them and am slowly reading them. I'm still on the first one (I've never seen the show because I don't have HBO) and I have to say that so far there isn't much that I find interesting. I find the writing to be quite dense. Honestly I read it when I'm trying to fall asleep but I can't because after one chapter I fall asleep haha. I really wanna get into it because it's so popular and I wanna be able to talk about it with other people, but it's just so dense.

 


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