Book #2 Game of Thrones: Need I say More?

So, as some of you may know I am slightly obsessed with "Game of Thrones."  Maybe you don't know this, but I am sure you will find out soon enough.  I love Game of Thrones, the HBO TV Show, and "Game of Thrones" the book by George R.R. Martin.  I mean, I became so excited about this TV show that I contacted some form of a producer/director/manager of the TV series to see if I could become an extra -- unfortunately only people with an international insurance number (aka Brits) are only allowed to be extras.  But I am fairly certain that if it weren't for my nationality, I'd be all up on the TV show as an extra!

First of all, this is one of those rare combinations of book meets TV show where it works.  It follows the plot, the characters don't deviate from the descriptions in the book, and the blood, gore and sex you see in the TV show are actually described in the book.  I was kind of surprised by this because there is a lot of raunchy stuff.  It's even more descriptive in the book than the show.  (Oh and just FYI I saw the show before I read the book.)

As with many book to TV show productions, there are some things left out.  For example, in the book you get a lot better read on the character Bran.  The book better describes his thoughts and desires.  It's a hard thing to communicate on TV, however, the actor portraying him and the crew involved in production, still manage to do a phenomenal job.

The only other major difference in the book versus the TV show (that is currently in mind) is that the characters in the book are a lot younger.  The character of Daenerys Targaryen is supposed to be a 13 year old girl, and when she becomes pregnant it is on her 14th name day; however, I am sure due to a lot of legal reasons and disturbances to the general public, you can't watch on TV a 13 year old girl go through what is essentially (initially rape), and being beaten and molested by her brother.   Even though they don't show this on the TV show, you do watch her character evolve into a woman and a strong Kaleesi.  (In general, the children on the show are older, with a few exceptions.)

That is one of the reasons why the book and the TV show work so well - the character development is believable, and it's really interesting to see how certain characters (like Tyrion Lannister) react to certain situations.  It's not necessarily what you would consider a "normal human reaction," i.e., when The Kingslayer pushes an 8 year old boy out of a tall castle window.  Tyrion Lannister is probably my favorite character in both the book and the show, because he is to some extent an underdog.  But he is so fucking smart and manipulative, it is fun to watch and read about.  He is clever, like most of the Lannister family, but he isn't necessarily evil.  However, I've only read book one, so I'm not sure how the war will affect his personality.

The other thing that I really love about this book is that it is not a difficult read; it's really long, but the language used isn't so convoluted and embellished like you find with some fantasy novels. Another enjoyable aspect is that there are characters that you find yourself despising.  A good book always has someone that the reader dislikes; that is one thing that really torments me and disturbs my reading habit.  If there is a character that I don't like and I think they are being really stupid, I get frustrated and stop reading.  I think overall the book took me something like 2 weeks to finish, so the time frame isn't too bad.  It would probably vary depending on your reading habits.

I hope you all enjoy and check out this book.  If you have little impressionables, don't watch the TV show with them!

Read on!
-Jackie

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