Game of Thrones

Due to my current employment situation-and my unwillingness/laziness in regards to working out-I've had a decent amount of free time on my hands.  Out of pure boredom I flew through the entire first season of Game of Thrones in less than a week, and I must say that I quite enjoyed it.  I remember being thoroughly confused after watching the premiere episode because there were so many dynamics happening at once and I couldn't quite understand it.  For me not to understand a plot line in a movie or TV show is quite rare.  I'm usually the person everyone turns to when they have no idea what's going on.  What bothers me is the fact that so often if they just keep watching the movie or show usually answers all of their questions.  This happened for me as well with the last nine episodes of Game of Thrones: Season 1.  

Not only have I gotten into the show, but I have also started to read the books.  I believe there are five books now, and I'm nearly finished the first. This would be a good point to write my book review for the first 650 pages of  Book One: A Game of Thrones.  The book is certainly a masterpiece for it's genre-science fiction/fantasy-effectively creating a fictitious world with many believable elements, most of which reflect the middle ages, a time of kinds, queens, lords, knights, and castles.  The detail given and the number of plot lines provided by the author, George R.R. Martin, are very well done, and provide numerous directions for the story to take.  There are so many well developed characters that you'll find your mind wandering in so many different directions with your plot predictions.  Martin does a great job at creating characters that anyone could love and hate, and although Martin provides villains, he makes sure to show every characters potential for evil and vulnerability.  This aspect keeps you guessing who is truly right and who you're rooting for.  You may even find yourself supporting different characters who may have the same goal which places any fan in a conundrum of loyalties. 

You're probably thinking that I couldn't possibly have anything bad to say about this book right now, but here it comes.  These books are marathon reads.  I am by no means a fast reader and I have been chipping away at this first book for quite a while now.  Of course, I may be able to give a more accurate opinion once I finish book two because with this series I've taken the opposite route that I normally do when there is a TV show or movie based on a book: I watched it before I read it.  I know how the book will end so unconsciously I'm probably in no rush to finish it, especially because I didn't like the ending all that much.  I will say this; Martin did something in his first book in a series that not many authors would do and I applaud him for his uniqueness.  SPOILER ALERT:  He kills off one of his main and most likeable characters.  It's risky, yet necessary for so many of the conflicts that will follow.  If you don't mind and you like the genre, then I highly recommend the series, but if you're looking for a quick and fun read i.e. Hunger Games you may get a little more than you bargained for. 

So that's the book, and here's the show:  I think the casting was very well done and the setting and direction match the text extremely well.  The one great thing about portraying this book as a mini-series as opposed to a movie is that you don't have to cram an 800 page book into two and a half hours, but instead you have 10 hours worth of episodes.  This way, not much is left out, and you don't often find yourself saying how much you wish they would have included a certain scene.  So far nearly every scene of importance that I've read has been included in the series, and I think that this mini-series substantiates my ongoing argument that television is truly leaving the movie industry in the dust.  So many great actors, directors, and writers have come to TV, making it far more likely to see a great mini series or TV show than a great movie.  If you don't already watch this show, start now.  There's a great combination of sex, violence, drama, and a good bit of comedy from a little person.  With so many different story lines the possibilities are endless, and it's up to you if you want to find out the endings by reading the books.  Give this show a shot and you won't regret it. Here's the season 2 trailer, enjoy.