A Game of Thrones: Season 1 vs Book 1

Usually I like to read the books first if I am truly interested in a story. I wasn't sure going into the HBO series A Game of Thrones that I was going to be completely enveloped and want to spend the time reading the series. But after a few episodes I was completely hooked. Perhaps even a little obsessed. Still I finished the first season of the series before embarking on a quest to conquer the books.

A Song of Ice and Fire is the name for the whole book series, with the first book being a Game of Thrones.
George R. R. Martin has created one of the most creative, complete, expansive worlds I've ever had the pleasure of encountering. It allows you to become fully invoved in his fantasy. Although I quick fell head over heels for the HBO series, it didn't happen as quick for me with the novels. The TV series was so faithful that it in part worked against getting into the first novel. His vision is so detailed that after watching the TV series it felt almost tedious to read the first book.

I've heard many people, including close friends, advise against reading the first book if you've already seen the series. "Just start on book two.", they say. "You won't be lost and you won't waste your time reading something that you've already experienced." I 100% disagree with them. I admit when I started the novel, I was bored. It was so detailed that it just seemed long-winded and slow. It wasn't until about 3/4 of the way through A Game of Thrones that it actually began to sweep me away.

 If you are going to continue reading the whole series, I think it's essential to read the first novel. Sure, plot wise you could get away with only watching the TV show and starting on the second book, but I think you lose out on much of the subtleties of the characters.  The books are written from the perspective of many of the main characters such as Tyrion Lannister, Eddard Stark and Daenerys Targaryen. The show does as well as it can, but it can never replace the intimacy with the characters that you experience from being inside their heads.

Generally, I feel that the novels are almost always better then the TV or movie adaptations, but I was pleasantly surprised by the accuracy of HBO's A Game of Thrones. It was almost (ALMOST) scene for scene, line for line, with the first novel, which is fantastic if you've read and loved the novels. It's rare to find a screen adaption that feels as dedicated to the source material.

It's hard to be objective about the casting as I saw the series first and fell in love with all the actors/characters. But, for me, after getting into the novels there is no one in the show who could have been cast better. Peter Dinklage, who won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his performance, is spellbinding as the cunning Tyrion Lannister.

And Emilia Clarke is mesmerising as the beautiful Daenerys Targaryen. These are just two of the amazing standout performers in the Game of Thrones TV series.

For me the benefit to watching the TV series first was that it helped me put a face to some of the characters. Especially, the secondary characters like Petyr Baelish (Littlefinger) and Maester Aemon of the Night's Watch. Because George R. R. Martin's epic series is so well constructed it relies on many characters and subplots to fully realise the world of Westeros, and I found myself slightly lost in the first novel trying to get a handle on all the characters and locations. Having watched the TV series I was helped immensely by actively putting the faces and places they gave us on TV to the names in the books. It helped me keep all the characters straight.

Watch a trailer for Season 1 and a sneak preview for Season 2 of HBO's A Game of Thrones (which starts April 1, 2012). What did you think of the TV adaptation of A Game of Thrones? Will you be watching the next season?