I have been an ardent fan and follower of the Game of Thrones series. So much so, I bought the entire book set of A Song of Fire and Ice last month, consisting of five books spread over seven volumes and a bonus map of Westeros.
Even though the HBO series ended in an anticlimactic manner, it has become even more disappointing, ever since I started reading the books they are supposedly based on.
I purposely held back from posting this review, even though I finished reading the first book, A Game of Thrones, last month. Because I wanted to see how much the story differs from the series, especially second book onward.
Now that I have read the second book, A Clash of Kings as well (review coming soon), I have found the books to be far superior to the series.
The first season and the first book are more or less the same, even though you begin to see both taking a different path with the series putting unneeded emphasis on some of the characters, like that of Robb Stark and Eddard Stark, while side-lining character of Bran Stark, Tyrion Lannister and Tywin Lannister.
Furthermore, the series sorely misses out on the character depth and details outlined in the book. Moreover, majority of the characters are but a shadow of what they were in the book.
Even the Eyrie in the Game of Thrones series pales in comparison to what is described in the book. An almost impregnable castle atop the mountain with its three waycastles; Stone, Snow and Sky presenting a formidable task ahead of Catelyn Stark, who has to climb it in the dead of night, thanks to the order of her sister, Lysa Arryn.
To make matters even better, George RR Martin’s language is simple yet fluid and helps paint a vivid picture of all that is taking place in Westeros and beyond.
This helps make these fairly large books (Game of Thrones is spread over 860 pages) easy to read and keeps the reader hooked from beginning, till the end.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading A Game of Thrones, even though it is only the first book in the Song of Fire and Ice series and mostly similar to the HBO series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. If you liked the series, you would love the book, even if you are not an ardent reader!
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