The Sword and Laser discussion

THIS IS A SPOILER FREE ZONE

There have been other threads about this, but I'm starting one anyway, because I'm really paranoid about spoilers...

I haven't watched this season of Game of Thrones yet, and I'm trying to decide if I should or not.

Apparently (and again, no spoilers here) they're leaping past the books now. So, the question is, which version do I want first? There will always be differences, but watching the show, I found myself preferring the way scenes were depicted in the books. If I watch the show, I might have the opposite reaction.

My wife (also up to date on the books) wants to start watching the new season, but I'm leaning towards waiting for GRRM to catch up.

What did everyone here decide? And why?

I have read all the books.

I'm watching the show, but I like the way it's going and I'm not real picky about them changing most stuff. I feel they're trimming most of the parts I found boring in the books anyway.

Eventually I'll read the new books (however many) but I can keep them separate in my head.

I haven't read any but the first book (I decided to take my time with them to avoid catching up and having to wait) and I definitely think you should watch rather than wait. Even having seen the t.v. show first, I still really loved the first book, and I think you should be able to keep the two separate, especially since my brother, who has read ALL the books, does nothing but complain about how the show differs. Watch it, treat it as different, and I'm sure you will enjoy the books whenever they are finished.

This is a bit of a tangent, but for me the emotional involvement seems weekend in the the TV show, Vs the book, and for me that is a good thing.

I lammed the first book because I had a hard time dealing with the realistic but selfish characterization of most of the charcters. I eventually came back to it before the first TV season came out, and went on to read the second book before watching the second season. From the 3rd season on I've just watched the show, and I've found this much less draining emotionally. I don't know what that says about me personally or society, but I've become at least desensitized enough of the visual medium to deal with it, where the written word requires just enough more participation that I don't want to go there, unless I have too.

Jason you seem to prefer the book, and that is normally how I feel as well (this series being an exception), so if it makes you feel better, wait for the books and enjoy the series at a latter date, nothing wrong with that. But at the same time, know that this gap is going to get bigger and bigger, and avoiding spoilers is going to get harder and harder.

Hope you and your wife can reach an acceptable agreement, what ever it is.

An amusing anecdote about this show(view spoiler)[: many sites that otherwise publish only news/politics articles cover Game of Thrones, presumably because they're nerds. I have also never been closer to disavowing a certain site than when they published an article saying "Stannis did nothing wrong," (hide spoiler)]and I've been following this particular blogger for more than ten years.

OMG. Start watching now. Some of the best stuff has happened this season. Why wait 10 years or likely longer to see the story end in the books. You can always read them as well for a different experience.

Episode 8. Best action scene for the whole show (view spoiler)[The zombie & white walkers battle with Jon's men, the wildlings & the giant (hide spoiler)]
Then there's (view spoiler)[Tyrion with Dany and the dragons (hide spoiler)] and (view spoiler)[other stuff (hide spoiler)] and (view spoiler)[that other thing that happened (hide spoiler)]

Brendan I would probably put part of your post in spoiler tags for those who haven't seen this weeks episode. (view spoiler)[I would spoiler tag "Stannis did nothing wrong," Up until it happens there is a chance he could not go through with it. We've seen it coming for a few weeks but I was hoping Davos would somehow know something was up and save the day. (hide spoiler)]

Alright. I didn't think it contained any spoilers but just in case i'll edit it.

ERMAHGERD watch the show. Just watch it. I think of it this way: different things, man. At this point they are different things.

Let's face it, the books won't be completed until YEARS after the tv show is done. What are the odds that you will be able to go that long without stumbling across spoilers? The last episodes of the tv series are going to be some of the biggest events in pop culture in the coming years. If you feel that lucky you should be filling your pockets with lottery tickets.

Just adding another to the chorus of: don't wait you'll be spoiled. Everyone is getting in on this. My wife was extremely annoyed that she was spoiled on this season's episode 9 the NEXT DAY in the title of an article on people.com. I think it's pretty messed up to be that cavalier about spoilers. Yes, it's a hit TV show, but some people are busy on Sundays. Can't you at least wait a week? (For spoilers in the title, that is. If you want them in an article, that's fine - you have a chance to warn people)

Depends. Can you handle being spoiled by the show on things that will happen in the books? Can you handle weird, illogical additional storyline...no wait, let me rephrase...Are you a Dorne fan? This season infuriates me a lot - I can handle changes but things they added/changed is subpar compared with the previous seasons. However, if you can handle all those things, just watch. Braavos and King's Landing scenes are still good.

Overall I find the show is better than the books, with the exception being the second novel. So I'm fine with the two diverging. At this point I will have to start avoiding spoilers because I long ago bailed on the books and only watch the show when it comes out on disk, but that comes with the territory.

In general, I find the show better except for the Dorne section. Feels like a soap opera in the show.

Watch the show. For the most part, the choices made to keep the story moving forward are good.

Read the books first. Be a bibliophile.

So the most compelling argument here seems to be that I'm gonna get spoiled anyway. So I should just watch the show. Hm.

Still undecided.

How is this hard? If you wait for the books you'll wait years, perhaps a decade or more. GRRM has shown no ability to deliver books more frequently than once every few years. If you want to wait years to finish the story, wait. If you don't, don't. I think on that timescale you lose the ability to complain about spoilers, i.e. you can't expect people to worry about spoilers for a story that was publicly released years before.

There's also the risk that Martin will die before finishing this of course.

I didn't read books so i have no doubts here, but i think that its better to enjoy modern Game-of-Thrones-as-a-series vibe with millions of people discussing all over the place, joking, making memes, referring to the show in every possible way than wait for the show and hype to lay down and be forgotten and only then blow dust from it and watch.

^ Daniel makes a good point that part of the joy of GoT is less the story and more sharing it with others.

I've read the first two ASOIAF novels. But now I've taken the path of watching the show first and then reading the books. Mainly because I decided some time ago that I wasn't going to read the series until all the books were published. The other reason is that I find I enjoy the adaptation more if I don't have the book influencing my vieweing (I don't get upset that they left out my favorite part of the book or because the actor they cast doesn't meet my expectations or has different physical features - but in the book he was...). After I've watched the adaptation and then go read the book(s), I can then find all the additional details.

The other thing I've found is that having an actor give voice to a character helps my reading experience. It doesn't even matter if the actor did a good job with the character, just having the voice is enough.

Rick wrote: "How is this hard? If you wait for the books you'll wait years, perhaps a decade or more. GRRM has shown no ability to deliver books more frequently than once every few years. If you want to wait ye..."

To be fair the first couple books came out fairly quickly. It's less that he can't and more that he has other priorities combined with the way that inspiration works.

We started watching the season last night. I feel terribly guilty.

LOL!!! But I bet the wife is happy. ;-)

I didn't read a whole series too, just the first one. But so far the show itself is amazing and i loved to see how the characters and story in the book portrayed in the tv..

Jason wrote: "THIS IS A SPOILER FREE ZONE

There have been other threads about this, but I'm starting one anyway, because I'm really paranoid about spoilers...

I haven't watched this season of Game of Thrones y..."

The books took me on a journey into a middle-ages style world where incredible brutality and base human emotions are given full rein, religious mania, sexual perversion, all the worst that humanity has on offer. Then, there is the high ideals of chivalry, courage, honour.

All in all such a wonderful story so well described.

The show left me a bit cold, patchy, here and there okay, but generally does not have the richness and complexity of the books.

Books for me!

HBO had a free weekend, so I watched all of season 5. Since the books and show are diverging and I bailed on the books a number of years ago (has it been a decade already?), it's just a better bet to watch the show if you like this world. I would guess the show will scratch that itch better and faster than Martin will.

Eric wrote: "To be fair the first couple books came out fairly quickly. It's less that he can't and more that he has other priorities combined with the way that inspiration works. "

Martin has said -- for the entirety of this century, actually -- that he has the entire story plotted out.

It's more likely the real problem is that the books became big hits and his editor apparently abdicated his job, because the books became big messes with little left out and lots of repetition.

If Martin hadn't been rambling for hundreds of pages, he would have gotten to the plot points he'd already decided on ages ago.