Take it from me, one of those people who read all of the books in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series long before the television show got greenlit: This is the superior version of the story, even if I am 100% convinced that Martin is never going to manage to finish writing it. And right now, the whole box set of books is on deep discount thanks to Amazon Prime Day.
I know what you’re thinking. “Maddy, why would I read these books when the story isn’t even over, and it’s increasingly looking like it never will be? Shouldn’t I just watch the critically acclaimed television series (despite its poorly reviewed series finale)?” No! No, you should not! You should read the books, actually!
A Song of Ice and Fire, the book series, is similar to the HBO series in that it’s gritty fantasy, but it’s also exceedingly trashy good fun. Sex scenes, lavish descriptions of food, grisly fantasy battles — that’s all in there, in ways that are not entirely unlike the show. The reason the books are superior, though, is because they have the opportunity to do something the show never quite has the time to do. The characters’ inner monologues allow you to get to know each of their petty little problems so much better, and that makes every twist and turn that much more heartbreaking.
Martin’s whole deal as a storyteller — on full display in this series — is to undercut the reader’s expectation at every turn. Every time you think he’s setting up a character to be a big hero who’s fated to save the day, he turns it around on you by killing that person or setting up someone else to thwart their best-laid plans. The show too often oversimplifies these character arcs, making each person’s motivation easier to understand and less nuanced. The thousands of pages of the books don’t need to do any such thing. These characters get to be the full-on messy jerks they were always meant to be, and it’s a damn delight.
Don’t miss out on these, as long as you’re at peace with the fact that the story’s left undone. What’s there is still a remarkably fun ride.
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