Books vs TV series

The perennial debate. Do you prefer the books or the TV series? How closely is the TV series following the books? Do you like or dislike the changes the TV series has introduced? How much more or less do you expect the series to diverge from the books as new seasons appear?

Given the complexity of the story, I think the TV series is doing a remarkable job of conveying the material of the book.

One thing that is really missing though is the Rhaegar+Lyanna backstory. Admittedly it is hard to include that in the TV series, given that in the books it is mostly "narrated" as Ned Stark's private recollections. I was expecting that they would begin introducing this backstory in the House of the Undying scenes (show the Rhaegar and Elia Martell vision, only to have it subsequently explained to Daenerys and the viewers by Sir Jorah), but even there they completely skipped it.

Especially if the R+L=J theory turns out to be true, this backstory will be crucial to the plot and it will have to be introduced in the TV series at some point.

I can't help but wonder if the TV series is going to run out of books before the book series is finished.

I like them both, but there's a complexity to the world in the books that the tv series can't really capture. It's that complexity that makes me want to read more, to try to figure out what the rules of the universe really are. The show seems a lot more simple, "everything is magic"-ish.

SillyString:

I can't help but wonder if the TV series is going to run out of books before the book series is finished.

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There's a rumor they may finish the TV series with a feature film: as that would take a few years to make, it'd give GRRM time to finish the books.

Hmm. I hope they don't do that to be honest. I like the tv series format of it all.

I agree with SillyString that they have done a relatively good job with the book to television transfer. But it can't really compare with how in-depth the books are. George RR Martin is a brilliant and creative author.

mcmasterdonia:

George RR Martin is a brilliant and creative author.

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My relationship with that man is love-hate.

It's the matter of taste. Not everything in TV series is like I imagined it in the books. And of course there's a controversial topic of sexual scenes. Also I had a mixed relationship with the books as some parts were really boring to me, while in the show it seems still watchable.

It'll be interesting to see how they adapt the fourth book in the new season. A ton of new characters, settings, and side plots, without any clear major events to provide some central direction.

I love both, and I honestly think that HBO's effort to adapt such a demanding and complex material are admirable.

I do think that since Martin is going slow with the writing, Seasons 4 could have more details and subplots that have been left aside from previous books and even this one, and if they wanted to give time to Martin they could easily take books 4 and 5 and do 3 or even 4 seasons out of it, without actually loosing their pace... I doubt they do it, but they could