"Should I Read Game of Thrones Before I Watch It"

One of the most frequent google search phrases that has brought new readers round these parts since #GameOfThrones started airing was this question.

Usually my philosophy with Book-Movie dilemmas is to see the movie first, since I know I can always enjoy the book afterwards. If I’m sitting there grumbling that “It was different in the book” I’m much less likely to enjoy the movie.

Game of Thrones, though…. I read the books when I was 18-20…. and I’m reading them again as we go…and I’m STILL confused about who some of the characters are. One of the great things about a visual medium is that you can communicate so much about a character just by showing their face – it’s not always necessary to match names to faces right away. In the book, you meet everyone in a procession of names and descriptions and battle scars – Robert is arriving at Winterfell, his court is filing into a banquet, the Starks are arriving at King’s Landing… people are moving, and that’s how we meet them, in motion.

Thus far what I’ve noticed in the movie is people are mostly standing in the background so we get used to them, and we don’t get a sense of who they are until they step forward to take part in some menacing or some maiming. You know, the usual.

So, dear Googlers (and the brave soul who found me by googling “Prawn toes” – shine on, crazy diamond, etc), YES, go buy the books and read along with the series. Because if you have any idea who Littlefinger and The Hound are just by watching the series at this point… you should start up a psychic friends network and cater exclusively to geeks.

PS if you want to dive in and read some recaps, start here (1.01),  here (1.02),  here (1.03),  here (1.04),  here (1.05),  here (1.06),  here (1.07),   here (1.08) and here (1.09)

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