GRRM's A Song of Ice and Fire/HBO's Game of Thrones

[CMP]

I know a large portion of the user base here is a little young yet, but there are also quite a few older users here who might enjoy George R.R. Martin's beloved book series A Song of Ice and Fire and/or the HBO series based upon it, Game of Thrones.

I became a fan after watching the first season of GoT -- so much so that I immediately picked up the books and devoured them in a week or two. It's fantasy built on reality; never too over-the-top. Sure there are dragons, ice zombies, and magic, but an equally large part of the books is the political drama among the Seven Kingdoms.

One of the best parts about the series are the endless amounts of fan theories, from the logical to the craziest ideas you can think of. The world built by Martin is full of depth, which makes discussion with fellow fans a blast.

After the airing of tonight's episode, "The Mountain and the Viper," I felt compelled to start a discussion here at the 'Beach. Without spoiling too much for those who haven't read/watched up to this point, let me just say I was still shocked and horrified at the end, even having read the books years ago. The trial's end was one of the most gruesome things I've ever witnessed on television. Hats off to the producers, and especially, the Red Viper himself, Pedro Pascal.

 

[Athena]

I read the first 3 books of the series back around 2000. Unfortunately, that's so long ago that I don't really remember much about them aside from the fact that I enjoyed them, and I'd kind of forgotten about the series until my younger sister started telling me about how much she loves this new, cool show from HBO called Game of Thrones and I was all "hey, that sounds familiar...." I unfortunately sold my ASoIaF books along with the rest of my book collection when I moved to Europe, but I've since picked up the Kindle versions and plan to reread them and then start watching the show.

 

[omahanime]

'Game of Thrones' whacks 'Sopranos' as HBO's most popular series ever

Kurt Schlosser TODAY



Family. Violence. Revenge. Nudity. HBO watchers loved "The Sopranos" for a variety of reasons during that series' six-season run. With just two episodes left in the fourth season of "Game of Thrones," viewers appreciate those same elements even more now.

With an average gross audience of 18.4 million viewers, "Game of Thrones" has become the most popular series in HBO history, the network announced on Thursday. The fantasy series — which jumped four million viewers since last season — surpassed the previous record of 18.2 million viewers, held by the 2002 season of the mob drama led by the late James Gandolfini and company.

"The Sopranos" wrapped up in 2007 after 86 episodes and 21 Emmy Awards.

"Game of Thrones," based on the fantasy novel series "A Song of Ice and Fire," by George R.R. Martin, feels like it's just getting started. Swords and sex have transformed Sunday nights on HBO, as the brutally violent and multi-layered drama attracts with it an Internet audience thirsty for interaction and insight beyond the television screen.

The next episode of "Game of Thrones" airs Sunday at 9 p.m. on HBO. The season finale

Oh yeah.