I've done the whole thread now, which was more than I thought it would be because it goes back to before we had spoiler tags, and for the first half of the thread people were using white text, which had to be replaced with spoiler tags.

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In gratitude forever … .

Thanks, Voronwë! That's great about the easy update on the spoiler tags. I'll convert any old ones that I come across.

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“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

Do the spoilers include the books or just the tv show?

I haven't read the books, and I don't want to run across any information about season 5 that book readers might know about.

I think the spoiler tags are for book events only.

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When you can do nothing what can you do?

So any book information is behind spoiler tags? I haven't read the books yet, and I won't until the series is over.

I think specifically the spoiler tags are for events in the books that have not yet been depicted in the show. If they've appeared in some form, they can be mentioned outside spoiler tags.

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“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

Back when the first book of GoT came out, I purchased it, and actually got to meet the author at WorldCon, which was in Toronto that year.

I read it, then bought the next one, and struggled my way through it. Too dark, too many deaths, and the Others REALLY seriously creeped me out!

With the coming of the T.V. series, I started to get interested again. When WalMart put a package of all 5 books on sale in a boxed set for $35 last Christmas, I mulled it over, and after getting a WalMart gift card for Christmas, decided to bite.

I left them sitting in my bedroom for months, before finally picking up the second one in the series to give it another go. I quickly found I had forgotten too much of this VERY complex series, and went right back to the beginning and started with the first novel.

It took me awhile to get through. They are MASSIVE books!

I then started on #2. It was even slower going. I finally finished it in a determined late-night reading session last week, then tried to keep the momentum going by plunging into #3. I was REALLY determined to get caught up to where the series is currently at on T.V., so I can go ahead and watch it. (I currently have the DVDs for Season 1 and 2, and am thinking of buying Season 3).

Last night, I finally gave up. It is just TOO MUCH! (Avoiding spoilers here!) A favourite character is killed, one I hadn't expected to die. I already knew others who died around the same time were doomed (the Red Wedding, which I've heard about, but not seen yet.) I asked myself, "Are you enjoying this?" The answer was "HELL, NO!" Then why keep on reading it?

When I REALLY enjoy a book, I finish it in a couple of days, or a week at the most. I LOVE reading, and though I don't read nearly as much as I used to, I am still capable of devouring a book from a favourite author very quickly, staying up to the wee hours of the morning if it is really good.



So, sorry, GRRM. Your bloated, violence-filled tomes are just not for me...

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When the night has been too lonely, and the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong,
Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snows,
Lies the seed, that with the sun's love, in the spring becomes The Rose.

Another turn-off to the series is trying to keep track of all the minor characters, some of which aren't listed in the appendices. When Reek turns out to be Someone Important, I actually had to go online and search his real name to figure out who he was, as his house is not listed. And I found out far more information about him than I really wanted to... He is one SICK dude!

I have been involved with another multi-book, multi-character saga for many years, written by Janny Wurts. Hers has gone on for longer than GRRM's. (She's currently working on Book #10, with, I believe, 2 more to come.) I don't ever recall having to do a Google search for one of her characters. If I wasn't sure who someone was, there is a comprehensive index of names (NOT just alliances!) at the back of each book.

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When the night has been too lonely, and the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong,
Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snows,
Lies the seed, that with the sun's love, in the spring becomes The Rose.

I also am not a huge fan of the books (though I do believe that the ethic that drives the author is in opposition to the nihilism of the world he created - we just won't know that for sure until the conclusion). The TV show, however, is much better IMO. Truly wonderful characterizations throughout, despite the sometimes relentless heartbreak.

Where is this series at? Being in Oz, we are way behind. I have watched up to the first four episodes of series four. How much more is there?

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Mornings wouldn't suck so badly if they came later in the day.

6 more Eps I think Impy.

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The Vinyamars on Stage! This time at Bag End

So, series five is next season?

Pardon my typos - tiny phone keyboard probs.

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Mornings wouldn't suck so badly if they came later in the day.

You have to also remember G.R.R. Martin hasn't finished writing the books, so there will be still more to come for the TV series, once the books are done!

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When the night has been too lonely, and the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong,
Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snows,
Lies the seed, that with the sun's love, in the spring becomes The Rose.

How fast can he write? Seems to me that at the rate of one book a year, the sceenwritets will be done and dusted before Martin publishes the next, and then the production company will sit around twiddling their thumbs waiting. I picture it...the actors going grey...

Pardon my typos - tiny phone keyboard probs.

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Mornings wouldn't suck so badly if they came later in the day.

To go grey, you have to still have a head.

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Take my hand, my friend. We are here to walk one another home.


Avatar from Fractal_OpenArtGroup

Good point.

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Mornings wouldn't suck so badly if they came later in the day.

As an FYI, the producers have strongly indicated that the series will not go beyond seven seasons. GRRM cannot catch up. They are filming season 5 now, and there are story-lines in it that have not yet been published. In short, the show will be completed before the books.

I wonder; will it be strictly correct to say the show was completed before the books if the last books are never published?

There's only one book left, isn't there? So there's still a chance he may finish the book in time - isn't there?

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There are supposed to be two more (The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring), but he's left open the possibility of extending the series further.