1. #1
    Field Marshal Stadtfeld's Avatar
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    [Books] Question Regarding Game of Thrones (Possible Spoilers)

    After recently finishing Season 3 of HBO's Game of Thrones TV series, I need more, but I am not sure where to even begin.
    I am seeking to begin reading the novels, but I can't decide whether to read from the very beginning or pick off where Season 3 of the TV series ended.

    The purpose of this thread is for me to ask a few simple questions.

    1. How well do the first 3 seasons of the TV series capture the story compared to that of the books?
    2. Which book does end of Season 3 correlate with?
    3. Would you recommend me to read from the start or try to pick up from where the TV series ended?

    Dragonslayer Stadtfeld, <Behind the Curve> [Warcarft]
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  2. #2
    Keep in mind i have not read the books but my wife has so i have a partial idea of what is going on. I would probably recommend that you read it from the beginning to help avoid confusion. From what I have been told there are various aspects that have been changed for the show or not included in the show. So if you are interested in reading them I would recommend doing it from the beginning.

    The other issue as I understand it is that Season 3 of the show is only a portion of Book 3 so you can't just pick it up somewhere in the middle of the book for where it started at.

  3. #3
    Im about half way through book two at the moment. I think its worth starting from the beginning of the books. Partially because season three is only half of book three. Kinda hard to start in the middle of a book. From what Ive read so far the series copies the books closer then any book to movie or tv series Ive ever seen.

  4. #4
    You NEED to start from the very beginning. Alot of things that you simply cannot pick up on in a T.V. show are the books and it gives some of the relationships between characters whole new outlooks. Not only that the show skips or adds random stuff, they will end up referencing ALOT of said things and you wont be able to figure out what is going on.

    Also, while the T.V. show really is one of the best things on T.V. right now it does not do the books justice, there is simply FAR to much subtlety in the books that the show cannot replicate.
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  5. #5
    To answer your questions..

    1. The first season was pretty much a faithful adaptation of the 1st book. Seasons 2-3 have covered the majority of books 2-3 but not all.
    2. The story during books 2 and 3 really begins to cover a lot of ground and characters. There is no real clear cut coalition between the ending of book 3 and season 3. Some of the book has been covered but due to the nature of the story not all.
    3. I started to read the books about half-way through the airing of season 1. If you want a shortcut I'd advise starting to read book 1 just after a certain character loses their head. Everything that happens before that is faithfully covered by the TV series. There really are too many brilliant instances you don't want to miss in book 2 and 3 which the TV series couldn't cover in as much depth as they deserved.

  6. #6
    The Patient Lumennon's Avatar
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    Actually finished A Dance With Dragons, the currently last book, just this very night.

    1. The general idea is pretty much always there. What's different is that the books, naturally, go into a lot more detail when it's about characters - since you can have a lot more internalization when it's written from a character's point of view - and past events. For instance, the whole Lyanna thing, in my opinion, gets explored a lot more in the books. Also, there are a lot of minor characters or little plot points from the books that are not in the show. Off the top of my hat, one character that book readers were probably pretty disappointed didn't show up, Strong Belwas comes to mind. Fairly frequently seen in the books, funny character, completely absent from the show.

    Bear in mind George R. R. Martin is an Executive Producer on the show, so everything that's missing - while it might detract from the overall, complete experience - doesn't hold that much significance to the plot as a whole.

    2. I think the end of S3 falls pretty much right in the middle of book 3, A Storm of Swords, which, in some countries, was actually split in two. I'd imagine the end of S3 falls about right in between the two halves.

    3. Sure, start from the beginning, especially seeing as you stated you "need more". It's what I did about halfway through S3 and as I said, the books show you a lot of other stuff that you don't get to see on TV. Essentially, I'd call them two somewhat different takes on the same story. Again, if you "need more", go for it.
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    New Kid Zaelsino's Avatar
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    I'd start from the beginning. The first book/season correlate well enough, but as the story gets more intricate they tend to take different routes, do things earlier (or later) than in the books, or quite dramatically change up certain storylines (Theon, Dany, Jon etc.) due to casting/budget/time issues and the like. You'd end up pretty confused if you went straight from the show to book 3, IMO.

    S3 is roughly the first half (some will tell you two thirds) of book 3, but again, they've moved around so much there that you'd probably be a bit lost.

    Plus they're just great books. Highly recommend you start from the beginning.

  8. #8
    How is this even a question!

    Start from the beginning of course. Yes, the first season is quite a faithful adaptation of Game of Thrones but that is not to say it is identical. I think you would be doing yourself a great disservice to read the books without reading from the very beginning.

    Not only does reading the book give you the content left out of the show, but you are introduced to the author's prose, the original imagery, his world and not the world and images of the show designers.

    Do not for a second think that the show is "good enough" if you want more. Past book one, the show pretty much scratches the surface of what's going on and the books are far, far deeper, more detailed, hugely introspective and thoughtful.

    Read them, from the start.

  9. #9
    The Unstoppable Force Orange Joe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stadtfeld View Post
    After recently finishing Season 3 of HBO's Game of Thrones TV series, I need more, but I am not sure where to even begin.
    I am seeking to begin reading the novels, but I can't decide whether to read from the very beginning or pick off where Season 3 of the TV series ended.

    The purpose of this thread is for me to ask a few simple questions.

    1. How well do the first 3 seasons of the TV series capture the story compared to that of the books?
    2. Which book does end of Season 3 correlate with?
    3. Would you recommend me to read from the start or try to pick up from where the TV series ended?


    Read from the start. The books have things in them that aren't in the show.

  10. #10
    Field Marshal Thiassi's Avatar
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    I'd suggest starting from book 1 as well. There are a lot of familiar things when reading through what you saw in the series, so you can skim a decent bit of book 1. But don't skim once you get to book 2, a lot of things are altered after book 1.

  11. #11
    These books got big for a reason -- they're amazing books. Don't miss out on them by skipping.
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  12. #12
    I read the books from #2 on, later I went back and listened to the audiobooks while leveling a character and I recommend either reading them or going that route.

  13. #13
    Merely a Setback Adam Jensen's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stadtfeld View Post
    After recently finishing Season 3 of HBO's Game of Thrones TV series, I need more, but I am not sure where to even begin.
    I am seeking to begin reading the novels, but I can't decide whether to read from the very beginning or pick off where Season 3 of the TV series ended.

    The purpose of this thread is for me to ask a few simple questions.

    1. How well do the first 3 seasons of the TV series capture the story compared to that of the books?
    2. Which book does end of Season 3 correlate with?
    3. Would you recommend me to read from the start or try to pick up from where the TV series ended?
    1. The TV series is actually surprisingly true to the books, relative to other book-to-tv series shows out there. There are fewer characters, and several plot changes, but for the most part, the show is true to the books. An example is that Talisa Stark does not exist in the books, and her counterpart, Jeyne Westerling, does not attend the Red Wedding.

    2. The end of Season 3 is roughly halfway through A Storm of Swords.

    3. Start from the beginning. There is no starting in the middle in these books. Even if you've seen the show, you have not seen the inner monologues from the PoV characters, so it'd be disorienting.
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  14. #14
    The first season follows the first book almost exactly. After that the seasons start to skew from the books very noticeably. I definitely suggest reading the books from the beginning. They're an excellent read. I started them after the third season ended and am currently on book 5. You won't be disappointed.
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    Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. - George Santayana


  15. #15
    Field Marshal Stadtfeld's Avatar
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    Thanks to each and every one of you for your input! I am convinced to start from the beginning and am off to go purchase the first book as I speak.

    Dragonslayer Stadtfeld, <Behind the Curve> [Warcarft]
    Season 1: SR80 (Top 99) [Overwatch]

  16. #16
    1. The first season very closely follows what happens in the book, right down to quite a bit of the dialogue, but there are still some differences and a lot of minor details are missing. Most of the changes made were simply to skip some rather minor things in the big picture. The second book is a lot different...the major plots are the same but a lot of everything else is changed. I haven't seen all of season three yet but from what I've seen it follows the books a little closer than the second season followed the second book, but not as faithful as the first.
    2. Season three correlates to a little over half of the third book, which is being split into two seasons so season four will be the second half of book three.
    3. Read from the beginning. A, they are great books, B, there are a lot of things left out/changed in the book, much of book two in particular will be new to you, and C, there are lots of little hints and secrets written within the text that you just don't get in the show. There is *a lot* of little details in the books that add a lot to the story.

    Just finished the fifth book myself. If you enjoy the show, you'll enjoy these books.

  17. #17
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    Don't start with book 4 if you've just left of with season 3 of the series, as book 3 has tons of stuff that wasn't even mentionned in the series.

    Start from the begining, you can't go wrong, as many characters are introduced early, and have yet to be or are ignored in the series.

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