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Still worth it?


Fallender

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I read a lot, however I'm not the person who reads the same story several time.



Because I did not read the books but watched the tv show do you assum that the books are still worth it or is everything (i barly dont think so) in the show?



I heared after Season 2 (Book 2?) the show is different from the books, should I start therefore with book 3?


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I think that it is always worth reading the books even if you have seen the show. But in total honesty I would say that you could skip the first book if you have seen Season one because they did a pretty kick butt job with the keeping the first season spot on with the book. So I personally would say that you should read all of the books but if you do want to skip than I would suggest only skipping the first one.


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If you are one of those readers who is only interested in the main plot, and in a superficial way (only to know "what happens"), then you could probably skip the first or even the second books. But if you care about subplots, character motivations or hidden theories, then read them all.


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Only the first season is faithful to book one, from the second book there are big divergences. More and more so. At this point, season 5 has almost nothing to do with the books.



But don't believe anyone who tells you that you can skip the first book, let alone any of the others. The plot is almost the same, yes, but there is a lot of character stuff, important historical information, and minor characters and subplots who reappear in later books, which are not in the show. The book is far richer than the show even when the show is being faithful as it was in season 1.


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From the accounts of people who read the books after the show I have seen, I think about the half (or a bit more) was those who really liked the 1st book and about the half (or a bit less) was those who found it rather boring due to the faithful adaptation in season 1. Considering you don't like to re-read things, you're probably more likely to be in the latter group, but still it doesn't hurt to try and verify it. You can simply pick the 1st book, start reading and drop if you don't enjoy it. Or you can read the others first and decide if you want to return to also see the opening from the perspective. Or you can ignore it, of course there'll be things you miss (mostly backstory and roots for fan theories), but in relation to the time invested, it's pretty few things.



But like most of people here say, the 2nd book you should definitely pick. The differences are growing larger as the 2nd season unfolds, and also you get more in terms of character development from the books. While obviously you lose some from it if not reading AGOT, too, the 1st book/season is simpler in this regard, you start with more or less good guys/bad guys division in the beginning, and GRRM needs some time to start "showing it was not that much simple" or complicating the plot enough that "it's not certain who was right or which choice is a good one". There's not as much of it in the 1st book/season as later, and hence you miss less because of the adaptation not having the access to the inner monologues.




Also, consider you doesn't necessarily have to read the book just like you'd do the the first time. If some particular plot you're finding really boring and it follows the show version quite closely, you may decide to try and flip through it, only looking for the differences. Of course, it may happen you miss something important, but if you want to know the story in all the 100% of the details, you should've started with book 1 without thinking. Though I do hope there won't be too much need for this. Or you can read the whole plot you're most interested in at the moment and later return to some others you've left behind. Knowing the major events you don't risk one plot spoiling you the outcome of the other (it doesn't apply to Dance, though, because the changes are too important and you can't know which storylines are going to meet each other and which aren't, because it's different than on the show).


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I also started with the show.



Then I was told that the first 2 books (specially the 1st) were very similar to the show, and because I did remember almost everything, I started with book 3, and I found it really amazing.


I had no problems following the story (maybe with book 4 I didn't recognise some characters that surrounded Brienne's storyline) but apart from that, it was fine.



Still worth it? Absolutely, a lot of characters, but I really liked ASOS and Dance. There's a lot of stuff that the series has not adapted (Dance is....completely different) and you will read the inner thoughts of the characters.



Having said that, now I want to read the 1st and 2nd books (I have already read some of the POV chapters of the 2nd, maybe half the book)....so maybe, if you have time, I'd recommend you to start if not from the 1st, definitely Clash of Kings.


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It is still worth reading AGOT.



I saw the show up till season 3 before picking up the books. Season one is a faithful adaptation but it doesn't have the inner workings of the POV characters' minds that the book has.



There are also a lot more dream sequences and foreshadowing for future events.


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Only the first season is faithful to book one, from the second book there are big divergences. More and more so. At this point, season 5 has almost nothing to do with the books.

But don't believe anyone who tells you that you can skip the first book, let alone any of the others. The plot is almost the same, yes, but there is a lot of character stuff, important historical information, and minor characters and subplots who reappear in later books, which are not in the show. The book is far richer than the show even when the show is being faithful as it was in season 1.

This.

The background historical information does give you a much richer world.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

I read a lot, however I'm not the person who reads the same story several time.

Because I did not read the books but watched the tv show do you assum that the books are still worth it or is everything (i barly dont think so) in the show?

I heared after Season 2 (Book 2?) the show is different from the books, should I start therefore with book 3?

The books are definitely worth the read. You may find that reading the books again is something you actually want to do. Its almost like reading a different set of books the 2nd time around.

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It really depends on you, do you like re-watching the show from time to time? If you do then read the books, because while you know the plots and twists, you still enjoy picking up on the little things and there's so many more details even in book 1 which makes it worthwhile.

By the way I also started reading the books after several GoT seasons, I enjoyed it very much but not everyone is the same.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm not someone who rereads books or rewatches TV shows. (Even with movies I only ever rewatch very very few) BUT I definitely enjoyed reading AGoT after watching the show. You absolutely can not skip that book IMO.  Everything and everyone who is important is established there.

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I personally think that reading AGOT is still worth it after watching the show. The books go into a lot more depth in regards to characters thoughts and you can find out what the characters were originally described as looking, there are some differences. One thing I did find was that I read all of King Roberts lines in a Yorkshire accent because of Mark Addy.

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Hi i have been a show watcher for a few years. until last week i decided to pick up the 5 book bundle at barnes and nobles for about $50, and wow i cannot be happier with my decision. i dont hve much time to read, but ive been reading for a few days now and im at about page 300 of book 1.

 

But i honestly wish i wouldve started with the books first, i feel like i know whats going to happen next as i read it. but oh well so far so good still better than the show, cant wait to start reading about king stannis!!(main rason i started reading the books)

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A lot of people say they enjoyed the first re-read even more than the first read so at some points you might even enjoy the "advantage" you have from having watched the show cause you will be able to focus more on all the interesting hints and information that are going on beside the plot line.

 

Anyways the books are great its always worth reading them no matter the circumstances

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Start with Book I.  There are a lot of details, clues, hints, easter eggs, inner monologues, and seemingly minor interactions that you don't get by watching the show, and they lead into things that might not make sense later on.  That said, the storyline of A Game of Thrones  and of it's season one counterpart is actually one of the more faithful book adaptations out there.  Agreed with Coldf00t, that knowing the story from the show means you can pay attention to the details a bit more since you already know what's going to happen. 

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