gae204 Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Hi, I watched the entire first season on HBO and now want to read the books. I am an avid reader but would hate to spend weeks reading an 800 page novel in the form of the first book if it is nearly identical to the show. Can I skip to book 2? Will I be able to follow along after just having watched the show, or do I need to read book 1 first? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbeezee Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 NO. Absolutely do NOT skip book 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iheartseverus Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Hi, I watched the entire first season on HBO and now want to read the books. I am an avid reader but would hate to spend weeks reading an 800 page novel in the form of the first book if it is nearly identical to the show. Can I skip to book 2? Will I be able to follow along after just having watched the show, or do I need to read book 1 first? ThanksOh, heavens, no, don't skip book 1. The HBO series has been as faithful to the book as any tv adaption can be, but doesn't even come close (not even in the same universe) to the rich, exciting detail in the book. You'd be doing yourself a great dis-service if you miss the experience of reading Game of Thrones, for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The hairy bear Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Could you do it?Yes, without a doubt. Everything in the books is much more fleshed out than in the TV, but the main plot points you need to know to start reading Clash of Kings you already know. Some concepts you might find a little bit strange at the beginning, but in terms of reading comprehension, you can do it.Do I recommend it to you?Truth be told, I'd love to see the experiment. See the notes and comments of a reader following on with the books after season 1 would be an interesting thing to see. But honestly I would not recommend it to you. You'd lose some of the subtilities of the books, and after all, I'm sure you'd fin book 1 interesting even if you know what happens in advance. I know I still find it interesting after many rereads! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DireLlama Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 You would be able to follow the story if you skipped book 1, but for the love of god, DON'T. Everything that is absolutely essential was covered in the show, but there's so much more you can take from the book than you get from the show.Also the change to the TV medium necessarily changed a few things like some characterisations, and so if you skip to book 2 you might be a bit confused that certain people are behaving differently to how they did in the show.But, most importantly, it's just a damn good book. This is a forum full of people who've read the books many times over. They're worth reading again and again. You know the basic plot from the HBO series. But you don't know A Game of Thrones properly until you've read it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrion Lannister Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I'm with everyone else--don't skip it. The show is great, and far more faithful to the books than I'd thought it would be, but there are still many changes made that might be confusing if you just jump straight into A Clash of Kings without first reading A Game of Thrones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abaddon Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Can, yes.Should, no.My wife just got the four-pack of all four released books so far for $20 from Amazon. (I offered to dig my books out of boxes or let her read my Kindle editions... but after hearing me blather for years she got hooked on the show and wanted her own set :love:). There's really no good reason not to start from the beginning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Envie Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I think you'll be really glad you didn't skip it. The first book has a certain intensity to it that you really do need to completely immerse yourself in to fully understand why so many people are fanatical about the book series. Although HBO did an amazing job at making a very realistic and believable interpretation of the story ... it doesn't come anywhere close to the vibrant storytelling GRRM gives his epic story. Definitely read book one before you start 2! (there's a lot of details you'll want to know to better understand book 2). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarrileteCosmico Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 See following thread for more opinions in the same subject: http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/51761-can-you-read-acok-coming-directly-from-hbos-got/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFA-OK Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Other than the book being more detailed and simply better, didn't the show omit some characters which will be introduced in the 2nd season? That could cause some confusion if you didn't read the first book. Personally, for me it was actually hard to get into the first book. I was stuck on the first 50 pages or so for awhile and then finally came back to the book, but once you get into all the storylines and characters the books go by VERY fast. They are really addictive so I wouldn't worry about the lengths of the books. Before you know it you'll be on the 2nd book if you decide to read the first, which I would highly recommend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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