It is critically important that the younger generation gets bumped up by a couple years for this show to be successful. I respect Martin's desire to stay true to the world of his book and show how young this new generation is when they take over, however it will not be believable and it will distract the viewer from the plot. Perhaps the age is appropriate to the medieval setting, but it is very difficult to relate to in today's perspective and the concept of the 6thgrader assassin, the 3rd grader adventurer, or the sophomore king will not connect with the audience. Now, should you be forced into a situation where you have them all at the age they were in the books that is ok, it is a trick a good storyteller picks up on right in the beginning and it's called travel time. If you age every character a year per season(like the actors playing them) by the time King Robb feasts at the Red Wedding he will die a young adult but adult indeed. I do hope that you cast all of the characters at least a year or 2 above the book though. This series has so much potential but I would hate to see it flop due to a lack of connection with the audience. I can't believe anyone here has imagined Jon Snow to be a 16 year old with Ygritte, or Robb even younger as king. Bran is one of my favorites but he is not at the stage in life where a teacher would use a puppet to teach to him. Good luck on all this. I do hope that you keep ages in consideration while casting. this should be far more mature than chronicles of narnia(I liked it but it was a child's movie and book, this book is NOT meant for children and I feel that he series should reflect that)
