A Bong of Ice and Fire Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 You should watch all the "histories & lore" videos that came with the Blu-ray discs and are also available on the internet. They're fantastically illustrated and narrated and give you all the backround information you need without having to read the books. Of course the books are great, and you should read them, too. But it's not necessary to enjoy the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YouKnowNothingJonSnow Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 9 hours ago, Feologild said: As i have not actually read the books. I have only watched the show ( season 1-4, Will watch season 5 when i get the DVD ). But i wonder would i get a better understanding of the show, the world and the characters in Game of Thrones if i also read the books ? Heavens yes. The books go into far more detail and are more internally consistent than the show. Both in terms of the rules of the world (man, some of the show characters teleport around pretty fast, among other observations, Kevan Lannister, for one) and in terms of character development. The show makes some good decisions (particularly early in the series, seasons 1-3) but those have been few and far between lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyoftheNorth72 Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 IMO yes, you will understand the world and the tone and the characters exponentially better if you read the books - even the characters that are amalgamations. There are certainly places where the show and the books diverge enormously, so if what you're looking for is a written version of the show, you will be disappointed. If what you're looking for are five mindbogglingly spectacular books that you will adore on their own merits and likely wind up rereading repeatedly for the sheer pleasure, then you'll gain a deeper understanding of many things, and not be any worse off when watching the shows. After all, these were award winning, record breaking books by a previously rather unknown author, in a genre (fantasy fiction) that does not usually sell well outside its target audience. There must be some reason why they shot into the spotlight and deveoped fanfics and wikis and forums and incredible word of mouth sales, all before being picked up by arguably the best entity you could possibly have bring miniseries to life on screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l2 0 5 5 Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 The books would help you understand the show more. I often ask my friends who just watch the show to tell me who they think Rhaegar is. They all can tell me that he was Dany's oldest brother whom died before the series started. if you're a reader, you have a plethora of knowledge about who Rhaegar is. The book is entirely richer than the show due to no limitations in regards to content. You get so much more info about the lore of the world this series takes place in, which I can never get enough of. Your avatar, for example, is of Aegon I Targaryen. Watch the show and I'm sure you could recite that he was the conqueror of Westeros, and brought all the realms together as one. You wouldn't know, however, that the Targs struggled with Dorne for over a century before bending the knee to the Iron Throne, becoming 7 kingdoms. This knowledge you get by reading the novels. Bottom line is that if you're looking for more story, and enjoy the lore, read the books. You'll be much happier for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashur Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 Well, if you read the books, I doubt that you'll keep the show in high esteem. The show is ok by itself, but once you have read the books, you notice that the material is far better than you might expected. The show is ok, but the books are gold. D&D certainly suck at adaptating the books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neptunium Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 4 hours ago, Yevah said: I watched the first 5 seasons before I started the books. In my opinion game of thrones was the greatest show of all time. I had watched each season about 5 times each. Now that I have read the books, I realize the show adds a lot of generic lines, takes out important parts, and adds parts that is pointless and not even part of the story. I still think thrones is the greatest show of all time, but the books took it down a few notches for me. I wish I could have read the books first. I'm basically the same. After season 4 I looked up extra info about the story online, and after season 5 I read the books. OP: "But I wonder would I get a better understanding of the show, the world and the characters in Game of Thrones if I also read the books?" You'll absolutely get a much deeper understanding of the world and characters. You'll know a lot about the backstory of various characters, houses and lands; and you'll also get a peek into the heads of characters as they think and make decisions. I recently rewatched seasons 1-5 with my family after having read the books, and I was surprised at how much backstory I was able to recall about random names that I heard. For example, when I first watched the show a lot of Robb's bannermen were simply his bannermen. Then when I watched the show again, I was able to recall exactly who each person was when their names were mentioned as well as some basic backstory, family history or future actions (however minor) about that person. As for getting a better understanding of the show itself... not necessarily. The show differs more and more as seasons go by. The main difference is that plotlines are either abbreviated, cut or moved around. For example, Jon Snow's story through seasons 3, 4 and the first part of season 5 correspond to his story in A Storm of Crows (the third book), whereas the rest of season 5 rushes his plot to the end of A Dance with Dragons (the fifth book). The Dorne plot was completely different in the books, and the Ironborn plot of A Feast for Crows (the fourth book) hasn't appeared on the show yet; but from the casting of season 6, it looks like they'll be doing that next season. Season 5 was the most different from the books. It touched on all the main points, but it changed a lot in between. Jon, Cersei and Arya's stories in season 5 are pretty similar to the books, although heavily abbreviated with a LOT of bits cut (Jon's in particular). The books will fill shows events that were cut from the show that happened between things that were shown. I've already mentioned how the Dorne plot was completely different in the books. On top of that, they cut Jaime's Dance of Dragons' plot (which was actually pretty good stuff) and sent him to Dorne as part of their altered Dorne plot. Sansa's plot is drastically different in the show than in the books, largely because she was merged with another character cut out of the show (the same thing happened with Gendry earlier on - his story in the show covers the plot of two of Robert's bastards in the books). There are also a lot of other plotlines, major and minor, which didn't make it into the show. Interestingly, my dad said season 5 was the best season. I asked him why and he said it was because it had the best battle scenes and because there was always something happening at all times, whereas he said in other seasons he was always waiting for something to happen (speaking of unpopular opinions, he said the same thing about Empire Strikes Back). I did enjoy season 5 when I first watched it, although in hindsight it makes me sad they cut out so much from the books. The show does add a lot of random sex or battle scenes for drama though :-D I say that if you enjoyed the show and you're not put off by reading, you'll definitely enjoy the books even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falcon2908 Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 11 hours ago, Feologild said: As i have not actually read the books. I have only watched the show ( season 1-4, Will watch season 5 when i get the DVD ). But i wonder would i get a better understanding of the show, the world and the characters in Game of Thrones if i also read the books ? No, you don't need to. The show explains the series quiet well, even though the show has cut many scenes from the books Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chandl34 Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 The show throws a lot of names, places, and events at you quickly, and it can be hard to keep up. Yes, reading the books would give you a better understanding of everything, even if the show barely follows the books anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briantw Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 14 hours ago, Feologild said: As i have not actually read the books. I have only watched the show ( season 1-4, Will watch season 5 when i get the DVD ). But i wonder would i get a better understanding of the show, the world and the characters in Game of Thrones if i also read the books ? The book provides a lot of added motivations for characters that fuel a lot of the events that happen on the show. Just as an example, Robb's marriage in the books happens after a moment of weakness when he's wounded in battle and grieving over the "death" of Bran and Rickon and being tended to by the daughter of a minor lord. I understand why the show changed the woman he married (about half a dozen characters were introduced after that), but I have no idea why they had Theon kill all the birds to hide Bran and Rickon's deaths. It made no sense, and it stripped Robb of a defining character trait (he had to marry the girl after he dishonored her in bed) and made him just look like a horny kid. There are plenty of other similar examples where the show has changed something for essentially no reason and made things worse. And don't get me wrong...I love the show. But I think reading the books will give you, if not a greater understanding, a greater appreciation for the world and the characters. It's so much deeper and there's so much more going on. There are also dozens of new characters you'll get to know that didn't make the cut on the show, and you'll certainly learn more about the history of the Seven Kingdoms in the books than you have, at least thus far, on the show. So yeah...read the books. Unless you're just a person who doesn't like to read, I can't imagine you won't like them. I don't know a single person I've convinced in real life to read the books who hasn't loved them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neds Secret Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 19 hours ago, Feologild said: You know i would rather that you answer the question i asked. Yeah, well said, it's a bit rude to be told what questions you should ask, not every book reader is that arrogant I promise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slowpoke Martin Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 20 hours ago, LiveFirstDieLater said: Let me answer the question you should have asked... No, the show will not help you understand the books better... That's not true at all, I began by watching the show and because of that I had a much greater understanding of the books and the numerous underlying themes. So don't reply like an arrogant asshole just because you may not appreciate the show. Oh also, it was the show that helped spark a MASSIVE increase in book sales, not the pretentious attitude of book purists like you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feologild Posted February 13, 2016 Author Share Posted February 13, 2016 I am pretty sure that i will give the books a try. But not yet as i am currently reading 3 other books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meera of Tarth Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 I also read the books after S4, like you. In my opinion reading the books will make you understand better the world in which it is based and you'll understand character's motivations and their psychology, which is much more simple in the show (and sometimes quite different). As someone pointed out, you'll probably know the names of bannermen and people surrounding main characters, but also you should be aware that there are many characters (2-3 times more maybe?) that doesn't exist in the show, so there I got a bit lost too, at first: more nobles, more houses, more people in the Night's Watch and hedge knights, etc I would recommend you to read the books because the story gains in complexity and the motivations of the characters gain more (more!) LOGIC (in the good way!) but you should understand the universe expands much more; so by understanding some things, you may get lost in others. But if you focus on reading for the pleasure of reading and getting a better knowledge of the world, it's a smart choice. if you haven't watched season 5 yet, what I mentioned about logic is more palpable since this season it's completely nonsensical, as opposed to the previous ones, which despite of the fact they are not faithful adapations, and have some big holes, they try to follow the books in general terms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Selig Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 No, but you'd get a better understanding on why D&D are talentless hacks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowlandReed'sWorth Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 Read the books for sure! I started with the show and then finished the series in a month I was so into it. I can't even watch the show any more now though. It's hard to go back once you have read the books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Fishbiscuit Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 I love the books and the show. I had read books 1-4 (1-3 twice) before the show started but my other half is watching it without having read any of them. I've told him extra bits of backstory and character detail and a few times clarified who's who and what side they're on. So yes, I think having read the books has definitely helped both of our appreciation & understanding of the show. But we're all about to step off into the unknown now! Both the TV show and the books really benefit from revisiting. There's so much you miss first time around or that gain more meaning with hindsight. If you want to improve your understanding of the show, a re-watch from the start is well worth doing. We're doing one now. I'm also on my 3rd re-read of the books. It's addictive stuff The books and show both start off very similar but as the series goes on it veers away considerably from the books, leaves out a lot of characters and drops or merges some of the storylines. I quite like that though. I've enjoyed a few of the characters better in the tv version (Sansa, Stannis, Bronn, Tywin). I also prefer how, in the TV version, the young characters (Starks & Dany) are a bit older. I don't like all of the changes for the show, but then I'm not a showmaker, so what do I know. Overall I think it's a great tv show. As a few people have said, reading the books gives you a much much better appreciation of the world it's set in. GRRM immerses you in the culture, the foods, the geography, the history, the politics, the mythology and the different cultures of each region. You get a greater awareness of the scale and distances and passing of time in the books. You also get to see much more character development and what people are actually thinking as each chapter is told from the point of view of a character. There is a much bigger and more in-depth story being told in the books and I'd recommend them to anyone. I would warn that I found book 2 a bit of an effort at times, but keep going because book 3 more than made up for it. Depends how into reading you are too. I've never managed to read all of Lord Of The Rings, but I've read these multiple times. There's also an added layer of detail and analysis to be gained on these forums, a lot of which won't make so much sense if you haven't read the books as the posts may involve houses/characters/locations/storylines that don't exist in the show. I've picked up so many things on here that I'd never considered before. Some of the analysis is fascinating and the theories range from exciting possibilities to hilarious reading. I say go for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feologild Posted February 13, 2016 Author Share Posted February 13, 2016 59 minutes ago, David Selig said: No, but you'd get a better understanding on why D&D are talentless hacks. This may be a stupid question but whats D&D ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon's Queen Consort Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 On 12/2/2016 at 6:25 PM, LiveFirstDieLater said: Let me answer the question you should have asked... No, the show will not help you understand the books better... True. The show is like blah and meh when the books are wow and mindblow. This may be a stupid question but whats D&D ? David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. The people who created the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon's Queen Consort Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 double post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BalerionTheCat Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 I've read the books (before the show). And when I watched the show, I felt the show make no sense, have no direction, most of the time. You should read the books. For the books. And if you're careful you should discover a much more consistent and deeper world. Then you will start to not like the show that much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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