this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2024
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A Song Of Ice And Fire

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News and discussions relating to George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels, his Westeros-based short stories, "Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon" TV series, and all things ASOIAF - but with particular emphasis on the written series.

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How did the show affect your reading of the books? (feddit.uk)
submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/asoiaf
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I try to keep the two as separate as possible, but I'd be lying if I said I found that easy. The biggest thing for me is faces, I really struggle to envisage the characters how they're written in the book rather than how they look on the screen.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Honestly?

It killed any desire to read them again.

Not necessarily because of anything about the show or the books, but because I genuinely believe that Mr Martin is never going to finish them. The show ending essentially wrecked any choice he could make in the ending of the books. It's a no win situation for him. He's better off just living his best life and letting the show stand as an ending for both than dealing with the shitshow of drama that would come from anything he could possibly write.

And it isn't like the show was completely without his guidance. The ending was at least loosely based on his plans and ideas.

Mind you, I don't hate the show ending in terms of loose ideas. The basic, broad strokes make sense based on the books. Hell, some of it even makes sense based on the show. It was the execution of the ending that was absurd. You could have the same basic plot, with less dumb writing and make it a fitting conclusion.

Which all means that rereading the books is a waste of time, there's no finish.

But the show made too many alterations and weird decisions for it to match perfectly to the books. And, they wrote the show with a very clear emphasis on specific characters being the "main" characters in a way the books never did.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

I'm with you, I don't think he finishes the main series, but (and this is where I think we differ) I've found so much joy and interest in the rest of the world, the stories and even the lore around all of it that i can't consider it a waste of time.

I absolutely love YouTube deel-dives about the characters and the world, I've spent hours looking over the maps and even more time reading Martin's work in the form of Fire and Blood, AKOTSK and the larger reference type books that have come out since Winds was released.

I'm re-reading the main series right now, and whilst I'm fairly confident there's no pay off I find being in that world, and reading those words to be gift enough to continue with it.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I read the books years before the show aired, and mostly the show spoiled my desire to reread them, because the books don't yet fix that travesty of an ending the TV show inflicted on everyone

[–] ThePowerOfGeek 1 points 4 months ago

Same here.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago

I no longer give as much of a shit about the last two books probably never coming out.

[–] tamiya_tt02 4 points 4 months ago

I didn't watch the show, so it didn't affect my reading of the books at all. I also didn't read the books, so I'd say I'm completely unaffected by both. I don't know why I'm here in the first place.

[–] Odo 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

The show got me to read the books in the first place. After watching season 1, I had to know more, and spent the next several weeks tearing through the books. That led to looking up fan theories about various connections and hints that I'd missed. Between that extra knowledge and being so far ahead on the plot, I gave up on the show. Probably for the best, judging by reactions to the later seasons.

I know what you mean about the faces, though. Book Tyrion's face sounds so different from Peter Dinklage, but he's so good in the role it's hard not to imagine him instead.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

@Odo @Oneeightnine I had a pretty similar experience, tearing through the books between seasons 1 and 2. Reconciling Ian Glen's charisma with the book version Mormont, creeping on a teenage girl, was hard too.

[–] JimmyChanga 3 points 4 months ago

The accents I guess, using Sean Beans accent for the North was not what I had read the books with in mind, some other characters voices stuck too

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

What is “the show”?

[–] Fribbtastic 8 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Since this community where this was posted is "a song of ice and fire" I would hazard a guess that it is about "Game of thrones"

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

Yeah I can’t see this.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

this is one of the few shows where it's become impossible for me to divide the book and show characters in my head.