Well there’s no doubt having seen the show takes something away from the books. There’s no sense of “What’s going to happen next?” to pull you along. The second time, perhaps, is just never as good as the first.
But the show is just really good, as a TV show. It’s visually compelling, beautifully shot, and (mostly) really well-acted. The guy who plays the dwarf, for example, and Jaime Lannister. They take those characters and run with them. They make them into more than what they were on the page.
The writing in the books is workmanlike. It’s not bad, but its not great either. And some of the dialog is awful. I have enormous respect for Martin for inventing all of Westeros and all those wonderful characters. But as a writer he’s not all that great.
Here’s an example of one area (languages) where the depth and detail of the TV series has already exceeded the books–and another way other people are taking the show places Martin couldn’t…
The books are somewhat uneven, and at times seem overwritten, but I’ve still enjoyed them all. The series is also good. They’re just different takes on the same subject. Obviously a lot of stuff is left out of the show, but all in all I think they’ve done a great job. I want more giant armies and big battles, though! Too often their limited budget holds them back.
I think the books and the show are both very good, and that they compliment each other well. The books provide details, background information, and a sense of scope that the TV show can’t due to time and budget limitations. Reading the No Book Spoilers GoT threads made me want to say at least half a dozen times “Oh that was explained so much better in the books,” or “That character/culture/historical event has such a rich back story in the books that didn’t fully make it into the show.”
On the other hand, the show not only captures the excellent story of the books, it also provides top notch examples of other art, such as acting and music. The show is also able to stream line the books a bit, highlighting the strongest plot points. Martin has a great love of writing travelogues, which is fine at first, but after 5000 pages you kind of really just want the characters to get where they are fucking going. Martin also has a tendency to describe what everyone is eating and wearing in American Psychoesque levels of detail. I kind of like that, but I could see how other people might get sick of it. Whereas on the show you can just show what a character is wearing without having to take a paragraph to describe it.
Since I pointed out some weaknesses, I also feel compelled to point out some strengths of Martin’s writing style. His ability to create compelling and well crafted plots and characters is well demonstrated by the show. But another of Martin’s strengths the show cannot capture is his mastery of the POV. No two characters think exactly alike, perceive events exactly alike, or have similar voices, whether it’s external dialogue or internal monologue.
