I should say I am a big Song of Ice and Fire fan. I have read the first two and a half books in the George R.R. Martin series, but I've only seen three episodes in the first season of the HBO adaptation. I will say that I am very impressed so far. Everything looks and feels right. I had none of those "he shouldn't be playing that character" or "that's not how that should look" moments as I watched. I think the series is quite well done, and the casting is nothing short of superb. Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harrington, and Maisie Williams were particularly great, I thought.
At any rate, I think that Martin's books represent the best of speculative fiction: great world building, well developed characters, and thrilling stories built around strong themes and truth about humanity and society. One of the first things that struck me in the book (and was well portrayed on TV) was where Eddard Stark sentenced a man to death and did the deed himself. He tells his young son that the man who pronounces the sentence should swing the sword. Imagine if we followed that idea today! Maybe we wouldn't be so cavalier about killing.
Another thing that I find especially compelling in this series is that there are very few pure "good or evil" characters. The good characters all have their flaws, and the seemingly evil ones either have hidden hurts or secret motives for what they do. Just like in life. The older I get, the more I come to realize that the world is not nearly as black and white as I once thought. We almost never have the whole picture when we pass our judgments on people or events.
If you are not yet a fan of either the books or the HBO series, give them a try.
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