As you may or may not know(you probably do), HBO (I miss Rome ) has agreed to film at least the pilot for "A Game of Thrones", first novel of the A Song of Ice and Fire saga.

I haven't found a topic on the forum about this, but I consider this a good excuse to discuss both the TV series (although at this point we just have the names of a few actors) and the novels.

With my limited literature knowledge, I found them captivating, with great characters, fine character development and a very exciting plot. On the bad side, the world might be a little too dark for someone's taste, and as of "A Feast for Crows", Martin may be leaving the "main" plot and throwing more subplots than would be desirable.
Still, I'm waiting for the next novel, and would definitely recommend them to anyone. (Of course, anyone that has read them would probably recognize my signature )

So, have you read them? Have you got any favourite chapter or character? What are your expectations for the TV series, if any?

I am just re-reading them now and Im half way through the first book. I read all the way up to Feast for Crows and somehow got stuck and stopped. I was waiting for Feast to come out for aages. They really are very good and I like the twists and turns in it. I really like the characters and how flaws and strengths are explored. The Lannisters are great to hate, the Hound is really nasty a right psycho with a sword. The Starks are upstanding goodies theres just so much in them.
Does the later books have Fat Belwas or is that a totally different book?

I began reading them, and liked them well enough. I am one of those who believe he is introducing too many subplots, but they are reasonable enough. I decided to stop reading them until he finishes the series, though, as I do not want to become invested in them only for the guy to die without finishing. I think its a valid concern, considering it takes him five years to write a book and he is an older gentleman. Maybe I'm just gun-shy after Jordan passed away before the last book was finished. His story became too convoluted (sp) with sub plots as well, but I digress. Decent books, I'm not a hardcore Martin fan. I enjoy his manipulation of real world historical events and shaping them into a fantasy world.

Robert Jordan made the horrible, horrible, mistake of thinking his audience gives a rat's life about 300 bickering women. I read 300 pages of book 8 and the stting never changed. Nyneave, Egwene and Elaine, and 300 Sisters and a handful of Aes Sedai - bickering, bickering, bickering, bickering, bickering. That was wasting time on subplots. I threw the book down in disgust. I skipped books 9 and 10, had a friend give me a thorough synopsis, and went right to book 11, which competes heavily with book 4 as the best in the series.

It is a damn shame about Jordan, but I hear good things about the future of the series.

The thing you need to remember about "A Feast for Crows" is that it's only half the story, split into two books because of length. That, and that it was only supposed to be a lynch pin in the series, taking it from one phase to another. I agree it is basically an entire book of subplots with no real closure, but I thinks that's the only case in the series.

I think it helps to think of his books as an anthology of short stories. In fact, I argued that in an English term paper. I applied Poe's Theory of Composition to A Song of Ice and Fire, and I argued that each chapter is like a short story since no 2 chapters in a row are ever about the same character or happening in the same place. So although the series is long, it doesn't violate Poe's rule of brevity. You really can ony care about the character you're reading about because the world is so chaotic that there very few things tying the characters together. Each characters story is unique and self contained, within reason.

I'm really excited about the HBO series. I think that in a post "Lord of te Rings" world this is really the best medium for fantasy adaptations. There is just so much more room on television to stay true to the novels.

If the first episode ends with Bran being thrown from the window, everyone watching will be hooked and be in it for life. I hope they do a good job, and I hope that Martin is as involved as he says he'll be rather than leaving it up to the writers to interpret his books. His vision is unique and I hope he knows how make it translate. It shouldn't be hard since he has experience as a screen writer.