Finished the HBO’s rendition of Game of Thrones.
The two last episodes feel crowded – the grande finale of the novel would clearly have benefited from extra legroom, now a lot of the plotlines are either rushed, simplified or altered to fit.
But the show is testament to the production company’s skill – I never expected a mainstream television show to capture the spirit and scenery of the books so well.
Sadly the second season is barely in setup phase, and I’d be seriously surprised if it would make it into production, let alone on screens, in a year. Even the dvd/blu-ray release date of the first series has not been announced yet.
The fifth book of the series, Dance with Dragons is published next week. I’m rereading the preceding volumes in advance – right now at the tail end of Clash of Kings, so it’ll be a while before I tackle the 1040-page monster.