Although I don't have HBO at home, I did see the first three seasons of Game of Thrones before I started reading the A Song of Ice and Fire series. And of course the books are better, but not by much. There's nothing like a story told, and George R. R. Martin is masterful in his telling.
A Game of Thrones is a complex and epic tale, constructing a thorough world in which to lose oneself.
Page 9: When the blades met, there was no ring of metal on metal; only a high, thin sound at the edge of hearing, like an animal screaming in pain.
Page 86: Something about the howling of a wolf took a man right out of his here and now and left him in a dark forest of the mind, running naked before the pack.
Page 251: "Minds are like swords, I do fear. The old ones go to rust." (Grand Maester Pycelle)
Page 760: Dany called out for the men of her khas and bid them take Mirri Maz Duur and bind her hand and foot, but the maegi smiled at her as they carried her off, as if they shared a secret. A word, and Dany could have her head off... yet then what would she have? A head? If life was worthless, what was death?
I'll keep reading.
I am looking forward to finding out what happens after book three.
