I did not actually come into possession of this book yet. My first encounter with Game of Thrones was as many – via HBO series premier.   It was of interest in that the fantasy aspect of it drew my attention and made me actually work on catching it on TV.

The show initially focused on the Starks and Lannisters and the backdrop sets it in a fictitious land that would seem to be set to the times of peasants, feudal lords and kings and queens.

That being said the story itself unwinds around the machinations, of a group of characters and six degrees of separation doesn’t even begin to cover their actions and how those affect the storyline itself or the myriad subplots infused throughout the story.

There are good guys and bad guys but actually what makes the story more compelling is that you have good guys who do bad things, you have bad girls who do good things, and then you have the majority of folks who are neither bad nor good, just trying to live doing whatever is expedient to live.

It is only after watching a while that one remembers this actually is a book in a series of Fantasy Sci-Fi. Especially with Sean Bean in a lead role – it is quite possible to forget and think you are in the midst of watching some LOTR spin off.

However and I will  refrain from too many of those comparisons, LOTR as was filmed and written was, for the most part written for a  slightly younger audience. Game of Thrones – and the entire Song of Ice and Fire Saga were DEFINITELY not written for kid consumption.  The issues faced by the protagonists, and the scenes that are invoked in this book/series are very adult themed and probably not something you would want your 9 year old watching.  I am still having a nauseous feeling from watching Daenerys eat a raw bloody heart with her bare hands.

However the television series was compelling enough to motivate me to purchase the other books in the series.  Which I have read once but plan on going back and reading yet again as there is so much going on at any given moment – understanding the nuances and significance of what is going on requires deep reading or review.  For the record I do plan to purchase this first book at some point – however I am as most of George RR Martins fans right now – anxiously awaiting the release of the newest book in the series –several years in the making “A Dance With Dragons”.