Game of Thrones

[Spooky]

I Am Fandom: Why 'Game Of Thrones' Is The Greatest Franchise Ever

Ology rounds out October as Fandom Month with four features written by some of the most powerful voices on the internet. Here, Phil Bicking, owner and operator of the largest Game Of Thrones fansite Winter Is Coming, tells you why the cult series will be the next big thing- if it isn't already.

A Song of Ice and Fire is the best fantasy book series of all-time.

Yes, better than The Wheel of Time. Better than Harry Potter or The Chronicles of Narnia or (yuck) Twilight. And better, even, than The Lord of the Rings. So it is no wonder it has spawned one fantastic television show in Game of Thrones.

If you haven't watched the show, or read the books, you're seriously missing out. This series seems real in a way that no other fantasy series is able to achieve. It's not just the fact that it is based on medieval England with magic that is seen as myth by most people in the story. The deep and flawed characters are what really set it apart.

There is no good and evil, no absolute right and wrong. The "good" characters all have shortcomings. The "bad" characters all have redeeming qualities (with a few notable exceptions). From the honorable but bumbling Ned Stark, to the cunning but good-hearted Tyrion Lannister, each character has a depth to them that you don't often find in contemporary fiction.

This unconventional approach continues into the storylines. In Westeros, the good guys don't always win in the end, and they don't have all the answers. It is refreshing to read something and watch something where you literally do not know what will happen next. The main character could triumph in one episode and then be killed off in the next. The character you despise in one book could turn out to be much more sympathetic in the next. And the whole focus of the series can shift from one character to another. Because of this, it feels more like history from an alternate reality than a story set in a fictional world.

Another way in which the show feels more real is the copious amounts of violence and sex. As David Benioff, one of the show's writers and producers likes to say: "the Hobbits never got horny." But Thrones characters sure do. There are several recurring characters who practice the world's oldest profession. And when it comes to violence and action, this show delivers. When someone gets killed in Thrones, they don't just get hit over the head with a sword and fall to the ground in a heap, no, they lose an arm or a head or a tongue. Now all of this violence and sex delivers a certain amount of visceral pleasure, but more than that, it adds to the realism of the show. Real life, especially in medieval times, is sexy and violent and dirty and bloody and unpredictable.

And it's ultimately this realism that sets this series apart and what makes it so addicting. However, this may not be for everyone. If you are someone who likes your stories to have happy endings, where the good guys win, the bad guys lose and the two lovers ride off into the sunset, well, Thrones may not be for you. But if you want a story that is rich and deep and exciting and emotional and unconventional and entertaining, than join us in the Game of Thrones.

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Find more Game Of Thrones news at Winter Is Coming.

http://www.ology.com/tv/i-am-fandom-why-game-thrones-greatest-franchise-ever

[Rosie]

I Am Fandom: Why 'Game Of Thrones' Is The Greatest Franchise Ever

Ology rounds out October as Fandom Month with four features written by some of the most powerful voices on the internet. Here, Phil Bicking, owner and operator of the largest Game Of Thrones fansite Winter Is Coming, tells you why the cult series will be the next big thing- if it isn't already.

A Song of Ice and Fire is the best fantasy book series of all-time.

Yes, better than The Wheel of Time. Better than Harry Potter or The Chronicles of Narnia or (yuck) Twilight. And better, even, than The Lord of the Rings. So it is no wonder it has spawned one fantastic television show in Game of Thrones.

If you haven't watched the show, or read the books, you're seriously missing out. This series seems real in a way that no other fantasy series is able to achieve. It's not just the fact that it is based on medieval England with magic that is seen as myth by most people in the story. The deep and flawed characters are what really set it apart.

There is no good and evil, no absolute right and wrong. The "good" characters all have shortcomings. The "bad" characters all have redeeming qualities (with a few notable exceptions). From the honorable but bumbling Ned Stark, to the cunning but good-hearted Tyrion Lannister, each character has a depth to them that you don't often find in contemporary fiction.

This unconventional approach continues into the storylines. In Westeros, the good guys don't always win in the end, and they don't have all the answers. It is refreshing to read something and watch something where you literally do not know what will happen next. The main character could triumph in one episode and then be killed off in the next. The character you despise in one book could turn out to be much more sympathetic in the next. And the whole focus of the series can shift from one character to another. Because of this, it feels more like history from an alternate reality than a story set in a fictional world.

And it's ultimately this realism that sets this series apart and what makes it so addicting. However, this may not be for everyone. If you are someone who likes your stories to have happy endings, where the good guys win, the bad guys lose and the two lovers ride off into the sunset, well, Thrones may not be for you. But if you want a story that is rich and deep and exciting and emotional and unconventional and entertaining, than join us in the Game of Thrones.

--

Yay, this is what I was looking for. This book IS NOT for me and I am glad I feel certain so I can just stop carrying it around. The unpredicatability is unnerving to me. The no clear Good and Evil is unnerving to me. Pretty much the whole premise is too much for me. There will be no reward because that goes against what this series does. No victory just an end. *Phew* Not going to waste my time any more. *bowing out of this series.*

I am free! 

[Spooky]

I find myself reading Reek's dialogue in Smeagol's voice. 

[AdmiralDigby]

I find myself reading Reek's dialogue in Smeagol's voice. 

( now I might do that too )

[Spooky]

Reek, Reek, it rhymes with... lots of stuff.

[Eric]

[spoiler]She told me about Rob and Cat's death.  [/spoiler]

Just got through that chapter and the next, myself.  I'm kind of considering my next book to read be something more uplifting and less ponderous -- perhaps Atlas Shrugged.

[Eric]

[spoiler=A Storm of Swords]Ah, so the Cat came back. She couldn't stay away ... (it would seem). Interesting.[/spoiler]

[TinkTanker]

[spoiler][/spoiler]

[Spooky]

70% of book 5.

[spoiler]Just read the chapter where Dany tames then rides Drogon. Chucking Awesome![/spoiler]

[AdmiralDigby]

You've pulled ahead of me .
[spoiler]Jon just beheaded Janos Slynt[/spoiler]