Game Of Thrones is your summer rainy-day solution

By Mike Shames
[senior entertainment writer] 

Grade: A+

Summer of 2011 hasn’t really been, well, summer-like. So when it rains again,  HBO’s Game of Thrones helps to kill some time. An adaption of George R.R. Martin’s first novel in A Song of Ice and Fire saga, a series that has caused Martin to be compared to J.R.R. Tolkin.

The book is wonderful, full of richly develop, complex characters, creative settings, and intriguing plots. It’s a long novel too, so there is cause for concern about a televised adaption butchering the whole thing. Fortunately, HBO has the midas touch. They have stay rigidly true to the story, characters and settings, making every part come into vivid life. It is refreshing to see such dedication to a wonderful book. Only Peter Jackson has done similar work with Lord of the Rings.

The story of Game of Thrones follows the Stark family and the events surrounding them. The Starks are the Lords of the North, a semi-independent fief of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros . The Seven Kingdoms are all former independent kingdoms that were united under one noble house long ago. Many years before the main story, a civil war broke out and the ruling family was drive out of Westeros. Ned Stark play a key role in this civil war, and has been a friend of the current king since they were boys. The story kicks off as the King asks his trust friend to come south to assist in running the kingdom. Of course the noble and honourable Stark agrees and enters a world of hidden agendas, scheming, untrustworthy advisers, and struggles over the Iron Throne. There are other plot lines involving the other Stark family members, the surviving members of the former ruling house, and the Teutonic guardians of the northern border. Each seems to be unrelated but all are intertwined as this and the continuing seasons progress.

Game of Thrones might actually been closer to the source material than LOTR was. Fans will know what is going to happen and hardcore fans will predict dialogue and all expectations will be rewarded. Many will have their images of what characters will look like, however everyone in the series is cast very well and even some questionable selections will win stubborn fans over by the performances. The cast includes Sean Bean as the noble, honourable, Stark House patriarch Lord Eddard “Ned” Stark, a role almost tailored for Bean.

On a personal note, I could not image anyone else as Ned Stark as I read the book for the first time. Bean is perfect in every scene, every interaction, making Ned Stark loveable and come to life as no one else could.

The wonderful world of George R.R. Martin has something for all fantasy fans – though it does have adult content. It is relieving to see this level of commitment to the source material and to see fans of this saga and genre being rewarded for their patience and support. Newcomers will love the depth of the main cast, and the world that has been created. The perfect distraction for these dreary, raining summer days.