Massive fan of Game of thrones! After seeing the last episode I was sat for 10 minutes, open mouthed, unable to dunk my digestive! Have read all the comments as I want no spoilers. Purposely not reading the books as if you know what is going to happen its not as exciting. Best show on tv for me.
I saw the first series and loved it, then read the books that were out in paperback at the time (up to "A Feast For Crows"). I then watched series 2, and again it was excellent. I haven't started watching series 3 yet, but I will. However, I haven't read "A Dance With Dragons", and I'm wondering if I should bother. The first 2 or 3 books were excelent, but I got to a point in book 4 where almost every likable character from the first books was dead, and I'm reading about a whole new set of charcters who I realised I don't care that much about. It was quite a slog to finish the book. Has anyone who's read all 5 books had the same slump around book 4, and if so, does it pick up again in book 5?
The fifth book is really just the 4th boom part two. The characters that survived the first 3 books but weren't mentioned much in the 4th book are much more prominent in the 5th. For those who've read the books, and have yet to watch the show, they do a fantastic job with the casting sticking to the story. There are a few minor alterations, but nothing that changes the story.
