I havent read the books so i am going to give an unbiased review of the television show only.
I think its fantastic, an amazing cast, extremely well written and authentic to the likes of which i had never seen.
This series is quite astonishingly violent, its brutal, bloody, graphic and will make you turn away from the screen, i know i have several times so far.
In some of the later episodes i was heaving, some of the scenes in it are quite astonishing disgusting they made me sick to my stomach, and im amazed in the sense that they have the guts to show it on screen, but this is what HBO does best, it pushes the boundaries. There is one scene where one of the characters eats a fresh horse heart and i was almost sick, but it was a vital moment in the storyline.
It comes with warnings about extreme violence and scenes of a sexual nature, so be warned if you are faint of heart because you will see blood, you will see killing, you will see sex, lots of it actually, and yes a few full frontal scenes do make it on screen, so if your a prude i really wouldnt buy it.
This show is going to go on to be know as one of the greatest television shows ever made, the attention to detail is astounding, the opening credits are probably the best i have ever seen on a tv show, and the Dothraki language for example was created especially for the show.
George R R martin who wrote the books is an executive producer of the show and co-writer so you can bet that not only will the show follow his books to the letter but that also 50% of the main cast will be dead before it ends.
The casting is brilliant, Sean bean is amazing as Ned Stark, Mark addy as King Robert is also brilliant and watching the friendship between these 2 on screen is quite marvellous to see.
I really like Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jamie Lannister. he is sexy and charming but quite vile, and Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister is hilarious, he is funny, charming, sarcastic, brave and prob the nicest of the Lannisters and should win Emmmys for his performance.
The stand out actor for me however is Emilia Clarke who plays Daenerys or Dany. She is sublime in this role, she is sweet, naive, submissive and fragile, sexy and strong and really comes into her own over the course of the season. I have been told that She plays a very important and large role throughout the entire book series so i shall look forward to watching her role grow.
The very end shot of the season finale will literally put chills down your spine, incredible.
I will not write a detailed synopsis as i hate spoilers so i will give you a premise into what the show is about
SPOILER FREE...
Set in the fictional realms of Westeros and Essos, A Song of Ice and Fire follows three principal storylines, divided by geography and participants, struggling to claim the Iron Throne and rule all the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.
Each of the following houses are battling to win the right to rule the kingdoms.
House Arryn
House Baratheon - Robert Baratheon is currently King.
House Greyjoy
House Lannister - Robert is married to Cersei Lannister
House Martell
House Stark - Eddard stark is the current hand to King Robert.
House Targaryen - Daenerys is married to a horse warlord called Khal Drogo
What you need to know is that the entire 1st season of Game of thrones is based on the book written by George R R Martin
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1) and HBO have said that each concurrent season will be based on the books in sequence so there will be 5 seasons in total, however George R R Martin has now written a 5th book and plans to write 2 more so potentially there could be 8 seasons as book 3 was written in 2 parts.
If you wish to read the books in sequence here are the links:
Book 2 -
A Clash of Kings: Book 2 of A Song of Ice and FireBook 3 part 1 -
A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3 Part 1)Book 3 part 2 -
A Storm of Swords: 2 Blood and Gold (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3, Part 2)Book 4 -
A Feast for Crows: Book 4 of A Song of Ice and FireBook 5 -
A Dance With Dragons: Book 5 of A Song of Ice and Fire (Song of Ice & Fire 5)Books 6 and 7 will be called The Winds of Winter and A dream of spring and will be published in the next few years.
I dont know about you, but now having seen all 10 episodes i want to know what happens next so i am going to buy the books and start reading.
The score written by Ramin Djawadi is beautiful and dramatic and really adds to the suspensefullness of the show.
One last thing, this show is not for kids, i wouldnt let anyone under the age of 16 watch it personally, it is made completely for adults and its nice to see a show that does not pander to the rules of censorship.
A classic in the making !!!