Just watched the show and thought it was pretty decent. But I really like too know how the story unfolds and don't want to wait untold release of season 2.
It was the same with game of thrones for me. Saw the first season and picked up the second book after this.
Can I do the same with this story? Does the show follow the book closely enough to not miss a crucial story point if I skip it?
...but they hung him anyway.
Hanged, Ami. Your father was not a tapestry.
Nah, you should read all the books, starting with the first one. The books are AWESOME. Seriously. I'm an ASOIAF fan, too, but Bernard Cornwell is leagues beyond G.R.R. Martin as a writer. It's really worthy to read the story as he tells it, even if you already know what's going to happen.
That said, the story in the show is fairly accurate, yes, but rather rushed. You'd really be missing out if you didn't read all the books.
How far does the show go, in terms of the books? Is season 1 the same as the 1st book? Does the TV show go farther than book 1 as far as the timeline?
shareThe first season of the TV show encompasses, more or less, the first two books. As I said, the show is very rushed. And the books are definitely much better than the show.
You guys should really give these books a try. Gods know how long we will still have to wait for The Winds of Winter. You may as well read something else meanwhile. =)
And while I'm fangirling over Cornwell, I'll just go ahead and also recommend The Warlord Chronicles. The series is set in Arthurian Britain and it's great, too. After I read it, it sort of became my canon for what "King" Arthur was all about.
Thanks, will definitely read the books from the beginning.
But based on the rest what you've said you've got me intrigued, which would you say are your most beloved (fantasy) epics?
You mentioned Martin and game of thrones, have you read Malazan book of the fallen and the dark tower series? Both which I consider way better than A song of ice and fire, which started great but most probably will be butchered by the show.
...but they hung him anyway.
Hanged, Ami. Your father was not a tapestry.
I really don't have an all time favorites list. =) I'm originally a Tolkien fanatic, so I guess that's where it all started. ((I remember to this day when we first heard the rumors they were considering making a movie based on LotR - it seemed like a far-fetched dream back then, lol.))
As for historical fiction, another author I've enjoyed very much besides Cornwell is Conn Iggulden. His Emperor series, set in Ancient Rome, is very good.
I'm not familiar with the Malazan Book of the Fallen, but... high fantasy, Google says? GURPS? I'll definitely check it out. =)
The Dark Tower series is on my reading list, but I am yet to start it. I suppose I keep putting it off because I've known Mr. King to be SciFi-inclined, and I really don't enjoy SciFi much, for some reason (I've tried, I swear, but it's really not my thing.).
The Malazan Book of the Fallen is not exactly an easy start but it gets rewarding very fast.
The dark tower is my all time favorit, but I love king so I´m kinda biased.
It has, however few if not no sci fi elements. Its an dystopian tale with inter dimensional travel (not based on science) and western motifs.
Its more like a fantasy trip through a fever dream about King arthurs heir dreamt by Clint Eastwood. Sometimes it is noticeable that king did rarely edit these books and that this epic is his grand master piece. He put an incredible amount of time in it but still is not quite satisfied. I guess King will never stop writing the Dark Tower
...but they hung him anyway.
Hanged, Ami. Your father was not a tapestry.
Check out jack whyte's camulod chronicles and tony hays' arthurian mysteries.
shareThanks for the heads up, I was always going to read the whole series from the beginning but I was curious.
Ran into this show by accident. Lately I've been purchasing tv show seasons on Amazon for shows that look forgettable so I can watch something I don't care much about while I'm working out, and this looked in the same vein as 'Vikings' or 'The Bastard Executioner'.
Was blown away by this show, it's much much better than I expected, verging on superb. When I learned it was based off a book series, it started to make more sense why the writing was so good. I've read some historical fiction but not a tremendous amount, instead I'm a voracious sci fi and fantasy reader. In recent years its been a treat to see some of my favorite books brought to life on TV, such as Song of Ice and Fire and the Expanse, but of course I already knew the storyline before viewing as I had read the books first. So it's a real pleasure to run into a well-crafted and written (and acted, directed, etc) tv show like this, where I haven't already read the source material.
I though the pacing of the story was brisk, but not rushed, and I imagine this show will be a big success in years and seasons to come if they can maintain this quality. Looking forward to picking up the books.
I've read all the books and I just found out about the show but I'm not sure where to watch it. I searched Xbox Live and on direct TV and couldn't find it
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