Game of Thrones...

Well I couldn’t very well profess to be interested in fantasy fiction and then not write a blog about the Game of Thrones TV adaptation could I?

The adaptation of George R R Martin’s book has perhaps been a long time coming and I awaited the first episode with trepidation, afraid that the TV version would fail to capture the tension, brutality and reality of the book as so often happens in adaptations of this genre. I feared it would be riddled with clichés, overacting and would barely resemble the original.

I was, on the whole, pleasantly surprised by the TV version. Yes, of course, it had cut some elements from the book and has – rather dubiously at times – adapted the characterisation and motives to appeal to a wider audience. After all, the general viewing public, if they have little understanding of fantasy writing, will take a different interpretation of the genre’s conventions.

But on the whole I found the tone of the adaptation to be true to my interpretation of Martin’s story. The characterisation of the main characters, particularly Ned and his children, the rich costumes, props and settings, and the use of the northern English accents to portray the wild north of Winterfell in contrast to the more well spoken King’s Landing of the wealthy south really worked for me and I look forward to the rest of the series, hoping that these devices do not fall flat as the story gets underway.

Elloise Hopkins.