With the fourth season of
Game of Thrones airing on HBO in just a few days,
popular media is buzzing with excitement, anticipation and predictions about what is to come. Based on George R.R. Martin's popular fantasy series,
A Song of Ice and Fire, the show has captured the hearts and minds of millions of viewers around the world. Even for fans who have read all the books and had a well developed mental image of the settings and characters, the actors in the show, many in their first prominent roles, have become synonymous with the characters - we think of Jon Snow as automatically being Kit Harrington, and Tyrion Lannister couldn't be played by anyone other than Peter Dinklage. The show is also developing an identity and a storyline of its own, as Martin himself
continues working on the book series and the show’s writers work to adapt the existing material in a way that’s best suited for a serial television series. But how do the books differ from the show, and are these differences good or bad?
Here's a look at some of the differences between the television show and the book. There are plenty to go around, but these are some that have not been discussed in great detail on blogs, articles and message boards. Be warned - now would be a good time to stream any episodes you haven’t seen from
HBO Go or DTV’s
website, as there are some major spoilers ahead if you haven't finished the third season of the show or the first three books in the series!