Shipping off to Westeros

Recently, I have been engrossed in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.  Martin's books have an allure to me that is similar to that of a drug addiction or a healthy admiration, and have also gotten me back into reading.  Although it can be said that I was never really "into reading", these books have breathed new life into my appetite for reading.

I mostly accredit this new love of reading due to Martin himself.  While his writing is nothing from unique, his storytelling displays his knowledge of his story that he is telling, while taking the reader by the hand in his attention to detail in the environment he projects.  I have only read the first two books, and if you spoil ANYTHING for me, I will find you!

Another reason for my new found love of reading has to be the TV series that HBO picked up based on the book series.  About a year ago, I decided to give the show a chance after hearing whispers of it been extremely well done.  Not being one for fantasy, I was skeptical at first, but came to love the series.  Begging for more I picked up the books and have been reading sense.

Now a days it seems that entertainment is never in one form.  What I mean is that if a book were to tell a story, it is almost expected to be turned into a television series, movies, etc.  This is mostly due to the capitalistic nature of the American Culture.  In no way am I bashing or thinking that this is a bad thing.  However, it does seem to be choking the intellectual property market.

While I have made my opinion clear about the current nature of entertainment (rehashing old material, with few original stories being told).  I will say that there needs to be some exceptions that need to be made.  While the television series has deterred from the OC of the book, it still stands as a different vision about the content.  Much like fan fiction, it seems to make a place for itself in being bale to make a mark on the media that shapes our lives (see Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey).

So it seems that I may be stuck in the middle.  While I applaud original ideas being formed and put forth, I also enjoy how others take the works that they love and shine them in a new light.

Also I hate Catelyn Stark.
-TE