“Winter is coming” is the sinister motto of the House of Stark, one of the families close to the Throne, and it has become a tagline for Game of Thrones, the latest hit TV series from HBO, on the brink of release in Asia.  Based on the bestselling series of fantasy  novels by acclaimed author George R.R. Martin, the TV series has turned out to be a  ground breaking revolution in the difficult art of high- fantasy for the small screen. 

 

 

The beauty of G.R.R.Martin’s literary genius is that characters  are undeniably human; whilst some are plain or beautiful, all of them have good, bad and the ugly traits. Your heroes and villains are equally open to love, hate, greed, lust, revenge and ....a lot of danger.

 

That leaves of course the adorable child-characters in the story , who at shockingly tender ages,  go through various trials and tribulations that no child should ever have had to face, and since no one is safe in the story, have us sitting permanently on the edge of our seats...and don’t forget the direwolves...

 

Game of Thrones is essentially a raw, elemental drama set in medieval times and by the first couple of episodes you have lost count of the decapitation, terrible murders,   and all kinds of depravity, not to mention some strange fantasy elements. While you wait for the TV series to arrive, all I can say is read the books first, you will not regret it! As a Sri Lankan familiar with the historical adventure, ancient palace intrigue and sometimes fabulous mythology of the Mahawansa and Ramayana, I found GOT to be a similar (though adults-only) feast for the imagination. The background is vivid and intricate, the characters are very human; you will find yourself praying for them...there so many unpredictable twists to watch out for in this lusty, high action saga, one thing’s for sure, you will never guess the ending.. .

 

(Source - HBO/Winter-is-coming.net)

 

Reviewed by Chands Gadiewasam