Not since Peter Jackson's film adaptation of the Lord of the Rings trilogy has a camera managed to capture the essence and feel of a book as accurately as Game of Thrones (GoT), from the A Song of Ice and Fire series.
George RR Martin's books are spectacular, and TV series fans would do well to learn the forgotten art of reading.
Martin uses techniques in A Song of Ice and Fire series that can't be translated to the screen .
For one, there's a lot more nudity, violence and graphic rape, more than even HBO can stomach. Also, the tactic of writing each chapter from a specific character's point of view gives unique insight into their motivations, fears and coping mechanisms.
Most importantly, reading the series to the final instalment so far, A Dance With Dragons, makes you impervious to spoilers.