Darswords

English: George R.R. Martin signing books in a bookstore in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Slovenščina: George R.R. Martin med podpisovanjem knjig v ljubljanski knjigarni. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Saturday: 3.8.2008 (Photo credit: Jesse757)

To those that would leave HBO because of the Red Wedding:

Have you watched HBO?

Have you read A Song of Fire and Ice?

What did you expect?

I have been waiting to see how the Red Wedding would play out. I was shocked at quite a few of the things that happened during that scene and I have read A Storm of Swords twice. Except for Robb’s wife being at the wedding, the new wife of Edmund not crying as she should have, and the lack of an old fool (that is the second fool that is left out of the show), everything played out exactly as it had in the book. As with other choices to pull away from George R. R. Martin’s books to translate on screen, choices are often for brevity and focus.

Let me take a moment to prove my understanding at the violence and misogynistic themes throughout the books, take a look at my GoodReads reviews of the books. But don’t take it out on HBO or the directors/producers of the series. They are staying close to the books as possible, giving great homage to GRRM’s genius.

Another point I want to make: Even as I had just finished reading my second go round of A Storm of Swords, I was shocked at the playing of The Rains of Castamere. How had I missed that the Lannisters, primarily Tywin Lannister, was a part of this massacre. In my reading, even the second time, I had thought it was just a local song that everyone played. Seeing it on the show last night made me read that chapter once again. Sure enough, it was there.

Violence and machismo are a part of Westeros. But Mr. Martin gave life to the women who either by choice or destiny, grow beyond the male roles and into leading roles. Other kingdoms accept women in roles of power. The show draws that out even more plainly than the books, especially for those of us who need that visual aid. Looking back at the books it is there.

So those who would threaten to leave HBO because of portraying the truth in the books are pansies that should go back to the Disney channel. How have you survived in our world without knowing that violence exists and is awful to watch? Those of us who were teens during the Vietnam War saw far worse daily.  I am a pacifist but I realize that ugly happens daily. Maybe drones leave out the personal touch of killing that our fore-parents had to deal with before guns. Even guns remove hand to hand combat. The blood spilled was dirty and icky. To leave these scenes out of the show would certainly dull the story-line. Read the books!

Even if you don’t like the world portrayed, the writing is immaculate. George R. R. Martin is the type of author I would like to be. No, my books aren’t nearly as violent. But to keep track of so many characters and plot-lines and to hold true to a story are what I want to make sure are there.