Fantasy fans can celebrate today the news that HBO has given the greenlight for a pilot episode based on George R.R. Martin’s best-selling fantasy series, “A Song of Fire and Ice.”Â
The series will be called “A Game of Thrones,” based on the title of the first novel in the epic series.  Martin has stated there are seven novels planned in the series and (right now) HBO is on-board to develop all seven for television.  Each novel will be developed as a single season of the series.
“Thrones” will be produced by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
“High fantasy has never been done on TV before and if anybody can do it, it’s HBO,” said Benioff. “They’ve taken tired genres and reinvented them — mobsters in The Sopranos and Westerns with Deadwood.â€
The pilot is one of several in the running for a full-series pick-up on HBO.Â
My world suddenly makes SENSE again.
Something to look forward to, to be sure. I was disappointed when the success of the LOTR movies led to a bunch of children’s fantasy releases but not so much gritty adult fantasy. My hopes are high.
I’m so excited!
I really hope the pilot turns out well and they make a series order.
I suppose this means I’ll have to move those books closer to the top of my To Read pile. I prefer to read the book before I see the movie/TV show. Y’know, to compare and contrast. [/nerd]
Good lord, if you haven’t read the books yet, start doing so immediately! Martin’s series is possibly the most well put together complex story in the history of fiction. Other than Frank Herbert, I would put no author’s skill on par with Martin’s.
Robin,
Move those books up to the front of the list. Not just for the HBO series. The Song of Fire and Ice series is some of the greatest imaginative fiction every written.
Incredible characters, dialogue, story, plot.
I hope they do a better job than Raimi has done with The Sword of Truth.
I also hope this series will light a fire under Martin to actually FINISH THE SERIES. At the present rate (3 years per half-book–and that’s an accurate number), he won’t finish until 2017. I’m not joking.
I LOVE THIS SERIES OF BOOKS!! MY FAVORITE!! THE CHARACTERS ARE SO WELL DONE, I REALLY HOPE THEY GET THE ACTORS THAT PLAY THEM RIGHT!! I LOVE TYRION AND WOUL HATE TO SEE SOMEONE MESS HIM UP IN MY MIND!! LOL YYAAAAAYYYY
FYI, The series is called “A Song of Ice and Fire”, not “A Song of Fire and Ice”
I’m very excited to hear the good news. George R. R. Martin has to be one of the best authors I’ve ever read!
I am worried that Martin,(and myself) might die of old age, before he completes this series! Being a fantasy junkie, I was appalled at what those butchers did to Sword Of Truth (gave a bad name to butchers). I am looking forward to HBO’s effort with great hope, the cast looks great, and CGI makes a lot of things possible, here’s hoping that they don’t go LOTR with a very adult series!!!