A fan guide to one of television's most exciting shows, exploring its combination of political intrigue and family dysfunction against an epic fantasy backdrop Hailed by critics and dubbed The Sopranos meets The Lord of the Rings, HBO's lavish adaptation of George R.R. Martin's series of fantasy novels has cast its spell over audiences thanks to its memorable characters, surprise deaths, and violent action, and this exhaustive guide will document the background dramas that have helped make it such a huge success. Readers will find biographies of the main actors, episode guides, an overview of how the show has already become part of pop culture, an in-depth look into the compelling world that George R.R. Martin created, and more.

The book examines the difficulty of adapting from one screen medium to another by looking at both successful and unsuccessful efforts in the area of science fiction. Those difficult efforts at moving from film to TV and from TV to film reveal much about the technologies involved and this highly technological genre as well.