The Lions' Pride

Regardless if they get there or not, they sure meet some pretty cool people along the way - especially for Arya's character.

I 'un-VIPed' the responses in the thread. Sometimes, the box is automatically filled and, in turn, all the responses become VIP as well. Should be fixed now.

It came across my news feed on fb from the Boardwalk Empire page.

Cersei Lannister ordered the killing of all of Robert Baratheon's bastards. Down to the babies. That was not Joff's doing. Joffrey isn't even aware he has half-brothers and sisters. but if you'll remember the scene where she had Littlefinger threatened after he alluded to the fact that he knew who Joffrey's real Father was, that was the initial cause. All of Robert's true children a brown haired...Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen are blonde as wheat fields, just like their Mother and real Father. That's what actually led John Arryn (the former hand) and then Ned Stark to realize that Joffrey was not Robert's son. She had them all killed because of the rumors surrounding Joffrey. She wanted to take no chanced. Bottom line - you do not f*ck with Cersei Lannister.

Yes, absolutely. But for full admission - I'm a huge dork when it comes to books and have been reading voraciously (especially this genre) since I was in like, 5th grade. So I always say to read the book first. But in this case, I will say that the author can get a bit full of himself when it comes to his writing. There's an IMMENSE amount of detail in the books, that isn't always necessary, but he seems to love writing. But at the same time, you also miss some important character development.

My suggestion? Read the first book, which encompasses season 1, then wait till the end of season 2 to read the 2nd book - that way you can make a pretty good judgement for yourself on which you like it better. There's 5 books out now I believe.

Joffrey has a sister (Myrcella) and a brother (Tommen). He's 13, she's 11, and Tommen is around 8. It might not have been clear in Season 1, but all of them are Jamie Lannister's children. There are no children that have a clean claim to the throne. They are either bastards or not a Baratheon. That's actually what inspired the title to the 2nd book, A Clash of Kings.

Joffrey's two siblings were in the 1st scene of last night's episode. They conversed with the midget Lannister. I don't believe they were in season 1. It was another random introduction.

I would definitely second this, except I would read both books.

There are parts of Book 2 that were actually in Season 1 (Arya's interactions with Gendry, Hot Pie, Lommy, etc. on the road to the Wall in the final episode of Season 1). There is also a good deal of interaction that was "off screen" in the books but was brought out in the HBO series (a sincere conversation between Robert and Cersei early in Season 1 being a great example).

Look for Book 3 to be split into two seasons (as ratings stay strong), and there are, of course, rumors that Book 4 and 5's timelines will be combined as originally intended and then split into two more seasons. I could probably talk all day about this series. LOL

Any hints on the other kings? Richard Petty? Jerry Lawler? Elvis? Howard Eskin? Kenny Daglish?

I actually came late to the party, but I read the first four books back-to-back in about three months (completed them before the series started). I feel for those who had to wait for Martin to finish each one.

Thx. I was just joking though. I won't be able to resist the spoilers if they're available, so it's better to avoid it altogether.

It's usually August/Sep.

I disagree - I started reading the series when the promos for the first HBO season started running, and finished with the last book just after it came out. Like Appoo said, it can be tedious at times with all the detail, but there's so much in the books you just don't get from the series - Martin delves deeply into each character, the relationships between various people and families, and the lore of the Seven Kingdoms. It's a very very rich, complex environment, which is what made it so engaging for me. TV just can't do that justice. Arya Stark and Jon Snow are tremendous characters, literally make you want to skip the other chapters to get back to their stories. Last thing I'll say - nothing you see now stays the same. EVERYTHING in this series changes, multiple times over. It can be maddening at times, but also keeps you coming back for more. The last chapter of the last book literally made me gasp out loud on a plane. The woman next to me thought I was crazy.

By the way Appoo, great summaries above - glad you took care fo that before I came along or I would have felt obliged ;-)