For all its stunning set pieces the battles of the Blackwater and Hardhome, the duel between Oberyn Martell and Gregor (the Mountain) Clegane Thrones at heart is a series of conversations. Varys and Littlefinger. Jaime and Brienne. Tywin and Arya. Cersei and Lady Olenna. Tyrion and
well, anyone. In the Season 5 finale, the swordsman Daario, assessing Tyrions suitability for a search party, sums up his abilities: So mainly you talk. Its true and its why Tyrion, a disinherited dwarf, is the series most dangerous character.
Mr. Martins anvil-size books are more expansive. They include vast downloads of Westeros history and religion, outlines of genealogy and toothsome descriptions of banquets, which are vivid on the page and should stay there. Thrones has lost some of the books majesty, but it has given them a much-needed edit, a Valyrian sword hacking through the expository clutter.
Its been a good marriage, but its past time for a separation. Thrones slowed to a jog in Season 5, and story lines like Jaime and Bronns road trip to Dorne were advertisements for the fast-forward button. Even if the rest of the series follows Mr. Martins plans (the showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss have worked in consultation with him), it may be better off for being TV first, without the anxiety of a best sellers influence.
Which version will be authentic? Each will be authentically itself. Sometimes a story doesnt have a single, definitive narrative. Artworks evolve, be they the variants of Shakespeares plays, Kanye Wests revisions to The Life of Pablo or George Lucass edits to Star Wars. We grasp at canonicity Han shot first! to deal with uncertainty. But while we can argue which version is better, no one, not even Mr. Martin, can end the argument. A Song of Ice and Fire is not the novelization of Thrones, and now Thrones can be more than the serialization of the novels.
Ill watch the new Game of Thrones as soon as it airs (HBO is not sharing it in advance with critics). Ill read Mr. Martins final books whenever they come. It doesnt matter which gets there first, because there is no single there. They share the same world, but theyre two different continents, separated by a narrow sea.