Winter is coming!

Last year HBO announced a new tv series based upon George R. R. Martin’s amazing ongoing fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. Ongoing indeed, seeing as the publishing gaps between the volumes have been ever increasing. As of January 2011 we have been waiting over 5 years(!) for volume 5 of 7. Now, I realize that Mr. Martin wants to make the next book as good as possible, and that the pressure of expectation builds up as the series goes along, reaching almost unbearable heights – but still, the man is 62 years old. At this rate, one is beginning to doubt if we will  see the conclusion of the series before it’s too late. The tv series seems to be supposed to adapt one volume per season, which means Mr. Martin really needs to ramp up the pace if they’re not to catch up with him.

Having said that, A Song of Ice and Fire is arguably one of the greatest fantasy stories of all time – we’re talking Lord of the Rings quality world building and storyline. Naturally, this has dissuaded peoplein the tv and movie business from attempting an adaptation, but now HBO has made that leap. The fact that a cable station rather than a big network is doing it is encouraging in itself, and looking at HBO’s back catalogue one is no less encouraged: series like Deadwood (2004-6), Rome (2005-7), The Flight of the Conchords (2007-9), Entourage (2004-), and True Blood (2008-), as well as miniseries like Band of Brothers (2001) and John Adams (2008) have achieved great critical acclaim as well as commercial success.

The cast list includes names like Sean Bean (Ronin, Lord of the Rings), Peter Dinklage (Threshold, The Chronicles of Narnia), and Dane Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Wimbledon, New Amsterdam). The official website already offers trailers and sneek previews along with plenty of background material, and they promise a show that will really please hardcore fans and newcomers alike – and the author himself has been involved as a consultant, which is always a good sign. I will leave you with the clip below and admit that I for one can’t wait for April 17…