Yes, I’m one of those people.  The person that you dread talking to when the subject of books comes up.  I believe that the book is always better than the movie or TV show.

That has proven true most of the time.  Take, for example, Jurassic Park.  The movie was a sight to behold.  Great special effects and a storyline that wouldn’t quit.  The book was even better.  It even had a better and more satisfying ending.  If you haven’t read the story, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of it somewhere.  Since it has been quite a while since the book came out, you’ll probably be able to scare up a copy at a used bookstore somewhere.

All of that brings me to the current debate about Game of Thrones.  Several years ago, I was made aware of the series by a former employee of mine who was also a part-time bookseller (or was it a shelver).  He raved on and on about the series and so, I decided that it was worth spending some time on.  It took me a bit, but I got myself caught up to where the illustrious George R. R. Martin has left us all breathless with anticipation for the next volume.

Now, mind you, that doesn’t mean that I am a fan of the series of the same name that HBO has put together.  I will admit that I have caught bits and pieces of it over the last year or so, but for the most part, I have steered clear.  Still, you can’t avoid the chatter on the internet and from what I am hearing, the basics of the story are there, but they have deviated from what Mr. Martin wrote in his books.

If you are a viewer of the series, that is fine.  You are welcome to watch it, but I would say that you are missing out on an experience that so many of us that are readers already know.  The books are better.  There really is no other way to put it.

In the books, Martin has woven a tale that it would take a master hours just to keep track of.  It isn’t any wonder that another volume in the series takes so long to put out.  He has to make sure that his story is straight and it really is done rather well.  Each time that I thought I knew what he was going to do, he would take a left turn and we would end up somewhere I never expected.

Based on that, my experience with the books is the experience that I will be enjoying when it comes to Game of Thrones.  I can hear you already telling me that I am wrong and maybe I am, but I would rather stick to the story that I have been told and stick with the ideas that are in my head, securely painted there by the vivid imagination of a master storyteller that those of us in the world of writing could only hope to be like, no matter what kind of writing we do.

So what brought me to this position?  Let me just say that in the sneak peeks I have had at HBO’s series, I have seen things that I found to be less than what I would have expected from Mr. Martin.  As the series continues on, I can see that it will divert completely from his narrative just simply because he hasn’t published it yet.  I also want to save my version of the story with the faces that I have for these characters.

Now, as I say that about this series of books, telling you that you need to read them if you haven’t already, let me add one further word that so many of us that are waiting are saying.  That thing would simply be this, “Please Mr. Martin.  You’ve left us hanging long enough.  Send along the next one soon.”