Thoughts on Game of Thrones Series 1

So I'm way behind everyone on Game of Thrones, as I am with most TV, but I'm doing my best to catch up and am just one single episode away from finishing series 1. It had me gripped from the first episode but I wonder how much of that was the expectation built up by all the great things I've been hearing about it.

I'm loving that really it all seems to be about set-up so far. Countless characters are introduced and you can't lose concentration for a moment or you will be left behind.There's also very little in the way of truly likeable characters. Most of them seem like whoring, murderous traitors for the most part with only a few actually standing out as decent sorts. But they are all fascinating in their own unique ways and it is clear that absolutely no one is safe from the chop at any time!

Game of Thrones' appeal lies in its depth of world building though. From the very first episode I felt immersed in the world and keen to know more about its characters and kingdoms. Minor characters reveal themselves to be integral and the richness of their back stories is likely to only be revealed after several seasons of the show. The world beyond the wall, an inevitable big war and the darkness of an impending winter seem to be other key reasons to keep watching.

I'm debating now whether to give the books a go before tucking into season 2 of Game of Thrones but they look like mighty big reads and I believe there is a hell of a lot of them to get through. I've already got a huge stack of books to get through by my bed already so I think I might have to give these a miss and just continue with the TV series and try and catch up with everyone else despite not having Sky and easy access to HBO.

Unfortunately I haven't managed to keep my eyes away from spoilers and so I already know a certain level of detail about what seems to be going down in season 3 but I'm going to try and do my best to avoid seeing too much so I get get on with making the most out of series 2 of Game of Thrones. Or Game of Titties as my wife so lovingly refers to it. Seriously with Spring Breakers, The Look of Love and Game of Thrones this year, I think I've seen more boobs than in my entire life.

This show is excessive by anyone's standards though isn't it? I'm wondering if that is where a small part of the appeal comes from. Medieval style kings, queens, conquerors and battles mixed with characters that cut off heads in graphic detail, fuck in graphic detail and use words like f**k and c**t in graphic detail.

What do you think is behind the success of Game of Thrones?