Round 1 — the page vs. the small screen

It’s the summer. Time for warm days, lazing in the shade with a good book or three — chores permitting, of course.

For me that meant time in Ontario with my son, Julian, so naturally I packed along some good summer reading material.

While normally, my summer reading list is simply more of whatever is new, this year I set myself a challenge.

I finally got HBO’s “Game of Thrones” Season 1 on DVD. For some reason I already had Season 2, but I was holding off so I could watch them all.

I deliberately didn’t watch the mini-series on TV. I wanted to reread George R.R. Martin’s original books again first.

But when I went to look for my copies, could I find them? Clearly, I lent them out and they went walkies. So I delayed. Now, with two seasons ready to watch, I had to bite the bullet and re-buy the entire set.

I’m only getting started, reading and watching in tandem.

I’m pretty sure the mini-series will do the books justice, perhaps even out-perform them.

Because for me, the series got too bogged down. Book 1 was awesome. I pulled my files and found my first review of “Game of Thrones,” published in the old Sunday Telegram Oct. 5, 1997.

The lead paragraph says it all, really.

“That’s it, I’ve seen enough. As far as I’m concerned the best fantasy novel of 1997 has been published.” And I think that still holds true. In fact, I’d go even further and suggest that first book was one of, if not the best fantasy book of the 1990s.

Which brings me to the big question of this column — and, indeed, my quest for this summer — which is better, the books or the miniseries?

My quest was partially prompted by a chat with a colleague who suggested Martin should be considered one of the best fantasy writers of recent years.

Martin is, unarguably, one of the most successful epic fantasy writers of our time. I’ll give you that, but best?

Further, is he more successful because of the books or because of the sensation the HBO mini-series has become?

I’d say that despite selling a bajillion books, Martin is known by more people for the TV show than for the original book series — that’s just the way it is. More people watch TV than read fantasy.

The fact that his renewed (and larger) fame comes from a TV show actually works for me.

I always felt that while the first book was truly stunning, the rest of the series paled into insignificance.

Don’t get me wrong, Martin created a wonderful and truly epic story. But the flow of the story got bogged down, muted, even smothered by the increasing density of plot twists and character overload.

I never finished the full series. I gave up midway through Book 3. I hope I’ll get through them all this time around.

But if I do, it will likely be fuelled by the TV show.

Leaving the first book aside, this was not that good a series. Its initial promise was, I fear, squandered.

I may be in a minority — and given his sales figures first time around, I probably am — but this was a wonderful story that was simply not told very well in book form.

And that’s where the magic of television comes in.

TV audiences have been primed for a top-quality, mini-series-length fantasy epic.

The advances in film technology and effects have bred an audience hungry for fantastical spectacle — you only have to look at the dominance of superhero and fantasy/scifi films in recent years (“Lord of the Rings,” “Avatar,” “Avengers” etc.) as proof.

So if you take a wonderful story and give it the A-list TV treatment (decent budget, strong cast and so on) it’s going to be a hit.

And “Game of Thrones” the TV show is a hit — a palpable one.

Thanks to its huge success, Martin has seen sales of the reissued books soar.

And bully for him. He deserves it. It was a damn good tale — I just think it took a TV production for it to deliver its full potential, which it simply couldn’t manage as a series of books.

I’ll let you know if I change my opinion later this summer, after I’ve read and watched my way through it all.

But I suspect I won’t change my tune.

Earlier, I mentioned that Martin was, unarguably, one of the most successful epic fantasy writers of our time. And that’s true. But in this instance, successful doesn’t necessarily mean best.

Great storyteller — yes. Popular storyteller — absolutely. Best fantasy writer — not even close.

Agree or disagree, let me know what you think.

— Photo by The Associated Press A poster advertising HBO’s series “Game of Thrones,” the first season of which starred Sean Bean (above).