I've tried to read this tome a few times before and kept getting hung up on how similar it was to the first season of the TV show. I'm not one to shy away from consuming material over and over again, but after watching the streamlined version on TV, the extra details in the book didn't add as much as it burdened the story for me.

That said, I also know that this was a difficult reading experience for in-story reasons. It was heartbreaking to revisit a lot of these characters at the beginning, and not only that, to be in their heads. It helped me experience the characters in a way I hadn't before.

This is definitely not a story for everyone. It is grim and bleak and lot of bad things happen to people. Obviously, that's okay if it's not for you. I also think, though, that there is no denying what a huge thing GRRM created. All of the details of his world are so thoughtful, all of the threads he lays out which you know will pay off later, the three dimensional characters... it's impressive, if not a story you necessarily "enjoy."

I'm glad I powered through (for the podcast!) and I'm very excited to head further into how this story diverges from the TV series.