I've read all the books, and greatly enjoyed them. So far, I've also enjoyed the HBO series and am looking forward to the second season. I was very much surprised at how closely the series followed the book, not exactly, but much more than, say, Peter Jackon's Lord of the Rings movies. Don't get me wrong; I loved Jackson's effort, but don't go in thinking you know what happened in the books because you saw all three movies. My far-and-away favorite Games of Thrones character is Tyrion, aka "The Imp". I think Peter Dinkage does a surperb job in bringing the character to life. I like Arya Stark for her adaptability, and I also lile Dany quite a bit. At first, I thought she'd be a Barbie Doll and get on my nerves, but she turned out to be interesting.
In all the cover blurbs, George R.R. Martin gets called the "American Tolkien" but I don't see it. Both create deeply realized medevalist fantasy worlds, so they're alike in that sense, but Martin has a much more modern sensibility. His books are full of rape, prostitutes, and out-of-wedlock children, none of which exist in Tolkien's universe. There's all manner of other unpleasantness, mass murder, torture, plagues, and generations-long wars, but Professor Tolkien was very straightlaced about sexual matters. He was also taking his literary cues from archaic sources like Beowulf, and The Kalevala.
STOP ME BEFORE I LECTURE AGAIN!!!
JAMES