Tower of the Hand

Tower of the Hand is an unofficial companion to George R. R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series, featuring chapter summaries, character profiles, family trees, and much more about the world of Westeros.

This site is designed for both ASOIAF experts and new readers. If you've read at least the first book in the series (A Game of Thrones), you can follow along with our chapter summaries and view our reference pages without seeing a single detail from later books. Just remember to update your scope once you're caught up, so you can see all the details and participate in the community discussions.

If you have any questions, just let us know. Thanks for visiting Tower of the Hand!

Hollywood has a spotty track record at adapting novels as films or television shows. All too often, an adaptation is crippled by a lousy script, miscast actors, or cheesy effects. Occasionally, though, an adaptation shines by respectfully presenting the source material or providing a fresh perspective on an established tale. We won't know how Game of Thrones will play out until next year, but let's hear your concerns at this moment. Which production value is most important to you? Which one aspect can elevate the adaptation, even if the others are underwhelming?

HBO has officially given Game of Thrones the green light. The Live Feed broke the news, which has now been confirmed by HBO, via tweet. Here are the details so far:

Congratulations to everyone involved. Congrats to fans, as well. Looks like your optimism and activism has paid off. In light of the news, we follow up our previous poll with this question: How many seasons of Game of Thrones will HBO air?

Press Reactions:

• Maureen Ryan (Chicago Tribune): This is great news; I'm doing a little happy dance myself. If the drama is two-thirds as good as Martin's novels, it'll be very good indeed.
• David Itzkoff (New York Times): If you've been jonesing for an epic fantasy to help fill the gap between Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" movies and the maybe-someday remake of "Dune," HBO may have just rolled the saving throw you needed.
• Eric Goldman (IGN TV) : I'm as excited as other fans are to see the HBO version of Thrones
• James Poniewozik (TIME): I declare this unambiguously great news, and I shall not be gainsaid!

Cast and Crew Reactions:

• George R. R. Martin: Thanks, everyone. The outpouring of enthusiasm has been amazing. The comments are piling up here faster than Ty can unscreen 'em, my phone is ringing off the hook, and my email is exploding. And of course the story is all over the internet. Quite a day.
• Isaac Hempstead-Wright (Bran): HOORAY!!!! YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSS!! WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!
• Sophie Turner (Sansa): GAME OF THRONES GONE TO SERIES!!!!! HOORAY MY PRAYERS HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN ASWERED THANK YOU HBO!!!!!

In January 2007, HBO acquired the rights to A Song of Ice and Fire and announced it was adapting the books into a television series. In November 2008, HBO ordered the pilot episode filmed. In May 2009, Peter Dinklage became the first of many notable names to be cast. In October 2009, the cast, crew, and George R. R. Martin went to Northern Ireland and Morocco to film the pilot. At some point in the next month, HBO will answer the next major question for the adaptation: Will Game of Thrones be picked up for a full series?

Update: GRRM blogs, he has no idea what HBO's decision is or when it will come, but he's emotionally invested in it, despite his own advice.