Science Fiction World

If you’ve not already committed the date to memory, take note now: the second season of HBO’s extraordinary Game of Thrones kicks off on 1 April! Without any shadow of doubt, Season One was the television highlight of 2011. Every aspect of production came together with perfection in a demonstration of how to handle complex and sophisticated SF and fantasy fiction, in particular those weighty tomes and sprawling series beloved by the SF and fantasy readership.

Direction was superb and the cast was remarkably strong, but kudos ultimately belongs to screenwriters David Benioff and D.B. Weiss who succeeded where so many others have failed, adapting a complex and intelligent work of fiction superbly for an adult audience. Any adaptation of novel to screen involves change, but as HBO’s Game of Thrones demonstrated admirably, those changes can be interesting rather than detrimental given the latitude of a TV series, talented writers and a respectable budget.

Season Two adapts A Clash of Kings, Book Two in George R.R. Martin’s epic series A Song of Ice and Fire. The story picks up where A Game of Thrones ended, with the shocking execution of Ned Stark, head of House Stark, by the ruthless Lannisters. While the seven kingdoms of Westeros descend into civil war, another threat looms beyond the borders with Daenerys Targaryen of House Targaryen rebuilding her forces in preparation to invade and take back the Seven Kingdoms. 

Check out the trailer for Season Two below: