I like that they are going to for story and character more than special effects and gore of which the original books offer plenty had they wanted to. It's a huge, complex novel series and I feel it's actually going to be better pared down for the screen. I love the casting which is appropriate rather than Hollywood and the characters are believable, not all that easy to do with 'historical/fantasy', if not brilliant, looks to be panning out to an enjoyable solid series.
