Virender Singh

First things first, it's very geeky. It's got kings and knights, crowns and swords, dragons and ghosts. Medieval drama is a genre we get precious little of on television (or in movies, for that matter), and Game of Thrones has nearly 10 hours of it. Plus, the series of books boasts fans who are as serious about the happenings in Westeros – where most of the book's action takes place – as any hardcore Trekkie or Star Wars geek is about those sagas. 2. The story is compelling. Befitting an incredibly popular series, the books are packed with chapter after chapter that abruptly end in cliffhangers. The dialogue is often funny, acerbic and sometimes even heart-breaking. Though the books are as thick as phone directories, the story moves quickly, and it's almost guaranteed to surprise you. In all my years of reading, seldom has a plot twisted so suddenly that I am shocked enough to say something like "Holy —-" out loud. A Song of Ice and Fire has done that to me many times, and HBO's adaptation looks to follow. 3. The characters come first. Even if you're not someone who likes fantasy, you will enjoy Game of Thrones, because it's not so much a fantasy tale as it is an outstanding character-driven drama that just happens to be set in a fantasy setting. Westeros, the land where the series takes place, is a dog-eat-dog place where most people are playing the angles and looking out for themselves. The end result is a very tangled web of deceit, power plays and intrigue, which should make for an infinitely watchable show. 4. Game Of Thrones is based on really great writing. Martin weaves an incredibly complex story that encompasses thousands of miles, dozens of characters and a history that spans thousands of years. Yet, it's easy to follow and just as compelling to read. To tempt you further, Martin was called "the American Tolkien" by Time Magazine. This is mentioned not to start a flame war or suggest he is the be-all, end-all of fantasy, but to illustrate how good his writing is. Further, Martin is credited, along with executive producers David Benioff and Dan Weiss, as a writer of the series. 5. HBO does a better job at this kind of thing than anyone else. Look at the track record: If there's one thing HBO does better than anyone else, it's original dramas. Band of Brothers, The Sopranos, The Wire, Oz, Deadwood, John Adams, Six Feet Under, True Blood – this list only scratches the surface of the great dramas HBO has brought to the small screen. What's more, with some of the mature content in Game Of Thrones, it's tough to imagine the show being on network television or anywhere else. 6. All signs point to faithful adaptation. Martin has been deeply involved with the production since the beginning and – if you read Martin's blog - his excitement is contagious. Plus, the set photography, the images of the cast, the behind-the-scenes vignettes and, most recently, the wallpaper images that depict some of the major locations of the story all show that the series creators really understand what the book is about. That will, hopefully, lead to very good things. Heck, the producers even hired someone to invent an authentic language for the Dothraki. It seems no shortcuts are being taken. 7. The series was given a proper budget. With estimates at nearly $60 million for 10 episodes, expect big things on the small screen. And while GoT's budget is somewhat average for a big production series, the fact that HBO committed these resources toward an unproven show says a lot about the network's confidence of success. Early shots of sets, special effects and the cast show the money is being well sp