As a massive fan of the books I still remember back to when the show coming together and the excitement around the pilot mixed with a huge amount of "they're going to ruin our beloved books!"
Now, obviously things changed, the world is much smaller, the story lines less complex, and characters aged up. These are often logistical issues, like how the direwolves and dragons are expensive so get minimal screen time.
That said, season 1 was as close to perfect as I could have hoped, but that book was also probably the easiest to adapt. The world is incredibly complex and deep, take it from someone who knows far too much about Westeros' history and politics.
I knew things would be altered and cut, but it is still jarring how much this year has diverted from the source material. I guess Aegon simply does not exist and the Citadel and Iron Islands are of little note. Fine, I make my peace that scenes and characters I liked will never see the screen (Coldhands and Lady Stoneheart already had this happen).
What I've noticed is the show caused the fan base to explode to 100x what it was a decade ago and many of those folks read the books and now have their expectations. So, while I heard mild grumbles about completely changing Loras characterization in season 3, the changes to Sansa in season 5 have created far more outrage.
The little things annoy me more because they don't come down to timing, logistics or budgeting. I will never understand removing Tysha and "where ever whores go" from the show and this season I really don't get how Dorne went from an arid desert place to looking a lot like much of the rest of southern Westeros.
My point is I still have the books, and hopefully books 6 & 7 do come out in the next decade so I can finally see it finish. The television show is its own creation, especially now with all the changes. I still love it as I fell in love with this world and characters all those years ago. I know some think it is awful or a betrayal, but seeing other adaptations (Earthsea anyone?!) I know that it is hard to see this being done much better, but easily could have been far far worse.
