Game of Thrones has no more books to adapt. Should we still watch it?

The HBO adaptation of George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book series has become a television phenomenon, but even the most dedicated Game of Thrones fans will admit that the series has been spotty, particularly in some episodes of last season. The show, which will pick up season 6 on Sunday (or early Monday morning IST, though it airs in India two days behind Star World Premiere on Tuesday), has generally been at its best when it stays fairly close to the source material. , and feels less engrossing when it comes off (as it did with the Dorne storyline in Season 5).

Now, that poses a bit of a problem for fans, especially if you’ve already read the books before watching the series. And that problem is the fact that we’ve almost caught up with all the plots of the books now and are entering uncharted territory, even as the next book continues to be written with no release date in sight.

Longtime Martin fans will be used to this by now – the author has notoriously missed deadlines years in the past – but if you’re one of the (many) people who think “books are better” then you’re going to have to decide if you want to allow the show to spoil the events of the upcoming book for you.

[WARNING: SPOILERS FOR BOTH THE BOOKS AND TV SHOW WILL FOLLOW FROM THIS POINT]

Of course, the two diverged on many points – in the books, Barristan Selmy, Stannis Baratheon and Mance Rayder are still alive, to name a few. All of these characters currently occupy fairly central positions in the books, and since they’ve all died in the show, it’s possible the show has already spoiled the events of the next book for you.

Or Martin could leave the fates of these characters more ambiguous in the books, so it’s unclear if the events of the series can even be considered a spoiler.

HBO has also done a really good job of staying coy about Jon Snow’s fate – there’s a strong fan theory that suggests Jon survives his assassination by Night’s Watch, and that’s the one we’re inclined to believe, but HBO and the rest of the cast are firm in their claims that Jon is dead.

Once the season is over, the answer will be clear – one way or another – to all fans of the show, and that means when you pick up the sixth book, Winds of Winter, when it finally comes out, you You’ll already know the answer to one of the biggest cliffhangers in the fifth book, A Dance With Dragons.

With that in mind, it’s pretty clear that no matter how far the series strays from the books – and there’s still written material to be mined there – it will say a lot about the plot of the next novel. Season 6 trailers suggest it’s full of death and intrigue, as is the norm with the series.

At the same time, since the show goes beyond the confines of the books, the creators will also have less source material to work with, and more general guidelines and notes. Fans of the show and the books are going to worry that this will lead the show to stumble on the quality of the storytelling.

So the question is, do you want your first exposure to the rest of the story in a format that was arguably the weaker of the two versions that currently exist.

But while some die-hard fans say they’ll stop watching the show until the next book comes out, that seems like a really bad idea. On the one hand, even with its flaws, there’s no denying that Game of Thrones was a success due to the quality and quality of the show. It might not be as good as the books, but it’s still better than most other shows, and certainly better than nothing at all, that’s what you get for what could be another year, if you choose to wait for the book.

The other thing to keep in mind is that HBO’s Game of Thrones is a cultural phenomenon. Even if you don’t watch the show and actively avoid newsgroups and forums, spoilers will show up on your timeline, or be discussed in your office or by your friends. We’ve got a guide to help you avoid Game of Thrones spoilers that will help you online, but offline you’re going to have to become a hermit if you want to read Winds of Winter without at least knowing the big events of the book.

That’s why it’s probably best to stop worrying about spoilers, watch the show, and enjoy the experience while you wait for the next book to finally be written.