Game of Thrones was commissioned by HBO on the strength of Martin’s extremely popular series of novels, A Song of Ice and Fire. First published in 1996, Martin had been working on this saga for 15 years by the time the adaptation first hit screens, and even now the literary tale remains unfinished – to the chagrin of many fans.

Similarly, The Witcher series began life as a series of books, by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The original short stories that commenced The Witcher saga are even older than Game of Thrones, the first batch being collected in Polish in 1992. It took 15 years, though, for the series to appear in English.

Expect a different sense of scale

Unlike Game of Thrones, however, Sapkowski’s stories were more in the vein of “swords and sorcery”, following the adventures of a lone hero, in this case Geralt of Rivia, rather than the vast armies and political machinations that surrounded the Iron Throne. Geralt is a witcher, essentially a monster hunter, and Sapkowski’s initial tales focused on the individual creatures Geralt was hired to slay and a small cast of supporting characters.

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Netflix’s series seems to be following the style of those early Witcher stories, focusing on Geralt’s lone adventures (before the series expanded in scope and the fate of kingdoms became an issue). Essential characters in the Witcher world, such as Yennefer and Ciri, are set to be introduced as the season progresses but it does not appear as though they will come together until the season’s end.

Expect a more intimate and focused programme than the sprawling nature that defined Game of Thrones. 

Unashamed fantasy

One way in which the two series differ is their approach to fantasy. A Song of Fire and Ice was relatively novel at the time of its initial publication for keeping its fantastical elements in the background. Although the unworldly White Walkers emerged as the ultimate threat, for much of his series Martin seemed to be borrowing more from history, in particular England’s War of the Roses, than Tolkien and his tales of dragons and elves.

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The Witcher is unashamedly traditional in its handling of fantastical elements. The first novel in the series makes that clear with its title, Blood of Elves. Sapkowski certainly adds his own original elements to his stories, and while witches and wizards do not abound, Geralt is frequently tasked with hunting monsters that would feel right at home in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. In contrast to Game of Thrones, however, Witcher stories often suggest human characters might be the real villains of these tales.

Superman to the rescue

Expect a different level of star power in The Witcher. Despite introducing the world to a group of young new actors, Game of Thrones sometimes felt like a who’s who of European acting with a host of acclaimed names parading through its bloody battles. Established stars included Sean Bean, Lena Headey, Charles Dance, Aidan Gillen and Ian McShane among many others. Even pop star Ed Sheeran appeared in a brief cameo.

By contrast, given the different scale of the series, The Witcher’s stardom rests on the shoulders of Superman, Henry Cavill. Supposedly, Cavill has long been a fan of the series and was determined to land the lead role for some time. He is joined on his adventures by relative newcomers Anya Chalotra (Yennefer of Vengerberg) and Freya Allan (Ciri), with few recognisable names.

Moral ambiguity remains

One of the big appeals of A Song of Fire and Ice, which was translated into the Game of Thrones TV series, was its featuring realpolitik. In genre-defining works like The Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia, the irreproachable heroes triumph over the forces of darkness. Game of Thrones was shocking in its willingness to kill off its most noble heroes. In this fantasy land, honour was likely to get you killed.

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If Martin published stories with a nihilistic point of view, Sapkowski’s stories tend to be more morally grey, somewhere in between Martin’s pessimism and Tolkien’s shining heroism. In the Witcher novels Geralt has the nickname “The Butcher of Blaviken”, a sobriquet given to him for his actions in a situation when – no spoilers here – he chooses the lesser of two evils. Despite his utilitarian actions, Geralt is still saddled with a bad reputation. As Geralt growls in a line from one of the popular Witcher video games, “This world does not need a hero, it needs a professional”.

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