The only thing I can say about A Game of Thrones is the first 1/3rd is really boring, but important. Once you get over that hump, its all pure awesome. Not much magic though.
EDIT: Here's a small teaser for the HBO series that doesn't do a whole lot except provide some slick production, but its the first release for the show, which debuts next March: http://www.hbo.com/video/video.html/?autoplay=true&vid=1100909&filter=game-of-thrones&view=null