Fantasy novels can be a ticket to a land of magic. The Lord of the Rings (《指环王》) by J.R.R. Tolkien takes us to Middle-earth to experience a battle of good and evil with dwarves (矮人), fairies (精灵) and wizards (巫师). And A Song of Ice and Fire (《冰与火之歌》), a series of novels by US author George R.R. Martin, invites us to another fictional world where powerful families compete to win the most important throne (王座) of all.

　　奇幻小说可以说是通往魔幻世界的入场券。J.R.R.托尔金的《指环王》将我们带入中土世界，去体验矮人、精灵与巫师之间的正邪之战。而美国作家乔治·R·R·马丁所著的《冰与火之歌》系列小说则邀请我们前往另一个虚构世界，在那里，几大权贵家族争夺着最尊贵的王座。

　　Today, most people know Martin’s work by the name of the first book, Game of Thrones (《权力的游戏》), since it is also the name of the famous TV series. On March 29, the trailer (预告片) forthe seventh season of the highly successful series came out. Millions of fans eagerly await thenew season, which starts on July 16.

　　今天，大多数人都是因该系列第一部书的名字《权力的游戏》而熟知马丁的作品，因为这也是那部著名电视剧的剧名。3月27日，这部大热剧集的第七季预告片正式出炉。数百万的粉丝热切期盼着将于7月16日开播的新一季。

　　So how can we explain the wild success of Game of Thrones?

　　所以我们要如何解释《权力的游戏》的大获成功呢?

　　BBC reporter Ken Tucker got it right: it’s the escapism (逃避现实) that makes it a winner. Thisquality makes it very different from other popular TV series of recent times. Take BreakingBad (《绝命毒师》) for example. This was a quality drama but it didn’t provide escapism. Toomany viewers understood the difficult situation of the cancer-stricken (罹患癌症的) scienceteacher Walter White. He turned to crime (犯罪) because he couldn’t afford his hospital bills.

　　BBC记者肯·塔克对此做出了恰当的回答：正是逃避主义让这部剧获得成功。这一特质将其与近年来的其他电视剧区分开来。以《绝命毒师》为例。这是一部高品质的电视剧，但却缺乏逃避主义。有太多的观众理解罹患癌症的化学老师沃特·怀特的艰难处境。他因为付不起医疗费，而走向了犯罪。

　　In Game of Thrones, however, there is what TV writer Josue Cardona called the huge attractionof “world-building”: “The show is super complex (复杂的), with so many characters”. Viewerslove the sense that they are being invited to build another world in their minds.

　　然而，在《权力的游戏》中，存在着电视剧编剧约书亚·卡多纳所说的“构建世界”的巨大魅力：“这部剧超级复杂，有大量的角色。”观众们喜欢那种让他们在脑海中构建另一个世界的感觉。

　　This isn’t to say that the 25.7 million global viewers of the TV series don’t enjoy the moresubtle (微妙的) side of the story. Unlike in other fiction stories, the characters are complex. Martin said that he tried to have a “good and bad, noble (高尚的) and selfish well-mixed” choiceof them. This makes him a storyteller very unlike Tolkien, whose world is one of heroes andvillains in which good will win in the end. In Martin’s world, we are not sure of that. Indeed, wearen’t even sure who is good and who is evil.

　　这并不是说，该电视剧全球2570万的观众不喜欢这个故事更为微妙的一面。和其他虚构故事不同，剧中的角色十分复杂。马丁表示，他自己试图让善与恶、高尚与自私很好地融合在角色当中。这也让他和托尔金的叙事风格十分不同。托尔金的世界中仅有英雄和恶人之分，最终正义的一方将会获胜。而在马丁的世界里，我们对此却并不确定。事实上，我们甚至都无法准确的说出谁是好人，谁是坏人。

　　But the overall secret to this show’s success may be its dreamlike quality. As Martin wrote onhis website: “The best fantasy is written in the language of dreams. It is alive as dreams arealive, more real than real.” Watching Game of Thrones is like entering a deep sleep. Fans of thelong-running hit will hope that they’ll be sleeping and dreaming for many years to come.

　　但总的来说，这一剧集成功的秘密或许是其梦幻般的特质。就像马丁在自己网站上所写的那样：“最棒的奇幻小说是以梦的语言写成的。它就像梦境一样鲜活，比真实更加真实。”观看《权力的游戏》就像陷入睡梦之中。这一长篇巨制的粉丝们希望自己还能在梦中沉睡多年。

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