Lerxst
spaghetti and blankets
I had no idea it was based on a book until after I watched the show. I had no problem following it. I was at my neighbor's last weekend watching football and his son asked me if I was watching the show and if I liked it. When I told him I finished it and liked it, he said I must not have read the books because the show blows compared to the books, then his dad and a few other people there said the same thing
After watching Game of Thrones without reading the books, following this is a cakewalk
Alternatively, my colleagues all feel like they're doing a pretty decent job of keeping true to the story given the impossible amount of detail that the books include.
As someone who hasn't read the books my biggest knock against the show is that the 5 primaries aren't espec compelling characters, with the exception of Mat.
Well, that and the pretty low budget feel of all the CGI is at times distracting.