The evil master flambe was well worth waiting for. I became interested in the series when Daenerys survived the fire. At that point I had to go back and start watching all the shows from season one. Then I got all the books and read them through number 5. I am eagerly awaiting books 6 and 7. Bet hell, who knows how long it will take for THEM to come out. And the best words of advice I have seen so far is that fans shouldn’t get overly attached to any given character. Of course, I won’t elaborate and spoil something.
What I worry about is that Martin - who is not the healthiest of men - will croak before he finishes the series (especially since it takes him years to come out with new volumes). I don’t want him to pull a Robert Jordan on us (although Brandon Sanderson apparently did a good job continuing that series with Jordan’s notes).