《權(quán)力的游戲》為何能取得如此大成功呢？.

　　Fantasy novels can be a ticket to a land of magic. The Lord of the Rings (《指環(huán)王》) by J.R.R. Tolkien takes us to Middle-earth to experience a battle of good and evil with dwarves (矮人), fairies (精靈) and wizards (巫師). And A Song of Ice and Fire (《冰與火之歌》), 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.

　　奇幻小說可以說是通往魔幻世界的入場券。J.R.R.托爾金的《指環(huán)王》將我們帶入中土世界，去體驗矮人、精靈與巫師之間的正邪之戰(zhàn)。而美國作家喬治·R·R·馬丁所著的《冰與火之歌》系列小說則邀請我們前往另一個虛構(gòu)世界，在那里，幾大權(quán)貴家族爭奪著最尊貴的王座。

　　Today, most people know Martin’s work by the name of the first book, Game of Thrones (《權(quán)力的游戲》), since it is also the name of the famous TV series. On March 29, the trailer (預(yù)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，大多數(shù)人都是因該系列第一部書的名字《權(quán)力的游戲》而熟知馬丁的作品，因為這也是那部著名電視劇的劇名。3月27日，這部大熱劇集的第七季預(yù)告片正式出爐。數(shù)百萬的粉絲熱切期盼著將于7月16日開播的新一季。

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

　　所以我們要如何解釋《權(quán)力的游戲》的大獲成功呢?

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

　　BBC記者肯·塔克對此做出了恰當(dāng)?shù)幕卮穑赫翘颖苤髁x讓這部劇獲得成功。這一特質(zhì)將其與近年來的其他電視劇區(qū)分開來。以《絕命毒師》為例。這是一部高品質(zhì)的電視劇，但卻缺乏逃避主義。有太多的觀眾理解罹患癌癥的化學(xué)老師沃特·懷特的艱難處境。他因為付不起醫(yī)療費(fèi)，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 (復(fù)雜的), with so many characters”. Viewerslove the sense that they are being invited to build another world in their minds.

　　然而，在《權(quán)力的游戲》中，存在著電視劇編劇約書亞·卡多納所說的“構(gòu)建世界”的巨大魅力：“這部劇超級復(fù)雜，有大量的角色?！庇^眾們喜歡那種讓他們在腦海中構(gòu)建另一個世界的感覺。

　　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.

　　這并不是說，該電視劇全球2570萬的觀眾不喜歡這個故事更為微妙的一面。和其他虛構(gòu)故事不同，劇中的角色十分復(fù)雜。馬丁表示，他自己試圖讓善與惡、高尚與自私很好地融合在角色當(dāng)中。這也讓他和托爾金的敘事風(fēng)格十分不同。托爾金的世界中僅有英雄和惡人之分，最終正義的一方將會獲勝。而在馬丁的世界里，我們對此卻并不確定。事實上，我們甚至都無法準(zhǔn)確的說出誰是好人，誰是壞人。

　　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.

　　但總的來說，這一劇集成功的秘密或許是其夢幻般的特質(zhì)。就像馬丁在自己網(wǎng)站上所寫的那樣：“最棒的奇幻小說是以夢的語言寫成的。它就像夢境一樣鮮活，比真實更加真實。”觀看《權(quán)力的游戲》就像陷入睡夢之中。這一長篇巨制的粉絲們希望自己還能在夢中沉睡多年。