Good to hear. I'm very much looking forward to the episode tonight. I obviously have no idea how the series will go, and maybe this is too obvious a twist, but I'm already hoping to see Tyrion on the Iron Throne when all is said and done.
As for the books you mentioned, darthur, I heartily endorse Enders Game. It's a really remarkable book. Speaker was almost as good but, you are right, the rest of the series (and, IMHO, the rest of Card's books) never quite reached the level of Enders Game. One of the top few Sci Fi books I've ever read.