I think the book has been written and re-written so many times, it reads like it has been on a stage from village to village. The face-palming and hollaring is so over the top. The fights are 'bouts' where they hit each other simultaneously until one guy wins or runs away. There's betrayal, fake out deaths, casual cannibalism. It's super dramatic and epic. I love it. But, you can easily imagine it being on a small stage for a crowd of peasants. Ribbons for blood and entrails, drums and fireworks for the exciting parts.