battle and violence. I love the casting of both. I don't think any show/movie adapted from a book or book series has nailed the casting as well as Game of Thrones. What I love about Vikings is that when it comes down to it, the protagonist is a bad guy. He's a murderer, pillager, adulterer, and power-grabber. But you like him. Both have very good writing and acting.

I think Game of Thrones is a bit ambitious. They've got to pare down the books so much that there seems to be a lot of setting up the action. Vikings doesn't seem as packed full of exposition - it's a much simpler storyline, but well-told.

I think they're both high quality productions, and you can't go wrong with either. (Unless you don't want nudity - then go with Vikings - though not the European version - the American version is a little bit tamer at times, so I hear).