I'm a big fan of the books, and I watched the premiere of the show last night.
It was really well done, and successful overall. They managed to get a huge amount of the story into one hour without it feeling rushed and without cutting out too much. In fact, I had to really think about what was missing to even realize that anything was in fact missing. No Theon Greyjoy (though there was one scene where maybe he was in? where the young men were getting haircuts for the reception? I couldn't tell who the other person was) and no Tommen.
My wife who has never read the books and is not really into fantasy stuff really enjoyed it as well. Again, considering how much stuff was packed into the first episode, I think they did a remarkable job of showing the story without a lot of exposition or explanations.
In my experience watching series TV, often the first or first few episodes are not as engaging, as so much setup is required. Makes me hopeful for the rest of the series.
