A&M hosts early screening of `Game of Thrones'

Ciaran Hinds plays Mance Rayder in season 3 of "Game of Thrones." Ciaran Hinds plays Mance Rayder in season 3 of "Game of Thrones." Photo: HBO Photo: HBO Image 1 of / 23 Caption Close A&M hosts early screening of `Game of Thrones' 1 / 23 Back to Gallery

Fans who can't wait till March 31 for the season 3 premiere of HBO's "Game of Thrones" can see it nine days earlier in Aggieland.

Texas A&M University has announced it will host an advance screening in Rudder Auditorium at 7:45 p.m. on March 22 in conjunction with writer George R.R. Martin's sold-out appearance at the school.

As Andrew Dansby reported back in December, Martin, the wildly successful author of the epic high fantasy series "A Song of Ice and Fire," will make an appearance and sign books from 4-6 p.m. on March 22 at Cushing Memorial Library, followed by a lecture and question-and-answer session at Rudder. The lecture begins at 6:30 p.m.

Martin's series is the source material for HBO's popular series, which is named for the first of the "Ice and Fire" books.

Martin's visit is tied to the library's Deeper Than Swords exhibit, which opens March 22 and runs through the end of 2013. The exhibit will include books, manuscripts and other objects from Martin's long, winding career in science fiction and fantasy. The 64-year-old New Jersey native began writing science fiction stories in 1970. The fifth volume in his "Ice and Fire" series, "A Dance With Dragons," was published earlier this year.