A Game of Thrones

I spent quite a while staring at the blank screen in front of me to come up with a fitting description of A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin. Should I compare it to the classic Lord of the Rings for its impressively epic scope? Would it be best to focus on the honest, often painful humanity of the many characters - so rare in a fantasy novel - that personalizes each point of view? Perhaps I could impress other customers here with the sheer brilliance of a plot that weaves so many seemingly disparate stories together to form a believable alternate universe in which not only politics, intrigue, war, adventure and romance can coexist plausibly, but magic as well. How could I do such a work justice?I might as well get this part out of the way first. Obligatory Synopsis: in a fantasy continent that bears a familiarity to Middle Ages England, Winter is coming. Winter in this world means a sort of mini ice age that will last for seven years before receding. In the always-frosty Northern area, the races of nonhuman beings are gathering to advance with the snows; there are hints that there is an ancient, evil power behind their forces. At the same time in the South, political infighting for the Throne has begun. Overseas, the daughter of the dispossessed former King is maneuvering forces of her own for a bid for the throne. All this is told through the various stories of both "good guys" and not-so-good guys.For starters, AGOT can't be accurately compared to any other book or series in the Fantasy genre (not without insulting it). The nearest thing of its type is the laborious Wheel of Time series by Jordan - see what I mean? And yet this first in the Song of Ice and Fire series is fathoms above that aimless, droning style. Martin has perfected what Jordan had arguably introduced; the multiple characters' points of view telling the vast saga on an intimate, up-close scale. Never did I feel that I was being strung along, but rather lead by increments toward an incredible revelation somewhere up ahead. Martin builds the suspense masterfully in each book.But by far the most striking thing about the Song of Ice and Fire is the "rules" that the author breaks. Martin is not afraid to tell the tale from the point of view of some very unlikable, even immoral characters. He is bold about revealing facts from a character's past that challenge one's impressions and assumptions about their ethics. He does not lay all his cards on the table up front, but rather unexpectedly reveals details that later change the whole picture and twist the plot admirably. And his most unusual move: this author even allows "favorites" to die occasionally (no names here...)! These risks pay off well to serve the story as a whole, bring a sense of true humanity to the people of this world and drive the reader on to the next series installment.It's just too bad that I can't magically transplant my sense of admiration for AGOT onto this page. Hopefully, you are intrigued enough to give it a try; it would be a shame to miss what IMHO could be the best series of the decade.-Andrea, aka Merribelle

I like the books better than the show. Martin does a great job with the ability to make me see the words.

Alright, confession, I do not remember all the names of all the knights and random people of this book, but I mean, the ending, the suspense, the way I’ve never hated a character more than Joffrey…just wonderful. Starting the second ASAP!

** 4.5 Stars **As an epic fantasy, this is easily 5 stars. GRRM has an incredible way of world building and character building, and it’s insane to see a book with such rich history (like already fleshed out centuries worth of history). And reading this after having seen the entirety of the HBO show, it’s incredible just how much there is in these books, that doesn’t get touched upon in the show (which should’ve been obvious to me, book to film/tv never fully encompasses the written page). But DAMN, I loved his writing, his world building, his characters, the kingdom, and everything in between. I will most definitely be finishing this series, and anything else he has in the Song of Ice and Fire universe.The reason I give this 4.5 stars is solely the way he writes women. Maybe this vulgar way of portraying and brutalizing women was more common in the sci fi / fantasy genre back in the 90’s when this was published, but as a mid 20 yr old feminist, this left a bad taste in my mouth. Women were overly sexualized, and the fact that ALL of our young female protagonists (obvi besides Caitlyn) are under 18 is high key pedophilic, especially with the way GRRM sexualizes women 😬 I personally don’t really see the need to sexualize them in the way that he does as it doesn’t drive the plot, and it felt like he was using brutality as an excuse to be overtly sexual. All in all this left a bad taste in my mouth.Besides that, I greatly enjoyed the series starter and I’m glad I finally started it after watching the show as well as seasons 1&2 of HOTD.

FIRST PUBLISHED BACK in 1996, the opening volume of the fantasy epic called A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE is immediately captivating, enthralling, entertaining, and even shocking. This is epic fantasy at its best. Well, for some of the book, anyway. It is also immediately obvious why and how this book (and in fact the whole series) has become one of the most watched, and most loved TV shows ever made. I won’t say that it was written just to be adapted, but the genius of the author has created a fictional world so well populated with amazing characters, who in turn love each other and hate each other with such passion that at times the book simply sizzles. At certain points in the book some characters are seen to be doing unmentionables to each other, and when discovered by innocent parties, take further measures so extreme in order to protect themselves you may well find yourself in such shock that you literally wont be able to put the book down.Long term fans of the genre will make immediate comparisons to other giants (!) of the field, and the first name to spring to mind will, of course, be J R R Tolkien, with his breathtaking LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. On a superficial level, Martin’s books are longer (by a looooong way) and yet despite the extra length and time involved in writing and reading them, he has failed to gift the reader with the quality of prose, and downright beauty, that is the trademark of Gandalf, Frodon, Elrond and company.Humour has a minor role in the book, but only with certain clans. I am thinking of the Lannisters here, folks, but only the loveable and highly durable Tyrion (the imp) demonstrates qualities of this nature worth mentioning. And of course he uses humour as a defence mechanism in order to cope with the situations and compromises he finds himself in on a daily basis.For the rest of the cast, life is much, much, much too serious to be caught laughing. And it’s only going to get worse. Winter is coming, you see. One of the plethora of strong features of GOT is character development, and they oftentimes grow and develop right before your eyes. Obviously time passes in this book but i found it immensely satisfying seeing how some of the younger generations of the book’s populace cope with, and grow into, roles they find themselves in. Some under duress, some at the hands of fate and some, Gods forbid, at the result of their own engineering.There is the subtle hint of dragons making an appearance in the story, but having just reached page 604 out of 780 I do believe that the reader is running out of time and words if they are going to be blessed with the presence of these magnificent creatures in the first book of this epic fable. Of course there is a lot more going on than just the re-emergence of dragons; like i just mentioned, Winter is Coming, and even though that is a saying strongly favoured by the Starks, it may well turn out to be a metaphor that affects the entire world that Mr Martin has so wonderfully crafted.The pace of the book ebbs and flows. It started off well, with several major emotional shocks hitting the reader full in the face early on. By page 300 I was ready to declare my personal love for Catelyn Stark (I still am) but then things slowed down and i found myself forced to carry on the exploration of this fantastic world i have become lost in. And for every page i forced myself to read, i found myself resenting the time doing so, and not spent playing hide and seek in Middle Earth with Sauron and company. But then the pace of the book picked up again, new characters came to life and a multitude of betrayals took place which made my investment more than worthwhile.Some of the locations described in the book are truly breath taking. Some of the ideas, too, are good enough to make you yearn to become one with the book and morph yourself right there. This book is incredibly deep. Characters that are presumably killed off are spoken of with such fervour and respect that you may well find yourself hoping against hope that they will be found again. There are many aspect of the book that have moved me, or grabbed my imagination by the throat and not let go. I have attempted to keep this review spoiler free and purposely vague at times. I can fully imagine myself reading GAME OF THRONES multiple times. Not for the beauty of the prose, because that is not its strong point. But certainly in order to relieve the drama, and the excitement, the cliffhangers and the shocks, you could certainly call me a fan.Four stars for a dead set modern day classic. It is not perfect by any means, and i can only assume the story will get stronger as i make progress through the books. Watch this space and I will let you know.Summer is over. Winter is coming. Books rule.