Game of Thrones (George R.R. Martin)

People who want to read the Song of Fire and Ice series by George R.R. Martin a have to be some of the most self-torturing bastards on the planet.. I am proud to say that i will be one of them, waiting (what could be) a decade for the remaining books to become available.
I started reading the first book in the Fire/Ice series, about a month ago. It took me a little while to actually get into it. Martin introduced what seemed to be at least fifty characters in the first quarter of the book. For a hundred and fifty pages, I was inundated with back story and history for people I should have had no care for. I set the book down at least 3 times and had to come back to it. The problem was that each time I thought I could handle no more of it, some small character point would suck me in just enough to keep moving forward (or return to reading). After that first hundred and fifty pages, the character introductions dwindled and I was mid stride in one of the greatest series I have had the honor of reading.
This book came very well recommended to me, and now I recommend it to you. Great story telling in the Fantasy genre. Foreshadowing of magic in a world manned by steel. Battle on the field and battle in Royal politics. The “War of the Roses” of which this book appears to be loosely based.. If you have interest in any of these things, pick this up and read it..
A Game of Thrones is exactly as the title leans you toward imagining. The story revolves around various families, struggling for power in the Seven Kingdoms. The Starks and Lannisters are the real key families of interest in the novel.
A very high overview is difficult. This book cannot be watered down with out becoming drivel, so take the upcoming as generically as possible.
Forty years of winter are on the doorstep of Eddard (Ned) Stark,? a long time friend and essentially family of the King. King Robert visits and asks Ned to become the “Hand of the King”, the man who will do all the king’s political babysitting and decision making when he himself is unavailable. Ned reluctantly leaves Winterfell in the North and comes to court at Kings Landing, bringing with him some of his children. Ned’s wife, stays behind in Winterfell to manage after he leaves..
To the North of Winterfell, spanning thousands of miles, is a 600 foot wall of stone, aptly called “The Wall”. The Nightwatch, a brotherhood of pardoned criminals and social outcasts, guard the wall and ensure the safety of those in the seven kingdoms. They are never to leave the wall, and they may never participate in a war. They are to guard against the unknown evils of the north. This is a good thing, as The Others have been appearing. Pale with ice blue eyes, they roam the forest silent like death. Ned’s brother and Ned’s bastard son both man the wall as part of the Brotherhood.
The Lannisters, family of the Queen, have proven through out the years to be loathsome and self serving. They are untrustworthy and deceitful. Queen Cersie, twin sister to Jamie Lannister, are twisted pair, with secrets that bear need of investigation. Tyrion, the Dwarf son of Lord Lannister, I hope will become a force of power in books to come.
Across the sea, the deposed and exiled family of the Dragon King are working to build an army and return to the Seven Kingdoms to regain control of their birthright. Descriptions of the Horse Tribe culture the dragon lords are entrenched in was by far my favorite aspect of the Game of Thrones.
Hell breaks loose, and I am now addicted.
A note to all readers who decide to embark on this 7 book series. Make it through the first 150 pages and you are set to complete the whole tale. Once you are invested, you will only find some of the greatest fantasy story telling available in the genre. But do not become to attached to any single character. The Game of Thrones knows no mercy and you are bound to find a few corpses along the way that will make you tear up a bit.
Sub note, HBO is turning this into a series in 2011 and i expect that it will be truly exceptional.

Comments

  1. SummitSummitOctober 25, 2010 at 10:52 PM

    Wasn't the wall made of ice?

    ReplyDelete
  2. erisian23October 26, 2010 at 12:51 AM

    i remember it stating that the wall was originally stone and wood, but during the past 1000 years, huge ice blocks had been brought from the north to help increase the size of the mammoth blockade.

    dont know that they got more into it.

    but there is a scene where they are tossing salt and gravel on the top walk way ion order to keep the frost from making it slick. that seems like it would be fairly impossible if it were all ice.

    they also make reference of the ice beginning to melt in the summer time, but no one has any major fear for it, so i assume it is only a portion.

    ReplyDelete
  3. RichOctober 28, 2010 at 1:33 AM

    Yup. One of the daily tasks of the Crows is to distribute gravel along the top of the Wall, at least in manned areas--the Night's Watch has dwindled drastically over the decades--to help a bit with footing.

    I'd say they could use more men! As the Stark's are prone to say, "Winter is coming."

    Glad you enjoyed the book!

    http://grrm.livejournal.com

    He doesn't give away spoilers, as far as I have read. I'd probably steer away from comments from readers though; an unpredictable lot, they are. I like to visit a few times a week to see if he has made any progress on A Dance With Dragons, the 5th book in the series.

    If you have not already, you may as well dive into the rest of the tale, as it does nothing but pick up speed moving forward with A Clash of Kings. Happy reading!

    ReplyDelete
  4. erisianOctober 28, 2010 at 1:41 AM

    if only i could :)
    i have a month of no reading coming up.
    i know i am going to break down at some point, but if i break down, it cant be on something that will be that distracting.

    thanks for loaning me the book and prompting me to read it :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. RichOctober 28, 2010 at 2:15 AM

    Oh yeah, I keep forgetting about NaNoWriMo.

    See you in December, hah! I dig the premise for sure.

    And you are welcome(and I apologize). :D

    ReplyDelete

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