Author: George R. R. Martin
Released: August 1996
Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.
It will stretch from the south, where heat breeds plot, lusts and intrigues; to the vast and savage eastern lands; all the way to the frozen north, where an 800-foot wall of ice protects the kingdom from the dark forces that lie beyond. Kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars, lords and honest men… all will play the Game of Thrones.
Winter is coming…
Rating: 5 Stars
Positives: The first thing that I liked is how very diverse the land of Westeros, and the places beyond it such as Vaes Dothrak are. In order to effectively capture the different cultures that are present within the book, we read different chapters from the viewpoint of different characters. I especially like Daenerys' chapters because she herself has never lived in the land that is truly her home, and we see her adapting to life within the Dothraki, a culture completely different to her own.
Secondly there is a good balance of comic moments; especially the wit of one Tyrion Lannister, and a mixture of sad moments. Even though I had an inkling it would happen for some reason Robert Baratheon's fate moved me to tears. Its something I would have expected more for Eddard Stark than Robert in all honesty, but that might just be the pregnancy hormones.
And Arya and Sansa; two wonderful sisters who couldn't be more different if they tried. Sansa who wants everything to be some kind of fairy tale, whilst her sister is much more adept at being a complete tomboy and is more interested in learning how to fight. Perhaps Arya would fit in well with the Mormont women?
Each of the great families that we meet has their draws to them, and whilst the Starks are the main family followed in A Game of Thrones, I found myself particularly drawn to the Lannisters. Now that's a family I wouldn't want to cross at any point.
This book has so much detail and is so gripping that it definitely makes an excellent read.
Negatives: Okay my main gripe is this: we meet something called The Others or the white walkers in the prologue of the book, and part of what kept me reading is wanting to know what they are. However we don't see that much of them in the book. In fact they only return for one more scene, and are mentioned in passing by one character at another point of the story. They were the main hook at the beginning of the book, but then they vanish completely. I'm just hoping that they resurface in the later books.
Would I recommend this book? Yes definitely. There may be a bit of a slow start after the events of the prologue, but it's well worth continuing to read. Be warned though the game of thrones is a bloody game, and you may not want to form attachments to many characters.
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