Usually when the planets align a great writer comes out and manages to bring new life into that old genre called Fantasy. A genre that is polluted with Tolkien rip-offs, the abuse of Norse Mythology and English folklore. This writer comes with the name of George R.R. Martin.
He looks like the coolest grandfather ever.
After many experiments in many different genres, some with success and others not so much, Martin managed to hit the jackpot in 1996 with a book called A Game of Thrones. A Game of Thrones did not only catapult Martin into fame, but also pumped new blood into the Fantasy genre. So without any more delays the premise of the book!
When Eddard Stark Lord of Castle Winterfell, receives a visit from his old friend, the ruler of the Seven Kingdons: Robert Baratheon. During the stay King Robert asks Eddard to follow him to the courting the south and assume the prestigious role of The Hand of the King. Eddard accepts the invitation, but only because he believes that the former Hand of the King was murdered by the Queen: a vicious manipulator from the House of Lannister. Close to the king, Eddard hopes he can protect him from the Queen and her family. But having the Lannisters as enemies can come up as fatal: the Lannister's ambition knows no bounds and the King is in greater danger than Eddard thought. Alone in a court of vipers and back stabbers, Eddard realizes that is life is also in danger, and so is his family in the north. In the Far East beyond the great sea, an old House that ruled once in seven Kingdoms and that was exiled from it by Robert Baratheon, wants the throne back and is gathering a massive army to accomplish it.
When you play the game of thrones you either win or die.
A Game of Thrones is the first part of a seven series of books entitled A Song of Ice and Fire. But what exactly makes A Game of Thrones different from every other fantasy book? Well it dumps most of its cliches on the dark side of the moon. You won't find Orcs, Dark Lords, evil plots to destroy the world, quests to destroy/retrieve a certain object, talking animals or Elves(Thank god for that...). If you would ask me to compare A Game of Thrones with something I would have to say, that it's Dune with a fantasy setting. The political drama is there and the excellent character development to. But just like Dune was light on the Sci-fi so is A Game of Thrones with the fantasy. You will find little or almost no magic or any other standard fantasy staples in here. But the fantasy is still there, but it's hidden beneath the main plot that is very driven by politics and lots of backstabbing.
Sorry you are not aloud here. Access denied!
But what in lacks of basic fantasy it excels in one thing. The characters and trust me when I say this, you won't find a better cast of characters than the ones in A Game of Thrones(and obvious the rest of the series). The book is divided into 8 characters (9 counting with the prologue.), and each chapter in the book is dedicated to one of the 8 characters, this is called Point of View.
Eddard Stark: the Ruler of Winterfell and Hand of the King, very high morale standards and honour before anything.
Cattelyn Stark: The wife of Eddard Stark, the overzealous mother and wife.
Jon Snow: The bastard son of Eddard Stark, the one who wants to be recognized.
Bran Stark: The 8 year old son of Eddard and Cattelyn, the one who wants to become a great Knight.
Sansa Stark: The twelve year old daughter of Eddard and Cattelyn, wants to be first and foremost a princess and lady.
Arya Stark: The 10 year old daughter of Eddard and Cattelyn, interested in fighting and exploring, the opposite of her sister.
Tyrion Lannister: The dwarf and black sheep of the House of Lannister.
Daenerys Targaryen- The exiled thirteen year old girl of the former rulers of Seven Kingdoms.
Cattelyn Stark: The wife of Eddard Stark, the overzealous mother and wife.
Jon Snow: The bastard son of Eddard Stark, the one who wants to be recognized.
Bran Stark: The 8 year old son of Eddard and Cattelyn, the one who wants to become a great Knight.
Sansa Stark: The twelve year old daughter of Eddard and Cattelyn, wants to be first and foremost a princess and lady.
Arya Stark: The 10 year old daughter of Eddard and Cattelyn, interested in fighting and exploring, the opposite of her sister.
Tyrion Lannister: The dwarf and black sheep of the House of Lannister.
Daenerys Targaryen- The exiled thirteen year old girl of the former rulers of Seven Kingdoms.
The chapters alternate between characters and usually end up in cliff hangers. So the book reads almost like a television show. The good thing about this is that the characters feel so alive and unique, that when you finish reading one chapter that ends up in a cliff hanger, you won't get the urge to jump chapters to continue the read about that character, because all of the points of view are interesting. This is where Martin's writing really pay's off. You will never feel bored and there isn't many "dead chapters". The development of the 8 main characters feels very natural and they are always a pleasure reading them. So you will never go. "Awww not this guy again...urg!". Not only the 8 main characters feel fleshed out and unique, but so does the supporting cast. Which results in one of the greatest casts ever in a book, all of the characters will make you feel something for them, not only the 8 main characters, but also the ones they interact with. You will love some characters and you will utterly despise others, not because they are bad written characters, but because they really are an evil bunch, that deserve a slow painfull death.
The other aspect where Martin's writing really reaches greatness, it's the plot development. The story will grab you pretty much instantly and only let you go when you finish the book. (Which is quite a big book; it clocks something like 800 pages.) The plot advances in a very fast pace but it never gets in the way of character development or descriptions of locations.
Martin is one of the few authors, which makes you, the reader fear for the life of your favourite character. In A Game of Thrones (and in the rest of the series) no character is safe. If they have to die they will die, if they have to suffer they will suffer. There is no "Hero conquers all and gets girl" in this book, this is as gritty and realistic as it gets. With this mentality Martin creates some of the most unexpected plot twists and "oh my god! I never saw it coming!" moments.
Martin also has a very brutal writing. Not just the fate of some characters but its content. Theres plenty of cursing, sex scenes, beheading, incest, pedophile, rape, gore filled deaths and other nasty stuff. If you light hearted on those subjects you better stay away from the book.
Some of the locations on the book are quite exotic and a pleasure to read. Theres chapters based on a society not very used in mainstream culture, the Mongol society. Which is a very refreshing set of events, considering that most fantasy is based on medieval England and Europe.There is also this really massive Wall made out of ice, that protects the 7 Kingdoms, which will delight most of the hardcore fantasy lovers. But I will leave that for the reader to discover.
You can't go wrong with a big ass Wall of Ice.
But A Game of Throne is not all perfect. It has some flaws like everything else in the world. The first one is the amount of past events described through out the book and the epic number of character names you will have to remember. This problem comes right at the start of the book, the first 100 pages can really be hard to read and confusing. Martin throws at the reader plenty of names and events so fast, which for the casual reader will probably have to put the book down for awhile to let the information flow. But there is a genealogical tree at the end of the book to help the reader to remember who is who. But it still doesn't help most of the time, with some of the "nobody" characters spread through out the book.
The second flaw is that most of the book is based on good ol' medieval England. The Mongol based chapters and the wall of ice is very refreshing and unique, but then you are dragged back to the English setting and it disappoints. But thanks to Martin's excellent writing you will forget about that very fast so its just a minor annoyance.
But none of the flaws really get in the way of the book, with patience all the barrage of events and names will start to settle down and you will get use to it. The english setting is also passable thanks to the great plot and characters.
A Game of Thrones is a GREAT book. One of the best books in the fantasy genre and possibly one of the best fantasy series (when Martin manages to finish it up that is...). This is not Tolkien, Robert Jordan or Rowling, George R.R. Martin lives in his own place of greatness and its one of the best writers out there. The characters are great and well rounded; the plot is amazing and very clever, with plenty of twists to keep you entertained and shocked. Even with its long duration of 800 and something pages, the book will never bore you.
So if you love Fantasy and want a new take on the genre I cannot stress enough to buy this right away. If you just looking for a great book to read, buy it too! This is a fantastic book that will leave you beg for more and one of the best fantasy stories ever told.
GO BUY IT NOW!
Notes: Yes I'm well aware that I covered almost no plot in here. But I don't like to review books like that. I review them almost like a movie, tv show or even a video game.I had to translate it all from portuguese to english and I didn't really change anything. : / Apart from the images...Also some countries divided the book into different parts(Some times into two books or more) so if you interested in buying it don't look suprise to find out that your copy only has 400 pages instead of 800. Also translating is a very painfull job...
