A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Series: A Song of Ice and Fire #1
Publisher: Bantam Books
Publication Date: August 4, 1997
Source/Format: Library || Paperback & e-book; Borrowed from Rachel || Paperback

In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes of the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones. (from Goodreads)

Reading A Game of Thrones has to be one of my biggest, most satisfying accomplishments this year. I've been curious about the series ever since the TV show started airing, and that curiosity only intensified as family, friends and Macky endorsed it. However, in spite of my curiosity, I let the books lie because I was afraid that they would be too gory, too graphic, too long for my tastes. And then this read-along happened, and now I'm eager to continue with the series after finishing this first book.

A Game of Thrones surprised me. I was expecting it to be dense and long and chock-full of wordy passages, and it is. But within those words lies incredible world-building, story set-up and character development. I was in sheer awe at the amount of thoughtfulness that went into the construction of this book, as there are so many things happening to so many different characters and in so many different locations. It was a struggle for me to keep everything straight (though I managed somehow), and I can't imagine how much crazier it must be for the author to keep track of it all as he writes!

I really enjoyed the story! I can't go into much detail (since that would make this post way longer than it has to be), but I can tell you about the plotlines that had me particularly intrigued. First is the Stark family, and their separate journeys as they are duty and honor bound to action. Second is the conspiracy behind the death of the King's Hand Jon Arryn, and what that means when it comes to the throne. And third is the story of the Targaryen siblings, who are plotting a way to restore their family to its former glory after the throne was seized from them. There are other plotlines for other characters, but I was heavily focused and invested on these particular ones.

One of the best things about fantasy novels is when the characters are written really well, and that was the case for most of the characters I encountered in A Game of Thrones. Whether it was intimate knowledge of a character from the chapters written from their point-of-view, or secondary knowledge of a character through another's eyes, I was fascinated by the various personalities one encounters in this book. What really struck me was that each character is depicted in all his or her glory and in all his or her weakness. Martin was not afraid of revealing the truth behind each character, good and bad, and I think that was integral to my particular enjoyment of the novel.

Obviously, among the many characters, I had my favorites! Jon Snow, the bastard son of Eddard Stark who leaves to join the Night's Watch, is definitely my favorite male character. His story, right from the start, just leapt off the pages at me, and I'm firmly in his corner at this point. And, among the females, I found myself enamored with Arya Stark (who actually reminds me of a few Tamora Pierce heroines) from the start, mostly because of her youth and her fighting, slightly rebellious spirit. However, somewhere during the course of my reading, I also started falling in love with the Daenerys Targaryen, who is fascinating and frustrating and strong and naive all at once. It was the ending of the book though that really cemented my love for her!

I didn't completely love this novel though, even though it certainly sounds like I'm gushing non-stop. While my reaction is very positive overall, I personally disliked with certain characters. This made their chapters of the book hard to read or even enjoy, and I'd find myself struggling to just get through them and back to the interesting bits.

A Game of Thrones is a strong start, as readers are given the most detailed of introductions to this entire saga. While there were certainly parts I found difficult to read because of my own bias, the novel is really fascinating. There is a lot of violence, as I expected, but it was not at all difficult for me to keep on reading (but heed my warning: do not get attached. to anyone.) to find out what happened next. And now, I'm eager to get started on A Clash of Kings, which is what we will be reading for this month and June, as hosted by Cassie!

This book was read as part of this read-along. Join us!