A Game of Thrones - My thoughts on this wonderful book
I have finally just completed A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin, the first book in the saga: A Song of Ice and Fire. I would consider myself a fairly easy to please reader and I never let myself get too enthralled in books or characters therein. I just might have to reevaluate my stance on this. I have never been more entertained while reading a book of this nature. Martin creates a whole world in the first book in this series that he should be able to write 20 books about. He definitely took a long while to develop the history, lineage and other details of this world. There are some aspects of the story that need to be overlooked like the age of the characters. Most of the people in this book are in their teens or younger. Also, typical of the era, pillaging and raping of women occurs frequent as well as extremely controversial descriptions of 12-13 year old sexual relations. It’s not something unheard of in other stories, but Martin does write in a cruel and realistic way, so this subject matter may not be suitable for young eyes, or those who are easily offended. Other than that, this masterpiece is a success.
The world that Martin has created is a touch of Tolkien and a touch of genius. Martin’s style of writing this series in a POV (point of view, or from the characters own eyes only) format works perfectly. Each chapter follows a character and their observations, thoughts and actions during the novel. We are given insight into their history and their upbringing to help us understand and develop the character in our minds. A lot of other attempts at POV sometimes make the story monotonous and difficult to believe, but because of the vast number of characters, Martin executes the POVs with precision. In addition to the POVs, the attention to detail is right up there with Tolkien, but knocked down a little so as not to overwhelm the reader. At times, I felt Tolkien was way too verbose, but Martin seems to know when not to overdo it. I enjoyed learning about the characters and their histories, but personally, I never felt like I had to bite off more than I could chew.
There’s also the hinting of magic and mysticism in Martin’s novel. It’s not as prevalent in other fantasy stories, but believe me, when it rears its ugly head, it is very impressive. Martin does not carve a typical Wizard or Sorcerer into this story, but yet, he does not leave us aching for more. I also really enjoyed Martin’s bravery of the path he took each character. The outcome of each person’s story is nothing you could have expected. There are plots, sub-plots and twists like nothing you’ve ever seen. Martin also has no fear of killing off any character in the book, heroic or evil.
I guarantee, if you pick up this book, it will change your perspective of this genre.
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