Thursday 1 November 2012

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin


A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)

Goodreads Summary: Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to 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. 
Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. 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.

Why I Read This Book: Initially, I had marked this book as 'To-read' without thinking too much about it. I knew it was popular, and it sounded good, so fine. Then I decided to make it a 2012 TBR Reading Challenge book on the list I officially made for that. I owned the first book, and that was what I had based making that list on. I put it off and put in off in favor of shorter books. Then, I had some friends start raving about the TV show, and I wanted to watch too. But, I said no Jessica, read the books first. So I am. I always figured I would like the book but for some reason I was not overly excited to read it (old-timey fantasy is not one of my 'normal' genres).

Review: Wow, this book was fantastic. It was extremely detailed, and have several different sub plots which helped you get to know the characters better. I am not normally drawn to fantasy books, but I have read a few and liked them all (with the exception of when I tried to read The Hobbit, but I think I was too young for it when I started that). Often I prefer to watch fantasy things that read them. I loved Harry Potter, Narnia, Fablehaven as books and movies, but they were written for a younger audience. I often find with fantasy books for adults that they are SO detailed that I lose interest and find them a bit boring. I did not find this with A Game of Thrones at all, it was exciting pretty much right from the beginning. I think it helped that you didn't really need to keep TOO many characters straight, as is often the case with massive world building novels. Since there was about 8 different POV's the book was told in, you got an indepth look at the 5-6 characters that were closest to them, and I was able to keep most everyone straight.

I don't want to say much about this book, because I don't want to give anyone spoilers, but even if you think this isn't "your kind" of book, I would still give it a try because it is seriously a great read. It's pretty long thought, just under 900 pages, and its only the first of a long series! It goes without saying (but I will say it, because that's kind of how a blog works) I really look forward to A Clash of Kings! (book 2)

Rating:

3 comments:

  1. These are ones that've never really appealed to me. Fantasy is always a weird genre for me. The more I hear about them, though, the more I'm wanting to at least give them a try!

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  2. I would at least try it! I thought it was great, and you can always stop if you aren't enjoying it (even though I know that can be hard!)

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  3. I love the whole series of Game of Thrones :)

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