A Game Of Thrones - 4/5

Having been a big fan of the wonderful TV series for a while now, I thought it was about time I tackled this massive series of books (no, literally - they are massive). A Game Of Thrones is the first book in the series known as 'A Song Of Ice and Fire' by fantasy author George R. R. Martin, and has been hailed as the next generation of  epic fantasy literature. It is reminiscent of a lot of high fantasy classics in many ways, but also puts it's own solid stamp on the genre and leaves an impression that is not likely to fade away any time soon.


A Game of Thrones is rather hard to summarise briefly, but i'll give it a go. I'm afraid i'll have to rely on a bit of prior knowledge though, because I could be here all day describing the story and characters and probably still not be done. The story is set in the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos and follows a number of different families and their place in the continual battle for the 'Iron Throne' and the right to control the world that they live in. I would tentatively say that the main families followed are the Starks, the Baratheons, the Lannisters and the Targaryens. But by all means, don't assume that they are the end all of the story - this is the kind of book that you could happily write a thesis on if you wanted to. Each family has it's own problems and struggles to face and their stories intertwine in ways that you might originally not expect.

As the first book of a series, a lot of A Game Of Thrones is introducing and establishing the characters and the world in general. This is generally done rather well, although as you might expect of a book with more than 800 pages, it is a bit wordy at times. It's easy to follow though, and rarely gives out too much information at once, preferring to reveal important details slowly and steadily. The pacing is much the same, good and steady with lots happening, especially since there are three completely separate narratives happening all at once with little to connect them, other than what I am going to talk about next.

One of the books real strengths is it's narrative style - each chapter is told from a different character's POV, 8 different ones in total in the first book. I am told this cast increases greatly as the series progresses, which sounds like it will be really interesting. It helps move the story along as  even though the perspectives are 3rd Person, we are seeing inside a lot of different heads at once and often seeing multiple points of view on the same situation. I do wish we could have had a chapter from Cersei Lannister's point of view as I find her a fascinating character and would love to know more about her, so hopefully that is coming soon in future books (no spoilers though please!).

One of the things that sets this book and this series in general apart from more traditional fantasy is that it really tries it's best to be more realistic. Or as realistic as you can be in fantasy literature anyway. Magic and fantastical races or creatures take a large back seat and the focus is placed more on corrupt politics, family relations and human struggle. This is a major part of what sets it aside from Lord of the Rings for me, which is what I was sort of expecting when I started it. I shouldn't have made assumptions - they're not very alike at all, aside from the fact that Sean Bean dies horrifically in both screen adaptations of them and they both have over-sized wolves that are more than a little bit terrifying.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this series and finding out more and more about the immense world  it is set in. Lots of things are left open and waiting to be explained, and Daenerys's story in particular really interests me. I will be reviewing the other books in the series as I reach them :)

I would give this book 4 stars out of 5 

- Natalie