lucis

A Game of Thrones

I recently finished reading A Game of Thrones. This is the first book of the series titled A Song of Ice and Fire by George R R Martin. The series is supposed to have six(!) books of which three have been released.

While the book reminded me a bit of Tolkein's LOTR, it is so perhaps because LOTR is the only other fantasy novel that I've read. This is very different from LOTR in almost every possible way!

Instead of trying to describe it myself, here is an amazing summary:

"Imagine a feudal kingdom on a massive continent in a world filled with many cultures and half-legendary lands and an ancient history. Imagine a time where dragons once lived but magic is now dwindling, yet the seasons can be long or short, bringing glorious summers or terrible winters that last years at a time. Imagine a massive iron throne from which seven kingdoms are ruled, with false knights and true all gathered about it in hopes of blood or glory or profit, and shadows behind it pushing the pieces that make up the game of thrones." - westeros.org

One thing that makes this series different from the rest in fantasy genre (and the reason why I like it so much) is the dark and heavy story line. There are no happy endings, fun times, amusing magic etc. Characters that you think would be central to the story die all of a sudden. Martin breaks away from the trite fantasy stereotype, and creates a masterpiece as a result.

Another great aspect of the book is that the characters are neither good nor bad. The story is told from the point of view of several characters. In one chapter a character seems "bad", while in the next we understand the story from his POV, and see the reason behind his actions. This is so unlike most other fantasy stuff, particularly Tolkein.

I have started with the second volume in this series, A Clash of Kings, and cant stop thinking about this amazingly detailed world MArtin has created for us to enjoy.

Read it!