Jun 28, 2016

Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Rating
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I know I'm late to the party. I'm not a big fan of political books or traditional fantasy, but Game of Thrones is so much more than the sum of it's parts. I got addicted to the show, and then had to read the books.
Synopsis In the Game of Thrones, power can change hands in the blink of an eye. Robert Baratheon is king of Westeros married to Cersei, the only daughter of Tywin Lanaster, and content in his heir apparent Joffery. He travels from the Southern Kingdoms to the North to enlist his boyhood friend's aid. The Seven Kingdoms are at peace but, "Winter is coming" as Lord Eddard, Ned, Stark is quick to point out. Danger seethes both within the Kingdoms and without: to the North the Others, along with Mance Rayder and the Wildling horde; to the East the last of the Targaryen house, the previous royal house Robert rebelled against and won; as well as the sudden death of the King's Hand, Jon Arryn. Ned decides to accept being the King's Hand and travels south with his two daughters. A decision that has lasting consequences for everyone in the Seven Kingdoms. Characters The cast is massive. Everyone is a complete character with motivations, parts to play, but also interests of their own. Tyrion Lanaster is my favorite character both in the book and on the show. He's smart, a master of the sarcastic arts, and has all the makings of a proper villain. Most characters are victims of their own making; their virtues or vices lead them into dire consequences. The houses that are important are the Lanaster, Targaryen, Baratheon, Stark, and to a lesser extent Tully. But there are important characters that aren't in houses, and Castle Black where house loyalties are supposed to be left behind when the person takes the Black.
World Martin is in the top bracket when it comes to world building. Like Tolkien and Rowlings, he could write textbooks on the history, myths, religions, and science of his world. In fact, he could probably create a large series of factual textbooks. No question, Tolkien is king of world building--fantasy didn't exist before him. But Martin masters world building in a way most authors don't bother with. There are hints of a larger world than the story that is being told in every aspect of this book. An author once called these clues "red shoes", and I love that image of a tantalizing hint of a past or story untold. Red shoes: Andels, the Children, the Old Gods, the New Gods, The Wall, the Kings of the North, and the Dothraki garden of fallen gods are just a few of the things never delved into that I would find interesting reading. Pacing Pacing was the downfall of this book. Because there is so much world building and establishment of place, the immediacy and tension in the story suffers. Minor characters and places are described ad nauseum, the mystery of John Arryn's death takes way too long to solve, and the daily lives of Arya and Sansa are largely unimportant but are well established in this book. But since this a first book it can be a slower pace as world takes precedence.
Writing The writing itself was a let down, from the detailed scene descriptions I thought sex and body descriptions would be more graphic. But other than three sex scenes, a bathing scene and a post coital scene the novel is surprisingly tame when it comes to sexual content. And the scenes themselves weren't overtly erotic. I realize this is a first book, so I'll let the emphasis on world building and character introduction go, but the lack of emotional connection was unnecessary. The conflicts between characters are more vivid and finely wrought than the positive emotional connections. Dani and her husband's building connection is barely touched it's sacrificed for the conflict between her and her brother. John and Sam's friendship is two scenes, but the conflict between John and Thorne is reinforced in several scenes. The book focuses more on the hate than the love, except between John and Aria. I actually liked that relationship. Plot The plot is a big part of the story so, I'll not give it away. I will say the main plot for the entire series is about Who controls the Iron Throne, and with it the Seven Kingdoms. The subplot for this book focuses on Castle Black and the dangers winter brings.
The Good The world building is epic and detailed. The plot full of twists and sufficiently grand for a saga. The characters are very realistic, even the minor ones. Dialogue is very quotable.
The Bad Pacing was inconsistent with some relationships glossed over or barely touched for the sake of brevity, but some scenes were left in and described in utter detail that took way too long for the action that took place. The writing was very factual, the minute details described in the tourney for example made it extremely vivid, but emotional scenes lacked depth.
Recommendations
Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
Yes, if I was late talking about Game of Thrones, then recommending Harry Potter to a post Potter world is even more timely. However hear me out, if you haven't read the books, i.e. only watched the movies, then you are missing out. Rowling builds a world brick by brick that is filled with depth, history, and magic. She takes an entire page to describe the contents of the sweets shop. That's why I picked them to recommend in addition to Game of Thrones. Because she doesn't just tell you Harry's story, she makes you live in the Wizzarding World without having to go to Universal theme park.
Kushiel's Dart
This book is more in line with Game of Thrones as it is dark, adult themed and political. It is also a very decent series. The world is full of plots and subplots that Phedre has to navigate.

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