Book Review: A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

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Book Review: A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

The following review was written in September 2000 and is being reposted here as part of a project to gather all my reviews into one location.

George R. R. Martin is a well-established writer. He isn’t known for writing Fantasy though so I was curious about this book. Keeping with longstanding fantasy tradition it’s a big book and it’s the first part of a series. When I bought it I was under the impression that it was going to be a trilogy. Turns out that its actually going to be 6 books! If they’re all this big then that’s a very long story indeed.

“A Game of Thrones” is set in a fairly traditional fantasy world populated by various nobles, some peculiar magic creatures and lots of history. However, it takes a very different tone to most fantasy sagas. Martin is particularly interested in the political machinations of the various noble families. His characters live in a very brutal world.

In a book this size there are obviously a lot of major characters, however the story largely revolves around two groups, the Stark family and the daughter of the recently overthrown (and executed) King. These two plot strands remain entirely separate for the entirety of this book, but there are strong hints that that will change in future books.

His old friend, the current King, appoints Eddard Stark as Hand. He travels down from his home in the North to the South where the Kings court is. Once there he gradually uncovers a plot against the King, but despite his best effort things continue to deteriorate.

Meanwhile in the North, beyond the wall something strange is stirring. Is it connected with the Stark words “Winter is coming”?

This book is wonderfully intricate. There is lots of foreshadowing throughout the book that on first reading doesn’t appear to be significant. Throwaway lines turn out to have considerable importance.

The characters in the book are as rich as the settings. Martin does not go in for good and evil. People are greedy, foolish, cunning, noble and many combinations of these things. He even manages to find a few nice things in the most unpleasant of characters.

Another interesting thing is that it seems to be the most noble characters, which suffer the most. Frequently as a result of their own foolishness. Flexibility is more useful than honour when it comes to surviving in this world.

There’s a lot more to this book than I’ve covered in this review. There are several other plot strands for a start, but I don’t want to go into too much detail in case I spoil the book for those who haven’t read it. There are many things alluded to in this book which I suspect will become much more significant as the series progresses.

So we have a rich detailed world, complex characterisation, intricate plotting and quality writing. What more could you possibly want in a book?