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

Mar 12, 2015 Armand rated it it was amazing

Shelves: genre-sci-fi-fantasy, genre-modern-classic, on-my-kindle, source-kindle, read-2015, read-2016

Pretty much the Citizen Kane of contemporary epic fantasy. It seems to draw on the best of the past to synthesize something powerful and new (or at least "new-ish") in fantasy. I see shades of Shakespeare (Hamlet and Macbeth) and also- from the sci-fi trope- Dune. In fact the first book of Song of Ice and Fire reminds me a lot of the first 1/3 of Dune. It seems as though stories about bloody intrigue between royal families (along with the accompanying sex, warfare and class struggle) never goes Pretty much the Citizen Kane of contemporary epic fantasy. It seems to draw on the best of the past to synthesize something powerful and new (or at least "new-ish") in fantasy. I see shades of Shakespeare (Hamlet and Macbeth) and also- from the sci-fi trope- Dune. In fact the first book of Song of Ice and Fire reminds me a lot of the first 1/3 of Dune. It seems as though stories about bloody intrigue between royal families (along with the accompanying sex, warfare and class struggle) never goes out of fashion.

Martin brings this game to a higher level, however, by humanizing his characters and embracing shades of moral ambiguity. True, he does have characters who are unnervingly good and people who are completely evil, but enough of his characters sit somewhere between, thus keeping things interesting. As Little Red Riding Hood says in "Into the Woods": "Nice is different than Good", so you have people who are civilized and proper but who are morally bankrupt. You have people (Like our first book's hero, Ned Stark) who are doggedly honorable but also lack any real tolerance and flexibility.

Also- and this is what distinguishes it from a lot of popular fantasy, he is more willing to explore the everyday nuances of these characters' lives. People in Conan novels don't complain about lousy food. People in Dune don't enjoy sex. People in the Lord of the Rings don't sweat through their clothes.

I approached A Game of Thrones with some trepidation. Since my mid-30's, and after I had kids, my tolerance for pain and misery has been much reduced (I pretty much avoid horror movies, for example), but my wife (who is even more reluctant to read descriptions of terror and torture and harm to babies) assured me that the plot and writing made it worthwhile. In the end, I agree and, actually, in many ways, A Game of Thrones is LESS dark than Lonesome Dove (the Epic (sorta) Western which had become my frame of reference for all long dark novels of the human soul, and which won the Pulitzer in '85). True Game of Thrones has beheadings, and the deaths of too many good people, and a terrifying rape culture, but Lonesome Dove prominently also features the deaths of many good people, slavery, child-stealing, torture, live-scalping, one major hero who dies sadly, another man who could make a difference but who voluntarily, appallingly withers away, and (finally) a man having his genitals cut off and shoved into his mouth as he slowly dies. I think a lot of that got left out of the Lonesome Dove miniseries.

Also, for each horrible event and sad passing in A Game of Thrones, there are moments of hope, comedy (I was surprised by the many funny moments), and acts of great compassion. The comedy, hope and compassion are further highlighted and carry a greater impact because they are framed against terrible events.

side note: Having written all that, I would not blame anyone who was turned off by the scale of pain and misery in A Song of Ice and Fire.

Also like Lonesome Dove, Moby Dick, (and my other touchstone modern novel), The Thorn Birds, A Game of Thrones is what I think of as a "marathon novel". It is long and requires a certain level of endurance on the part of the reader. If the novel isn't strong or well put-together, then we hate the book all the more for being bad and long. Very long books tend to expose an author's weaknesses, and therefore the author has to up their game.

But certain novelists can put together page after compelling page, using a fine blend of plotting, suspense, good writing, thoughtful detail, geographic exploration (you CANNOT have a great big book without a great sense of the geography and terrain, sorry, just not possible; the land itself must become a character), and finally (yes) painful human heartache to carry us along, and Martin is one of those writers.

I look forward to the next one! ...more

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Aug 08, 2008 Brendan rated it it was amazing

The single best fantasy novel there is. It's the start of a truly epic series with a great ensemble cast. It also does a great job of being very adult, very dark, and relentless in who the author is willing to sacrifice to make a great story. This was the first book by George R. R. Martin that I've read and I'll read anything by him now. ...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Joan rated it it was amazing

can anyone tell me what was the promise eddark stark made to his dieing sisters? and why was she captured?? was she really captured or did she go willing??? what's up? ...more

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May 30, 2012 Brianne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

It was very tv series worthy. I have to admit at this point that I saw the show first, and for the most part the show was extremely accurate. All props go to the book however.

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Feb 04, 2012 Red The Book Nerd rated it really liked it

Wonderful book. Can't wait to read the rest of the series! ...more

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Jul 30, 2008 Aaron rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, fantasy, fiction, d-d5e

By far my favorite fantasy series to date. Gone is the grand quest and the pervasiveness of magic. Instead, Martin's complex political intrigues, characterizations, startling plotting, and detailed realism actually did show me something I hadn't seen in fantasy up to this point. ...more

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Sep 10, 2008 Kelly rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

This book makes you want to roll up your sleeves and delve into the depth of it. The characters are rich and the plot unfolds slowly and swallows you whole .A rare gem out there in a sea of books.

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