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Ruel's Reviews > A Game of Thrones
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)
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My wife and I binge-watched the first two seasons of HBO's Game of Thrones before I decided to read the A Song of Ice and Fire series. Since I'd watched the TV show first, I knew that my perception of the characters would be skewed toward the actors playing them. I couldn't help but picture Sean Bean as Eddard Stark or Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister.
After finishing the first volume, A Game of Thrones, I can say that the initial TV season is faithful to the book. There's blood, honor, deception, political intrigue, and a whole lot of fascinating characters (in fact, sometimes too many) as they try to take the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms.
At times, the epic historical feel of the book slowed the pace to a crawl. I could do without all of the So-and-So, Son of Who's-This, Slayer of That-Guy prose. The handy appendix (!) that lists the lineage of each house should've been sufficient.
Still, this is epic fantasy writing on every level. I loved how each chapter is written from a single character's point of view; the plot is weaved expertly throughout the novel. I also appreciated that A Game of Thrones wasn't overwhelmed by dragons, magic, or other fantasy genre tropes. The characters drive the story, with just enough action to satisfy sword-and-sorcery fans. I'm only one book and two TV seasons into this series, but I'm ready for more. Much more.
After finishing the first volume, A Game of Thrones, I can say that the initial TV season is faithful to the book. There's blood, honor, deception, political intrigue, and a whole lot of fascinating characters (in fact, sometimes too many) as they try to take the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms.
At times, the epic historical feel of the book slowed the pace to a crawl. I could do without all of the So-and-So, Son of Who's-This, Slayer of That-Guy prose. The handy appendix (!) that lists the lineage of each house should've been sufficient.
Still, this is epic fantasy writing on every level. I loved how each chapter is written from a single character's point of view; the plot is weaved expertly throughout the novel. I also appreciated that A Game of Thrones wasn't overwhelmed by dragons, magic, or other fantasy genre tropes. The characters drive the story, with just enough action to satisfy sword-and-sorcery fans. I'm only one book and two TV seasons into this series, but I'm ready for more. Much more.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
July 2, 2015
–
Finished Reading
July 7, 2015
– Shelved
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Jason
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rated it 4 stars
Jul 07, 2015 05:17PM
Good review of a damn good book!
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Jason wrote: "Good review of a damn good book!" Thanks! I just started A Clash of Kings and I'm ready for all of my favorite characters to bite the dust.
Adam wrote: "Excellent review." Thanks, Adam!
Ruel wrote: "Jason wrote: "Good review of a damn good book!" Thanks! I just started A Clash of Kings and I'm ready for all of my favorite characters to bite the dust."Book two and three were really good. I just finished four and it lacked what the others had. Action, I guess. But it was meant to be the first half of book five, so I suppose it would read better if all put together...but that would be one hell of a long book. Ah, it doesn't really matter, because at this point it's not like I'm not going to read them.
Nice! I'm only half way through this, but it's pretty much awesome.
