A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin - 3 stars

[Joy D]

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin - 3 stars

Action-oriented dark fantasy about a patriarchal society of the seven kingdoms of Westeros. The focus of this first book is on the Stark family: Lord Eddard Stark, his wife Catelyn, their five children and Eddard's illegitimate son Jon. They live in Winterfell, a cold land of the north, and march under the banner of the direwolf, a fantasy creature larger and more ferocious than a wolf. Their relatively peaceful life is interrupted by a visit from Eddard’s close friend, King Robert Baratheon. He asks Eddard to serve as “The Hand of the King,” which involves relocating to the King’s castle. The previous “Hand” has died under questionable circumstances. It is an enthralling tale of honor, lies, deception, conspiracies, liaisons, treachery, and intrigue.

I have not seen the HBO series, so I felt I had missed out on this cultural phenomenon. I decided to rectify the situation by reading this first of a seven-book epic series comprising A Song of Ice and Fire. I came away understanding how the lands and characters have captured the imagination of many. The world-building is elaborate and detailed. The sights, sounds, smells, textures, tastes are vivid. It reminded me of medieval times, where male dominance takes center stage. The author spends a great deal of time laying the foundation for what is to come. For example, a significant portion of the story revolves around the Stark children. They are told stories of wars, previous kings, old lands, and how their world came to be, which informs the reader as well.

I enjoyed the structure of the book, related in alternating perspectives of representatives of the Stark, Lannister, and Targaryen families. It made it easy to digest the narrative in manageable chunks. I read it slowly in order to fully immerse myself into this fantasy world, where the current summer and coming winter will last for many years. It does not contain much in the way of magic or mythic beasts, though there are a few. Some of the characters’ storylines (Jon, Tyrion, Daenerys) are more interesting than others (Sansa, Bran), but all shed light on the complexities and layers of this fantasy world.

My primary disappointment with this book is in its treatment of women. The female characters in the book are wives, mothers, children, sex objects, prostitutes, or pawns to be used in marrying into a prestigious family. Females in this book are given very little agency. Even the queens are subservient to male authority. Extremely young girls are the preferred sexual partners (as young as twelve). Women are primarily used to set up scenes for the men to engage in action. I thought the author missed an opportunity to establish a strong female character in a primary role. I have not yet read the sequels so perhaps this comes later (Daenerys shows promise). I haven’t decided whether to continue the series. On the one hand, I’ve spent many hours with this 800+ page book, learning the world, the houses, and characters, which are numerous and hard to keep straight at times. (The author provides a helpful list of family members in the Appendix.) On the other hand, it is filled with such constant violence and gruesome scenes that it gets tiresome. I am not sure if I am too keen to read about more heads on spikes or another gang rape justified as “the spoils of war.” There are too many content warnings for sensitive readers to list them all but suffice it to say this book is intended for a mature audience and is not a young adult fantasy.

I have heard this book compared to Lord of the Rings, but to me, it’s does not even come close to the magnificence of the Tolkien masterpiece. To be fair, I have not read the entire series of A Song of Ice and Fire, so it’s a bit premature for me to draw such a conclusion. I liked parts of it but didn’t love it. Recommended to fans of dark fantasy, or those, like me, that want to keep up with culturally relevant works.

Link to my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Nicole R]

You should stop the series now and call it a day. The other books are more of the same.

Plus, it is INTENDED to be a seven book series. Only five have been published. My money is on Martin kicking the bucket before he finishes the series...

[Nicole R]

The show is obviously extremely violent, but it is so well done. I also think they choose to highlight the strong women more. There is still a lot of raping and pillaging, but there are some BA women in the show.

[Joy D]

Thanks for the info, Nicole! I still haven't watched the show. I am not a visual media person - I don't watch much TV and only a very few movies. Obviously, reading interests me much more. :-)

[Theresa]

This is an incredibly complex series and you have not even met all the characters yet, and most characters including the women and children, evolve over time. The period of the books are vaguely medieval, something else to remember. I came to the books first, absolutely love them., then the HBO series which can actually stand on its own. Perhaps I should mention generally read very little in any fantasy genre? For me these appeal the same way historical fiction reading does, ones set during war. If you do not want to read books with warfare, this series is not for you.

Oh and warning: the title A Storm of Swords tells you everything you can expect from page one to page 1100 or so.

[KateNZ]

I’m with Nicole. I read four of the books, starting with fangirl raving and then with gradually diminishing enthusiasm. Started #5 but gave it up. Am addicted to the TV series though - I rarely watch anything on TV but that was a sacrosanct night for me!

[Joy D]

I read lots of books with warfare, so the war part is not the issue. It's the treatment of women. I didn't find any women to relate to in this one. I am still on the fence about reading more of the books. I am hoping some of the comments will help me decide. I know lots of people love these books and the TV series. In my rating system, 3 stars means I liked it.

[KateNZ]

The women gradually come more into their own (and some turn out brilliantly) but I know exactly what you mean. It’s an irritating feature of the story

[Joy D]

KateNZ wrote: "The women gradually come more into their own (and some turn out brilliantly) but I know exactly what you mean. It’s an irritating feature of the story"

Good to know it improves in this department. Thanks, KateNZ!

[Joanne]

I am an epic fantasy gal, and I absolutely loved the tale-have read the first three twice- then realized he is no hurry to finish the series, which annoys me-the women and girls do evolve through out the books. I am not a visual media person either, so have never watched the show. I say you try one more before you give it up!

[[deleted user]]

I am not a big fantasy girl, but I loved Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. I have wondered about this series for some time and I have not watched the show. Wonderful review by the way. I'm still on the fence with it.

[Critterbee❇]

I love almost all sub-genres of fantasy, especially high, contemporary, urban, historical, romantic, steampunkish, magical, sword and sorcery, and fairytale. I read the first book, and could not continue with this series - too violent and absolutely reprehensible treatment of female characters. 214 rapes in the series by book 5? That averages to about 42 per book.

These are not historic accounts of actual events (thankfully), but rather a scene that has been consistently written into the experiences of the characters in a fantasy book. In a world where an author can make anything happen, this is what we get. It just is not for me.

[Jgrace]

Critterbee❇ wrote: "I love almost all sub-genres of fantasy, especially high, contemporary, urban, historical, romantic, steampunkish, magical, sword and sorcery, and fairytale. I read the first book, and could not co..."

Thank you for this. I read the first book and got about 1/2 way through the 2nd. The excessive violence was beginning to wear on me so I put it aside. I did think I might go back to it. Now I won't be tempted.