Book Review: A Game of Thrones
A Game of Thrones, by G. R. R. Martin
In anticipation of HBO’s adaptation of Martin’s first book in his A Song of Ice and Fire, I decided to reread it. But what I wasn’t expecting or planning was that I going to be completely and thoroughly engrossed. Again.
True, it has been several years since I last read the first three books in this sprawling and over-populated fantasy epic. But my memories of it the first time around included the sheer intensity of the various plot-lines coupled with remarkable dramatic realism of the various main characters who “narrate” the book. Arya and Tyrion are still my two favorite characters, and Sansa - who I had partially forgotten - is still the irritating older sister with delusions of romantic love, her role as a young woman, and court life in King’s Landing. Although I was more than just irritated by her during the first half - and that’s putting it mildly - I will go so far as to say that she’s a great character. Not a favorite of mine, personality-wise, but her journey is certainly intriguing considering the situation in which she ends up.
On this second reading, I’m also happy to report that this is an even better book. My only criticism from back in 2005, when I read this last, was that there were too damn many minor characters to keep track of. And which often distracted me from the main plot-lines. (Flipping back and forth between the narrative and the appendix at the back was less helpful, and more disorienting, and it could be jarring as it would break my concentration on the scene at hand.) But now I’m finding myself much more interested in the minor characters, as well as impressed by the level of detail that Martin has been able to go in his many concisely written brief descriptions and fleeting scenes - Bran running stop the walls of the Keep of Winterfell. Not to mention the youngest Stark, Rickon, who is a perfect example of a very minor character that is remarkably fleshed out, although he appears in less than two entire pages in the nine-hundred and seven pages of dense text. And I could go on and on, but I would end up being a verbose as Martin.
It is no exaggeration to say that Martin has been dubbed the American Tolkien. He is. But his brilliance as a fantasy writer lies less in the fact that he follows in Tolkien’s footsteps, as so many American fantasists do so poorly (Jordan, Goodkind, and Brooks come immediately to mind), but in the fact that he relies much more heavily on the Ancient and Medieval history and politics - most notably the War of the Roses and the transition of the Roman Republic into an Empire.
Without hesitation, I look forward to July 12th when A Dance with Dragons is (finally) released. In the meantime, I’m well underway with A Clash of Kings - which I told myself that I would only reread before that was broadcast next year on HBO -- and then A Storm of Swords before my second reading of A Feast for Crows in as many months.
In anticipation of HBO’s adaptation of Martin’s first book in his A Song of Ice and Fire, I decided to reread it. But what I wasn’t expecting or planning was that I going to be completely and thoroughly engrossed. Again.
True, it has been several years since I last read the first three books in this sprawling and over-populated fantasy epic. But my memories of it the first time around included the sheer intensity of the various plot-lines coupled with remarkable dramatic realism of the various main characters who “narrate” the book. Arya and Tyrion are still my two favorite characters, and Sansa - who I had partially forgotten - is still the irritating older sister with delusions of romantic love, her role as a young woman, and court life in King’s Landing. Although I was more than just irritated by her during the first half - and that’s putting it mildly - I will go so far as to say that she’s a great character. Not a favorite of mine, personality-wise, but her journey is certainly intriguing considering the situation in which she ends up.
On this second reading, I’m also happy to report that this is an even better book. My only criticism from back in 2005, when I read this last, was that there were too damn many minor characters to keep track of. And which often distracted me from the main plot-lines. (Flipping back and forth between the narrative and the appendix at the back was less helpful, and more disorienting, and it could be jarring as it would break my concentration on the scene at hand.) But now I’m finding myself much more interested in the minor characters, as well as impressed by the level of detail that Martin has been able to go in his many concisely written brief descriptions and fleeting scenes - Bran running stop the walls of the Keep of Winterfell. Not to mention the youngest Stark, Rickon, who is a perfect example of a very minor character that is remarkably fleshed out, although he appears in less than two entire pages in the nine-hundred and seven pages of dense text. And I could go on and on, but I would end up being a verbose as Martin.
It is no exaggeration to say that Martin has been dubbed the American Tolkien. He is. But his brilliance as a fantasy writer lies less in the fact that he follows in Tolkien’s footsteps, as so many American fantasists do so poorly (Jordan, Goodkind, and Brooks come immediately to mind), but in the fact that he relies much more heavily on the Ancient and Medieval history and politics - most notably the War of the Roses and the transition of the Roman Republic into an Empire.
Without hesitation, I look forward to July 12th when A Dance with Dragons is (finally) released. In the meantime, I’m well underway with A Clash of Kings - which I told myself that I would only reread before that was broadcast next year on HBO -- and then A Storm of Swords before my second reading of A Feast for Crows in as many months.