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

A Game of Thrones

George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones presents a complex tapestry of characters that populate a world where the seasons are measured in decades. Eddard Stark is lord of a northern clan that sits at the foot of an ancient wall. When he is called upon to take a high position in the King’s court, he is warned about the fate of those who play the “Game of Thrones”, but his sense of duty compels him to accept the duty, thus beginning a series of events that will leave the kingdom fractured just as old enemies begin to marshal across the sea and beyond the wall.

Martin has a wonderful talent for description, and his fantasy kingdom is populated by an incredibly diverse cast of characters. Everything from armor and weapons to architecture to foods to clothing is described in loving, meticulous detail. The story itself is told from the point of view of many different characters. Martin captures the voices and outlooks of all of them, and even the “villains” are depicted as people whose motivations we can understand. In fact, there really aren’t “villains” here, or all that many “heroes”. The world is harsh and brutal, and the characters need to be ruthless just to survive.

Martin holds nothing back in terms of violence and bloodshed, working for a realistic feel that gets away from the sterilized flavor of some high fantasy epics. There is a bawdy element to the writing as well, with a sprinkling of sex to spice up the narrative. In fact, this book is really high fantasy only in the sense of its epic scope. There is little magic, and the non-human races exist mostly as legends of times long past. Mostly this book focuses on people, their actions, and the consequences of those actions.

The character of Eddard Stark really holds the book together, and the complexity and depth of his character is central to the story. His wife Catelyn was not quite as appealing, as she makes some questionable decisions that leave the reader wondering a bit. Martin does do a great job with Eddard’s bastard son Jon Snow, who gives us a look at the Night Watch, the brotherhood who guard the wall against the dangers to the north. Also very appealing is Tyrion Lannister, the deformed son of the Queen’s family, whose vulgar attitude and clever approach to life make him instantly likeable. Eddard’s daughters figure prominently in the story as well. They are stereotypes ( the princess and the tomboy), but forgivably well written. Scrappy little Arya makes it almost impossible not to cheer for her as she secretly learns the art of swordsmanship. Sansa is written to be disliked initially, but I actually found her in some ways more interesting than Arya and I look forward to seeing her story continue. There are dozens of other characters, some of them with major roles and some with just a few scenes, and the reader is likely to have many favorites among the cast.

And continue the story will. In spite of a rather rushed attempt to come to “stopping points” on two major plot threads, this book really does not even pretend to resolve anything. This is really not a novel in itself, but rather the first big chapter in a very long novel. There are plot developments from the first pages of the book that have hardly moved forward at all by the end, and there are new twists being introduced in the last few chapters.

Readers should be ready to be in for the long haul when they pick this up. Fortunately, Martin’s writing makes that long road very enjoyable all that way through this novel.