A Game Of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

How do I describe A Game of Thrones? Simply put, it is a journey – and a remarkable one at that. This is my first adventure into high fantasy aside from Tolkien, whom I consider to be almost a genre of his own. I was so very pleasantly surprised with Martin’s writing and story telling ability.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book at first and it almost became a “did not finish” about 200 pages into it. But when it picks up, it really picks up. I can see how this is almost expected with the beginning of a high fantasy tale. There’s so much to set up! A Game of Thrones is the story of exactly what the title is. It is the story of numerous families playing “a game” or battling for the throne. But the story is so much more than just that. Martin’s strong point is his character development.

The chapters are each titled after a character in the book and center around that character while drawing in other characters and connecting story lines. Martin tackles epic scenes, beautiful landscapes, fierce battles, politics and relationships all with a mastery of storytelling. The further I got into the book, the more I attached myself to the individual characters. Where at the beginning I was invested in two or three character, I was invested in nearly all of them by the end of the book. My favorite of his characters may be Jon, the bastard child of Lord Eddard Stark and Daenerys, the wife of Khal Drogo. Quite remarkable characters and a beautiful story.

So much more than just a fantasy tale. What we get here is true human drama and everything involved with it – death, pain, happiness, sorrow, betrayal, love, lust, jealousy and all of those other emotions. I will definitely be picking up book number two in the series, A Clash of Kings.

While not really related to the story line, I enjoyed Martin’s description of how dragons came to be and I’d like to share it with you:

“Once there were two moons in the sky, but one wandered too close to the sun and cracked from the heat. A thousand-thousand dragons poured forth, and drank the fire of the sun. That is why dragons breathe flame. One day the other moon will kiss the sun too, and then it will crack and the dragons will return.”