A Game of Thrones
No. 1 in the A Song of Ice and Fire series
by George R. R. Martin
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Bantam (New York): 1996. Paperback: 835 pages. ISBN-10: 0-553-57340-3 Suggested retail price: $6.99 (US) Tags: Fantasy; ice; kings; ravens; swords; wolves Tactical strength: [9/10] |
Martin creates a fairly typical feudal world populated with castles, kings, lords, serfs, tournaments, and religious organizations. The "Hand" of the king--literally the king's right hand man--has died and the king selects Eddard Stark as the new Hand. Stark moves part of his family to court and finds himself in the center of more political intrigue than he ever imagined existed. The intrigue culminates in the death of the king and a war ensues for who will rule the kingdom. Martin also follows the children of the previous King as they plot a revolution.
Don't be put off because the setting and plot sound like a typical fantasy. Martin's characters drive this story. I often tire easily in a fantasy story where the characters have high morals and never waver from their course in the book. Martin's characters all have faults, act impulsively on occasion, and exceed their capabilities on others. Truly, I haven't read characters this round in a long time.
And although you can predict the general outcome of the plot, Martin does not take a straight path from the beginning to the end. I literally turned page after page wondering, "What will happen next!" Martin pulls many surprising twists and turns in the plot, but when you reflect on the events, you have to admit that the preceeding events predict the consequential events. Martin might seem to throw a few red herrings, but these all play key roles in the plot at some point.
Although A Game of Thrones does end at a logical point, Martin obviously planned this book as a series and leaves many threads of the story without a conclusion.
