Let's eat Grandpa!

For August, I’m participated in Read My Own Books Month, hosted by Michelle at That’s What She Read. 

A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin

Source: Personal copy
Recommended: by the boyfriend, the Steve Betz, and others
Finished: 8/28/11
Rating: 9 out of 10
Publisher: Bantam
Pages: 720
Published: 1996
Awards: Locus Award – Best Novel (Fantasy)

Synopsis (from Publishers Weekly): In a world where the approaching winter will last four decades, kings and queens, knights and renegades struggle for control of a throne. Some fight with sword and mace, others with magic and poison. Beyond the Wall to the north, meanwhile, the Others are preparing their army of the dead to march south as the warmth of summer drains from the land. When Lord Stark of Winterfell, an honest man, comes south to act as the King’s chief councilor, no amount of heroism or good intentions can keep the realm under control. 

Overall Impression: Seeing the final Harry Potter movie put me in the mood for something EPIC. Several people recommended the Song of Ice and Fire series, beginning with A Game of Thrones. I put it on my library hold list…and waited…and waited. Then the boyfriend and I decided to start the (highly graphic) HBO miniseries and finally I couldn’t wait anymore so I just bought the darn book.

So happy that I’d watched a couple of episodes of the HBO series before I got started. Of course I was spoiled on a few things, but having a visual for the large cast of characters made it effortless for me to keep everyone straight and was worth the spoilers.

I was completely sucked into this book, and enjoyed almost everything about it. The plot was highly developed and rarely went where I thought it was going to go. Visually, it came alive, despite countless different settings and a host of different characters. The characters themselves were multi-faceted — no one was all good, no one was all bad (though most leaned one way or the other and I spent most of the book wanting to wallop Joffrey upside the head), but they all seemed to stay true to the motivations Martin created for them. The rotating point-of-view narrator worked so well, keeping everything fresh. I loved that the whole thing felt more real than fantasy, like this world was not so far removed from our own history. I think that it would appeal to those who teeter on the edge of whether or not they like fantasy.

Best of all (at least for me…this might be worst of all for other readers), Martin is not afraid of breaking any of the “rules” of the genre, which meant that I was on my toes the entire time, and more than once I went “WHAAA!?” and immediately texted the boyfriend to make sure I had read it right.

If I didn’t have a stack of review copies piling up next to my bed, I’d dive right into A Clash of Kings. Sad day, it will have to wait for a bit.

Positives: Multi-layered characters, a fantastical-yet-realistic setting, a plot that kept me interested all the way through. It never felt like a nearly 800-page book.

Negatives: There were a few characters that I thought got a little gypped in this book, though I’m sure they’ll be explored more further on in the series. Some readers might find it too violent and sexually graphic.

Other books I’ve read by George RR Martin: none

Other blogger opinions:

Fyrefly’s Book Blog: “And the best part is that so many of the characters are neither good guys nor bad guys, but somewhere wonderfully meaty and fascinating in between.”

S. Krishna’s Books: “It’s not so foreign that it will turn people off, nor is the magic so over the top that it allows characters to get out of any difficult situation.”

As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves: “This world has fascinating religious, moral, political, and military maneuverings around every corner, and Martin handles them all perfectly.”