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

Game of Thrones by George R.R Martin
Published in August 2005 by Bantam Spectra

About the book
The first volume of A Song of Ice and Fire, the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. GAME OF THRONES is now a major TV series from HBO, starring Sean Bean.

Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.

As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.

The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.

My Thoughts:
I am a huge fan of the HBO series Game of Thrones and honestly I was a little scared to pick up the books.  Normally I would have devoured them the minute I fell in love with the show, but I love the show so much that I was terrified I would hate it by the time I was finished with the book.  I think every series that I have read that has been turned into a TV show has been so far off the mark that it just really turned me off from either the show, book, or in some cases both so I decided not to pick up the books.  Well after the season finale of the third season of Game of Thrones I just couldn't stand it any longer.  I need to know where this series is going!  I finally picked up the first book in the series (I did do some research to make sure the book was somewhat like the show) and OMG I loved it!  This is the first time where the show has followed the book 100% and I am one happy reader!

If you haven't seen the show or heard about it then think Gladiator (you know the one with the hottie Russell Crow) but dirtier, sexier, and deadlier.  This book is like nothing I have ever read before and I have read quite a few fantasy novels.  George R.R. Martin is fearless with his characters and he will pretty much do whatever he wants regardless of his poor readers hearts.  This first book is a good example of that.  One of my favorite characters is pretty much decimated in this one and it shows me I really need to guard my heart.

If you have seen the show then I can guarantee you will love the books.  They really did a phenomenal job at keeping things the same, but what I like better about the books is that I can hear or rather read everything.  Sometimes it was hard for me to hear who the characters in the show were talking about so being able to read who is who and what is going on really helped me and I even uncovered a few things that I missed in the show.  That is one of the big reasons why I am so glad I decided to start from the beginning and not just grab the book that would be the fourth season.

This world is so gritty and dark.  You really have to understand that the setting is completely different and so long ago or you will be uncomfortable.  The characters in this are young and I mean thirteen years old and what they go through is not easy and downright horrific at times I won't lie.  If you can get past that then what lays underneath is a spellbinding world that has many many ribbons of truth, lies, deceit,  and murder. 

The one big difference though was Catelyn Stark.   I really liked her in the show, she was a fierce mother trying to protect her family.  In the book she is downright selfish, irresponsible, and rash.  Her actions caused so many of the fall outs that occurred and I find myself hating her.  By the end she does know in her heart that she caused the war, but that doesn't help the situation any.  I am really curious how my feelings toward her will change with the next few books since I know what lays ahead for her.

Now my favorite character is Tyrion and Dany.  They are my favorites in the show so it is good to know that I still love them in the books.  I cannot wait for their story lines to explode.  So much happens in this book that I couldn't even begin to start a summary.  Which is one of the reasons why I love this.  I love to get lost in a world where everything is happening at once and you never know what will happen next.

If you are looking for something intricate and wonderfully written then this book is for you!

5 suns