Everyone at work is talking about the TV show Game of Thrones, so I thought I’d watch it. But before watching it, I thought I’d like to read the book first. Sometimes the book is very different from the TV show or movie based on it.
A Game of Thrones (the book) is part of a series of books about the same characters. So far, there are 5 books in this series, and 2 more are said to be forthcoming. The stories take place in what I would call the Middle Ages – knights, castles, kings, queens, and so forth – except that it isn’t set in Europe, or even Earth. Martin has created a whole other world to contain these characters, places, and events. Luckily, the parallels aren’t that hard to pick up. The main action takes place on a land mass called Westeros (which would be Great Britain on Earth), and some action also takes place on the land mass to the east, called Esteros (Eurasia). My guess is that Martin did this because he wanted to write about Middle Ages-type stuff, but didn’t want to be handcuffed by actual history.
The book shows events through the eyes of several of the principal characters. Different characters see things in different ways, which is interesting. Here are the main ones:
• Eddard Stark is the lord of Winterfell, a castle that rules book-Scotland. He’s a heroic and powerful warrior and leader, who helped his friend Robert defeat the evil king 15 years earlier. Robert is the King now, which is fine with Eddard. But King Robert now wants Eddard to become his right-hand man (think: COO) and run things for him, so he can concentrate on getting drunk and impregnating barmaids with illegitimate children. Eddard agrees, in order to help the kingdom. Eddard is noble and law-abiding, so you can be pretty sure he’s going to get it in the neck at some point. You can’t let people like that become king!
• Catelyn Stark is Eddard’s wife, a lady of another noble house herself. Her main concerns are caring for her five children, and shunning Eddard’s bastard son, Jon. She’s also worried about Eddard, and for good reason. She’s shrewd, brave, and capable: she’d make a good queen.
• Sansa Stark is the oldest daughter, in love with the idea of dashing knights, noble deeds, and fashionable clothes. She wants nothing more than to marry King Robert’s son Joffrey, become a Princess, and eventually Queen. She’s basically clueless, and by far my least favorite character, even including the guy whose job is beheading people.
• Arya Stark is the youngest daughter. She essentially wants to be a medieval ninja, and she’s pretty good at it. She has no patience with Sansa, clothes, sewing, or any of that nonsense. She’s my favorite character. I could read about her all day.
• Bran Stark is the middle son. He’s a happy-go-lucky kid who loves climbing the walls and towers of Winterfell, where, unfortunately, he one day sees something he shouldn’t have. Then he becomes less happy and far less go-lucky.
• Jon Snow is Eddard Stark’s bastard son, conceived in extremely mysterious circumstances. He mixes with his half-siblings well, but Catelyn sees him as a constant reminder of Eddard’s infidelity. He makes up his mind to leave Winterfell, and strike out on his own. He’s a smart and tough kid who understands a great deal, and cares about people.
• Tyrion Lannister is the brother of Queen Cersei and of knight extraordinaire Jaime Lannister. Tyrion is a dwarf, excluded from and mocked by society. He is very shrewd and clever in succeeding in difficult situations. His sister and brother are scheming to get the kingdom away from Robert and anyone else in their way, but his aims are far more modest: a relatively normal life. I like him next to Arya. It’s always interesting to see what he’s up to.
• Daenerys Targaryen is the daughter of the evil king who was defeated by Eddard and Robert. Her brother Viserys considers himself the rightful king, and acts like it. They live on other people’s charity in Esteros, exiled from Westeros forever. Viserys has a scheme to marry barely-teenaged Daenerys to Khal Drogo, a Genghis Khan kinda guy who commands legions of mounted warriors. Viserys wants Drogo's men to fight to regain the kingdom of Westeros for him, and doesn’t really care if he has to sacrifice his sister to do it. Daenerys is tougher and more resilient than he imagines, however, and matters take a very different turn from what Viserys plans. Her story goes in a direction I never imagined.
By the end of the book, one of the above characters is dead. Unfortunately, it’s not Sansa. Lots of other people die, too. It’s that kind of book, or maybe that kind of society.
Besides the knights, battles, political intrigue, and sexual shenanigans, there’s some other weird stuff going on. Seasons last for years in this land, sometimes decades. And it looks like winter is coming, which could mean decades of snow, cold, famine, death, lawlessness, and other unpleasant things.
Plus, I hate to drop the z-word, but there seem to be some distinctly formerly dead folks roaming around up north.
Not to mention some beasts that are definitely mythical on Earth, but aren’t quite so mythical in Westeros.
I knew that this was part of a series when I started reading it, but I was still disappointed when this book ended with a whole passel of cliffhangers. Not disappointed in the sense of, Oh, boy, I can’t wait to start the next book to see what happens. More like, Wait, I have to wade through another 500-page book just to see what happens – and that one no doubt ends in a cliffhanger too – and the series isn’t really done: he could string us along for years.
So, while I enjoyed A Game of Thrones (the book) and look forward to watching Game of Thrones (the TV show), I don’t know if I’ll keep reading the books. We’ll see. I do want to see how Arya’s doing.
Recommended if you like people saying, “My liege” and drawing their blade from its scabbard.
A Game of Thrones (the book) is part of a series of books about the same characters. So far, there are 5 books in this series, and 2 more are said to be forthcoming. The stories take place in what I would call the Middle Ages – knights, castles, kings, queens, and so forth – except that it isn’t set in Europe, or even Earth. Martin has created a whole other world to contain these characters, places, and events. Luckily, the parallels aren’t that hard to pick up. The main action takes place on a land mass called Westeros (which would be Great Britain on Earth), and some action also takes place on the land mass to the east, called Esteros (Eurasia). My guess is that Martin did this because he wanted to write about Middle Ages-type stuff, but didn’t want to be handcuffed by actual history.
The book shows events through the eyes of several of the principal characters. Different characters see things in different ways, which is interesting. Here are the main ones:
• Eddard Stark is the lord of Winterfell, a castle that rules book-Scotland. He’s a heroic and powerful warrior and leader, who helped his friend Robert defeat the evil king 15 years earlier. Robert is the King now, which is fine with Eddard. But King Robert now wants Eddard to become his right-hand man (think: COO) and run things for him, so he can concentrate on getting drunk and impregnating barmaids with illegitimate children. Eddard agrees, in order to help the kingdom. Eddard is noble and law-abiding, so you can be pretty sure he’s going to get it in the neck at some point. You can’t let people like that become king!
• Catelyn Stark is Eddard’s wife, a lady of another noble house herself. Her main concerns are caring for her five children, and shunning Eddard’s bastard son, Jon. She’s also worried about Eddard, and for good reason. She’s shrewd, brave, and capable: she’d make a good queen.
• Sansa Stark is the oldest daughter, in love with the idea of dashing knights, noble deeds, and fashionable clothes. She wants nothing more than to marry King Robert’s son Joffrey, become a Princess, and eventually Queen. She’s basically clueless, and by far my least favorite character, even including the guy whose job is beheading people.
• Arya Stark is the youngest daughter. She essentially wants to be a medieval ninja, and she’s pretty good at it. She has no patience with Sansa, clothes, sewing, or any of that nonsense. She’s my favorite character. I could read about her all day.
• Bran Stark is the middle son. He’s a happy-go-lucky kid who loves climbing the walls and towers of Winterfell, where, unfortunately, he one day sees something he shouldn’t have. Then he becomes less happy and far less go-lucky.
• Jon Snow is Eddard Stark’s bastard son, conceived in extremely mysterious circumstances. He mixes with his half-siblings well, but Catelyn sees him as a constant reminder of Eddard’s infidelity. He makes up his mind to leave Winterfell, and strike out on his own. He’s a smart and tough kid who understands a great deal, and cares about people.
• Tyrion Lannister is the brother of Queen Cersei and of knight extraordinaire Jaime Lannister. Tyrion is a dwarf, excluded from and mocked by society. He is very shrewd and clever in succeeding in difficult situations. His sister and brother are scheming to get the kingdom away from Robert and anyone else in their way, but his aims are far more modest: a relatively normal life. I like him next to Arya. It’s always interesting to see what he’s up to.
• Daenerys Targaryen is the daughter of the evil king who was defeated by Eddard and Robert. Her brother Viserys considers himself the rightful king, and acts like it. They live on other people’s charity in Esteros, exiled from Westeros forever. Viserys has a scheme to marry barely-teenaged Daenerys to Khal Drogo, a Genghis Khan kinda guy who commands legions of mounted warriors. Viserys wants Drogo's men to fight to regain the kingdom of Westeros for him, and doesn’t really care if he has to sacrifice his sister to do it. Daenerys is tougher and more resilient than he imagines, however, and matters take a very different turn from what Viserys plans. Her story goes in a direction I never imagined.
By the end of the book, one of the above characters is dead. Unfortunately, it’s not Sansa. Lots of other people die, too. It’s that kind of book, or maybe that kind of society.
Besides the knights, battles, political intrigue, and sexual shenanigans, there’s some other weird stuff going on. Seasons last for years in this land, sometimes decades. And it looks like winter is coming, which could mean decades of snow, cold, famine, death, lawlessness, and other unpleasant things.
Plus, I hate to drop the z-word, but there seem to be some distinctly formerly dead folks roaming around up north.
Not to mention some beasts that are definitely mythical on Earth, but aren’t quite so mythical in Westeros.
I knew that this was part of a series when I started reading it, but I was still disappointed when this book ended with a whole passel of cliffhangers. Not disappointed in the sense of, Oh, boy, I can’t wait to start the next book to see what happens. More like, Wait, I have to wade through another 500-page book just to see what happens – and that one no doubt ends in a cliffhanger too – and the series isn’t really done: he could string us along for years.
So, while I enjoyed A Game of Thrones (the book) and look forward to watching Game of Thrones (the TV show), I don’t know if I’ll keep reading the books. We’ll see. I do want to see how Arya’s doing.
Recommended if you like people saying, “My liege” and drawing their blade from its scabbard.
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