Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones (Book 1) – George R.R. Martin

I should first state that I am not a fan of the Fantasy and/or the Science Fiction genre (I only group them together because I’ve noticed that most who really love one, tend to also love the other).  The only reason I read this book was, well, the same reason a lot of people read this book, and that was because they’re a fan of the HBO series.  I actually never even started watching the show until after season five was over.  Like most, I was incredibly impressed with the series.

Watching the show, however, contained a lot of frustrating elements if you’re not a big fan of “Fantasy”.  Where does this world exist?  What is its history?  Why do the “seasons” seem to last several years instead of only a few months?  Where do the creepy White Walkers come from?  Well, these are things that you really shouldn’t try too hard to understand.  Doing such a thing takes away much of the joy, and one should just relax and be entertained.  One shouldn’t worry about, when watching “Star Wars” for example, why “The Force” can tell you when a planet is being blown up a bazillion miles away, yet it can’t tell you when you’re kissing your own sister.

The biggest frustration when watching the show is the multitude of major and minor characters that parade in and out of the scenes.  There’s so many people to keep track of, and they all have lengthy histories before the story ever even starts.  So we have to assimilate all of the different kingdoms, the different players (all with “Fantasy” names – no Doug, Skip, or Mary), all of the arranged marriages, all the incestuous relationships, all the children born out of wedlock, etc.etc.   If you’re new to the show, I would recommend watching with the Closed Caption feature turned on – it’s really helpful to keep all of the players in order when you can read all of the names as well as hear them as the dialogue is being spoken. 

Which is why this book is so handy and welcome.  Reading this book allows you to revisit the story that you already know, but at a slower pace.  I actually learned a lot about the characters that, while I’m sure the show told me, were told in such a quick manner that it was quickly lost on me.  It’s easy to follow some of the main characters – Tyrion, Eddard, Cersie, and Jamie, but when you get to all the minor ones and what their exact roles are in this epic yarn, it helps to have it all written down.  I now know, for example, a lot more about the character of Theon Greyjoy, and don’t refer to him in my head only as “the guy that looks like Mick Jaggar” - which I did up until about Season 3.

Still, though, even the book is weighted down with too many characters.  Fortunately, there is a handy “who’s who” in the back of the book that aids one tremendously, but such references are quite hard to access when reading a story on an E-book, such as I did.

The plot?  Well, from what I can tell, there are seven kingdoms in this fantasy world, but the kingdom of Kings Landing is the kingdom that rules all the kingdoms.  Obviously, all of the kings think that they’re the rightful heir to this throne, so the “Game of Thrones” consists of armies and kingdoms constantly at war, negotiating, battling and marrying their offspring to form alliances.  It’s a big complicated game, all right, and not something too different from the history of our own world.  There’s also some elements not familiar to our world that appear from time to time – we have dragons, white walkers, and “stone” people that all tend to complicate things, but make for a better overall story.

The first book is essentially season one.  The show doesn’t deviate much at all from the book, which I think is a good thing in this case.  As I’m writing this review, there have been five books written, and five seasons of the show, so I’m guessing they match up pretty evenly.

Had the show not been so brilliantly done, I don’t think I ever would have bothered to pick up the book, but there’s a reason that the series is as highly regarded as it is.  The scenery in itself is incredibly beautiful and majestic, and the acting is first rate.  Of course, there’s a lot of blood, even more violence, and even more explicit sex.  But that’s HBO for you.

If you love the show and want “more”, these books (at least volume 1) will provide it.  Even though there is very little in the books that didn’t make the cut to film, having such a book that details such fantasy worlds are welcome, if anything, to aid you in your overall understanding of this make believe place.