Book Cover

When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.

# Review

I watched the hit TV show and now I’m reading the source material after being disappointed by the past few seasons of the show (although, to be fair, the last couple of seasons are separate from the books). This is the first novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire franchise and takes place in a fantastical realm where noble families are vying for power and control.

Martin’s fiction is realistic and in depth. His world building rivals that of Tolkien in its background lore. Martin offers in depth descriptions of everything, from the buildings to the characters; the world that Martin weaves is realistic enough to be relatable but with enough fantasy elements to be enthralling. The story is told from the perspective of many characters and Tolkien does a great job of distinguishing between each character’s voice and building up each character’s personalities and development. As with Tolkien’s work, Martin’s story is a vast web of expanding plotlines; maybe it’s because I watched the show, the storylines are not overly confusing and I was able to follow along despite taking a pause in between when I started this book and when I finally finished it.

I really like Martin’s prose as it reminds me of Frank Miller’s prose in comics like Sin City, which is easily accessible but also has enough depth to be interesting, especially the conversations between the characters. My favourite aspect of the story has to be the realpolitik power struggle in between the major factions influenced by the Wars of the Roses. Martin’s prose makes the central conflicts very comprehensible and exciting. As with the TV show, the book is also filled with violence and brutality, which is done tastefully and contributes to Martin’s gritty tale.

# Conclusion

An gripping fantasy novel.

# Overall rating: 8.4

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