A Song of Ice and Fire Series by George R.R. Martin Review

Fiction

Series

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.

Completion: A+
Writing/Style: A+
Characters: A+
Plot/Pacing: A+
World-building/Atmosphere: A+
Sub-genres (Romance, Humor, Mystery, etc.): A+

Final Grade: A+ Get Thee to a Bookstore!

     I’m trying to give out my A+’s scarcely, but  I couldn’t give it any less. For this series, I did everything wrong: I spoiled myself on all of Book I and the Red Wedding, I put it down for months at a time, and I watched the TVshow as I read the books. What that all boils down to is the talent of George R.R. Martin. His world is vast and fantastical, his characters gritty and real, and his plot both elegantly weaved and littered with history and plot twists. I have never seen a book pull off so many point of view characters before, and I believe that is largely due to the size of the world and Martin’s television experience. Each chapter has an arc and a gripping cliffhanger, forcing the reader to become invested in at least the events in that part of the world if not the character itself. These books are tomes, easily three or four books in length, and worth every word. George R.R. Martin knows all the things. That person in the background that doesn’t have a name? George knows all about them. That meal they had? George knows exactly what was served and how it was made. That folklore of that minor character? He knows the tale, the reality, what each character thinks of it, and all the songs about it.
  Now, I’ll warn you now that on top of getting a great arm workout and being on an emotional rollercoaster, there are a LOT of characters. Screw those memory exercise games: try Game of Thrones. So, this is probably the only time I will recommend watching an adaptation before the original. Now, I’m not recommending you watch all of it! That would be blasphemous, but I would recommend watching the first episode. It’s a great way to see if you will like the series and puts a face to the top twenty or so characters that you will be following.
As all of you probably know by now, Martin is not afraid to kill off characters. But he’s also not afraid to make them complex. As readers we begin to better understand Queen Cersei and sympathize with the Kingslayer. We laugh and cry and hold on to our seats and yell to the sky. In the beginning of the series, I was really good at not getting attached to any of the characters, but, as I continued to read, my reserve began to slip. For example, without giving too much away, in Book II there came a point when I shipped Arya and Gendry and the next page something terrible happens. Goddamnit, George! So…get ready to say that a lot. Also, am I the only person who loves the Hound? Just curious…
Personally, I have been pretty fortunate because I only found out about the series a couple of years ago so I won’t have to wait as long for the next book to come out. If you haven’t read them already, now would be a great time to start.