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A review by laylalozada
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
First, I would like to say that the book contains a lot less rated R content. Second, this book and the world within is a lot more sumptuous and in-depth than the show ever was. Lastly, this book is told from the POV of the important characters within this story.
I have read books 1-4 before, so I will try to avoid spoilers. Throughout all the books, you get to read events from the POV characters. In the first book, we get the characters Ned, Catelyn, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Jon, Daenerys, and Tyrion. I won't be making a review with content regarding the events of the story, since it had been years since the first book, and since the TV show aired and ended. Instead, I will give my insight regarding the characters, writing, and world-building of the Song of Ice and Fire.
I would like to first dive into my favorite POV characters: Arya, Sansa, and Daenerys. I know that this seems controversial considering that a lot of book readers and show watchers are not necessarily the biggest fans of their chapters (or scenes in the show) with most calling it "Boring" to "Typical". However, I found that these chapters are ones I found myself looking forward to, mainly because Arya, Sansa, and Dany are going through something that we all must go through at some point in our life, growth. Out of all the characters, they're the ones with the most major changes occuring in their lives and I think it made their POV more in-depth and necessary to the course of the story. Jon is also one of the characters I really loved, but I didn't look forward to his chapters as much as Dany's though. But any mention of Jon by Ned or Bran, you could see that GRRM had been hinting early on regarding his true parentage. Heck, even Dany's chapters are riddled with hints. This intentionality warrants the fact that everything GRRM writes is with deeper meaning and purpose to his story.
While it has been noted by most that Martin writes with intentionality, he also has a great gift when it comes to depicting the world around the characters. To write it so descriptively that it seems almost as if the world is welcoming you to leap unto the pages and into the world. Almost as if, you, yourself are in the world of Ice and Fire. Not only that, you can understand that a lot of GRRM's writing has a lot of real-life connotations, such as the misogyny that the female characters experience and how it is prevalent in society, and the supposed metaphor of the Others symbolizing the on-going threat of climate change. ASOIF is not violent and misogynist for the sake of glorifying the wrongs, but it is so to hold up a mirror and show readers just how real it can be. To quote GRRM “I don’t think Westeros is more misogynistic than what we call real life history.” And as a woman, I agree with this sentiment. I have grown up being educated in history and politics, and to this day misogyny still plays a part. That being said, Westeros is the misogynist, not the books itself or the writer.
I discovered the books through the show and it is a bit embarrassing to admit that I first read the books, because of the show. Yet, the more I read and found myself falling down the rabbit hole of conspiracies and established writing, I found it more easily to say that I love the books more than I ever will love the show despite its impressive feat. I know that a lot of critics of the book series argue that the books are only famous, because of the show, however with or without its well-deserved fame and praise, the book series is a literary masterpiece.
Therefore, I would recommend this to anyone who would interested in reading
I have read books 1-4 before, so I will try to avoid spoilers. Throughout all the books, you get to read events from the POV characters. In the first book, we get the characters Ned, Catelyn, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Jon, Daenerys, and Tyrion. I won't be making a review with content regarding the events of the story, since it had been years since the first book, and since the TV show aired and ended. Instead, I will give my insight regarding the characters, writing, and world-building of the Song of Ice and Fire.
I would like to first dive into my favorite POV characters: Arya, Sansa, and Daenerys. I know that this seems controversial considering that a lot of book readers and show watchers are not necessarily the biggest fans of their chapters (or scenes in the show) with most calling it "Boring" to "Typical". However, I found that these chapters are ones I found myself looking forward to, mainly because Arya, Sansa, and Dany are going through something that we all must go through at some point in our life, growth. Out of all the characters, they're the ones with the most major changes occuring in their lives and I think it made their POV more in-depth and necessary to the course of the story. Jon is also one of the characters I really loved, but I didn't look forward to his chapters as much as Dany's though. But any mention of Jon by Ned or Bran, you could see that GRRM had been hinting early on regarding his true parentage. Heck, even Dany's chapters are riddled with hints. This intentionality warrants the fact that everything GRRM writes is with deeper meaning and purpose to his story.
While it has been noted by most that Martin writes with intentionality, he also has a great gift when it comes to depicting the world around the characters. To write it so descriptively that it seems almost as if the world is welcoming you to leap unto the pages and into the world. Almost as if, you, yourself are in the world of Ice and Fire. Not only that, you can understand that a lot of GRRM's writing has a lot of real-life connotations, such as the misogyny that the female characters experience and how it is prevalent in society, and the supposed metaphor of the Others symbolizing the on-going threat of climate change. ASOIF is not violent and misogynist for the sake of glorifying the wrongs, but it is so to hold up a mirror and show readers just how real it can be. To quote GRRM “I don’t think Westeros is more misogynistic than what we call real life history.” And as a woman, I agree with this sentiment. I have grown up being educated in history and politics, and to this day misogyny still plays a part. That being said, Westeros is the misogynist, not the books itself or the writer.
I discovered the books through the show and it is a bit embarrassing to admit that I first read the books, because of the show. Yet, the more I read and found myself falling down the rabbit hole of conspiracies and established writing, I found it more easily to say that I love the books more than I ever will love the show despite its impressive feat. I know that a lot of critics of the book series argue that the books are only famous, because of the show, however with or without its well-deserved fame and praise, the book series is a literary masterpiece.
Therefore, I would recommend this to anyone who would interested in reading