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A review by annasirius
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
5.0
After spending years of occasionally reading reviews of this book on amazon or goodreads and forever remaining sceptical, and after watching the first episode of the TV series and finding it somewhat oversexualised, I eventually gave the kindle sample a try. And I was positively surprised.
I agree with the critics that a) the story line is nothing new and b) some of the more intriguing characters - Tyrion Lannister, his brother Jaime and their 'Hound' - have not been given much room. However, this is an ongoing series, so I daresay there's enough room in the following books. I already reserved volume 2 in the local library. The story, while the typical political scheming, is well thought through and surprising in its twists and turns.
The strength of the book lies in its wealth of characters and its psychological finesse. There is no black or white as in most fantasy publications. One chapter you may despise a character, the next, in a different situation, you grudgingly admit that they showed themselves from a better side. Some characters remain obscure for a long time. Trained as the good fantasy reader that you are, you try to determine whether they are nice or evil, on the right or on the wrong side, only to realise that perhaps there is no such thing as the right side and said character might be quite clever to pick allies depending on the occasion. I have to say, Tyrion Lannister is thus a rather interesting - and on top entertaining - figure.
George R. R. Martin manages to combine two different perspectives in fantasy: the macro-perspective of epic battle fantasy (e.g. The Malazan book of the fallen or The Black Brotherhood) that I often find lacking in believable, detailed characterisation and the character-driven books à la Kingkiller Chronicles. While the author introduces multiple perspectives, each of these is given room enough so that the reader can connect with the person through whose eyes they look. That might be risky when he adopts the views of 7 years old boys or arrogant, oblivious teen girls, but for me it worked surprisingly well. It also allowed a bit of a reprieve when events were getting too 'uncomfortable'. When one character committed some folly, another a few thousand miles away could still fare better and raise the (in other words my) overall morale.
I rarely award 5 stars. There is a lot in this first volume that is merely hinted at, looming as the big threats in the background. The author has yet to use the full potential of his world. Sometimes it's better to leave a lot of room for the reader's own imagination; that Martin has done quite cunningly. I hope the following volumes keep the promises of the first.
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Re-read 2019 (Audiobook)
I enjoyed the book, but not the narrator. He's a good narrator but not a good actor. In a book with a diverse cast in which two thirds of said cast are young or female (or both), it was very grating to only hear old men. With the same speech pattern.
I agree with the critics that a) the story line is nothing new and b) some of the more intriguing characters - Tyrion Lannister, his brother Jaime and their 'Hound' - have not been given much room. However, this is an ongoing series, so I daresay there's enough room in the following books. I already reserved volume 2 in the local library. The story, while the typical political scheming, is well thought through and surprising in its twists and turns.
The strength of the book lies in its wealth of characters and its psychological finesse. There is no black or white as in most fantasy publications. One chapter you may despise a character, the next, in a different situation, you grudgingly admit that they showed themselves from a better side. Some characters remain obscure for a long time. Trained as the good fantasy reader that you are, you try to determine whether they are nice or evil, on the right or on the wrong side, only to realise that perhaps there is no such thing as the right side and said character might be quite clever to pick allies depending on the occasion. I have to say, Tyrion Lannister is thus a rather interesting - and on top entertaining - figure.
George R. R. Martin manages to combine two different perspectives in fantasy: the macro-perspective of epic battle fantasy (e.g. The Malazan book of the fallen or The Black Brotherhood) that I often find lacking in believable, detailed characterisation and the character-driven books à la Kingkiller Chronicles. While the author introduces multiple perspectives, each of these is given room enough so that the reader can connect with the person through whose eyes they look. That might be risky when he adopts the views of 7 years old boys or arrogant, oblivious teen girls, but for me it worked surprisingly well. It also allowed a bit of a reprieve when events were getting too 'uncomfortable'. When one character committed some folly, another a few thousand miles away could still fare better and raise the (in other words my) overall morale.
I rarely award 5 stars. There is a lot in this first volume that is merely hinted at, looming as the big threats in the background. The author has yet to use the full potential of his world. Sometimes it's better to leave a lot of room for the reader's own imagination; that Martin has done quite cunningly. I hope the following volumes keep the promises of the first.
-----
Re-read 2019 (Audiobook)
I enjoyed the book, but not the narrator. He's a good narrator but not a good actor. In a book with a diverse cast in which two thirds of said cast are young or female (or both), it was very grating to only hear old men. With the same speech pattern.