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nelsta 's review for:
A Game of Thrones
by George R.R. Martin
Some call George R. R. Martin the “American Tolkien.” When they do so, I have to imagine they’re referring to his world building and storytelling skills. Martin is not Tolkien, but he’s probably the closest thing to Tolkien that the United States could produce.
Many of Martin’s characters were superbly written. Lord Eddard Stark, Jon Snow, and Tyrion Lannister were some of my favorites. But one character—a fan favorite—was so poorly written that it just about ruined the book for me. Daenerys Targaryen, allegedly a symbol of female power and ability, amounted to little more than a misogynistic figment of Martin’s sex-starved imagination. If I could cut Daenerys’ chapters from the book, I would probably do so and replace those pages with a Reader’s Digest summary of what they had contained.
The world of Westeros is wonderful. This shows George R. R. Martin at his best. I love that it is low-fantasy. Magic, dragons, and non-human fey are things of the past in his world. This makes it feel much more grounded and historical. Martin writes about knights, tourneys, castles, and religion in a way that feels authentic despite the tinge of fantasy. It’s genius.
The story of Game of Thrones is obviously compelling. It was adapted into the most influential television show of the 2010s, which bent world pop culture to its will like the fictional Targaryen king, Aegon the Conqueror. I’ve seen the show and, despite that, I was still enthralled by the story. Oh that I could have read it without Daenerys’ chapters. (Martin’s penchant for describing his female characters in the most derogatory terms possible isn’t limited to Daenerys, but that is where it is most common.)
I found that the audio recording of A Game of Thrones didn’t include nearly as much foul language as I had anticipated. I’m not sure if it had been censored, but I found that pleasantly surprising. Overall, this is five-star material poisoned by Martin’s misogyny.
Many of Martin’s characters were superbly written. Lord Eddard Stark, Jon Snow, and Tyrion Lannister were some of my favorites. But one character—a fan favorite—was so poorly written that it just about ruined the book for me. Daenerys Targaryen, allegedly a symbol of female power and ability, amounted to little more than a misogynistic figment of Martin’s sex-starved imagination. If I could cut Daenerys’ chapters from the book, I would probably do so and replace those pages with a Reader’s Digest summary of what they had contained.
The world of Westeros is wonderful. This shows George R. R. Martin at his best. I love that it is low-fantasy. Magic, dragons, and non-human fey are things of the past in his world. This makes it feel much more grounded and historical. Martin writes about knights, tourneys, castles, and religion in a way that feels authentic despite the tinge of fantasy. It’s genius.
The story of Game of Thrones is obviously compelling. It was adapted into the most influential television show of the 2010s, which bent world pop culture to its will like the fictional Targaryen king, Aegon the Conqueror. I’ve seen the show and, despite that, I was still enthralled by the story. Oh that I could have read it without Daenerys’ chapters. (Martin’s penchant for describing his female characters in the most derogatory terms possible isn’t limited to Daenerys, but that is where it is most common.)
I found that the audio recording of A Game of Thrones didn’t include nearly as much foul language as I had anticipated. I’m not sure if it had been censored, but I found that pleasantly surprising. Overall, this is five-star material poisoned by Martin’s misogyny.