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A review by troacctid
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Been ages since I've re-read this one. A lot has been said about A Game of Thrones. It's grim, and violent, and there are too many damn names and places to remember, and you have to wade through a lot of dull political intrigue before you get to the good bits. Not a light read at all. The good bits are legitimately good, though. Big highlights are Tyrion escaping the Eyrie and recruiting the Mountain Clans , Jon Snow burning the wight , and of course Ned Stark losing his head . Unfortunately, the mystery of Jon Arryn's death is a major focus of Ned's chapters and it's really not compelling. At all. And it's not even resolved! We don't find out who did it until way later in the series! It really drags the book down.
And I do need to complain about the way GRRM vomits out lists of side characters' names without actually establishing anything memorable about them, and then expects you to remember them again when they reappear, without recapping who they are. I know there's the saying about Show Don't Tell, but the problem is that Martin has a bad habit of Neither Showing Nor Telling and just expecting you to constantly flip over to the appendix, which isn't even especially helpful. I say this as someone who actually does know all the characters at this point! There are too damn many characters!
But I have to give the first book credit for setting up pieces that end up being knocked down in very satisfying ways later. Books 2 and 3 are better.
And I do need to complain about the way GRRM vomits out lists of side characters' names without actually establishing anything memorable about them, and then expects you to remember them again when they reappear, without recapping who they are. I know there's the saying about Show Don't Tell, but the problem is that Martin has a bad habit of Neither Showing Nor Telling and just expecting you to constantly flip over to the appendix, which isn't even especially helpful. I say this as someone who actually does know all the characters at this point! There are too damn many characters!
But I have to give the first book credit for setting up pieces that end up being knocked down in very satisfying ways later. Books 2 and 3 are better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood