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A review by hckilgour
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This book is very good but it being 807 pages long makes it a bitch to get through. Though it does also help make its slow burn aspects well planned.
Ned as a character frustrated me. He was so blinded by being honorably that he died for it. Like there was very little awareness of the world around him and that not everyone was like him. He easily could’ve avoided death by literally paying attention.
Catelyn was another frustrating character. Her mostly because she’s useless and her only function in the book is the be “the perfect wife and mother”. And yet she fails terrible at it! Like when she sitting with Bran she refuses to eat or leave. Then at the drop of a dime she’s tramping across the world to tell Ned about a rumor more or less.
Bran was just boring. He didn’t do a damn thing. He was just a way to show what was happening in Winterfell and it showed.
I did laugh a bit at Jon’s character in the first hundredish pages. Actually all the children in that part of the book. You could see there was a learning curve Martin went through with writing children and it best shows with Jon. First at the feast he acts like he’s 8. Then with Arya he acts like he’s 40. Then the rest of the book he acts his age.
Dani… oof. I forgot just how creepy her marriage to Drogo was. Like she’s 13… can you not. And I took a lot of issue with her wedding night scene. She’s 13, terrified, and has never had sex. Yet suddenly she’s horny and very into being fingered. Like… bruh, that is not how that works. Also the dragons suckling from her at the end… like how does home girl have nipples anymore?!
Ned as a character frustrated me. He was so blinded by being honorably that he died for it. Like there was very little awareness of the world around him and that not everyone was like him. He easily could’ve avoided death by literally paying attention.
Catelyn was another frustrating character. Her mostly because she’s useless and her only function in the book is the be “the perfect wife and mother”. And yet she fails terrible at it! Like when she sitting with Bran she refuses to eat or leave. Then at the drop of a dime she’s tramping across the world to tell Ned about a rumor more or less.
Bran was just boring. He didn’t do a damn thing. He was just a way to show what was happening in Winterfell and it showed.
I did laugh a bit at Jon’s character in the first hundredish pages. Actually all the children in that part of the book. You could see there was a learning curve Martin went through with writing children and it best shows with Jon. First at the feast he acts like he’s 8. Then with Arya he acts like he’s 40. Then the rest of the book he acts his age.
Dani… oof. I forgot just how creepy her marriage to Drogo was. Like she’s 13… can you not. And I took a lot of issue with her wedding night scene. She’s 13, terrified, and has never had sex. Yet suddenly she’s horny and very into being fingered. Like… bruh, that is not how that works. Also the dragons suckling from her at the end… like how does home girl have nipples anymore?!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, and Cursing