Title: A Game of Thrones
Series: Song of Ice and Fire #1
Author: George R.R. Martin
Pages: 806
Genre: Fantasy
Buy from: TheBookDepository / Amazon

Summary:

  Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to.
   Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones. (goodreads.com)

When I first started reading the book (and later watching the show) I did not know anything about it, except that there was a guy called Jon Snow, who had great hair and always seemed sad (thanks tumblr gif-makers), and that Sean Bean was playing Ned Stark, which only meant that there was a 99.9% chance that he would die. I would say my instincts are pretty good.

It is always hard for me to get into fantasy books because from the very first sentence I am met with strange unfamiliar names of people, places and creatures, and this book was no exception to the rule. It takes a little bit of time to get into the setting of the book, to remember what is what and who is who, but once you do, everything just falls into place and it becomes an easy read. Also, the map of Westeros in the beginning of the book was a huge help - every time a new name popped up, I would go back and check it on the map for future reference. One thing I really liked was that each chapter focuses on a different character and tells the story from their point of view. While some may disagree, saying that it discontinues the narration or leaves empty episodes, I would say it is a great feature which creates suspense, offers multiple POVs and better insight on some matters. Not everything has to be written, some things can be left to the imagination… or the writers of the tv shows, who were kind enough to fill in some blanks.

I am not going to retell the story or give any spoilers to what happens, because I went about the book with no expectations and no prior knowledge, and I loved it. Every chapter leaves you wanting more and more of this extraordinary world of kings and secrets, knights and treachery, lords and wars, and the tales of mysterious mythical creatures who are said to have roamed these lands many thousands of moons ago. But are they just tales?

1. faerieundines liked this
2. retro-garden answered: Reading storm of swords (3rd book) right now. Love the series so much! Plowing through it.
3. retro-garden liked this
4. kindred-autmn reblogged this from mokolad and added:

   Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw...seasons out of balance....

5. bellesbookshelf answered: Awesome review. Ha, Jon Snow DOES have great hair. I love him so. I haven’t read the book yet, must get to it soon!
6. zephyrcalantian liked this
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8. mokolad posted this