One Book And One Week : كتاب واحد وأسب
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George R. R. Martin’s first novel in his fantasy series ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’, A Game of Thrones, was 641 pages long and took me approximately two weeks to complete. (I have not yet uploaded all of the quotes I have tagged, so I will continue to do so while Istart my next book. I apologize for thisdelay-the week I chose to tackle a book that was extraordinarily challenging to do in such a short period of time happened to fall on the same time frame as traveling, an internship, and now a funeral that I’m trying to help plan for one of my younger brother’s friends. So forgive me any sluggishness.)
Initially, I found Martin’s epic fantasy novel challenging, if not difficult to get into. Though this book is, in fact, a “fantasy” novel, it echoes back to the Middle Ages, and that literature has a vernacular and syntax all its own that I am not altogether familiar with. Though it was difficult, it was also somewhat mystical, so I pressed on. It did not take long before I was absolutely captivated and sucked into the story, reading as fast as I could to absorb as much of the text as I could in the time I had available to read it. From beginning to end, I could not put it down (except when the circumstances forced my hand), and I found Martin’s style very appealing. He has a quick wit, and it comes across in his characters-and I think it’s also reflected in the amount of quotes I have been uploading over the past fourteen days.
This novel is written episodically-the “chapters” are not numbered, but rather told from the perspective of a particular character. This method of writing gives you a unique insight into many of the characters. It also sets up a unique dichotomy-the antagonists of the story (Lord Baelish/Littlefinger, Viserys, Jaime Lannister, Cersei Lannister, etc) never get a chapter in the book told from their perspective. Doing so creates less empathy, and sets them up as “wildcards” and “villains”, whose next move is virtually unpredictable. Some of the other characters who are not antagonists, including Robb Stark, also do not get chapters in the story told from their perspective.
One of the other things I really liked about Martin’s writing style is how he portrays the children. He gives them all (especially Bran) a certain amount of innocence-but also a great maturity that swells within them. A Game of Thrones is certainly a character-driven story, not a plot-driven one, though the plot is not lacking in any way. Compared with something such as a John Grisham novel, which are known for being “quick reads” and are very dialogue heavy, and somewhat light on descriptions (though they are not, by any means, lesser books), Martin spins his wordcraft to create a novel that is both beautiful, deep, and somewhat enigmatic.
When I try to describe Game of Thrones to someone, I like to think of it as an “adult Harry Potter” or a “dark Lord of the Rings”. The only difference is where in those novels, good and evil is largely clearly outlined, sometimes the villains in Game of Thrones will hide in the shadows.
I give this book a 9/10 overall. It’s excellent, albeit a bit hard to start, and I can’t wait to finish the series.
‘Only if we lose.’
