I love fantasy; ever since I was a kid, stories set in creative worlds featuring varied groups of characters fighting to save the world, overcome evil, or even resolve some political matter have always captivated me. As such, I've read many fantasy novels over the years...and doing so has made me notice a rather unfortunate trend: the genre as a whole often relies too heavily on the same cliches and plots, which makes many of the stories presented seem tired, predictable, and overdone. As a result of this, I decided to take a break from fantasy; one can only read the same story so many times before getting fed up. I started "A Game of Thrones" very tentatively, partially because of the all the hype around the series and partially due to my own wariness regarding fantasy novels. My fears were completely unfounded; "A Game of Thrones" is a breath of fresh air for the genre, and is easily one of the best books I've read in recent years. Spoilers follow.
The novel contains three story lines. The first and most heavily focused on is that of the Kingdom of Westeros, its political structure, the ruling family's potentially reputation-destroying secret, and the beginning of conflict after the king dies. The second plot is that of the Wall and the constant struggle of the Night Watch to defend Westeros against the wildlings and more sinister creatures that reside beyond the Kingdom's border. The third takes place away from Westeros and follows the story of Daenerys, the last of the Targaryen family, and the start of her rise to power. The first story is clearly the main plot, while the second and third receive a little less attention, yet are no less important to the overall story.
The story presented here isn't that which is typically found in your common fantasy fare. This is not a tale of sword and sorcery, wizards and heroes enacting the traditional yarn of Good versus Evil, or of an impoverished farm boy discovering that he comes from a lofty background and is destined for greatness. Instead, this is largely about politics and political intrigue with a dash of magic and the unknown thrown in to give the novel a unique flavour. Perhaps the most noticeable element of the plot when compared to other fantasy books is the lack of magic; it does exist in Martin's world and he indicates that it can be a very powerful force, yet its role in this particular book is very small. This makes the few instances where it does appear very significant. Martin has said that he based "A Song of Ice and Fire" on the War of the Roses, and as such, more attention is given to the politics and the crisis of succession when Westeros' king dies. This makes for a story that avoids the traditional fantasy cliches while still having a distinctly fantasy feel.
The primary focus may be on political intrigue, but the book is hardly boring or overly mired solely in scheming. With all this political conflict come battles, fights, beheadings, and conquest, and Martin writes all of them exceedingly well and believably. This is a very gritty world that Martin has created, and he certainly doesn't shy away from showing how brutal life can be for his characters. Both rape and violence are present and are portrayed in a much blunter, starker light than in most novels. If there is a battle, you will see characters suffer gruesome ends, and the spoils of conquest are not glossed over. Yet, the use of such elements doesn't come off as gratuitous nor do they seem unnecessary; instead, they serve to characterize the world in which the characters go about their lives. Indeed, this is a dangerous place with far-reaching consequences and risks. It certainly puts a darker spin on the plot, but as someone who quickly bores of overly optimistic characters and stories, this darker, grittier fantasy very much appeals to me and gives the book a certain edge that sets it apart from others.
Accompanying this dangerous, sometimes terrifying world is the idea that no one is safe...and that includes main characters. Martin doesn't hesitate to take characters you've grown close to throughout the book and run them through the wringer, sometimes going as far as to kill them off. One of the main point of view characters is beheaded toward the end of the book, not because he is a terrible person or because he is in some way marked as being a "bad" character. On the contrary, he's the most honest, reasonable character in the book, and it's his own honesty that leads to his demise. This is the point that makes you realize that "A Song of Ice and Fire" will pull no punches or give anyone immunity based solely on whether they are a positive or negative character, a primary character or a background character. When characters, regardless of their role in the story, enter into a conflict, whether it's physical in the form of a fight or battle or more complicated through scheming and deceit, you genuinely fear for their safety. While the traditional fantasy novel may put the main character through trials and hardships, you know he'll make it through in the end, but that's not the case here. The reader is always on edge, worrying for their favourite characters or rooting for the demise of their most hated, but you never know how it's really going to play out. It's a completely different reading experience from most books out there, putting a real sense of danger into the book's events and a feeling of suspense into the story.
Another standout aspect of "A Game of Thrones" is the world building. Martin has not only created an intriguing world of politics, kings, deceit, battles, conquest, magic, and gritty reality, he has done it in a masterful manner. It's become something of a pet peeve of mine when authors are so proud of the world they've built that they dump pages and pages of their world's landscape, history, government, culture, etc on the reader in the middle of the story; it's a heavy-handed, clunky way of developing the backdrop of a novel. Martin manages to keep his world richly detailed while avoiding info-dumping by slipping in brief descriptions of how Westeros works in dialogue or when the subject in question appears. He doesn't appear to be in a hurry to reveal everything and instead lets things unfold in their own time. He knows his world from front to back, and he knows when it is appropriate to explain something and when it isn't.
The character setup of "A Game of Thrones" is also pretty different. Instead of having one protagonist whose story is the focus of the book, we get 8 different characters that provide 8 unique points of view. The perspective switches in every chapter, so we often see one event thoroughly told from two or three different characters. This is a great way to keep the story from getting stale or repetitive, as all of the characters have a distinct voice or bias and no character ever receives two chapters back to back. On the downside, however, it can be a little frustrating to be enjoying the perspective of one character, only to turn the page and see that you'll be finishing the issue at hand through the eyes of a different figure. That aside, having 8 point of view characters works very well for the novel because it keeps each chapter fresh and allows the reader to thoroughly get to know multiple characters rather than just one.
What is particularly great about Martin's characters is, as I said above, that they're completely distinct. They're so well fleshed out and have so many realistic motivations, feelings, and actions that it could be easy to forget that they are fictional characters rather than real people. While some characters may seem to fall into a broad archetype of character, pretty much none of the characters can be summed up on one or two words. Equally as impressive, whether you'll like or dislike a character will be dependent on how well they or part of their personality resonates with you personally, instead of whether they are "good" or "bad." Even the characters that seem to be cast in a more negative light have positive personality traits that make them likable and relatable. It also seems that what one reader appreciates about one character, another reader may dislike. The characters in "Game of Thrones" are so well fleshed out and realized that they sometimes seem as realistic as flesh-and-blood people, and like real people, your reactions to and liking of the characters will be based almost entirely on their complex personalities.
The secondary and side characters also receive a lot of care. Although we don't get to know them as intimately as the point of view characters, we still often see enough of them to get a sense of who they are. There are a lot of side characters in the novel, with possibly hundreds of names being tossed around depending on whose point of view the chapter is told through...so you do have to pay attention to who is who. Most characters, however, appear fairly frequently and are distinct enough that it's easy to keep them straight. And those who aren't seen as often tend to come with a little reminder of who they are when they do show up. Even though there are a lot of secondary and side characters, they are given a lot of thought, making for a rich variety of figures to populate the novel's setting.
To reiterate what I mentioned earlier, no one is safe. This can make for some emotional reading when the characters are so unique and well thought out. It must always be remembered that anything can happen to the characters and any chapter could be their last. Characters can meet their end very quickly or very slowly, and there's really no way of predicting if a figure will survive or not.
As a side note, despite the length of "A Game of Thrones," it is only the first book of a long series. This means that while this novel contains its own well-told story, it also does a lot of setting up for the overarching plot and leaves more questions than it answers at its conclusion. If you begin to read this series, you will likely become hooked on it and rush out to get the second book after you finish this one.
Overall, "A Game of Thrones" is one of the best books I've read in recent years. It bucks the trends and cliches of modern fantasy novels and offers up something that is unique, but still contains the mystical flavour of the genre. The world presented is violent and gritty with a no-one-is-safe policy that leads for some edgy, often tense reading. The characters are wonderfully developed and fleshed out so well that they could easily be real people, and the different points of view throughout the novel offer unique perspectives on the story's events. This is perhaps the first book I've read in a long time about which I can't come up with something I don't like, aside from a couple characters...but, as I said earlier, not liking certain characters for aspects of their complex personalities is part of what makes the novel so, well, likeable. Five stars happily given for the above and for reviving my interest in fantasy.
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