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A Song of Ice and Fire #1
亘丕夭蹖 鬲丕噩 賵 鬲禺鬲
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 forces are massing beyond the kingdom鈥檚 protective Wall. To the south, the king鈥檚 powers are failing鈥攈is most trusted adviser dead under mysterious circumstances and his enemies emerging from the shadows of the throne. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the frozen land they were born to. Now Lord Eddard Stark is reluctantly summoned to serve as the king鈥檚 new Hand, an appointment that threatens to sunder not only his family but the kingdom itself.
Sweeping from a harsh land of cold to a summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, A Game of Thrones tells 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; a child is lost in the twilight between life and death; and a determined woman undertakes a treacherous journey to protect all she holds dear. Amid plots and counter-plots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, allies and enemies, the fate of the Starks hangs perilously in the balance, as each side endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.
Sweeping from a harsh land of cold to a summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, A Game of Thrones tells 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; a child is lost in the twilight between life and death; and a determined woman undertakes a treacherous journey to protect all she holds dear. Amid plots and counter-plots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, allies and enemies, the fate of the Starks hangs perilously in the balance, as each side endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.
761 pages, ebook
First published August 6, 1996
125k people are currently reading
1m people want to read
About the author
George R.R. Martin
1,471听books116k听followersGeorge Raymond Richard "R.R." Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.
Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: The Hero, sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.
In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern.
As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher.
In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.
Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.
Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West.
Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: The Hero, sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.
In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern.
As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher.
In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.
Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.
Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West.
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July 3, 2017
There are plenty of fantasy authors who claim to be doing something different with the genre. Ironically, they often write the most predictable books of all, as evidenced by and . Though I'm not sure why they protest so much--predictability is hardly a death sentence in genre fantasy.
The archetypal story of a hero, a villain, a profound love, and a world to be saved never seems to get old--it's a great story when it's told well. At the best, it's exciting, exotic, and builds to a fulfilling climax. At the worst, it's just a bloodless rehash. Unfortunately, the worst are more common by far.
Perhaps it was this abundance of cliche romances that drove Martin to aim for something different. Unfortunately, you can't just choose to be different, any more than you can choose to be creative. Sure, Moorcock's original concept for Elric was to be the anti-Conan, but at some point, he had to push his limits and move beyond difference for difference's sake--and .
In similar gesture, Martin rejects the allegorical romance of epic fantasy, which basically means tearing out the guts of the genre: the wonder, the ideals, the heroism, and with them, the moral purpose. Fine, so he took out the rollicking fun and the social message--what did he replace them with?
Like the post-Moore comics of the nineties, fantasy has already borne witness to a backlash against the upright, moral hero--and then a backlash against the grim antihero who succeeded him. Hell, if all Martin wanted was grim and gritty antiheroes in an amoral world, he didn't have to reject the staples of fantasy, he could have gone to its roots: Howard, Leiber, and Anderson.
Like many authors aiming for realism, he forgets 'truth is stranger than fiction'. The real world is full of unbelievable events, coincidences, and odd characters. When authors remove these elements in an attempt to make their world seem real, they make their fiction duller than reality; after all, unexpected details are the heart of verisimilitude. When Chekhov and Peake eschewed the easy thrill of romance, they replaced it with the odd and absurd--moments strange enough to feel true. In comparison, Martin's world is dull and gray. Instead of innovating new, radical elements, he merely removes familiar staples--and any style defined by lack is going to end up feeling thin.
Yet, despite trying inject the book with history and realism, he does not reject the melodramatic characterization of his fantasy forefathers, as evidenced by his brooding bastard antihero protagonist (with pet albino wolf). Apparently to him, 'grim realism' is . This produces a conflicted tone: a soap opera cast lost in an existentialist film.
There's also lots of sex and misogyny, and --not that books should shy away from sex, or from any uncomfortable, unpleasant reality of life. The problem is when people who are not comfortable with their own sexuality start writing about it, which seems to plague every mainstream fantasy author. Their pen gets away from them, their own hangups start leaking into the scene, until it's not even about the characters anymore, it's just the author cybering about his favorite fetish--and if I cyber with a fat, bearded stranger, I expect to be paid for it.
I know a lot of fans probably get into it more than I do (like night elf hunters humping away in WOW), but reading Goodkind, Jordan, and Martin--it's like seeing a Playboy at your uncle's where all the pages are wrinkled. That's not to say there isn't serviceable pop fantasy sex out there--it's just .
Though I didn't save any choice examples, I did this quote from a later book:
Imagine the process: Martin sits, hands hovering over the keys, trying to get inside his character's head:
"Okay, I'm a woman. How do I see and feel the world differently? My cultural role is defined by childbirth. I can be bought and sold in marriage by my own--Oh, hey! I've got tits! Man, look at those things go. *whooshing mammary sound effects* Okay, time to write."
Where are the descriptions of variously-sized dongs swinging within the confines of absurdly-detailed clothing? There are a set of manboobs (which perhaps Martin has some personal experience with) but not until book five. Even then, it's not the dude being hyperaware of his own--they're just there to gross out a dwarf. Not really a balanced depiction.
If you're familiar with the show (and its parodies on South Park and SNL) this lack of dongs may surprise you. But as Martin himself explained, when asked why there's no gay sex in his books, despite having gay characters, 'they鈥檙e not the viewpoint characters'--as if somehow, the viewpoints he chooses to depict are beyond his control. Apparently, he plots as well as your average NaNoWriMo author: sorry none of my characters chose to be gay, nothing I can do about it.
And balance really is the problem here--if you only depict the dark, gritty stuff that you're into, that's not realism, it's just a fetish. If you depict the grimness of war by having every female character threatened with rape, but the same thing never happens to a male character, despite the fact that , then your 'gritty realism card' definitely gets revoked.
The books are notorious for the sudden, pointless deaths, which some suggest is another sign of realism--but, of course, nothing is pointless in fiction, because everything that shows up on the page is only there because the author put it there. Sure, in real life, people suddenly die before finishing their life's work (fantasy authors do it all the time), but there's a reason we don't tend to tell stories of people who die unexpectedly in the middle of things: they are boring and pointless. They build up for a while then eventually, lead nowhere.
Novelists often write in isolation, so it's easy to forget the rule to which playwrights adhere: your story is always a fiction. Any time you treat it as if it were real, you are working against yourself. The writing that feels the most natural is never effortless, it is carefully and painstakingly constructed to seem that way.
A staple of Creative Writing 101 is to 'listen to how people really talk', which is terrible advice. A transcript of any conversation will be so full of repetition, half-thoughts, and non-specific words ('stuff', 'thing') as to be incomprehensible--especially without the cues of tone and body language. Written communication has its own rules, so making dialogue feel like speech is a trick writers play. It's the same with sudden character deaths: treat them like a history, and your plot will become choppy and hard to follow.
Not that the deaths are truly unpredictable. Like in an action film, they are a plot convenience: kill off a villain, and you don't have to wrap up his arc. You don't have to defeat him psychologically--the finality of his death is the great equalizer. You skip the hard work of demonstrating that the hero was morally right, because he's the only option left.
Likewise, in Martin's book, death ties up loose threads--namely, plot threads. Often, this is the only ending we get to his plot arcs, which makes them rather predictable: any time a character is about to build up enough influence to make things better, or more stable, he will die. Any character who poses a threat to the continuing chaos which drives the action will first be built up, and then killed off.
I found to be a particularly telling example of how Martin thinks of character deaths:
He's not talking about the characters' motivations, or the ideas they represent, or their role in the story--he isn't laying out a well-structured plot, he's just killing them off for pure shock value.
Yet the only reason we think these characters are important in the first place is because Martin treats them as central heroes, spending time and energy building them. Then it all ends up being a red herring, a cheap twist, the equivalent of a horror movie jump scare. It's like mystery novels in the 70's, after all the good plots had been done, so authors added ghosts or secret twins in the last chapter--it's only surprising because the author has obliterated the story structure.
All plots are made up of arcs that grow and change, building tension and purpose. Normally, when an arc ends, the author must use all his skill to deal with themes and answer questions, providing a satisfying conclusion to a promising idea that his readers watched grow. Or just kill off a character central to the conflict and bury the plot arc with him. Then you don't have to worry about closure, you can just hook your readers by focusing on the mess caused by the previous arc falling apart. Make the reader believe that things might get better, get them to believe in a character, then wave your arms in distraction, point and yell 'look at that terrible thing, over there!', and hope they become so caught up in worrying about the new problem that they forget the old one was never resolved.
Chaining false endings together creates perpetual tension that never requires solution--like in most soap operas--plus, the author never has to do the hard work of finishing what they started. If an author is lucky, they die before reaching the Final Conclusion the readership is clamoring for, and never have to meet the collective expectation which long years of deferral have built up. It's easy to idolize Kurt Cobain, because you never had to see him bald and old and crazy like David Lee Roth.
Unlucky authors live to write the Final Book, breaking the spell of unending tension that kept their readers enthralled. Since the plot isn't resolving into a tight, intertwined conclusion (in fact, it's probably spiraling out of control, with ever more characters and scenes), the author must wrap things up conveniently and suddenly, leaving fans confused and upset. Having thrown out the grand romance of fantasy, Martin cannot even end on the dazzling trick of the on which the great majority of fantasy books rely for a handy tacked-on climax (actually, he'll probably do it anyways, with dragons--the longer the series goes on, the more it starts to resemble the cliche monomyth that Martin was praised for eschewing in the first place).
The drawback is that even if a conclusion gets stuck on at the end, the story fundamentally leads nowhere--it winds back and forth without resolving psychological or tonal arcs. But then, doesn't that sound more like real life? Martin tore out the moralistic heart and magic of fantasy, and in doing so, rejected the notion of grandly realized conclusions. Perhaps we shouldn't compare him to works of romance, but to histories.
He asks us to believe in his intrigue, his grimness, and his amoral world of war, power, and death--not the false Europe of Arthur, Robin Hood, and Orlando, but the real Europe of plagues, political struggles, religious wars, witch hunts, and roving companies of soldiery forever ravaging the countryside. Unfortunately, he doesn't compare very well to them, either. His intrigue is not as interesting as Cicero's, Machiavelli's, Enguerrand de Coucy's--or even Sallust's, who was practically writing fiction, anyways. Some might suggest it unfair to compare a piece of fiction to a true history, but these are the same histories that lent Howard, Leiber, and Moorcock their touches of verisimilitude. Martin might have taken a lesson from them and drawn inspiration from further afield: even Tolkien had his Eddas. Despite being fictionalized and dramatized, Martin's take on The War of the Roses is far duller than the original.
More than anything, this book felt like a serial melodrama: the hardships of an ensemble cast who we are meant to watch over and sympathize with, being drawn in by emotional appeals (the hope that things will 'get better' in this dark place, 'tragic' deaths), even if these appeals conflict with the supposed realism, and in the end, there is no grander story to unify the whole. This 'grittiness' is just Martin replacing the standard fantasy theme of 'glory' with one of 'hardship', and despite flipping this switch, it's still just an emotional appeal. 'Heroes always win' is just as blandly predictable as 'heroes always lose'.
It's been suggested that I didn't read enough of Martin to judge him, but if the first four hundred pages aren't good, I don't expect the next thousand will be different. If you combine the three Del Rey collections of Conan The Barbarian stories, you get 1,263 pages (including introductions, end notes, and variant scripts). If you take Martin's first two books in this series, you get 1,504 pages. Already, less than a third of the way into the series, he's written more than Howard's entire Conan output, and all I can do is ask myself: why does he need that extra length?
A few authors use it to their advantage, but for most, it's just sprawling, undifferentiated bloat. Melodrama can be a great way to mint money, as evidenced by the endless 'variations on a theme' of soap operas, pro wrestling, and superhero comics. People get into it, but it's neither revolutionary nor realistic. You also hear the same things from the fans: that it's all carefully planned, all interconnected, all going somewhere. Apparently they didn't learn their lesson from the anticlimactic fizzling out of Twin Peaks, X-Files, Lost, and Battlestar. Then again, you wouldn't keep watching if you didn't think it was going somewhere.
Some say 'at least he isn't as bad as all the drivel that gets published in genre fantasy', but saying he's better than dreck is really not very high praise. Others have intimated that I must not like fantasy at all, pointing to my low-star reviews of Martin, , , and , but it is precisely because I am passionate about fantasy that I fall heavily on these authors.
A lover of fine wines winces the more at a corked bottle of vinegar, a ballet enthusiast's love of dance would not leave him breathless at a high school competition--and likewise, having learned to appreciate epics, histories, knightly ballads, fairy tales, and their modern offspring in fantasy, I find Martin woefully lacking. There's plenty of grim fantasy and intrigue out there, from its roots to the dozens of fantasy authors, both old and modern, whom I list in the link at the end of this review
There seems to be a sense that Martin's work is somehow revolutionary, that it represents a 'new direction' for fantasy, but all I see is a reversion. Sure, he's different than Jordan, Goodkind, and their ilk, who simply took the pseudo-medieval high-magic world from Tolkien and the blood-and-guts heroism from Howard. Martin, on the other hand, has more closely followed Tolkien's lead than any other modern high fantasy author--and I don't just mean in terms of .
Tolkien wanted to make his story real--not 'realistic', using the dramatic techniques of literature--but actually real, by trying to create all the detail of a pretend world behind the story. Over the span of the first twenty years, he released The Hobbit, the Lord of the Rings, and other works, while in the twenty years after that, he became so obsessed with worldbuilding for its own sake that instead of writing stories, he (which his son has been trying to make a complete book from ever since).
It's the same thing Martin's trying to do: cover a bland story with a litany of details that don't contribute meaningfully to his characters, plot, or tone. So, if Martin is good because he is different, then it stands to reason that he's not very good, because he's not that different. He may seem different if all someone has read is Tolkien and the authors who ape his style, but that's just one small corner of a very expansive genre. Anyone who thinks Tolkien is the 'father of fantasy' doesn't know enough about the genre to judge what 'originality' means.
So, if Martin neither an homage nor an original, I'm not sure what's left. In his attempt to set himself apart, he tore out the joyful heart of fantasy, but failed replace it with anything. There is no revolutionary voice here, and there is nothing in Martin's book that has not been done better by other authors.
However, there is one thing Martin has done that no other author has been able to do: kill the longrunning High Fantasy series. According to some friends of mine in publishing (and some on-the-nose remarks by Caleb Carr in an NPR interview on his own foray into fantasy), Martin's inability to deliver a book on time, combined with his strained relationship with his publisher means that literary agents are no longer accepting manuscripts for high fantasy series--even from recognized authors. Apparently, Martin is so bad at plot structure that he actually pre-emptively ruined books by other authors. Perhaps it is true what they say about silver linings . . .
Though I declined to finish this book, I'll leave you with a caution compiled from various respectable friends of mine who did continue on:
"If you need some kind of closure, avoid this series. No arcs will ever be completed, nothing will ever really change. The tagline is 'Winter is Coming'--it's not. As the series goes on, there will be more and more characters and diverging plotlines to keep track of, many of them apparently completely unrelated to each other, even as it increasingly becomes just another , like every other fantasy series out there. If you enjoy a grim, excessively long soap opera with lots of deaths and constant unresolved tension, pick up the series--otherwise, maybe check out the show."
The archetypal story of a hero, a villain, a profound love, and a world to be saved never seems to get old--it's a great story when it's told well. At the best, it's exciting, exotic, and builds to a fulfilling climax. At the worst, it's just a bloodless rehash. Unfortunately, the worst are more common by far.
Perhaps it was this abundance of cliche romances that drove Martin to aim for something different. Unfortunately, you can't just choose to be different, any more than you can choose to be creative. Sure, Moorcock's original concept for Elric was to be the anti-Conan, but at some point, he had to push his limits and move beyond difference for difference's sake--and .
In similar gesture, Martin rejects the allegorical romance of epic fantasy, which basically means tearing out the guts of the genre: the wonder, the ideals, the heroism, and with them, the moral purpose. Fine, so he took out the rollicking fun and the social message--what did he replace them with?
Like the post-Moore comics of the nineties, fantasy has already borne witness to a backlash against the upright, moral hero--and then a backlash against the grim antihero who succeeded him. Hell, if all Martin wanted was grim and gritty antiheroes in an amoral world, he didn't have to reject the staples of fantasy, he could have gone to its roots: Howard, Leiber, and Anderson.
Like many authors aiming for realism, he forgets 'truth is stranger than fiction'. The real world is full of unbelievable events, coincidences, and odd characters. When authors remove these elements in an attempt to make their world seem real, they make their fiction duller than reality; after all, unexpected details are the heart of verisimilitude. When Chekhov and Peake eschewed the easy thrill of romance, they replaced it with the odd and absurd--moments strange enough to feel true. In comparison, Martin's world is dull and gray. Instead of innovating new, radical elements, he merely removes familiar staples--and any style defined by lack is going to end up feeling thin.
Yet, despite trying inject the book with history and realism, he does not reject the melodramatic characterization of his fantasy forefathers, as evidenced by his brooding bastard antihero protagonist (with pet albino wolf). Apparently to him, 'grim realism' is . This produces a conflicted tone: a soap opera cast lost in an existentialist film.
There's also lots of sex and misogyny, and --not that books should shy away from sex, or from any uncomfortable, unpleasant reality of life. The problem is when people who are not comfortable with their own sexuality start writing about it, which seems to plague every mainstream fantasy author. Their pen gets away from them, their own hangups start leaking into the scene, until it's not even about the characters anymore, it's just the author cybering about his favorite fetish--and if I cyber with a fat, bearded stranger, I expect to be paid for it.
I know a lot of fans probably get into it more than I do (like night elf hunters humping away in WOW), but reading Goodkind, Jordan, and Martin--it's like seeing a Playboy at your uncle's where all the pages are wrinkled. That's not to say there isn't serviceable pop fantasy sex out there--it's just .
Though I didn't save any choice examples, I did this quote from a later book:
"... she wore faded sandsilk pants and woven grass sandals. Her small breasts moved freely beneath a painted Dothraki vest . . ."
Imagine the process: Martin sits, hands hovering over the keys, trying to get inside his character's head:
"Okay, I'm a woman. How do I see and feel the world differently? My cultural role is defined by childbirth. I can be bought and sold in marriage by my own--Oh, hey! I've got tits! Man, look at those things go. *whooshing mammary sound effects* Okay, time to write."
Where are the descriptions of variously-sized dongs swinging within the confines of absurdly-detailed clothing? There are a set of manboobs (which perhaps Martin has some personal experience with) but not until book five. Even then, it's not the dude being hyperaware of his own--they're just there to gross out a dwarf. Not really a balanced depiction.
If you're familiar with the show (and its parodies on South Park and SNL) this lack of dongs may surprise you. But as Martin himself explained, when asked why there's no gay sex in his books, despite having gay characters, 'they鈥檙e not the viewpoint characters'--as if somehow, the viewpoints he chooses to depict are beyond his control. Apparently, he plots as well as your average NaNoWriMo author: sorry none of my characters chose to be gay, nothing I can do about it.
And balance really is the problem here--if you only depict the dark, gritty stuff that you're into, that's not realism, it's just a fetish. If you depict the grimness of war by having every female character threatened with rape, but the same thing never happens to a male character, despite the fact that , then your 'gritty realism card' definitely gets revoked.
The books are notorious for the sudden, pointless deaths, which some suggest is another sign of realism--but, of course, nothing is pointless in fiction, because everything that shows up on the page is only there because the author put it there. Sure, in real life, people suddenly die before finishing their life's work (fantasy authors do it all the time), but there's a reason we don't tend to tell stories of people who die unexpectedly in the middle of things: they are boring and pointless. They build up for a while then eventually, lead nowhere.
Novelists often write in isolation, so it's easy to forget the rule to which playwrights adhere: your story is always a fiction. Any time you treat it as if it were real, you are working against yourself. The writing that feels the most natural is never effortless, it is carefully and painstakingly constructed to seem that way.
A staple of Creative Writing 101 is to 'listen to how people really talk', which is terrible advice. A transcript of any conversation will be so full of repetition, half-thoughts, and non-specific words ('stuff', 'thing') as to be incomprehensible--especially without the cues of tone and body language. Written communication has its own rules, so making dialogue feel like speech is a trick writers play. It's the same with sudden character deaths: treat them like a history, and your plot will become choppy and hard to follow.
Not that the deaths are truly unpredictable. Like in an action film, they are a plot convenience: kill off a villain, and you don't have to wrap up his arc. You don't have to defeat him psychologically--the finality of his death is the great equalizer. You skip the hard work of demonstrating that the hero was morally right, because he's the only option left.
Likewise, in Martin's book, death ties up loose threads--namely, plot threads. Often, this is the only ending we get to his plot arcs, which makes them rather predictable: any time a character is about to build up enough influence to make things better, or more stable, he will die. Any character who poses a threat to the continuing chaos which drives the action will first be built up, and then killed off.
I found to be a particularly telling example of how Martin thinks of character deaths:
"I killed because everybody thinks he鈥檚 the hero ... sure, he鈥檚 going to get into trouble, but then he鈥檒l somehow get out of it. The next predictable thing [someone] is going to rise up and avenge his [death] ... So immediately [killing ] became the next thing I had to do.
He's not talking about the characters' motivations, or the ideas they represent, or their role in the story--he isn't laying out a well-structured plot, he's just killing them off for pure shock value.
Yet the only reason we think these characters are important in the first place is because Martin treats them as central heroes, spending time and energy building them. Then it all ends up being a red herring, a cheap twist, the equivalent of a horror movie jump scare. It's like mystery novels in the 70's, after all the good plots had been done, so authors added ghosts or secret twins in the last chapter--it's only surprising because the author has obliterated the story structure.
All plots are made up of arcs that grow and change, building tension and purpose. Normally, when an arc ends, the author must use all his skill to deal with themes and answer questions, providing a satisfying conclusion to a promising idea that his readers watched grow. Or just kill off a character central to the conflict and bury the plot arc with him. Then you don't have to worry about closure, you can just hook your readers by focusing on the mess caused by the previous arc falling apart. Make the reader believe that things might get better, get them to believe in a character, then wave your arms in distraction, point and yell 'look at that terrible thing, over there!', and hope they become so caught up in worrying about the new problem that they forget the old one was never resolved.
Chaining false endings together creates perpetual tension that never requires solution--like in most soap operas--plus, the author never has to do the hard work of finishing what they started. If an author is lucky, they die before reaching the Final Conclusion the readership is clamoring for, and never have to meet the collective expectation which long years of deferral have built up. It's easy to idolize Kurt Cobain, because you never had to see him bald and old and crazy like David Lee Roth.
Unlucky authors live to write the Final Book, breaking the spell of unending tension that kept their readers enthralled. Since the plot isn't resolving into a tight, intertwined conclusion (in fact, it's probably spiraling out of control, with ever more characters and scenes), the author must wrap things up conveniently and suddenly, leaving fans confused and upset. Having thrown out the grand romance of fantasy, Martin cannot even end on the dazzling trick of the on which the great majority of fantasy books rely for a handy tacked-on climax (actually, he'll probably do it anyways, with dragons--the longer the series goes on, the more it starts to resemble the cliche monomyth that Martin was praised for eschewing in the first place).
The drawback is that even if a conclusion gets stuck on at the end, the story fundamentally leads nowhere--it winds back and forth without resolving psychological or tonal arcs. But then, doesn't that sound more like real life? Martin tore out the moralistic heart and magic of fantasy, and in doing so, rejected the notion of grandly realized conclusions. Perhaps we shouldn't compare him to works of romance, but to histories.
He asks us to believe in his intrigue, his grimness, and his amoral world of war, power, and death--not the false Europe of Arthur, Robin Hood, and Orlando, but the real Europe of plagues, political struggles, religious wars, witch hunts, and roving companies of soldiery forever ravaging the countryside. Unfortunately, he doesn't compare very well to them, either. His intrigue is not as interesting as Cicero's, Machiavelli's, Enguerrand de Coucy's--or even Sallust's, who was practically writing fiction, anyways. Some might suggest it unfair to compare a piece of fiction to a true history, but these are the same histories that lent Howard, Leiber, and Moorcock their touches of verisimilitude. Martin might have taken a lesson from them and drawn inspiration from further afield: even Tolkien had his Eddas. Despite being fictionalized and dramatized, Martin's take on The War of the Roses is far duller than the original.
More than anything, this book felt like a serial melodrama: the hardships of an ensemble cast who we are meant to watch over and sympathize with, being drawn in by emotional appeals (the hope that things will 'get better' in this dark place, 'tragic' deaths), even if these appeals conflict with the supposed realism, and in the end, there is no grander story to unify the whole. This 'grittiness' is just Martin replacing the standard fantasy theme of 'glory' with one of 'hardship', and despite flipping this switch, it's still just an emotional appeal. 'Heroes always win' is just as blandly predictable as 'heroes always lose'.
It's been suggested that I didn't read enough of Martin to judge him, but if the first four hundred pages aren't good, I don't expect the next thousand will be different. If you combine the three Del Rey collections of Conan The Barbarian stories, you get 1,263 pages (including introductions, end notes, and variant scripts). If you take Martin's first two books in this series, you get 1,504 pages. Already, less than a third of the way into the series, he's written more than Howard's entire Conan output, and all I can do is ask myself: why does he need that extra length?
A few authors use it to their advantage, but for most, it's just sprawling, undifferentiated bloat. Melodrama can be a great way to mint money, as evidenced by the endless 'variations on a theme' of soap operas, pro wrestling, and superhero comics. People get into it, but it's neither revolutionary nor realistic. You also hear the same things from the fans: that it's all carefully planned, all interconnected, all going somewhere. Apparently they didn't learn their lesson from the anticlimactic fizzling out of Twin Peaks, X-Files, Lost, and Battlestar. Then again, you wouldn't keep watching if you didn't think it was going somewhere.
Some say 'at least he isn't as bad as all the drivel that gets published in genre fantasy', but saying he's better than dreck is really not very high praise. Others have intimated that I must not like fantasy at all, pointing to my low-star reviews of Martin, , , and , but it is precisely because I am passionate about fantasy that I fall heavily on these authors.
A lover of fine wines winces the more at a corked bottle of vinegar, a ballet enthusiast's love of dance would not leave him breathless at a high school competition--and likewise, having learned to appreciate epics, histories, knightly ballads, fairy tales, and their modern offspring in fantasy, I find Martin woefully lacking. There's plenty of grim fantasy and intrigue out there, from its roots to the dozens of fantasy authors, both old and modern, whom I list in the link at the end of this review
There seems to be a sense that Martin's work is somehow revolutionary, that it represents a 'new direction' for fantasy, but all I see is a reversion. Sure, he's different than Jordan, Goodkind, and their ilk, who simply took the pseudo-medieval high-magic world from Tolkien and the blood-and-guts heroism from Howard. Martin, on the other hand, has more closely followed Tolkien's lead than any other modern high fantasy author--and I don't just mean in terms of .
Tolkien wanted to make his story real--not 'realistic', using the dramatic techniques of literature--but actually real, by trying to create all the detail of a pretend world behind the story. Over the span of the first twenty years, he released The Hobbit, the Lord of the Rings, and other works, while in the twenty years after that, he became so obsessed with worldbuilding for its own sake that instead of writing stories, he (which his son has been trying to make a complete book from ever since).
It's the same thing Martin's trying to do: cover a bland story with a litany of details that don't contribute meaningfully to his characters, plot, or tone. So, if Martin is good because he is different, then it stands to reason that he's not very good, because he's not that different. He may seem different if all someone has read is Tolkien and the authors who ape his style, but that's just one small corner of a very expansive genre. Anyone who thinks Tolkien is the 'father of fantasy' doesn't know enough about the genre to judge what 'originality' means.
So, if Martin neither an homage nor an original, I'm not sure what's left. In his attempt to set himself apart, he tore out the joyful heart of fantasy, but failed replace it with anything. There is no revolutionary voice here, and there is nothing in Martin's book that has not been done better by other authors.
However, there is one thing Martin has done that no other author has been able to do: kill the longrunning High Fantasy series. According to some friends of mine in publishing (and some on-the-nose remarks by Caleb Carr in an NPR interview on his own foray into fantasy), Martin's inability to deliver a book on time, combined with his strained relationship with his publisher means that literary agents are no longer accepting manuscripts for high fantasy series--even from recognized authors. Apparently, Martin is so bad at plot structure that he actually pre-emptively ruined books by other authors. Perhaps it is true what they say about silver linings . . .
Though I declined to finish this book, I'll leave you with a caution compiled from various respectable friends of mine who did continue on:
"If you need some kind of closure, avoid this series. No arcs will ever be completed, nothing will ever really change. The tagline is 'Winter is Coming'--it's not. As the series goes on, there will be more and more characters and diverging plotlines to keep track of, many of them apparently completely unrelated to each other, even as it increasingly becomes just another , like every other fantasy series out there. If you enjoy a grim, excessively long soap opera with lots of deaths and constant unresolved tension, pick up the series--otherwise, maybe check out the show."
May 25, 2008
I really feel the necessity of a bit of personal backstory here, before I start the review. Back in 1996 when this book first came out, and I was about 14 or 16 years old, I saw the hardcover on a sale table for about $5 and couldn't resist a bargain (still can't, though I'm more cautious these days). So I started reading this book with the vague idea that it was a flop, and that may not have helped, but I got through 100 pages of it before feeling so crapped off with it that I shoved it in my cupboard and tried not to think about it. Page 108 to be exact. More on why later.
If you've heard of this book, or read it, you're probably aware that far from being the flop I assumed it was at the time (and I didn't know anyone who was reading it), the series has gone on to be one of the big Cash Cows of the fantasy genre. Computer games, role-playing games - there's even a board game that looks like Risk. Sooner or later there'll be a movie or something, no doubt (I'm moderately surprised one isn't in the works already). People love this book and this series. So I'm well aware I'll probably be lynched for this review, because even the people on 欧宝娱乐 who didn't like it still had great things to say about it.
But reviews are subjective, and here's mine.
In the vein of Tolkein, Jordan, Elliott, Goodkind, Hobb, Eddings, Feist et al, A Game of Thrones is set in the classicly boring-and-overdone medieval-England-esque setting, and is essentially about a bunch of nobles fighting over a throne. Great. Very original. Praised for its focus on political intrigue, its lack of magic and similar fantasy tropes, and its cast of believable and interesting characters, I found the book tedious. The first "epic fantasy" series I read (after Narnia) was Jordan's The Wheel of Time series, and it's true that I struggled with the first book, Eye of the World. But there were elements to it that I liked, characters who I felt attached to, enough to read the second book and become hooked, and so on. I love 1000-page long, fat fantasy books. I love huge casts of characters and have no problem keeping up with them. I've read Jennifer Fallon's Wolfblade trilogy and Second Sons Trilogy, both of which are heavy on political intrigue and very low on magic, and they're supurb. A Game of Thrones is not. It offers nothing new to the genre, and does nothing original with what it has.
Narrated in turns by Eddard (Ned) Stark, Lord of Winterfell; his wife Lady Catelyn; his bastard son Jon Snow; his very young daughters Sansa and Arya; his middle son Bran; Tyrion Lannister, a dwarf and brother to the Queen; and young Daenerys Targaryen, last of the line of dragon kings and exiled to the land beyond the narrow sea, the book is divided into neat chapters headed by the name of one or the other, so you know exactly whose point-of-view you're going to get and where you are in the plot. Thanks for holding my hand Martin, but I don't like this technique. The chapter headings, I'm referring to. It encourages me to start wondering about the character before I've even started reading. "CATELYN" the chapter title reads: is she young or old, a peasant, a farmer, a daughter, a mother, nice, mean... I start imagining things and then have to correct it all as the character is revealed during the chapter. There's power in names, and withholding them or putting elements of a character's personality first is often more compelling, and better writing. It also made it harder to get through the book, because at the end of one chapter I'd see the name of the next, think "oh great, him/her again, their story's boring" and put the book down.
Let me be perfectly straight: I did not find any of the characters to be particularly interesting; though Jaime Lannister had something about him, you hardly ever saw him. They all pretty much felt like the same character, just in different situations. The differences between them, for example the good-girl Sansa and her tomboy sister Arya, felt forced, superficial and clich茅d. Ned is all about honour and duty, but especially honour, with love a more minor consideration, but honestly, could the man be more stupid? Eddard's a moron, and dull, and his only saving grace is that he's nice to his daughters. Let's be clear about something else right here: this world and its people are so sexist and misogynist it's ludicrous. There are many derogatory references to women's tits, metaphors about screwing whores, descriptions of Daenerys getting her nipples pinched by her horrible brother Viserys - not to mention her marriage, at twelve, to a horselord whose men rape women like there's no tomorrow; incest and so on. The first time I tried to read this book, I was offended and disgusted (it didn't help that I'd read Pillars of the Earth not long before; though I did not grow up sexually repressed or prudish or anything like that, I have never found reading descriptions of rape to be all that easy, especially when they're treated so dismissively) - yet oddly my impressions of the characters were much more favourable. I read it now and I just felt contempt.
No one character stands out, though Arya has potential. Catelyn is as boring as her husband, and her sister Lysa is, let's face it, mad as a hatter and a sure sign of why women are unfit to rule (a clear message in this medieval-esque patriarchal world). Queen Cercei too. Tyrion, the dwarf, seems on the verge of having charisma but fails, and Daenerys... I want to like someone, but Martin doesn't give his characters any depth. Sure, they're all flawed and a flawed character is a great literary device - the anti-hero, etc. But Martin's characters are walking clich茅s, even the dwarf.
The plot is also pretty weak. I don't need elves and magic and dragons - in fact, I tend to avoid them, especially elves *yawn* - but you've gotta give me something else. A bildungsroman does wonders - yes, let me see the characters on a journey of life rather than a quest, quests are tired. There's no quest in A Game of Thrones, and that's fine with me. But what is there? Jon goes to the Wall that separates the wilderness from the Seven Kingdoms (why is it called the Seven Kingdoms when there's only one kingdom?) and is attacked by an Other, a kind of zombie creature; Ned goes to the capital to take up the role of King's Hand because the King, Robert, likes to spend his time boozing, whoring and hunting; Catelyn follows to tell him someone tried to kill Bran; Ned tries to discover why the previous Hand died... And swords with names, seriously, what's with that? I'm so sick of such blatant phallic symbols and their representations, and the whole creed of honour and duty and gallant knights...
What frustrates me most is that this could have been a really interesting story, if only the author had better talent at writing characters - or letting them write themselves. The plot is not the problem, though it's largely uneventful, with no climactic moments because even those are written at the same pace as the rest, with no drammatic flourishes (come on, we all like those, let's be honest). But the characters, *sigh*, their motivations are simplistic, their actions extremely predictable, and while they don't blur one into another neither do any of them stand out. Also, the type of setting seems mostly convenient: with the focus on the nobles and their squabbling, you don't learn much about the lower classes, or what kind of food is grown here, or what kind of industry supports the economy, or anything about the cultures - using the clich茅d medieval England setting allows Martin to ignore one of the more fascinating aspects of society and leaves his world shallow, like surface water, without support (using this old and worn Fantasy setting allows an author to get lazy about world-building). The history of the land is also riddled with clich茅s, and sort of thrown in here and there as if to remind the reader "it is a real place, look, here's what the First Men did!"
As for the writing, it's easy to read and calm, though very slow and rather lacking in tone or any interesting stylistic quirks: flat and bland, in other words. There's no atmosphere in this book. There're a few bad lines, like "A storm of rose petals blew across a blood-streaked sky, as blue as the eyes of death" (p.425) - his one concession to drama, it seems, though if you read it again you'll notice it doesn't actually make sense; and a few awkward sentences that leave you scrambling, such as "Catelyn watched her son [Robb Stark] mount up. Olyvar Frey held his horse for him, Lord Walder's son, two years older than Robb, and ten years younger and more anxious." (p.696) I noticed a similar sentence later, and I guess I know what he means but really, it's terrible writing.
On the plus side, there were a few things I liked. The direwolves - large ferocious animals as constant companions and protectors: always a winner with me; the intriguing climate, where summer and winter lasts years, decades even, before changing (how does that work? Seriously, what do they eat?); Daenerys' dragon eggs, and the Dothraki, the horse lords - though they were pretty superficial and confined to a rigid list of adjectives - I would have liked to understand their culture better. In many fantasy books my problem is the whole good vs. evil clich茅, which generally involves the plot. Here, my problem is that the characters are so black-and-white. They are described, good, that's settled, now what? There's no grey. No character development. They never once surprised me.
I honestly don't know if I'll read the next book. The Wheel of Time taught me (at the same age as I first tried reading this book, 16) that the first book in a series can be the weakest, because of the amount of extrapolation and background etc. that goes on. I didn't find that problem here, it was very grounded in the now, which makes me think the next book will be more of the same. I keep coming back to the reasons why I struggled to finish this book: boredom, clich茅d and empty characters, not enough balance (as in, there's no love in this book, and if the characters are so realistic why don't they love?), and predictable events. You know what it reminds me of? Marion Zimmer Bradley's equally famous The Mists of Avalon - another book I couldn't finish. If you like Arthurian fantasy, and that kind of style, then this would be a good book for you: the excessively patriarchal culture, the battles, the hint of magic and something glorious lurking around the edges but never coming to the fore, it's all here, neatly packaged. Obviously it works for a lot of people.
But to all those people who say that Martin has opened up the genre in new ways, that he is the best writer of the epic fantasy crowd and so on, I have to wonder, have they read anything else? And then I wonder whether it's a matter of which author you read first and grow attached to, and so compare all the others. I don't think I fell into that trap as such, because Jordan's lost the plot, literally, Goodkind's personal politics and propaganda have taken over his story, and the one epic fantasy series that I love above all others - to date - is Kate Elliott's Crown of Stars series, which I didn't start reading till I was in uni. But I really wonder, how this story grabbed other people. If it grabbed you, I'd love to hear how and why, because sometimes I feel like I'm too jaded or something, too snobby maybe ....
If you've heard of this book, or read it, you're probably aware that far from being the flop I assumed it was at the time (and I didn't know anyone who was reading it), the series has gone on to be one of the big Cash Cows of the fantasy genre. Computer games, role-playing games - there's even a board game that looks like Risk. Sooner or later there'll be a movie or something, no doubt (I'm moderately surprised one isn't in the works already). People love this book and this series. So I'm well aware I'll probably be lynched for this review, because even the people on 欧宝娱乐 who didn't like it still had great things to say about it.
But reviews are subjective, and here's mine.
In the vein of Tolkein, Jordan, Elliott, Goodkind, Hobb, Eddings, Feist et al, A Game of Thrones is set in the classicly boring-and-overdone medieval-England-esque setting, and is essentially about a bunch of nobles fighting over a throne. Great. Very original. Praised for its focus on political intrigue, its lack of magic and similar fantasy tropes, and its cast of believable and interesting characters, I found the book tedious. The first "epic fantasy" series I read (after Narnia) was Jordan's The Wheel of Time series, and it's true that I struggled with the first book, Eye of the World. But there were elements to it that I liked, characters who I felt attached to, enough to read the second book and become hooked, and so on. I love 1000-page long, fat fantasy books. I love huge casts of characters and have no problem keeping up with them. I've read Jennifer Fallon's Wolfblade trilogy and Second Sons Trilogy, both of which are heavy on political intrigue and very low on magic, and they're supurb. A Game of Thrones is not. It offers nothing new to the genre, and does nothing original with what it has.
Narrated in turns by Eddard (Ned) Stark, Lord of Winterfell; his wife Lady Catelyn; his bastard son Jon Snow; his very young daughters Sansa and Arya; his middle son Bran; Tyrion Lannister, a dwarf and brother to the Queen; and young Daenerys Targaryen, last of the line of dragon kings and exiled to the land beyond the narrow sea, the book is divided into neat chapters headed by the name of one or the other, so you know exactly whose point-of-view you're going to get and where you are in the plot. Thanks for holding my hand Martin, but I don't like this technique. The chapter headings, I'm referring to. It encourages me to start wondering about the character before I've even started reading. "CATELYN" the chapter title reads: is she young or old, a peasant, a farmer, a daughter, a mother, nice, mean... I start imagining things and then have to correct it all as the character is revealed during the chapter. There's power in names, and withholding them or putting elements of a character's personality first is often more compelling, and better writing. It also made it harder to get through the book, because at the end of one chapter I'd see the name of the next, think "oh great, him/her again, their story's boring" and put the book down.
Let me be perfectly straight: I did not find any of the characters to be particularly interesting; though Jaime Lannister had something about him, you hardly ever saw him. They all pretty much felt like the same character, just in different situations. The differences between them, for example the good-girl Sansa and her tomboy sister Arya, felt forced, superficial and clich茅d. Ned is all about honour and duty, but especially honour, with love a more minor consideration, but honestly, could the man be more stupid? Eddard's a moron, and dull, and his only saving grace is that he's nice to his daughters. Let's be clear about something else right here: this world and its people are so sexist and misogynist it's ludicrous. There are many derogatory references to women's tits, metaphors about screwing whores, descriptions of Daenerys getting her nipples pinched by her horrible brother Viserys - not to mention her marriage, at twelve, to a horselord whose men rape women like there's no tomorrow; incest and so on. The first time I tried to read this book, I was offended and disgusted (it didn't help that I'd read Pillars of the Earth not long before; though I did not grow up sexually repressed or prudish or anything like that, I have never found reading descriptions of rape to be all that easy, especially when they're treated so dismissively) - yet oddly my impressions of the characters were much more favourable. I read it now and I just felt contempt.
No one character stands out, though Arya has potential. Catelyn is as boring as her husband, and her sister Lysa is, let's face it, mad as a hatter and a sure sign of why women are unfit to rule (a clear message in this medieval-esque patriarchal world). Queen Cercei too. Tyrion, the dwarf, seems on the verge of having charisma but fails, and Daenerys... I want to like someone, but Martin doesn't give his characters any depth. Sure, they're all flawed and a flawed character is a great literary device - the anti-hero, etc. But Martin's characters are walking clich茅s, even the dwarf.
The plot is also pretty weak. I don't need elves and magic and dragons - in fact, I tend to avoid them, especially elves *yawn* - but you've gotta give me something else. A bildungsroman does wonders - yes, let me see the characters on a journey of life rather than a quest, quests are tired. There's no quest in A Game of Thrones, and that's fine with me. But what is there? Jon goes to the Wall that separates the wilderness from the Seven Kingdoms (why is it called the Seven Kingdoms when there's only one kingdom?) and is attacked by an Other, a kind of zombie creature; Ned goes to the capital to take up the role of King's Hand because the King, Robert, likes to spend his time boozing, whoring and hunting; Catelyn follows to tell him someone tried to kill Bran; Ned tries to discover why the previous Hand died... And swords with names, seriously, what's with that? I'm so sick of such blatant phallic symbols and their representations, and the whole creed of honour and duty and gallant knights...
What frustrates me most is that this could have been a really interesting story, if only the author had better talent at writing characters - or letting them write themselves. The plot is not the problem, though it's largely uneventful, with no climactic moments because even those are written at the same pace as the rest, with no drammatic flourishes (come on, we all like those, let's be honest). But the characters, *sigh*, their motivations are simplistic, their actions extremely predictable, and while they don't blur one into another neither do any of them stand out. Also, the type of setting seems mostly convenient: with the focus on the nobles and their squabbling, you don't learn much about the lower classes, or what kind of food is grown here, or what kind of industry supports the economy, or anything about the cultures - using the clich茅d medieval England setting allows Martin to ignore one of the more fascinating aspects of society and leaves his world shallow, like surface water, without support (using this old and worn Fantasy setting allows an author to get lazy about world-building). The history of the land is also riddled with clich茅s, and sort of thrown in here and there as if to remind the reader "it is a real place, look, here's what the First Men did!"
As for the writing, it's easy to read and calm, though very slow and rather lacking in tone or any interesting stylistic quirks: flat and bland, in other words. There's no atmosphere in this book. There're a few bad lines, like "A storm of rose petals blew across a blood-streaked sky, as blue as the eyes of death" (p.425) - his one concession to drama, it seems, though if you read it again you'll notice it doesn't actually make sense; and a few awkward sentences that leave you scrambling, such as "Catelyn watched her son [Robb Stark] mount up. Olyvar Frey held his horse for him, Lord Walder's son, two years older than Robb, and ten years younger and more anxious." (p.696) I noticed a similar sentence later, and I guess I know what he means but really, it's terrible writing.
On the plus side, there were a few things I liked. The direwolves - large ferocious animals as constant companions and protectors: always a winner with me; the intriguing climate, where summer and winter lasts years, decades even, before changing (how does that work? Seriously, what do they eat?); Daenerys' dragon eggs, and the Dothraki, the horse lords - though they were pretty superficial and confined to a rigid list of adjectives - I would have liked to understand their culture better. In many fantasy books my problem is the whole good vs. evil clich茅, which generally involves the plot. Here, my problem is that the characters are so black-and-white. They are described, good, that's settled, now what? There's no grey. No character development. They never once surprised me.
I honestly don't know if I'll read the next book. The Wheel of Time taught me (at the same age as I first tried reading this book, 16) that the first book in a series can be the weakest, because of the amount of extrapolation and background etc. that goes on. I didn't find that problem here, it was very grounded in the now, which makes me think the next book will be more of the same. I keep coming back to the reasons why I struggled to finish this book: boredom, clich茅d and empty characters, not enough balance (as in, there's no love in this book, and if the characters are so realistic why don't they love?), and predictable events. You know what it reminds me of? Marion Zimmer Bradley's equally famous The Mists of Avalon - another book I couldn't finish. If you like Arthurian fantasy, and that kind of style, then this would be a good book for you: the excessively patriarchal culture, the battles, the hint of magic and something glorious lurking around the edges but never coming to the fore, it's all here, neatly packaged. Obviously it works for a lot of people.
But to all those people who say that Martin has opened up the genre in new ways, that he is the best writer of the epic fantasy crowd and so on, I have to wonder, have they read anything else? And then I wonder whether it's a matter of which author you read first and grow attached to, and so compare all the others. I don't think I fell into that trap as such, because Jordan's lost the plot, literally, Goodkind's personal politics and propaganda have taken over his story, and the one epic fantasy series that I love above all others - to date - is Kate Elliott's Crown of Stars series, which I didn't start reading till I was in uni. But I really wonder, how this story grabbed other people. If it grabbed you, I'd love to hear how and why, because sometimes I feel like I'm too jaded or something, too snobby maybe ....
July 13, 2019
Ten years and five hundred comments later and men still think I care if they disagree with me.
WARNING: If you enjoyed this book, even a little bit, you may not want to read this review. It will probably make you angry. Heaven knows that the book made me furious, and I intend to turn every bit of that wrath back on it.
Instead, I suggest you read , , , or any other of the gushing four and five-star reviews here. If video reviews are more your style, I suggest about this book.
Realistically, I know a lot of you are not going to listen, which is why the edit is here. At least it will slow you down a little.
EDIT: adding one more thing because, despite the warning and the redirect links I kindly provided, I have indeed gotten the kind of sexist bullshit comments I anticipated. Before you launch into the usual defense, therefore, I give you this:
"Alternatively, some fans may find it tempting to argue 鈥淲ell this media is a realistic portrayal of societies like X, Y, Z鈥�. But when you say that sexism and racism and heterosexism and cissexism have to be in the narrative or the story won鈥檛 be realistic, what you are saying is that we humans literally cannot recognise ourselves without systemic prejudice, nor can we connect to characters who are not unrepentant bigots. Um, yikes. YIKES, you guys.
And even if you think that鈥檚 true (which scares the hell out of me), I don鈥檛 see you arguing for an accurate portrayal of everything in your fiction all the time. For example, most people seem fine without accurate portrayal of what personal hygiene was really like in 1300 CE in their medieval fantasy media. (Newsflash: realistically, Robb Stark and Jon Snow rarely bathed or brushed their teeth or hair). In real life, people have to go to the bathroom. In movies and books, they don鈥檛 show that very much, because it鈥檚 boring and gross. Well, guess what: bigotry is also boring and gross. But everyone is just dying to keep that in the script."
.
Here's the scoop on this review. For a book that I hate, I usually write a lot. After suffering for several hundred pages, I have pleeeenty of things to say. I've never hated a book that was quite as long as this one quite as much as I do, so I've had to alter my review so that I can say everything I want to without going over the character limit.
The first part is an unorganized rant. I marked pages with particularly annoying quotes on them; for these rants, I broke the book into segments of 100 pages and wrote up quotes and responses for each segment into separate blog posts. These are all linked below.
The second part will be a more organized rant masquerading as a review. MAKE NO MISTAKE: THIS IS A 'HATER' REVIEW. IF ANYTHING WAS GOING TO CAUSE ME TO SPONTANEOUSLY DEVELOP THE ABILITY TO BREATHE FIRE, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THIS BOOK.
Part 1:
Part 2:
There are
There are
And then...
there's this book, which did its level best to drive me to drinking.
and I don't even like alcohol.
I wanted to like this. I wanted it to be as excellent as so many people insist it is. There are some books that I went into expecting them to be horrible, but this isn't one of them. Oh, my hopes were high here - it was recommended by a plethora of great authors, including the guys of , who I absolutely love. Reviewers who I greatly respect rated it four and five stars and wrote at length about how awesome it was. Other people praised the book as "the greatest achievement of the fantasy genre so far" and Martin as "the greatest fantasy writer of all time".
It's those last two that are most important, I think, because I love the fantasy genre - always have, and hopefully always will. Fantasy is what got me into reading (well, Harry Potter, specifically) and it's been one of my mainstays for as long as I can remember. I bought this book in large part because it was so often touted as, if not always the greatest achievement of the genre, one of the major works of fantasy published in our time. Having recently read several works by Brandon Sanderson, all of which were innovative, highly readable, and deeply philosophical, I was excited to see what Martin (by all reports an even better writer than Sanderson) could do. I expected my mind to be blown, repeatedly, and to be faced with the challenge of writing a review for a book so staggeringly brilliant that I could hardly think straight after finishing it.
That is far, far, far from what I got.
First of all, this book is definitely not what I think of when I hear the word 'fantasy'. It's certainly far from my definition of 'high fantasy'. Now, I realize that my definition of 'high fantasy', which includes pervasive magic, unusual creatures, and a setting that is vividly far from the real world, is not the definition you'll find if you look the term up online. I also don't care. Seeing as the critical definition appears to characterize high fantasy solely by the fact that it doesn't take place on our Earth, and as this definition is written as if high fantasy and sword-and-sorcery are mutually exclusive, I'm inclined to conclude that whoever wrote said definition is pretty damn stupid and carry on with my own outlines of what makes fantasy high, low, urban, epic, or any other subcategory or combination thereof.
That said - this book? High fantasy? Not as far as I'm concerned. It is, to say the least, distinctly lacking in the requisite elements of the fantastic.
Is it possible that Martin is going for a 'the magic comes back' subplot over the course of the series? Definitely. Do I give two shits about the rest of the series? NOPE.
This book comes off as a pathetic attempt at fantasy by someone who doesn't really care about the genre, or doesn't know much about it. It mostly struck me more as an alternate universe War of the Roses fanfiction, with some hints of magic thrown in in a halfassed attempt to give it a place on the genre fiction shelves of bookstores. You can explain to me over and over how Martin intended to make his world 'gritty' and 'realistic' and I will tell you over and over that that shouldn't matter: that it is possible to have a fantasy which is gritty, realistic, and also utterly fantastical. It's even possible to do it without losing the particular areas where Martin seemed to be trying for gritty realism: since he chose to make all of his characters of the nobility anyhow, he wouldn't have had to worry about overglorifying the lives of the peasantry, as one might with a more economically diverse cast.
Now, I'm willing to give Martin the benefit of the doubt a little bit on the possibility of the 'magic comes back' thing, because there did seem to be elements here that could become fantastical if fully explained later. The problem, of course, is that they're tossed out without background, let alone proper explanation, and so feel jarring and out of place - not a coherent part of the world, but bits tossed in to be linked together later. Right now... all they managed to do was trip me up, throw me ass-over-teakettle out of the story, and leave me blinking at the page in confusion and not a little bit of frustration.
(And yeah, maybe part of why I'm so sore about this is that, like I said, I started this book not long after reading some Sanderson, and Sanderson is basically the king of seamless, fantastical, elegant worldbuilding, so pretty much anyone looks bad in comparison, but still.)
If I had to assign this book to a genre, I'd call it 'low fantasy', because as far as I'm concerned it was running too low on the qualities that make fantasy what it is. It's about as much fantasy as fanfiction that translates characters to the modern day is - namely, basically mundane with a miniscule twist.
The characters of this book also stand out... and not in a good way.
There are a lot of them - eight POVs and plenty more on the side - and not a single one of them is likeable. They all had the potential to be, which makes it worse. Bran, the Stark boy who learns too much and is crippled as a result, could have an interesting arc if it weren't so slow and drawn-out. The hints of genuine pathos-inducing story are definitely there. They're also present in the chapters focused on Catelyn, who is the closest Martin gets to a truly nuanced character. Ned Stark, Catelyn's husband, is supposed to be the noble one - too bad his 'nobility' comes off as stupidity instead. Jon Snow, Ned's bastard child, is a truly stereotypical fantasy character: the super special 'outcast' who is nonetheless generally loved except by those the narration makes a point to show as bigoted and cruel, who never really has to work either for physical skills or personal growth, and who gets gifted by the narrative with an absurd number of SUPER UNIQUE TRAPPINGS, including an albino wolf (really, Martin, REALLY? Are you secretly a fourteen year-old girl writing horrendous anime fanfic or something? Answer: no, and the comparison is insulting to fourteen year-old girls.) and a bastard sword that was a family heirloom of a noble house not his own. Arya is by far the most entertaining of the Starks, but only because she fulfills all sorts of rebellious-noble-girl-learns-to-fight tropes that I'm quite fond of. Sansa's chapters made me set the book down for days on end; she is beyond a shadow of a doubt the most insipid, annoying, airheaded character I have ever read and she has not a single whisper of a redeeming quality. Tyrion Lannister is what Jon Snow could have become without the heapings of Gary Stu in his youth: a bitter middle-aged man with father issues who turns to sex and crudity as his only defense; somewhat akin to Catelyn, he had the potential to be interesting and nuanced if his behavior hadn't been played dead straight.
And there's one more: Daenerys Targaryen. Oh, Dany, Dany, Dany. I could write a dissertation on Dany and everything that went wrong with her story - but I don't have that kind of time.
For those of you not familiar with this most epic of George R.R. Martin's characterization and plot failures, here is a summary:
(oh and spoilers, but I honestly can't be bothered to tag it.)
When we first meet her, Dany is thirteen years ond and about to be sold (effectively) into marriage with Khal Drogo, a warlord of the Dothraki people, by her abusive and not-a-little-bit-crazy brother, Viserys. Viserys has convinced himself that Drogo will help him take back 'his' kingdom - this being the Seven Kingdoms where the rest of the book takes place - hence the whole 'selling his sister to beraped by married to someone he obviously sees as a barbarian' thing. The marriage occurs, and then the wedding night in truly squicky half-detail. There then follows a long journey across the plains to a Dothraki city, during which Dany is raped (and no, I will not call it anything else) by Drogo. By her fourteenth birthday she is pregnant. When they arrive in the Dothraki city, Viserys makes such an ass of himself that Drogo kills him by pouring molten gold over his head in the middle of a feasting hall. Robert, the current king of the Seven Kingdoms who the Targaryens see as a usurper, sends assassins to kill Dany - naturally, they fail - and Drogo gets so angry at this that he decides to commit all his people to attacking the Seven Kingdoms in retribution. They leave the Dothraki city (at this point Dany is heavily pregnant) and go out to wreak havoc across the countryside on their way to conquest. In one such battle Drogo is wounded; because he refuses to care for the wound properly, it gets infected. When it is clear that he is going to die, Dany appeals to an old woman to perform forbidden magic to save him; the rest of Drogo's people do not approve and try to cast Dany out. End result: Dany loses her child to create a Drogo-zombie, which she then smothers. When his body is placed on the traditional pyre, she adds in three supposedly dead dragon eggs (given to her as wedding gifts and which any fool could see hundreds of pages off were bound to hatch) and, surprise surprise, they hatch.
To which my primary objections are:
1. The blinding obviousness of the ending
2. The fact that this single plotline - this single POV among eight - is so far distant from and so barely related to the others
3. The fact that Dany being raped is never treated as what it is, and that the relationship between her and Drogo is portrayed as love.
The first two are self-explanatory; the third, of course, is the big thorny problem. Now, I can sort of understand the perspective which argues that Dany is taking control of her sexuality - she comes to enjoy sex and even to initiate and control it at times. However, SHE IS AT NO POINT OLDER THAN FOURTEEN. There's a reason that such a concept as an 'age of consent' exists - there is an age at which teenagers are genuinely immature and probably shouldn't be making life-changing decisions like, say, things that could get them pregnant. Now, I understand that in the medieval times like those that this book is based on, girls were getting married and having children a lot earlier, and that people in general were more mature at an early age. However, Dany shows none of that maturity until after she's been with Drogo for weeks - if not months. When she's married to him, she is if anything unusually innocent for her age. It's a little hard for me to accept the idea that she's taking control of her sexuality when she's so young and clueless that her first sexual experience is a choice only inasmuch as she chooses not to fight back. Not fighting back, by the way, doesn't mean it's not rape, particularly in the situation that Dany is in (vastly younger than Drogo, vastly weaker, browbeaten by her abusive brother and told over and over that her obligation is to do whatever her husband wants). Nor are her later sexual experiences ones of choice; in fact, it is explicitly stated that even when she had horrible saddle sores and could barely walk, she was expected to be available for sex and treated as such. If anything, her eventual enjoyment of it seems more like a psychological block put up as a survival tactic than genuine pleasure in the act or love for Drogo.
Yet, despite the fact that this situation is obviously, beyond a shadow of a doubt, rape, it's never addressed in-text. If anything, it's portrayed as a positive experience for Dany, one that makes her stronger and enables her to stand up for herself.
Stupid me; I thought that the cancerous expansion of rape-as-love was limited to abusive jackass love interests in YA paranormal romances; clearly, I was wrong. It's everywhere, people. We are all completely fucking doomed.
Which brings me to one of the other major frustrations I had with this book: the sex.
Ummm... what to say? I thought reading some of the V'lane bits of while sitting next to my mother on the plane was uncomfortable; to my utter shock, that was nothing compared to reading the sex scenes of this book alone. No worry about someone looking over my shoulder and reading about MacKayla Lane getting hot and bothered - and yet even more awkward. Why? Well, as one reviewer put it (and I wish I could remember who to give them credit), they're written kind of as if they're these tremendous mythic events. I cringe at the very thought of quoting them, but to give you a little idea of what they're like... (worst romance sex scenes you've ever read) - (bizarre flowerly euphemisms) + (gratuitous use of the word 'manhood')*(general strange reverence for penises above and beyond the norm) + (incidences of incest) = Game of Thrones sex scene.
In general: AWKWARD.
(Just to be sure you feel my pain.)
This book felt male-oriented in a way that is so painfully forced that it made me distinctly uncomfortable. I don't mean that women can't enjoy it - obviously, as all the reviews I linked back at the top demonstrate, they can and they do. I mean that the book itself felt as if it were written for the most stereotypical male audience imaginable. As described it, it reads like a soap opera for men. Because MEN want lots of violence, sex, swearing by female genitalia, and paper-thin motivations, right? Which is exactly what Martin dishes up.
and so is the book he's produced.
I thought at around the halfway point that I'd finish the book and be able to watch the HBO show to get the rest of the series without suffering through more awkwardly described sex scenes (not to mention the rest of it). By the time I finished, though, I had developed such a virulent hatred for this book, its author, and everything related to either of the above that I start grinding my teeth just reading praise for it. Watching the show would be vastly to my detriment - mostly because neither my hand nor my bank account would do well after I put my fist through the screen of my laptop.
In conclusion/summary:
Oh, and to the diehard defenders of this series, like those who were plaguing , who like to tell people who disagree with them that GRRM is the greatest writer of ALL TIME and that the female characters presented herein are feminist (or, to use an exact quote, that "GRRM has written some of the most independent, self-reliant heroines ever to grace the fantasy genre. It's more than half the reason he's so beloved. His female characters disdain male attention, are always smarter, faster, deadlier, and braver than any of their male counterparts. Kinda like feminists with swords" which is complete and utter bullshit), I have only one thing to say:
THANK YOU AND GOODNIGHT.
WARNING: If you enjoyed this book, even a little bit, you may not want to read this review. It will probably make you angry. Heaven knows that the book made me furious, and I intend to turn every bit of that wrath back on it.
Instead, I suggest you read , , , or any other of the gushing four and five-star reviews here. If video reviews are more your style, I suggest about this book.
Realistically, I know a lot of you are not going to listen, which is why the edit is here. At least it will slow you down a little.
EDIT: adding one more thing because, despite the warning and the redirect links I kindly provided, I have indeed gotten the kind of sexist bullshit comments I anticipated. Before you launch into the usual defense, therefore, I give you this:
"Alternatively, some fans may find it tempting to argue 鈥淲ell this media is a realistic portrayal of societies like X, Y, Z鈥�. But when you say that sexism and racism and heterosexism and cissexism have to be in the narrative or the story won鈥檛 be realistic, what you are saying is that we humans literally cannot recognise ourselves without systemic prejudice, nor can we connect to characters who are not unrepentant bigots. Um, yikes. YIKES, you guys.
And even if you think that鈥檚 true (which scares the hell out of me), I don鈥檛 see you arguing for an accurate portrayal of everything in your fiction all the time. For example, most people seem fine without accurate portrayal of what personal hygiene was really like in 1300 CE in their medieval fantasy media. (Newsflash: realistically, Robb Stark and Jon Snow rarely bathed or brushed their teeth or hair). In real life, people have to go to the bathroom. In movies and books, they don鈥檛 show that very much, because it鈥檚 boring and gross. Well, guess what: bigotry is also boring and gross. But everyone is just dying to keep that in the script."
.
Here's the scoop on this review. For a book that I hate, I usually write a lot. After suffering for several hundred pages, I have pleeeenty of things to say. I've never hated a book that was quite as long as this one quite as much as I do, so I've had to alter my review so that I can say everything I want to without going over the character limit.
The first part is an unorganized rant. I marked pages with particularly annoying quotes on them; for these rants, I broke the book into segments of 100 pages and wrote up quotes and responses for each segment into separate blog posts. These are all linked below.
The second part will be a more organized rant masquerading as a review. MAKE NO MISTAKE: THIS IS A 'HATER' REVIEW. IF ANYTHING WAS GOING TO CAUSE ME TO SPONTANEOUSLY DEVELOP THE ABILITY TO BREATHE FIRE, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THIS BOOK.
Part 1:
Part 2:
There are
There are
And then...
there's this book, which did its level best to drive me to drinking.
and I don't even like alcohol.
I wanted to like this. I wanted it to be as excellent as so many people insist it is. There are some books that I went into expecting them to be horrible, but this isn't one of them. Oh, my hopes were high here - it was recommended by a plethora of great authors, including the guys of , who I absolutely love. Reviewers who I greatly respect rated it four and five stars and wrote at length about how awesome it was. Other people praised the book as "the greatest achievement of the fantasy genre so far" and Martin as "the greatest fantasy writer of all time".
It's those last two that are most important, I think, because I love the fantasy genre - always have, and hopefully always will. Fantasy is what got me into reading (well, Harry Potter, specifically) and it's been one of my mainstays for as long as I can remember. I bought this book in large part because it was so often touted as, if not always the greatest achievement of the genre, one of the major works of fantasy published in our time. Having recently read several works by Brandon Sanderson, all of which were innovative, highly readable, and deeply philosophical, I was excited to see what Martin (by all reports an even better writer than Sanderson) could do. I expected my mind to be blown, repeatedly, and to be faced with the challenge of writing a review for a book so staggeringly brilliant that I could hardly think straight after finishing it.
That is far, far, far from what I got.
First of all, this book is definitely not what I think of when I hear the word 'fantasy'. It's certainly far from my definition of 'high fantasy'. Now, I realize that my definition of 'high fantasy', which includes pervasive magic, unusual creatures, and a setting that is vividly far from the real world, is not the definition you'll find if you look the term up online. I also don't care. Seeing as the critical definition appears to characterize high fantasy solely by the fact that it doesn't take place on our Earth, and as this definition is written as if high fantasy and sword-and-sorcery are mutually exclusive, I'm inclined to conclude that whoever wrote said definition is pretty damn stupid and carry on with my own outlines of what makes fantasy high, low, urban, epic, or any other subcategory or combination thereof.
That said - this book? High fantasy? Not as far as I'm concerned. It is, to say the least, distinctly lacking in the requisite elements of the fantastic.
Is it possible that Martin is going for a 'the magic comes back' subplot over the course of the series? Definitely. Do I give two shits about the rest of the series? NOPE.
This book comes off as a pathetic attempt at fantasy by someone who doesn't really care about the genre, or doesn't know much about it. It mostly struck me more as an alternate universe War of the Roses fanfiction, with some hints of magic thrown in in a halfassed attempt to give it a place on the genre fiction shelves of bookstores. You can explain to me over and over how Martin intended to make his world 'gritty' and 'realistic' and I will tell you over and over that that shouldn't matter: that it is possible to have a fantasy which is gritty, realistic, and also utterly fantastical. It's even possible to do it without losing the particular areas where Martin seemed to be trying for gritty realism: since he chose to make all of his characters of the nobility anyhow, he wouldn't have had to worry about overglorifying the lives of the peasantry, as one might with a more economically diverse cast.
Now, I'm willing to give Martin the benefit of the doubt a little bit on the possibility of the 'magic comes back' thing, because there did seem to be elements here that could become fantastical if fully explained later. The problem, of course, is that they're tossed out without background, let alone proper explanation, and so feel jarring and out of place - not a coherent part of the world, but bits tossed in to be linked together later. Right now... all they managed to do was trip me up, throw me ass-over-teakettle out of the story, and leave me blinking at the page in confusion and not a little bit of frustration.
(And yeah, maybe part of why I'm so sore about this is that, like I said, I started this book not long after reading some Sanderson, and Sanderson is basically the king of seamless, fantastical, elegant worldbuilding, so pretty much anyone looks bad in comparison, but still.)
If I had to assign this book to a genre, I'd call it 'low fantasy', because as far as I'm concerned it was running too low on the qualities that make fantasy what it is. It's about as much fantasy as fanfiction that translates characters to the modern day is - namely, basically mundane with a miniscule twist.
The characters of this book also stand out... and not in a good way.
There are a lot of them - eight POVs and plenty more on the side - and not a single one of them is likeable. They all had the potential to be, which makes it worse. Bran, the Stark boy who learns too much and is crippled as a result, could have an interesting arc if it weren't so slow and drawn-out. The hints of genuine pathos-inducing story are definitely there. They're also present in the chapters focused on Catelyn, who is the closest Martin gets to a truly nuanced character. Ned Stark, Catelyn's husband, is supposed to be the noble one - too bad his 'nobility' comes off as stupidity instead. Jon Snow, Ned's bastard child, is a truly stereotypical fantasy character: the super special 'outcast' who is nonetheless generally loved except by those the narration makes a point to show as bigoted and cruel, who never really has to work either for physical skills or personal growth, and who gets gifted by the narrative with an absurd number of SUPER UNIQUE TRAPPINGS, including an albino wolf (really, Martin, REALLY? Are you secretly a fourteen year-old girl writing horrendous anime fanfic or something? Answer: no, and the comparison is insulting to fourteen year-old girls.) and a bastard sword that was a family heirloom of a noble house not his own. Arya is by far the most entertaining of the Starks, but only because she fulfills all sorts of rebellious-noble-girl-learns-to-fight tropes that I'm quite fond of. Sansa's chapters made me set the book down for days on end; she is beyond a shadow of a doubt the most insipid, annoying, airheaded character I have ever read and she has not a single whisper of a redeeming quality. Tyrion Lannister is what Jon Snow could have become without the heapings of Gary Stu in his youth: a bitter middle-aged man with father issues who turns to sex and crudity as his only defense; somewhat akin to Catelyn, he had the potential to be interesting and nuanced if his behavior hadn't been played dead straight.
And there's one more: Daenerys Targaryen. Oh, Dany, Dany, Dany. I could write a dissertation on Dany and everything that went wrong with her story - but I don't have that kind of time.
For those of you not familiar with this most epic of George R.R. Martin's characterization and plot failures, here is a summary:
(oh and spoilers, but I honestly can't be bothered to tag it.)
When we first meet her, Dany is thirteen years ond and about to be sold (effectively) into marriage with Khal Drogo, a warlord of the Dothraki people, by her abusive and not-a-little-bit-crazy brother, Viserys. Viserys has convinced himself that Drogo will help him take back 'his' kingdom - this being the Seven Kingdoms where the rest of the book takes place - hence the whole 'selling his sister to be
To which my primary objections are:
1. The blinding obviousness of the ending
2. The fact that this single plotline - this single POV among eight - is so far distant from and so barely related to the others
3. The fact that Dany being raped is never treated as what it is, and that the relationship between her and Drogo is portrayed as love.
The first two are self-explanatory; the third, of course, is the big thorny problem. Now, I can sort of understand the perspective which argues that Dany is taking control of her sexuality - she comes to enjoy sex and even to initiate and control it at times. However, SHE IS AT NO POINT OLDER THAN FOURTEEN. There's a reason that such a concept as an 'age of consent' exists - there is an age at which teenagers are genuinely immature and probably shouldn't be making life-changing decisions like, say, things that could get them pregnant. Now, I understand that in the medieval times like those that this book is based on, girls were getting married and having children a lot earlier, and that people in general were more mature at an early age. However, Dany shows none of that maturity until after she's been with Drogo for weeks - if not months. When she's married to him, she is if anything unusually innocent for her age. It's a little hard for me to accept the idea that she's taking control of her sexuality when she's so young and clueless that her first sexual experience is a choice only inasmuch as she chooses not to fight back. Not fighting back, by the way, doesn't mean it's not rape, particularly in the situation that Dany is in (vastly younger than Drogo, vastly weaker, browbeaten by her abusive brother and told over and over that her obligation is to do whatever her husband wants). Nor are her later sexual experiences ones of choice; in fact, it is explicitly stated that even when she had horrible saddle sores and could barely walk, she was expected to be available for sex and treated as such. If anything, her eventual enjoyment of it seems more like a psychological block put up as a survival tactic than genuine pleasure in the act or love for Drogo.
Yet, despite the fact that this situation is obviously, beyond a shadow of a doubt, rape, it's never addressed in-text. If anything, it's portrayed as a positive experience for Dany, one that makes her stronger and enables her to stand up for herself.
Stupid me; I thought that the cancerous expansion of rape-as-love was limited to abusive jackass love interests in YA paranormal romances; clearly, I was wrong. It's everywhere, people. We are all completely fucking doomed.
Which brings me to one of the other major frustrations I had with this book: the sex.
Ummm... what to say? I thought reading some of the V'lane bits of while sitting next to my mother on the plane was uncomfortable; to my utter shock, that was nothing compared to reading the sex scenes of this book alone. No worry about someone looking over my shoulder and reading about MacKayla Lane getting hot and bothered - and yet even more awkward. Why? Well, as one reviewer put it (and I wish I could remember who to give them credit), they're written kind of as if they're these tremendous mythic events. I cringe at the very thought of quoting them, but to give you a little idea of what they're like... (worst romance sex scenes you've ever read) - (bizarre flowerly euphemisms) + (gratuitous use of the word 'manhood')*(general strange reverence for penises above and beyond the norm) + (incidences of incest) = Game of Thrones sex scene.
In general: AWKWARD.
(Just to be sure you feel my pain.)
This book felt male-oriented in a way that is so painfully forced that it made me distinctly uncomfortable. I don't mean that women can't enjoy it - obviously, as all the reviews I linked back at the top demonstrate, they can and they do. I mean that the book itself felt as if it were written for the most stereotypical male audience imaginable. As described it, it reads like a soap opera for men. Because MEN want lots of violence, sex, swearing by female genitalia, and paper-thin motivations, right? Which is exactly what Martin dishes up.
and so is the book he's produced.
I thought at around the halfway point that I'd finish the book and be able to watch the HBO show to get the rest of the series without suffering through more awkwardly described sex scenes (not to mention the rest of it). By the time I finished, though, I had developed such a virulent hatred for this book, its author, and everything related to either of the above that I start grinding my teeth just reading praise for it. Watching the show would be vastly to my detriment - mostly because neither my hand nor my bank account would do well after I put my fist through the screen of my laptop.
In conclusion/summary:
Oh, and to the diehard defenders of this series, like those who were plaguing , who like to tell people who disagree with them that GRRM is the greatest writer of ALL TIME and that the female characters presented herein are feminist (or, to use an exact quote, that "GRRM has written some of the most independent, self-reliant heroines ever to grace the fantasy genre. It's more than half the reason he's so beloved. His female characters disdain male attention, are always smarter, faster, deadlier, and braver than any of their male counterparts. Kinda like feminists with swords" which is complete and utter bullshit), I have only one thing to say:
THANK YOU AND GOODNIGHT.
December 24, 2022
A totally magnificent start to a seminal epic fantasy series. If you love watching the first season of Game of Thrones, you鈥檙e most likely going to love reading A Game of Thrones.
Like countless readers around the world, I probably wouldn鈥檛 have known about A Song of Ice and Fire without its TV series adaptation: Game of Thrones. I鈥檝e been following the TV series since the release of its first episode; I was utterly captivated by the originality of the storyline and characters. Upon finishing the first season of the TV show, I immediately picked up A Game of Thrones, and honestly? I couldn鈥檛 finish it; I put it down about a quarter into the book. It wasn鈥檛 because the book was bad per se; it was because the TV show鈥攁t least the first season鈥攄id such a spectacular job of adapting the first installment of A Song of Ice and Fire. When my first entrance into a series is through a well-produced TV series/movies adaptation which I ended up loving, I often find the original material鈥攗sually novels鈥攖o be inferior because I already know how the main story will go down. It鈥檚 the biggest reason why I struggled to finish The Fellowship of the Ring, and unfortunately, it鈥檚 also the reason why I couldn鈥檛 finish A Game of Thrones back then. Fast forward to now, years have passed since my first attempt at reading A Game of Thrones. I鈥檓 finally able to finish it, and I also loved it so much; I craved for more by the end of it.
Was there even anything new with the book once you have watched the first season? Not so much. There鈥檚 Ned鈥檚 dream and the differences in character鈥檚 ages; the age of the characters鈥攅specially The Starks and Daenerys鈥攊n the novel shocked me because they鈥檙e so much younger than they鈥檙e portrayed in the TV show. Then there鈥檚 also the fact that the book has more intricate world-building and history explained; story-wise, almost everything else was the same. On 欧宝娱乐, during the time of writing this review, A Game of Thrones has about 50,000 reviews and almost 2,000,000 ratings; I doubt anything I say about it will add anything substantial to what鈥檚 been said before. I have watched all the episodes in TV shows, and I pretty much know what the general plotline of the main series is all about. But I鈥檒l keep this review strictly narrowed to the reasons why鈥攊n my opinion鈥�A Game of Thrones and the first season of the TV show reached its phenomenal fame.
Picture: A Game of Thrones by Marc Simonetti
There鈥檚 immense strength in the unpredictability of Martin鈥檚 storytelling style. Martin is a storyteller that doesn鈥檛 follow the classic fantasy norm. A Song of Ice and Fire achieved something much greater instead; it has practically shaped modern fantasy. Sure, the series wouldn鈥檛 have reached its worldwide fame without the HBO adaptation of the series, but that doesn鈥檛 have any influence on the long-standing鈥攁nd ever-growing鈥攑raises for the books. Just observe the amount of inaccurate 鈥渋f you love Game of Thrones you will love this鈥� or 鈥淕eorge R. R. Martin/Game of Thrones meets whoever/whatever鈥� blurbs invading the current fantasy market; they鈥檙e uncountable.
Personally speaking, Martin brought a lot of something refreshing to the fantasy genre. Instead of writing a high fantasy comprised of magical battles and creatures, Martin did the opposite; magic and fantastical beings were relatively minimal, and unbelievably, he successfully nailed it. A Game of Thrones is not a story of good versus evil; it depicted a realistically grim story where the characters were morally flawed, grey, and the evilest beings in the world may not be The Others or dragons, but human after all. The good doesn鈥檛 always win, and the bad could brutally triumph. Martin explored this deeply and brilliantly within the bloody dispute and politics over the Iron Throne鈥攖he seat of the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms.
In the battle for the throne, no one is safe, not even the virtuous ones; the good and honorable ones frequently suffer more. The sense of unpredictability and danger sparked from Martin鈥檚 freedom and bravery to hurt and kill off the crucial main characters in the series鈥攁fter making his readers care for them鈥攂rought an intensity that can only be found in very few of my favorite fantasy series. And get this, the majority of these authors claimed Martin as one of their main inspirations.
There鈥檚 this meme that has been spreading around the internet. This meme compared George R. R. Martin to Steven Erikson. Erikson himself has stated that he鈥檚 not competing with Martin with his fantasy, and I have no idea how this even became a meme in the first place. I鈥檓 talking about this picture:
I strongly disagree with this meme. Don鈥檛 get me wrong; Malazan Book of the Fallen is one of my top favorite series of all time. However, the main strength of the series鈥攂y far鈥攄oesn鈥檛 lie in its character鈥檚 death. Honestly speaking, by book 5 or 6 of Malazan Book of the Fallen, the impact of the character鈥檚 death in the series has decreased significantly. Sometimes, I even eye-rolled when he killed off a character in the second half of the series; Erikson had an obsession with this particular plot device, and I was proven right over and over again. I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 a spoiler to say that Martin is a brutal author; he鈥檚 merciless towards his characters. But more importantly, ANY of the characters he decided to kill off frequently resulted in a massive and jaw-dropping impact that heavily affect the character鈥檚 decision and storyline progression.
If you鈥檝e watched the first season, is it still necessary to read the first installment of A Song of Ice and Fire? What exactly is the biggest reason to read A Game of Thrones after watching the first season of the TV show? I wouldn鈥檛 say that it鈥檚 required to do it, but you鈥檙e most likely going to love the reading experience, and you鈥檒l also get more out of it as I did. I鈥檝e said it at the beginning of this review, I鈥檓 a very critical person when it comes to experiencing the original material of an adaptation I truly loved. However, I was simply too immersed in this read, and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of reading it. And it鈥檚 all due to Martin鈥檚 impeccable narrative, characterizations, and world-building.
Picture: The Night鈥檚 Watch Oath by Didier Graffet
Character鈥檚 internal thoughts and world-building are two factors鈥攆rom my perspective鈥攖hat the TV show won鈥檛 be able to capture perfectly; they haven鈥檛 managed it to this day, and I doubt they will be able to with only one season left. Every character in the book was extremely well-developed. Although each new chapter always follows a different character鈥檚 POV than its previous one, all of them were superbly compelling and crucial to read. Reading A Game of Thrones brought a clearer and better understanding of the characterizations. That shouldn鈥檛 come as a surprise; they鈥檙e two different mediums of storytelling, and this is one of the main advantages of reading a novel than watching a movie/TV series. The nuances in the character鈥檚 thoughts, personalities, and motivations made them more human and believable. All POV chapters in A Game of Thrones were written efficiently and effectively. Martin colored his characters with distinctive voices terrifically that every single dialogue and action felt like an addictive dance of inspiring and memorable words.
The world-building was outstandingly intricate and immersive. A Song of Ice and Fire is a complex epic fantasy with multi-layered world-building; history upon history, accompanied with character鈥檚 connections that sprawled throughout the world. I mean it, if you鈥檙e not a fan of a massive fantasy world with detailed histories, politics, and many characters, you might want to prepare yourself before getting into this book. I do, however, believe that the complex and sprawling world that Martin created is somehow quite accessible to many fantasy readers.
After you finished the novel, a realization will dawn that the main story and chaos have only just begun. A Game of Thrones is an absolutely stunning beginning to an incomplete legendary fantasy series. I鈥檓 seriously holding myself back here; the novel's strengths and why this book/series is so special and important for modern fantasy will need at least another thousand words to elaborate. But I doubt I need to; practically every fantasy reader these days knows about the existence of A Game of Thrones. The worldwide fame of this series speaks for itself already; quality stays. I recommend this novel with all my heart to every epic fantasy reader. The intricacies of the plot, characterizations, and world-building are worth your utmost attention; the maximum depth of them can only be achieved by reading the book, nowhere else. I feel like I鈥檝e gotten to know the characters and world further after reading A Game of Thrones, and I鈥檓 undeniably excited to continue reading A Song of Ice and Fire. Currently, A Song of Ice and Fire remain frozen in an incomplete鈥攎ost likely won鈥檛 ever be finished鈥攕tatus, but that doesn鈥檛 matter; reading this series is irresistible to me. Even if A Song of Ice and Fire doesn鈥檛 end up fully composed, I鈥檓 confident I鈥檓 happier to have read the series than not. That鈥檚 how incredible A Game of Thrones is.
Sidenote regarding the 20th Anniversary Illustrated Edition:
The 20th Anniversary Illustrated Edition is freaking gorgeous, and its production value is high; no doubt about that. However, I strongly recommend you to read this edition only if you have watched the first season of the TV series or you鈥檙e on your reread. If you鈥檙e a newcomer to the story, I suggest reading the prose-only edition instead. This edition is beautiful; each chapter begins with a black and white illustration done by highly praised artists in the industry. I mean it, each art could鈥檝e worked as a cover art due to its beauty and quality, even when most of the arts aren鈥檛 original to this edition. But this is also the main problem of this edition. Most of the art appeared at the start of a chapter, and they have a strong tendency of giving spoilers, or at least hints, of what鈥檚 to come in the particular chapter. Not to mention that a lot of the colored artworks are placed on the wrong page. An event happened in a chapter, but the colored artwork of that scene could appear in the next or previous chapter, which frankly just doesn鈥檛 make any sense. Because of all these, I think it would be best if a complete newcomer to the series read the text-only edition.
Pictures: Two examples of Magali Villeneuve鈥檚 illustrations for A Game of Thrones: 20th Anniversary Illustrated Edition. Pictures are taken from her Twitter account and official website.
You can order the book from:
You can find and the rest of my reviews at | I also have a
Special thanks to my Patrons on for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Andrew, Annabeth, Ben, Blaise, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Element, Ellen, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jimmy Nutts, Jennifer, Joie, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Meryl, Mike, Miracle, Nicholas, Samuel, Sarah, Sarah, Shaad, Xero, Wendy, Wick, Zoe.
Like countless readers around the world, I probably wouldn鈥檛 have known about A Song of Ice and Fire without its TV series adaptation: Game of Thrones. I鈥檝e been following the TV series since the release of its first episode; I was utterly captivated by the originality of the storyline and characters. Upon finishing the first season of the TV show, I immediately picked up A Game of Thrones, and honestly? I couldn鈥檛 finish it; I put it down about a quarter into the book. It wasn鈥檛 because the book was bad per se; it was because the TV show鈥攁t least the first season鈥攄id such a spectacular job of adapting the first installment of A Song of Ice and Fire. When my first entrance into a series is through a well-produced TV series/movies adaptation which I ended up loving, I often find the original material鈥攗sually novels鈥攖o be inferior because I already know how the main story will go down. It鈥檚 the biggest reason why I struggled to finish The Fellowship of the Ring, and unfortunately, it鈥檚 also the reason why I couldn鈥檛 finish A Game of Thrones back then. Fast forward to now, years have passed since my first attempt at reading A Game of Thrones. I鈥檓 finally able to finish it, and I also loved it so much; I craved for more by the end of it.
鈥�... a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.鈥�
Was there even anything new with the book once you have watched the first season? Not so much. There鈥檚 Ned鈥檚 dream and the differences in character鈥檚 ages; the age of the characters鈥攅specially The Starks and Daenerys鈥攊n the novel shocked me because they鈥檙e so much younger than they鈥檙e portrayed in the TV show. Then there鈥檚 also the fact that the book has more intricate world-building and history explained; story-wise, almost everything else was the same. On 欧宝娱乐, during the time of writing this review, A Game of Thrones has about 50,000 reviews and almost 2,000,000 ratings; I doubt anything I say about it will add anything substantial to what鈥檚 been said before. I have watched all the episodes in TV shows, and I pretty much know what the general plotline of the main series is all about. But I鈥檒l keep this review strictly narrowed to the reasons why鈥攊n my opinion鈥�A Game of Thrones and the first season of the TV show reached its phenomenal fame.
Picture: A Game of Thrones by Marc Simonetti
There鈥檚 immense strength in the unpredictability of Martin鈥檚 storytelling style. Martin is a storyteller that doesn鈥檛 follow the classic fantasy norm. A Song of Ice and Fire achieved something much greater instead; it has practically shaped modern fantasy. Sure, the series wouldn鈥檛 have reached its worldwide fame without the HBO adaptation of the series, but that doesn鈥檛 have any influence on the long-standing鈥攁nd ever-growing鈥攑raises for the books. Just observe the amount of inaccurate 鈥渋f you love Game of Thrones you will love this鈥� or 鈥淕eorge R. R. Martin/Game of Thrones meets whoever/whatever鈥� blurbs invading the current fantasy market; they鈥檙e uncountable.
鈥淏ran thought about it. 'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'
'That is the only time a man can be brave,' his father told him.鈥�
Personally speaking, Martin brought a lot of something refreshing to the fantasy genre. Instead of writing a high fantasy comprised of magical battles and creatures, Martin did the opposite; magic and fantastical beings were relatively minimal, and unbelievably, he successfully nailed it. A Game of Thrones is not a story of good versus evil; it depicted a realistically grim story where the characters were morally flawed, grey, and the evilest beings in the world may not be The Others or dragons, but human after all. The good doesn鈥檛 always win, and the bad could brutally triumph. Martin explored this deeply and brilliantly within the bloody dispute and politics over the Iron Throne鈥攖he seat of the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms.
鈥淲hy is it always the innocents who suffer most, when you high lords play your game of thrones?鈥�
In the battle for the throne, no one is safe, not even the virtuous ones; the good and honorable ones frequently suffer more. The sense of unpredictability and danger sparked from Martin鈥檚 freedom and bravery to hurt and kill off the crucial main characters in the series鈥攁fter making his readers care for them鈥攂rought an intensity that can only be found in very few of my favorite fantasy series. And get this, the majority of these authors claimed Martin as one of their main inspirations.
鈥淲hen you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.鈥�
There鈥檚 this meme that has been spreading around the internet. This meme compared George R. R. Martin to Steven Erikson. Erikson himself has stated that he鈥檚 not competing with Martin with his fantasy, and I have no idea how this even became a meme in the first place. I鈥檓 talking about this picture:
I strongly disagree with this meme. Don鈥檛 get me wrong; Malazan Book of the Fallen is one of my top favorite series of all time. However, the main strength of the series鈥攂y far鈥攄oesn鈥檛 lie in its character鈥檚 death. Honestly speaking, by book 5 or 6 of Malazan Book of the Fallen, the impact of the character鈥檚 death in the series has decreased significantly. Sometimes, I even eye-rolled when he killed off a character in the second half of the series; Erikson had an obsession with this particular plot device, and I was proven right over and over again. I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 a spoiler to say that Martin is a brutal author; he鈥檚 merciless towards his characters. But more importantly, ANY of the characters he decided to kill off frequently resulted in a massive and jaw-dropping impact that heavily affect the character鈥檚 decision and storyline progression.
鈥淲hat is honor compared to a woman's love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms . . . or the memory of a brother's smile? Wind and words. Wind and words. We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy.鈥�
If you鈥檝e watched the first season, is it still necessary to read the first installment of A Song of Ice and Fire? What exactly is the biggest reason to read A Game of Thrones after watching the first season of the TV show? I wouldn鈥檛 say that it鈥檚 required to do it, but you鈥檙e most likely going to love the reading experience, and you鈥檒l also get more out of it as I did. I鈥檝e said it at the beginning of this review, I鈥檓 a very critical person when it comes to experiencing the original material of an adaptation I truly loved. However, I was simply too immersed in this read, and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of reading it. And it鈥檚 all due to Martin鈥檚 impeccable narrative, characterizations, and world-building.
Picture: The Night鈥檚 Watch Oath by Didier Graffet
Character鈥檚 internal thoughts and world-building are two factors鈥攆rom my perspective鈥攖hat the TV show won鈥檛 be able to capture perfectly; they haven鈥檛 managed it to this day, and I doubt they will be able to with only one season left. Every character in the book was extremely well-developed. Although each new chapter always follows a different character鈥檚 POV than its previous one, all of them were superbly compelling and crucial to read. Reading A Game of Thrones brought a clearer and better understanding of the characterizations. That shouldn鈥檛 come as a surprise; they鈥檙e two different mediums of storytelling, and this is one of the main advantages of reading a novel than watching a movie/TV series. The nuances in the character鈥檚 thoughts, personalities, and motivations made them more human and believable. All POV chapters in A Game of Thrones were written efficiently and effectively. Martin colored his characters with distinctive voices terrifically that every single dialogue and action felt like an addictive dance of inspiring and memorable words.
鈥淣ever forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.鈥�
The world-building was outstandingly intricate and immersive. A Song of Ice and Fire is a complex epic fantasy with multi-layered world-building; history upon history, accompanied with character鈥檚 connections that sprawled throughout the world. I mean it, if you鈥檙e not a fan of a massive fantasy world with detailed histories, politics, and many characters, you might want to prepare yourself before getting into this book. I do, however, believe that the complex and sprawling world that Martin created is somehow quite accessible to many fantasy readers.
鈥淎 lord must learn that sometimes words can accomplish what swords cannot.鈥�
After you finished the novel, a realization will dawn that the main story and chaos have only just begun. A Game of Thrones is an absolutely stunning beginning to an incomplete legendary fantasy series. I鈥檓 seriously holding myself back here; the novel's strengths and why this book/series is so special and important for modern fantasy will need at least another thousand words to elaborate. But I doubt I need to; practically every fantasy reader these days knows about the existence of A Game of Thrones. The worldwide fame of this series speaks for itself already; quality stays. I recommend this novel with all my heart to every epic fantasy reader. The intricacies of the plot, characterizations, and world-building are worth your utmost attention; the maximum depth of them can only be achieved by reading the book, nowhere else. I feel like I鈥檝e gotten to know the characters and world further after reading A Game of Thrones, and I鈥檓 undeniably excited to continue reading A Song of Ice and Fire. Currently, A Song of Ice and Fire remain frozen in an incomplete鈥攎ost likely won鈥檛 ever be finished鈥攕tatus, but that doesn鈥檛 matter; reading this series is irresistible to me. Even if A Song of Ice and Fire doesn鈥檛 end up fully composed, I鈥檓 confident I鈥檓 happier to have read the series than not. That鈥檚 how incredible A Game of Thrones is.
鈥淭he things I do for love.鈥�
Sidenote regarding the 20th Anniversary Illustrated Edition:
The 20th Anniversary Illustrated Edition is freaking gorgeous, and its production value is high; no doubt about that. However, I strongly recommend you to read this edition only if you have watched the first season of the TV series or you鈥檙e on your reread. If you鈥檙e a newcomer to the story, I suggest reading the prose-only edition instead. This edition is beautiful; each chapter begins with a black and white illustration done by highly praised artists in the industry. I mean it, each art could鈥檝e worked as a cover art due to its beauty and quality, even when most of the arts aren鈥檛 original to this edition. But this is also the main problem of this edition. Most of the art appeared at the start of a chapter, and they have a strong tendency of giving spoilers, or at least hints, of what鈥檚 to come in the particular chapter. Not to mention that a lot of the colored artworks are placed on the wrong page. An event happened in a chapter, but the colored artwork of that scene could appear in the next or previous chapter, which frankly just doesn鈥檛 make any sense. Because of all these, I think it would be best if a complete newcomer to the series read the text-only edition.
Pictures: Two examples of Magali Villeneuve鈥檚 illustrations for A Game of Thrones: 20th Anniversary Illustrated Edition. Pictures are taken from her Twitter account and official website.
You can order the book from:
You can find and the rest of my reviews at | I also have a
Special thanks to my Patrons on for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Andrew, Annabeth, Ben, Blaise, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Element, Ellen, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jimmy Nutts, Jennifer, Joie, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Meryl, Mike, Miracle, Nicholas, Samuel, Sarah, Sarah, Shaad, Xero, Wendy, Wick, Zoe.
June 14, 2018
yup.
nerds, now i am among you.
this is going to be a review where i just prattle on and on about meee meee meee, because let's face it - there are a million reviews of this puppy out there so i don't have to worry about doing a disservice to the book. you'll either read the book or you won't. but you should: it's got direwolves.
i wasn't going to read this. after years of watching hordes of desperate sad-eyed nerds coming up to me, asking "any news on the george r.r. martin release??" (like the bn computer knows more, somehow, than the internet. it doesn't) and i would have to tell them (not without some schadenfreude-glee) "nope - it has just been moved back another year!!" it gave me a solid sense of "there but for the grace..." like when you see a very young junkie and you congratulate yourself for dodging that particular bullet.
despite what i kept hearing about how awesome the books were, i just filed it away in the mental RA folder of "stuff nerds like" and figured one day i would read them, you know - for research, but not before they were all out - i wasn't going to get sucked into the trap of so many before me - the waiting game of disappointment and having to reread the older books again and again to keep track of who was even alive at this point. "when you play the game of thrones, you play to become frustrated and impatient."
i have seen it a hundred times.
so when the teevee show came out and people were drooling over how good it was, i paid them no mind. i pushed it two feet past the "someday" pile in my brain. because i am not one of those people who watch a movie before reading the book, am i??
but connor wore me down. he really wanted me to see it and he wanted to talk to me about it and his bearded little face was all lit from within with enthusiasm and i just couldn't say no to him.
so i did it. i watched the teeveee. on demand - several episodes in a row, pissed off if i started to get too sleepy to make it through another episode.
so so good.
so now, i had to read it, right? i owe it to the gods of fine literature and all.
so i did, and god this book is fun.
i am glad they changed a few things for the filmed version - i'm not sure i would have been too comfortable watching a thirteen-year-old actress play daenerys.
in the same line of thought - natalie - i know you have not watched the show yet, but your crush on jon snow?? perfectly understandable to someone watching the show - he has that dark brooding thing i can see a girl going for, but if you have only read the books?? girl, your crush is on a fourteen-year-old boy. i have notified the authorities, you perv.
in the end, i am glad i watched the show first, if only so that i know how to pronounce the characters' names. oh, you crazy high fantasy novels and your names...
alfonso won't read this series because of the incest and because they never tell you where the soldiers pooped. i am not kidding. several people complain that the seasonal imbalance complicates the growing cycle and where is all their food coming from. this point i can understand - fantasy novels are supposed to care about developing a fully-realized world and all, and that is kind of a major detail, but it doesn't bother me at all. i am no connoisseur of fantasy- i am a dilettante at best. so i don't care where people are getting their food - i don't care if the social hierarchy is a realistic one, given the particulars of this realm, i certainly don't care where the soldiers are pooping. nor do i care in any novel where and when the characters poop. i just like this book's quiet intrigues and betrayals. the diplomacy, the lack of hesitation when it is time for a character to be killed off. i love how there aren't any "good guys" or "bad guys," only "effective" and "ineffective" characters. every one of them does at least one thing that'll make a reader go, "oh, bad move." so he dropped a few details when it comes to agriculture - he spent all his energies into creating characters that i love reading about.there are facets to this thing - sides of the argument rarely seen in a straight-ahead rollicking plot-driven novel.
and i'm not really sure where the misogyny accusations come from. is it because women can't really ascend to power except through marriage?? because i don't think that was invented for this book - i am pretty sure that has happened, historically, in other places. and if it's the looting and raping, well - that happens in war, too. wait, is it sansa?? yeah, she's kind of a wash. but the girl wants what the girl wants. she's at least more complicated than bella, right? there are plenty of good characters here that aren't weak or power-mad, or just regular-mad... okay - there are a couple. but sheeeeit - all the characters here are pretty bad, on the moral spectrum, right? littlefinger is my very favorite, but i wouldn't want to know him in my real life. i appreciate his devotion, though.
so i am super excited about clash of kings, both the book i will read and the show i will watch. swords and boobies and direwolves. i don't even know how i am going to make it until then.
oh, because i was talking about boobies and HBO just there, connor was telling me this story about louis ck, and i loved it, and i found this quote. it is relevant!! hbo is nudity-crazy!! but he took care of their lust for flesh:
HBO was asking us why there was no nudity on the show, and what they really meant was, Why wasn鈥檛 Pamela Adlon, who played my wife, nude? When I hired Pam, I didn鈥檛 tell her she was going to be doing anything like that. It wasn鈥檛 supposed to be that kind of show. So I said, 鈥淵ou know what, I鈥檒l do it.鈥� And I did that episode, and they were like, 鈥淥.K., we have plenty of nudity, thank you.鈥�
hbo, thwarted!
look, dana, i read one of your books!!
and i have just discovered betterbooktitles.com!
nerds, now i am among you.
this is going to be a review where i just prattle on and on about meee meee meee, because let's face it - there are a million reviews of this puppy out there so i don't have to worry about doing a disservice to the book. you'll either read the book or you won't. but you should: it's got direwolves.
i wasn't going to read this. after years of watching hordes of desperate sad-eyed nerds coming up to me, asking "any news on the george r.r. martin release??" (like the bn computer knows more, somehow, than the internet. it doesn't) and i would have to tell them (not without some schadenfreude-glee) "nope - it has just been moved back another year!!" it gave me a solid sense of "there but for the grace..." like when you see a very young junkie and you congratulate yourself for dodging that particular bullet.
despite what i kept hearing about how awesome the books were, i just filed it away in the mental RA folder of "stuff nerds like" and figured one day i would read them, you know - for research, but not before they were all out - i wasn't going to get sucked into the trap of so many before me - the waiting game of disappointment and having to reread the older books again and again to keep track of who was even alive at this point. "when you play the game of thrones, you play to become frustrated and impatient."
i have seen it a hundred times.
so when the teevee show came out and people were drooling over how good it was, i paid them no mind. i pushed it two feet past the "someday" pile in my brain. because i am not one of those people who watch a movie before reading the book, am i??
but connor wore me down. he really wanted me to see it and he wanted to talk to me about it and his bearded little face was all lit from within with enthusiasm and i just couldn't say no to him.
so i did it. i watched the teeveee. on demand - several episodes in a row, pissed off if i started to get too sleepy to make it through another episode.
so so good.
so now, i had to read it, right? i owe it to the gods of fine literature and all.
so i did, and god this book is fun.
i am glad they changed a few things for the filmed version - i'm not sure i would have been too comfortable watching a thirteen-year-old actress play daenerys.
in the same line of thought - natalie - i know you have not watched the show yet, but your crush on jon snow?? perfectly understandable to someone watching the show - he has that dark brooding thing i can see a girl going for, but if you have only read the books?? girl, your crush is on a fourteen-year-old boy. i have notified the authorities, you perv.
in the end, i am glad i watched the show first, if only so that i know how to pronounce the characters' names. oh, you crazy high fantasy novels and your names...
alfonso won't read this series because of the incest and because they never tell you where the soldiers pooped. i am not kidding. several people complain that the seasonal imbalance complicates the growing cycle and where is all their food coming from. this point i can understand - fantasy novels are supposed to care about developing a fully-realized world and all, and that is kind of a major detail, but it doesn't bother me at all. i am no connoisseur of fantasy- i am a dilettante at best. so i don't care where people are getting their food - i don't care if the social hierarchy is a realistic one, given the particulars of this realm, i certainly don't care where the soldiers are pooping. nor do i care in any novel where and when the characters poop. i just like this book's quiet intrigues and betrayals. the diplomacy, the lack of hesitation when it is time for a character to be killed off. i love how there aren't any "good guys" or "bad guys," only "effective" and "ineffective" characters. every one of them does at least one thing that'll make a reader go, "oh, bad move." so he dropped a few details when it comes to agriculture - he spent all his energies into creating characters that i love reading about.there are facets to this thing - sides of the argument rarely seen in a straight-ahead rollicking plot-driven novel.
and i'm not really sure where the misogyny accusations come from. is it because women can't really ascend to power except through marriage?? because i don't think that was invented for this book - i am pretty sure that has happened, historically, in other places. and if it's the looting and raping, well - that happens in war, too. wait, is it sansa?? yeah, she's kind of a wash. but the girl wants what the girl wants. she's at least more complicated than bella, right? there are plenty of good characters here that aren't weak or power-mad, or just regular-mad... okay - there are a couple. but sheeeeit - all the characters here are pretty bad, on the moral spectrum, right? littlefinger is my very favorite, but i wouldn't want to know him in my real life. i appreciate his devotion, though.
so i am super excited about clash of kings, both the book i will read and the show i will watch. swords and boobies and direwolves. i don't even know how i am going to make it until then.
oh, because i was talking about boobies and HBO just there, connor was telling me this story about louis ck, and i loved it, and i found this quote. it is relevant!! hbo is nudity-crazy!! but he took care of their lust for flesh:
HBO was asking us why there was no nudity on the show, and what they really meant was, Why wasn鈥檛 Pamela Adlon, who played my wife, nude? When I hired Pam, I didn鈥檛 tell her she was going to be doing anything like that. It wasn鈥檛 supposed to be that kind of show. So I said, 鈥淵ou know what, I鈥檒l do it.鈥� And I did that episode, and they were like, 鈥淥.K., we have plenty of nudity, thank you.鈥�
hbo, thwarted!
look, dana, i read one of your books!!
and i have just discovered betterbooktitles.com!
September 10, 2024
I rated this in 2010. In 2017 it's time I actually use my words.
Here's my long overdue review of A Game of Thrones. I was looking at the current reviews. Here you have a book with a ridiculously high average rating, vast sales, and 鈥� the most liked reviews are three 1*s and an unrated comedy piece.
Do we love to hate *that* much? Apparently we do. Not only is knocking down easier than building, it鈥檚 also more fun to watch.
Well, sadly all I have to offer here is a less exciting set of praise for the genius and importance of this book.
The first bit of genius is that on paper GRRM writes in not only the opposite manner to me but in a manner I profess to dislike. Wait 鈥� I like how he writes on paper 鈥� you know what I mean.
Things he does that should annoy me:
I) Lengthy descriptions of 鈥� everything, especially food, clothing, and architecture. Normally I hate wading through that stuff to get at the story. Somehow GRRM does it in a way I like.
II) Large numbers of point of view characters. I normally find this makes each of them rather shallow and stereotyped. GRRM is magnificent with characters and brings even the throw away non-point of view ones to life.
III) Huge, expanding story lines. I tend to like some sort of focus but every corner you turn in this series can end up leading you down a seemingly endless rabbit hole of minor noble houses, their retainers, local squabbles, history etc. And this has irked me at points, especially in the later books, but it鈥檚 also kind of marvellous and makes everything feel really real, and also deep-rooted in a Tolkienesque way.
I maintain that not only is Game of Thrones a brilliant read, it鈥檚 also an important one for the genre. It鈥檚 meaningful to talk about post-GRRM fantasy.
For many people, indeed for a decent chunk of a whole generation of fantasy authors, George RR Martin's A Game of Thrones was a step change in the genre.
For me and a lot of other authors Martin's work opened our eyes to what felt like a whole different world of what fantasy writing could be, and we've run out into those new territories eager to try to copy not the style or substance, but the quality.
In my youth when we entered a fantasy land we were expected to suspending our belief about magic and alternate worlds, but not only that. We were expected to enter a sort of mythic / fairy tale world where people weren't quite... real. They didn't feel like actual regular humans, bound by the same fears, worries, ambitions, aches and pains as you and I - they felt more like actors in roles, cogs in a plot engine, icons and ciphers. They were too good, or too evil.
Fantasy had its conventions and we played within them, reader and author exercised a mutual understanding regarding the rules - rather like ancient Greek theatre, or a musical where for no reason the cast can break from the story into a rousing song.
Of course I exaggerate. And this isn't to say that authors didn't weave fascinating and compelling stories within those conventions. The fantasy of the 70s and 80s kept me very happy and some of it was written by writers of surpassing genius. Even so... it was quite definitely 'apart' from the books that really touched me or showed me new things about 'what it's all about' - works of literary fiction, and miles distant from what 99% of the public was reading.
The step I'm talking about may be entirely artificial or demonstrable fact. It may be that in the 90's when I was reading very little fantasy the genre moved smoothly into what it is now. It may be that GRRM is talked of as a step change by so many simply because his success meant that A Game of Thrones was the first book that fantasy exiles actually picked up after their absence, and thus they saw in it a 'sudden' significant difference ... or it may be that he really did raise the bar in one swift move.
Either way, what he did was to present us with real people. I'm not talking about the 'gritty realism' that is of late so hotly debated in some quarters of the interwebs - I'm just talking about the strength of his characterisation, the creation of real people with everyday weaknesses, wants, ambitions, set in a world that feels like it has a genuine past that matters to them, both on the grand and small scales.
What he did drew many people back into the genre, as readers and as writers. His work was both a challenge and an invitation. He showed what fantasy could be. Real people who didn't carry a particular flaw around like an attribute rolled up in a role-playing game, but who were complex, capable of both good and evil, victims of circumstance, heroes of the moment. Heroes in gleaming mail could suffer from corns without it being a joke. That's a big part of his secret - EVERYONE IS HUMAN - get behind their eyes and nobody is perfect, nobody is worthless.
I don't write anything like George RR Martin. I don't lay claim to any significant portion of his talent. But I do count myself as one of his many inheritors (in this game you can inherit without requiring the other person to stop writing!). And what I inherited was the desire (if not the ability) to put it all on the page. Fantasy no longer feels like an acquired taste, a club where you have to learn the conventions, the forms, what the masks mean, what the short hand is for... fantasy feels real. And I love it.
...
Here's my long overdue review of A Game of Thrones. I was looking at the current reviews. Here you have a book with a ridiculously high average rating, vast sales, and 鈥� the most liked reviews are three 1*s and an unrated comedy piece.
Do we love to hate *that* much? Apparently we do. Not only is knocking down easier than building, it鈥檚 also more fun to watch.
Well, sadly all I have to offer here is a less exciting set of praise for the genius and importance of this book.
The first bit of genius is that on paper GRRM writes in not only the opposite manner to me but in a manner I profess to dislike. Wait 鈥� I like how he writes on paper 鈥� you know what I mean.
Things he does that should annoy me:
I) Lengthy descriptions of 鈥� everything, especially food, clothing, and architecture. Normally I hate wading through that stuff to get at the story. Somehow GRRM does it in a way I like.
II) Large numbers of point of view characters. I normally find this makes each of them rather shallow and stereotyped. GRRM is magnificent with characters and brings even the throw away non-point of view ones to life.
III) Huge, expanding story lines. I tend to like some sort of focus but every corner you turn in this series can end up leading you down a seemingly endless rabbit hole of minor noble houses, their retainers, local squabbles, history etc. And this has irked me at points, especially in the later books, but it鈥檚 also kind of marvellous and makes everything feel really real, and also deep-rooted in a Tolkienesque way.
I maintain that not only is Game of Thrones a brilliant read, it鈥檚 also an important one for the genre. It鈥檚 meaningful to talk about post-GRRM fantasy.
For many people, indeed for a decent chunk of a whole generation of fantasy authors, George RR Martin's A Game of Thrones was a step change in the genre.
For me and a lot of other authors Martin's work opened our eyes to what felt like a whole different world of what fantasy writing could be, and we've run out into those new territories eager to try to copy not the style or substance, but the quality.
In my youth when we entered a fantasy land we were expected to suspending our belief about magic and alternate worlds, but not only that. We were expected to enter a sort of mythic / fairy tale world where people weren't quite... real. They didn't feel like actual regular humans, bound by the same fears, worries, ambitions, aches and pains as you and I - they felt more like actors in roles, cogs in a plot engine, icons and ciphers. They were too good, or too evil.
Fantasy had its conventions and we played within them, reader and author exercised a mutual understanding regarding the rules - rather like ancient Greek theatre, or a musical where for no reason the cast can break from the story into a rousing song.
Of course I exaggerate. And this isn't to say that authors didn't weave fascinating and compelling stories within those conventions. The fantasy of the 70s and 80s kept me very happy and some of it was written by writers of surpassing genius. Even so... it was quite definitely 'apart' from the books that really touched me or showed me new things about 'what it's all about' - works of literary fiction, and miles distant from what 99% of the public was reading.
The step I'm talking about may be entirely artificial or demonstrable fact. It may be that in the 90's when I was reading very little fantasy the genre moved smoothly into what it is now. It may be that GRRM is talked of as a step change by so many simply because his success meant that A Game of Thrones was the first book that fantasy exiles actually picked up after their absence, and thus they saw in it a 'sudden' significant difference ... or it may be that he really did raise the bar in one swift move.
Either way, what he did was to present us with real people. I'm not talking about the 'gritty realism' that is of late so hotly debated in some quarters of the interwebs - I'm just talking about the strength of his characterisation, the creation of real people with everyday weaknesses, wants, ambitions, set in a world that feels like it has a genuine past that matters to them, both on the grand and small scales.
What he did drew many people back into the genre, as readers and as writers. His work was both a challenge and an invitation. He showed what fantasy could be. Real people who didn't carry a particular flaw around like an attribute rolled up in a role-playing game, but who were complex, capable of both good and evil, victims of circumstance, heroes of the moment. Heroes in gleaming mail could suffer from corns without it being a joke. That's a big part of his secret - EVERYONE IS HUMAN - get behind their eyes and nobody is perfect, nobody is worthless.
I don't write anything like George RR Martin. I don't lay claim to any significant portion of his talent. But I do count myself as one of his many inheritors (in this game you can inherit without requiring the other person to stop writing!). And what I inherited was the desire (if not the ability) to put it all on the page. Fantasy no longer feels like an acquired taste, a club where you have to learn the conventions, the forms, what the masks mean, what the short hand is for... fantasy feels real. And I love it.
...
December 9, 2020
Okay - I am SO incredibly late to this party but hey, I made it! And the hype was real!
Winter is coming.Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark lives with his family in a world where the seasons are thrown completely off - summers last decades, and winters are equally long.
His five children, plus his bastard son (Jon Snow) are on the way back to their home, Winterfell, when they stumble upon and subsequently adopt six direwolf pups (the symbol of the Starks), with the albino runt going to John.
When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.Upon returning home, King Robert Baratheon, an old friend of Ned, recruits the Lord to replace the adviser to the crown.
At first, he was hesitant but upon learning that the Queen Cersei Lannister may be behind the death of the previous adviser, he decides to go in order to protect his friend.
Unfortuntately, before he goes, Bran (Ned's youngest son) discovers that which results in Bran becoming crippled.
Ned must leave his grievously injured son and travel with Sansa and Arya (Ned's daughters) to the King's Landing...where Ned realizes that the King has become ineffective and consumed by his love of drinking, gambling and hunting.
Meanwhile, tensions increase between the Starks and the Lannisters, especially between Joffrey, the crown prince, and the Stark children mount.
And tensions further rise when it's discovered that Tyrion Lannister's dagger is the one found near Bran...which leads to Tyrion's abduction.
Meanwhile, Jon Snow volunteered to go to the Wall - a barrier surrounding the Seven Kingdoms made of ice an magic - under the impression that it is a brave and noble occupation...only to find out that it's a last-hope sort of place.
Nothing burns like the cold.After a period of rough adjustment, Jon finds his place among the recruits only to discover something distinctly Other lives beyond these walls.
Fear cuts deeper than swords.Across the way, there is revenge on the air.
Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen are the last living Targaryens - the old ruling family before King Robert Baratheon overthrew their father, murdered their family and banished them to poverty.
Viserys is dead set on getting his kingdom back, and soon betrothed Daenerys, his thirteen-year-old sister, to Khal Drogo, a nomadic warlord with the promise of an army in exchange and three petrified dragon eggs for Daenerys.
Daenerys is terrified at first, but soon embraces her role as Queen of the nomadic tribes, even finding the courage to stand up to her brother.
When Khal Drogo is injuried, Daenerys is forced to make the ultimate decision...
And, I finally get the hype but gosh dang, this one was a challenge to follow at times.
The plot jumped place to place to place, weaving together such an amazing world in such an exciting way...and yet with so many characters and scenes and NAMES for things that I kept having to Google what was what.
Even then, I was absolutely hooked by the complexity of both the characters themselves and the intricate politics that accompanied them...all with a heavy dose of magic and mayhem.
I loved the plot of Daenerys - the way she overcame her situation and ultimately ruled the clan was absolutely enthralling.
She was a small part of the overall plot, but I'm so excited to see where her character goes.
The politics, at times, became too much but every time I would get the least bit bored the plot would pick up and there'd be an absolute insane twist.
Such a good one - so excited for the next!
Audiobook Comments
Read by Roy Dotrice - and I'm extremely pleased with the reading. Fabulous tone and pacing, good use of emotion.
| | | | | Snapchat @miranda_reads
May 21, 2019
"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground."
3 1/2 stars. So in one weekend I finally finished the book I picked up and put down about ten years ago, and watched the final episode of the TV series I have loved for eight years. How odd that the book ended up better than I expected, and the TV show, um... didn't. Warning: I will be talking about the depiction of rape in this review.
I think I was more ready to commit this time around. I'd already watched the show and become invested in the characters, so reading 900 pages about them didn't seem so unattractive. I think it's quite well-written, especially the dialogue, which is where Martin shines. It's also just entertaining for the most part. The bloody vicious backstabbing kind of entertainment that, apparently, I do like.
It's also an amazing feat of world building. I was blown away by the amount of thought and detail that has gone into this-- and it's just the first book. Martin has considered details that would never have even crossed my mind - little sayings, folktales and quirks particular to the people of certain regions or certain houses - but it all serves to make a very rich and complex world that is all the more believable for it. He has created a whole new universe from scratch, one with thousands of years of history, and many different peoples and cultures. It's breathtaking, honestly.
Unfortunately, it's not all good. Saying nothing of the show's finale, there are many strong and smart women in this series with fantastic story arcs, and yet the book (and show) cannot shake some of its misogyny. Tatiana covered this well. 13-year-old Dany's "romance" with her rapist is one of the lowest points.
On this read of I found the exact moment I put it down the first time around. I got further than I remembered. It was that moment during Dany and Drogo's wedding when a woman is raped. It wasn't the rape in itself. Though of course I find rape deeply disturbing, I also know that it has been a horrible but true reality in many wars and societies. Showing that it happens does not seem unrealistic. What I found truly awful about this one scene, though, was the way the woman was barely described as a person. We don't know what her name was, what she looked like, what her reaction was, or what her fate was. This woman being raped was so throwaway, with the focus of the scene being the Dothraki who were raping her and fighting over her.
The only thing that kept me reading this time was knowing that there are so many amazing female characters in this series who are treated with empathy and - for the most part - respect by the author. I am just hoping that Martin finishes these bloody books so we can get a better ending than the show *fingers crossed*
Oh, and I 100% agree with the show writers decision to up the ages of major characters like Robb, Jon and Dany. It seemed like a very odd decision to have 13-15 year olds leading wars and revolutions.
This would be a good series if you're a fan of gory historical fiction. You know the kind with bloody battles, political upheaval, and despicable people? It's like that, but with dragons. Don't read this if you are sensitive to scenes of graphic violence, rape and/or incest.
| | | |
August 12, 2024
A Male Soap Opera
Yeah, I know that I鈥檓 late to the party, but better late than never, right?
The Game of Thrones is an epic tale that rotates between nine different points of view. The kingdom has enjoyed a relative peace with King Robert on the throne when he decided to name his second in command as Eddard Stark of Winterfell. However, there is plotting in the kingdom. Will The Starks be safe? And who will sit on the throne?
When I picked this book up, I was so confused, because there were three different characters, and lots of information coming my way. Then, I would just get my bearings and be switched to a new character鈥檚 point of view with an entire set of characters.
However, I realized that this book is exactly like a soap opera except with males as the target audience. The book will switch to different characters, and they are usually connected in some fashion to each other. There is a lot of repeating of information so if you don鈥檛 catch on the first time or forget something, there is a good likelihood that it will be repeated.
Instead of the traditional soap opera focusing on gazing into each other鈥檚 eyes and whispering sweet nothings into each other鈥檚 ears, this book replaced all of the romance with lust. There is quite a bit of steam.
As any good soap opera, it is filled with lots of characters, and Game of Thrones has a lot of characters with interesting backstory. There is betrayal, humor, alliances, and battles.
Lev Grossman in Time Magazine proclaimed George R.R. Martin as 鈥渢he American Tolkien.鈥� As someone who has read quite a bit of Tolkien, I could not disagree more. Although these books are both fantasy, that is about all these books have in common. The Lord of the Rings had extremely long paragraphs and detailed descriptions of the various fantasy creatures. It focused on one character鈥檚 point of view. Although I admire Tolkien鈥檚 imagination and all the inspiration that he provided to the fantasy community, I had a very difficult time conjuring up the images that he was describing in great detail. It took me nearly five months to read The Lord of the Rings because it was such a chore and I kept falling asleep.
In contrast, I found myself looking forward to reading Game of Thrones throughout the day. It had many twists and unexpected turns. Martin skipped the lengthy descriptions and replaced them with interesting history and family relationships. Game of Thrones is multiple points of view on steroids, and it has short paragraphs that keep the action flowing.
Did I love Game of Thrones? You bet. If you know me, I value good storytelling, and Game of Thrones had that in spades. Is Game of Thrones perfect? Nope. If I hear 鈥渨inter is coming鈥� one more time, I think I might be sick. It was stated a whopping 12 times. That is too much even if there are inattentive readers. Also, the ending was rather weak.
Overall, this is an extremely entertaining book, and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
2025 Reading Schedule
Jan A Town Like Alice
Feb Birdsong
Mar Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
Apr War and Peace
May The Woman in White
Jun Atonement
Jul The Shadow of the Wind
Aug Jude the Obscure
Sep Ulysses
Oct Vanity Fair
Nov A Fine Balance
Dec Germinal
Connect With Me!
Yeah, I know that I鈥檓 late to the party, but better late than never, right?
The Game of Thrones is an epic tale that rotates between nine different points of view. The kingdom has enjoyed a relative peace with King Robert on the throne when he decided to name his second in command as Eddard Stark of Winterfell. However, there is plotting in the kingdom. Will The Starks be safe? And who will sit on the throne?
When I picked this book up, I was so confused, because there were three different characters, and lots of information coming my way. Then, I would just get my bearings and be switched to a new character鈥檚 point of view with an entire set of characters.
However, I realized that this book is exactly like a soap opera except with males as the target audience. The book will switch to different characters, and they are usually connected in some fashion to each other. There is a lot of repeating of information so if you don鈥檛 catch on the first time or forget something, there is a good likelihood that it will be repeated.
Instead of the traditional soap opera focusing on gazing into each other鈥檚 eyes and whispering sweet nothings into each other鈥檚 ears, this book replaced all of the romance with lust. There is quite a bit of steam.
As any good soap opera, it is filled with lots of characters, and Game of Thrones has a lot of characters with interesting backstory. There is betrayal, humor, alliances, and battles.
Lev Grossman in Time Magazine proclaimed George R.R. Martin as 鈥渢he American Tolkien.鈥� As someone who has read quite a bit of Tolkien, I could not disagree more. Although these books are both fantasy, that is about all these books have in common. The Lord of the Rings had extremely long paragraphs and detailed descriptions of the various fantasy creatures. It focused on one character鈥檚 point of view. Although I admire Tolkien鈥檚 imagination and all the inspiration that he provided to the fantasy community, I had a very difficult time conjuring up the images that he was describing in great detail. It took me nearly five months to read The Lord of the Rings because it was such a chore and I kept falling asleep.
In contrast, I found myself looking forward to reading Game of Thrones throughout the day. It had many twists and unexpected turns. Martin skipped the lengthy descriptions and replaced them with interesting history and family relationships. Game of Thrones is multiple points of view on steroids, and it has short paragraphs that keep the action flowing.
Did I love Game of Thrones? You bet. If you know me, I value good storytelling, and Game of Thrones had that in spades. Is Game of Thrones perfect? Nope. If I hear 鈥渨inter is coming鈥� one more time, I think I might be sick. It was stated a whopping 12 times. That is too much even if there are inattentive readers. Also, the ending was rather weak.
Overall, this is an extremely entertaining book, and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
2025 Reading Schedule
Jan A Town Like Alice
Feb Birdsong
Mar Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
Apr War and Peace
May The Woman in White
Jun Atonement
Jul The Shadow of the Wind
Aug Jude the Obscure
Sep Ulysses
Oct Vanity Fair
Nov A Fine Balance
Dec Germinal
Connect With Me!
Shelved as 'getting-even'
August 13, 2016Reader Logic:
I HATE this book.
I HATE it so much I had to get a new hardback copy to read so I could underline all the parts I HATE about it so much and post them on 欧宝娱乐.
I HATE it with such a passion I also bought copies for all my friends and family, also in new hardback editions, so they could HATE it along with me.
When the TV series came on I was so fuming with rage I watched the entire season twice and bought six copies of the DVD, because I could not believe how much I could HATE something.
I had spent so much time discussing how much I HATE this, with all my friends, who HATE it too and who all bought copies, I decided to get a George RR Martin tattoo on my buttock to show how strong my HATRED for his work is.
There was such a collectivity at the time鈥攍ike everyone uniting in HATING this together鈥攖hat some of us formed relationships in HATE. I met my wife at a George RR Martin convention and we got married as one of the characters, reciting parts of the book for our vows, and paid GRRM all our life savings to come read from his HORRIBLE book.
We HATE this beyond belief. Maybe one day, we鈥檒l read a book we like, and the author can get rich on LOVE.
I HATE this book.
I HATE it so much I had to get a new hardback copy to read so I could underline all the parts I HATE about it so much and post them on 欧宝娱乐.
I HATE it with such a passion I also bought copies for all my friends and family, also in new hardback editions, so they could HATE it along with me.
When the TV series came on I was so fuming with rage I watched the entire season twice and bought six copies of the DVD, because I could not believe how much I could HATE something.
I had spent so much time discussing how much I HATE this, with all my friends, who HATE it too and who all bought copies, I decided to get a George RR Martin tattoo on my buttock to show how strong my HATRED for his work is.
There was such a collectivity at the time鈥攍ike everyone uniting in HATING this together鈥攖hat some of us formed relationships in HATE. I met my wife at a George RR Martin convention and we got married as one of the characters, reciting parts of the book for our vows, and paid GRRM all our life savings to come read from his HORRIBLE book.
We HATE this beyond belief. Maybe one day, we鈥檒l read a book we like, and the author can get rich on LOVE.
March 20, 2022
(A-) 81% | Very Good
Notes: A shocking story that breaks fantasy conventions, it's seven hundred pages of realpolitik and character development.
Notes: A shocking story that breaks fantasy conventions, it's seven hundred pages of realpolitik and character development.
June 3, 2023
(A-) 81% | Very Good
Notes: A slow parade of entropy, it鈥檚 a panoply of pain: a delicate sweater, knit finely together, unraveled to a tangled skein.
Notes: A slow parade of entropy, it鈥檚 a panoply of pain: a delicate sweater, knit finely together, unraveled to a tangled skein.
March 17, 2014
First off, I'm a heavy duty fan of GRRM. I've read over a 100 different fantasy authors in my time. Took about 5 years off from the genre b/c I felt it was all getting too formulaic and cliched. So, when I came back to fantasy I read the usual: Goodkind, Jordan, etc. and then someone told me about GRRM and man, that was the kicker!
Here are the reasons to choose GRRM. I've also listed the reasons not to choose him to make it fair b/c I know their are certain personalities who won't like this series:
WHY TO READ GRRM
(1) YOU ARE TIRED OF FORMULAIC FANTASY: good lad beats the dark lord against impossible odds; boy is the epitome of good; he and all his friends never die even though they go through great dangers . . . the good and noble king; the beautiful princess who falls in love with the commoner boy even though their stations are drastically different . . . you get the idea. After reading this over and over, it gets old.
(2) YOU ARE TIRED OF ALL THE HEROES STAYING ALIVE EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE UNDER CONSTANT DANGER: this gets even worse where the author kills a main hero off but that person comes back later in the story. Or, a hero does die but magic brings him back.
This sometimes carries to minor characters where even they may not die, but most fantasy authors like to kill them off to show that some risked the adventure and perished.
(3) YOU ARE A MEDIEVAL HISTORY BUFF: this story was influenced by the WARS OF THE ROSES and THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR.
(4) YOU LOVE SERIOUS INTRIGUE WITHOUT STUPID OPPONENTS: lots of layering; lots of intrigue; lots of clever players in the game of thrones. Unlike other fantasy novels, one side, usually the villain, is stupid or not too bright.
(5) YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BIASED OPINIONS AND DIFFERENT TRUTHS: GRRM has set this up where each chapter has the title of one character and the whole chapter is through their viewpoint. Interesting tidbit is that you get their perception of events or truths. But, if you pay attention, someone else will mention a different angle of truth in the story that we rarely see in other novels. Lastly and most importantly, GRRM doesn't try to tell us which person is right in their perception. He purposelly leaves it vague so that we are kept guessing.
(6) LEGENDS: some of the most interesting characters are those who are long gone or dead. We never get the entire story but only bits and pieces; something that other fantasy authors could learn from to heighten suspense. Additionally, b/c the points of views are not congruent, we sometimes get different opinions.
(7) WORDPLAY: if you're big on metaphors and description, GRRM is your guy. Almost flawless flow.
(8) LOTS OF CONFLICT: all types, too; not just fighting but between characters through threats and intrigue.
(9) MULTILAYERED PLOTTING; SUB PLOTS GALORE: each character has their own separate storyline; especially as the story continues and everyone gets scattered. This is one of the reasons why each novel is between 700-900 pages.
(10) SUPERLATIVE VARIED CHARACTERS: not the typical archetypes that we are used to in most fantasy; some are gritty; few are totally evil or good; GRRM does a great job of changing our opinions of characters as the series progress. This is especially true of Jaime in book three.
(11) REALISTIC MEDIEVAL DIALOGUE: not to the point that we can't understand it but well done.
(12) HEAPS OF SYMBOLISM AND PROPHECY: if you're big on that.
(13) EXCELLENT MYSTERIES: very hard to figure out the culprits; GRRM must have read a lot of mystery novels.
(14) RICHLY TEXTURED FEMALE CHARACTERS: best male author on female characters I have read; realistic on how women think, too.
(15) LOW MAGIC WORLD: magic is low key; not over the top so heroes can't get out of jams with it.
REASONS TO NOT READ GRRM
(1) YOU LIKE YOUR MAIN CHARACTERS: GRRM does a good job of creating more likable characters after a few die. But, if that isn't your style, you shouldn't be reading it. He kills off several, not just one, so be warned.
(2) DO NOT CARE FOR GRITTY GRAY CHARACTERS: if you like more white and gray characters, this may unsettle you. I suggest Feist or Goodkind or Dragonlance if you want a more straight forward story with strong archetypes.
(3) MULTIPLE POINTS OF VIEWS TURN YOU OFF: if you prefer that the POVS only go to a few characters, this might be confusing for you.
(4) SWEARING, SEX: there's a lot of it in this book just as there is in real life.
(5) YOU DEMAND CLOSURE AT THE END OF EVERY BOOK: this isn't the case for all stories in the series. Some are still going on; some have been resolved; others have been created and are moving on.
(6) IF YOU WANT A TARGET OR SOMEONE TO BLAME: this can be done to some extent but not as much. This is b/c he doesn't try to make anyone necessarily good or evil.
(7) ARCHETYPES: some readers like archetypal characters because it's comfortable; we like the good young hero (sort of like Pug in Feist's THE RIFTWAR SAGA); it's familiar and we sometimes like to pretend we're this upcoming, great hero. You wont' get much of this in GRRM with the exception of one or two characters.
(8) LENGTH: you don't want to get into a long fantasy epic series. In that case, look for shorters works as this is biiig.
(9) PATRIARCHY: men are most of the main characters with lots of power (one female exception).
STORY/PLOTTING: A minus; CHARACTER/DIALOGUE: A minus to A; LEGENDS/WORLD BUILDING: A plus; FANTASY FOCUSES: A; OVERALL GRADE: A; WHEN READ LAST: 2009 (5 readings) (revised review April 2012; more pics added August 2013)
Here are the reasons to choose GRRM. I've also listed the reasons not to choose him to make it fair b/c I know their are certain personalities who won't like this series:
WHY TO READ GRRM
(1) YOU ARE TIRED OF FORMULAIC FANTASY: good lad beats the dark lord against impossible odds; boy is the epitome of good; he and all his friends never die even though they go through great dangers . . . the good and noble king; the beautiful princess who falls in love with the commoner boy even though their stations are drastically different . . . you get the idea. After reading this over and over, it gets old.
(2) YOU ARE TIRED OF ALL THE HEROES STAYING ALIVE EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE UNDER CONSTANT DANGER: this gets even worse where the author kills a main hero off but that person comes back later in the story. Or, a hero does die but magic brings him back.
This sometimes carries to minor characters where even they may not die, but most fantasy authors like to kill them off to show that some risked the adventure and perished.
(3) YOU ARE A MEDIEVAL HISTORY BUFF: this story was influenced by the WARS OF THE ROSES and THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR.
(4) YOU LOVE SERIOUS INTRIGUE WITHOUT STUPID OPPONENTS: lots of layering; lots of intrigue; lots of clever players in the game of thrones. Unlike other fantasy novels, one side, usually the villain, is stupid or not too bright.
(5) YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BIASED OPINIONS AND DIFFERENT TRUTHS: GRRM has set this up where each chapter has the title of one character and the whole chapter is through their viewpoint. Interesting tidbit is that you get their perception of events or truths. But, if you pay attention, someone else will mention a different angle of truth in the story that we rarely see in other novels. Lastly and most importantly, GRRM doesn't try to tell us which person is right in their perception. He purposelly leaves it vague so that we are kept guessing.
(6) LEGENDS: some of the most interesting characters are those who are long gone or dead. We never get the entire story but only bits and pieces; something that other fantasy authors could learn from to heighten suspense. Additionally, b/c the points of views are not congruent, we sometimes get different opinions.
(7) WORDPLAY: if you're big on metaphors and description, GRRM is your guy. Almost flawless flow.
鈥淲hat is honor compared to a woman's love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms . . . or the memory of a brother's smile? Wind and words. Wind and words. We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy.鈥�
鈥淲hy is it that when one man builds a wall, the next man immediately needs to know what's on the other side?鈥�
鈥淵ou are your mother's trueborn son of Lannister."
"Am I?" the dwarf replied, sardonic. "Do tell my lord father. My mother died birthing me, and he's never been sure."
"I don't even know who my mother was," Jon said.
"Some woman, no doubt. Most of them are." He favored Jon with a rueful grin. "Remember this, boy. All dwarfs may be bastards, yet not all bastards need be dwarfs."
And with that he turned and sauntered back into the feast, whistling a tune.
When he opened the door, the light from within threw his shadow clear across the yard, and for just a moment Tyrion Lannister stood tall as a king.鈥�
鈥淥h, my sweet summer child," Old Nan said quietly, "what do you know of fear? Fear is for the winter, my little lord, when the snows fall a hundred feet deep and the ice wind comes howling out of the north. Fear is for the long night, when the sun hides its face for years at a time, and little children are born and live and die all in darkness while the direwolves grow gaunt and hungry, and the white walkers move through the woods鈥�
(8) LOTS OF CONFLICT: all types, too; not just fighting but between characters through threats and intrigue.
(9) MULTILAYERED PLOTTING; SUB PLOTS GALORE: each character has their own separate storyline; especially as the story continues and everyone gets scattered. This is one of the reasons why each novel is between 700-900 pages.
(10) SUPERLATIVE VARIED CHARACTERS: not the typical archetypes that we are used to in most fantasy; some are gritty; few are totally evil or good; GRRM does a great job of changing our opinions of characters as the series progress. This is especially true of Jaime in book three.
(11) REALISTIC MEDIEVAL DIALOGUE: not to the point that we can't understand it but well done.
(12) HEAPS OF SYMBOLISM AND PROPHECY: if you're big on that.
(13) EXCELLENT MYSTERIES: very hard to figure out the culprits; GRRM must have read a lot of mystery novels.
(14) RICHLY TEXTURED FEMALE CHARACTERS: best male author on female characters I have read; realistic on how women think, too.
(15) LOW MAGIC WORLD: magic is low key; not over the top so heroes can't get out of jams with it.
REASONS TO NOT READ GRRM
(1) YOU LIKE YOUR MAIN CHARACTERS: GRRM does a good job of creating more likable characters after a few die. But, if that isn't your style, you shouldn't be reading it. He kills off several, not just one, so be warned.
(2) DO NOT CARE FOR GRITTY GRAY CHARACTERS: if you like more white and gray characters, this may unsettle you. I suggest Feist or Goodkind or Dragonlance if you want a more straight forward story with strong archetypes.
(3) MULTIPLE POINTS OF VIEWS TURN YOU OFF: if you prefer that the POVS only go to a few characters, this might be confusing for you.
(4) SWEARING, SEX: there's a lot of it in this book just as there is in real life.
(5) YOU DEMAND CLOSURE AT THE END OF EVERY BOOK: this isn't the case for all stories in the series. Some are still going on; some have been resolved; others have been created and are moving on.
(6) IF YOU WANT A TARGET OR SOMEONE TO BLAME: this can be done to some extent but not as much. This is b/c he doesn't try to make anyone necessarily good or evil.
(7) ARCHETYPES: some readers like archetypal characters because it's comfortable; we like the good young hero (sort of like Pug in Feist's THE RIFTWAR SAGA); it's familiar and we sometimes like to pretend we're this upcoming, great hero. You wont' get much of this in GRRM with the exception of one or two characters.
(8) LENGTH: you don't want to get into a long fantasy epic series. In that case, look for shorters works as this is biiig.
(9) PATRIARCHY: men are most of the main characters with lots of power (one female exception).
STORY/PLOTTING: A minus; CHARACTER/DIALOGUE: A minus to A; LEGENDS/WORLD BUILDING: A plus; FANTASY FOCUSES: A; OVERALL GRADE: A; WHEN READ LAST: 2009 (5 readings) (revised review April 2012; more pics added August 2013)
Shelved as 'dnf'
July 7, 2013I tried reading this a long time ago and gave up very quickly. I know many love it but I think from the start I knew it wasn't for me. Looooong fantasy series never have been, for some reason. HOWEVER, I have to confess that the TV series is such a guilty pleasure of mine. And, even though I will never return to this series, can we all just take a minute to admit that how I spent my weekend is kinda cool...
And a sneaky bonus for Torchwood fans!
Just so you know, all the cool people totally close their eyes during at least one photo #truefact
And a sneaky bonus for Torchwood fans!
Just so you know, all the cool people totally close their eyes during at least one photo #truefact
June 6, 2020
GEORGE R.R. MARTIN,YOU FREAKING GENIUS!
To be honest,I never thought I would read this,not because it is something I don't like(it is something I most like),but it is so huge.But now I thank the gods and the kings for making me read this.I can't explain how much I admire this book.It has been a part of my geeky life and I am proud for that.I am a fan,an ultimate true fan!
These are some things you get from reading this book:
Smart talks and tactics
Tyrion Lannister
the freaking hot Daenerys Targaryen
Dragons
Blood
Okay so now I'll list things I like from the book:
Daenerys Targaryen
Daenerys Targaryen
Daenerys Targaryen
Daenerys Targaryen
Daenerys Targaryen
Daenerys Targaryen
Daenerys Targaryen
Daenerys Targaryen
Daenerys Targaryen
And things I didn't like:
Theon Greyjoy and the bitch(Joffrey Lannister)
everything else was perfect:)
Okay so now I'll talk about the perfection of them all Daenerys Targaryen.She is not only my favorite character of all,but after I started watching the show,and she had a face,and boy what a face,I am truly deeply in love(and I got to see her naked).God bless the show.Daenerys is the mother of dragons and you will know what I am talking about in the end of the book,which for me was one of the best endings I have ever read.
This world is so complex and there are so many characters,yet it is so thrilling and fun to read.And I love the idea of not having safe characters.In every page you turn,your favorite character can die.
I highly recommend this book,this is clearly one of the best works I have read of the last century.And this goes to Mr.Martin
Please kill Joffrey:)
*Pictures from the review are not mine, I took them mostly from Google images or Tumblr*
July 26, 2023
2023 Review
I'd almost forgotten how much I love this book and series. After the television show ended so terribly, and after waiting sooooo long for the next book in the series, I'd begun to regard this series with mild contempt. So I knew it was time for another read to remind myself of the book that made me fall in love with reading so many years ago.
I don't need to sell it to you. I don't need to tell about what this book does well or badly because it has received such cult status, instead I will simply say how much it affected my life. It was the first book that got me reading, really reading. That much so I changed my academic discipline and specialised in literature. I'm now writing my PhD and I knew if I'd never picked up A Game of Thrones I'd have never made it down this path.
Never underestimate the power of stories. Never underestimate how much reading can alter your life.
Original Review (2015)
A Game of Thrones changed my life. I know that may sound sad, but it鈥檚 true. Prior to reading it I had no interest in books whatsoever. I was on course to be a forensic psychologist; however, I began reading this wonderful series. Suffice to say, it threw me of course ever so slightly: I am now studying a degree in English Literature. One day I'd like to teach it.
A Game of Thrones kindled a fire within me that erupted into a love of books. I began to read other novels across the genres. It was slow at first, but I鈥檇 always come back to this series, which I read through its entirety at alarming speed, several times. I then went onto other fantasy novels and historical fiction, which distracted me from my degree work. I found myself reading Tolkien and Ken Follet when I should have been doing my degree prep. I then went onto classic authors such as Dickens and Robert Louis Stevenson. Books became my life.
I now spend countless hours reading literature of all varieties from Austen to Shakespeare, from Phillip Pullman to Sherlock Holmes. Reading for me provides a sense of escapism you just can鈥檛 achieve with other mediums because just for a moment you step into another world. Indeed, I find myself immersed in the plots, sympathising with characters and becoming engrossed in book after book. And to top it all I鈥檓 studying a degree where I get to read more wonderful authors I would never have discovered on my own.
A Game of Thrones is not the best fantasy novel that has been written nor is it my all time favourite novel or series, but, it will always be something special to me because it was the first book that turned me into a reader; thus, I'll read it once a year, every year, to honour it.
___________________________________
You can connect with me on social media via .
__________________________________
I'd almost forgotten how much I love this book and series. After the television show ended so terribly, and after waiting sooooo long for the next book in the series, I'd begun to regard this series with mild contempt. So I knew it was time for another read to remind myself of the book that made me fall in love with reading so many years ago.
I don't need to sell it to you. I don't need to tell about what this book does well or badly because it has received such cult status, instead I will simply say how much it affected my life. It was the first book that got me reading, really reading. That much so I changed my academic discipline and specialised in literature. I'm now writing my PhD and I knew if I'd never picked up A Game of Thrones I'd have never made it down this path.
Never underestimate the power of stories. Never underestimate how much reading can alter your life.
Original Review (2015)
A Game of Thrones changed my life. I know that may sound sad, but it鈥檚 true. Prior to reading it I had no interest in books whatsoever. I was on course to be a forensic psychologist; however, I began reading this wonderful series. Suffice to say, it threw me of course ever so slightly: I am now studying a degree in English Literature. One day I'd like to teach it.
A Game of Thrones kindled a fire within me that erupted into a love of books. I began to read other novels across the genres. It was slow at first, but I鈥檇 always come back to this series, which I read through its entirety at alarming speed, several times. I then went onto other fantasy novels and historical fiction, which distracted me from my degree work. I found myself reading Tolkien and Ken Follet when I should have been doing my degree prep. I then went onto classic authors such as Dickens and Robert Louis Stevenson. Books became my life.
I now spend countless hours reading literature of all varieties from Austen to Shakespeare, from Phillip Pullman to Sherlock Holmes. Reading for me provides a sense of escapism you just can鈥檛 achieve with other mediums because just for a moment you step into another world. Indeed, I find myself immersed in the plots, sympathising with characters and becoming engrossed in book after book. And to top it all I鈥檓 studying a degree where I get to read more wonderful authors I would never have discovered on my own.
A Game of Thrones is not the best fantasy novel that has been written nor is it my all time favourite novel or series, but, it will always be something special to me because it was the first book that turned me into a reader; thus, I'll read it once a year, every year, to honour it.
___________________________________
You can connect with me on social media via .
__________________________________
May 8, 2019
毓賳丿賲丕 鬲賱毓亘 氐乇丕毓 丕賱毓乇賵卮..賮兀賳鬲 廿賲丕 鬲賰爻亘貙 賵廿賲丕 鬲賲賵鬲
賴匕丕 兀爻丕爻 丕锘坟嘿嗁娯� 貙兀睾賳賷丞 丕賱噩賱賷丿 賵丕賱賳丕乇貙 賵兀賳卮賵丿鬲賴丕 丕锘焚堎勝� '賱毓亘丞 丕賱毓乇賵卮' 丕賱賲賱丨賲賷丞
丨賷孬 毓乇卮 丕賱賲賱賰 賲丨丕胤 亘禺賷丕賳丞 賵賲丐丕賲乇丕鬲貙賵亘賷賳賲丕 賷賱毓亘 丕賱丨賰賾丕賲 賱毓亘丞 毓乇賵卮賴賲 賱丕 賷丿賮毓 廿賱丕 丕賱卮乇賮丕亍 丕賱孬賲賳
賵亘兀賳卮睾丕賱 丕賱爻丕丿丞 亘賱毓亘鬲賴賲 鬲夭丨賮 丕锘坟坟ж� 賲賴丿丿丞 毓丕賱賲賴賲..禺胤乇 丕賱睾乇亘丕亍 賷夭丨賮賵賳 賲賳 兀乇囟 丕賱噩賱賷丿 亘丕賱卮賲丕賱貙 賵禺胤乇毓賵丿丞 丕賱鬲賳丕賳賷賳 賵賳賷乇丕賳賴賲 賲賳 丕賱卮乇賯..賵賱鬲亘丿兀 兀睾賳賷丞 丕賱噩賱賷丿 賵丕賱賳丕乇
賴賵 毓丕賱賲 賰丕賲賱 亘賳丕賴 丕賱賲丐賱賮 丕賱毓亘賯乇賷 噩賵乇噩 丌乇 丌乇 賲丕乇鬲賳 賵兀亘鬲賰乇 賱賴 鬲丕乇賷禺賴 賵賲毓鬲賯丿丕鬲賴貙 噩睾乇丕賮賷鬲賴 賵兀爻丕胤賷乇賴..爻丕丿鬲賴 賵賲賱賵賰賴貙 賵丕賱毓乇卮 丕賱丨丿賷丿賷
爻賱爻賱丞 乇賵丕賷丕鬲貙 兀睾賳賷丕鬲 毓賳 丕賱馗賱賲 丕賱亘卮乇賷 賵丕賱毓丿賱..毓賳 丕賱氐乇丕毓丕鬲 毓賱賷 丕賱丨賰賲 賵丕賱爻賱胤丞..丕賱兀爻鬲禺丿丕賲 丕賱禺丕胤卅 賱賱賯賵丞 賵丕賱丿賷賳
毓賳 丕睾賳賷丕鬲 亘賴丕 丕賱卮噩丕毓丞 賵丕賱賮乇賵爻賷丞 .. 毓賳 丕睾賳賷丕鬲 丕賱丨亘 丕賱丨丕賱賲丞 丕賱乇賵賲丕賳爻賷丞
丕睾賳賷丕鬲 丕賱乇毓亘 賵賳賷乇丕賳 丕賱鬲賳丕賳賷賳 ..賵 兀睾賳賷丕鬲 丕賱卮鬲丕亍 丕賱賯丕乇氐 丕賱胤賵賷賱
賰賱 賮氐賱 賷乇賵賷 賲賳 賵噩賴丞 賳馗乇 賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賲禺鬲賱賮丞 鬲賲丕賲丕, 賱賴賲 毓賷賵亘賴賲 賵賱賰賳 賱賴賲 兀賰孬乇 賲賳 亘購毓丿 ,卮丕亍鬲 丕賱兀賯丿丕乇 兀賳 賷賮乇賯 亘賷賳賴賲 賵賷噩賲毓賴賲 賱毓亘丞 丕賱毓乇賵卮
賱賳 鬲賯乇兀 賲賳 賵噩賴丞 賳馗乇 賲賱賵賰 賵爻丕丿丞 賵丨賰丕賲 兀賵 丕亘胤丕賱 禺丕乇賯賷 賱賱胤亘賷毓丞 .. 亘賱 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 亘卮乇賷丞 胤亘賷毓賷丞 鬲賲丕賲丕 賵賯乇賷亘丞 賲賳 丕賱賯賱亘
兀亘 賵氐丿賷賯 賲禺賱氐 賷禺卮賷 毓賱賷 毓丕卅賱鬲賴 賵氐丿賷賯賴 丕賱賲賱賰 賲賳 賱毓亘丞 丕賱毓乇賵卮 丕賱賯匕乇丞
兀賲 賵夭賵噩丞 鬲丨丕賵賱 鬲丨匕賷乇 夭賵噩賴丕 賲賳 禺胤乇 賯乇亘 賱毓亘丞 丕賱毓乇賵卮 賲賳 毓丕卅賱鬲賴
賮鬲賷 氐睾賷乇 鬲爻亘亘 賯乇亘賴 賲賳 丕丨丿 丕爻乇丕乇 賱毓亘丞 丕賱毓乇賵卮 賮賷 丕毓丕賯賴 胤賷賱賴 丨賷丕鬲賴
賮鬲丕丞 賲乇丕賴賯丞 丨丕賱賲丞 鬲毓卮賯 丕睾丕賳賷 丕賱丨亘 丕賱乇賵賲丕賳爻賷丞 噩丕賴賱丞 亘丕賳 賱丕賵噩賵丿 賱賴丕 亘賱毓亘丞 丕賱毓乇賵卮
丕禺鬲賴丕 丕賱兀氐睾乇 丕賱鬲賷 鬲毓卮賯 丕賱賲亘丕乇夭丞 賵丕賱賲睾丕賲乇丞,賱丕 鬲毓賱賲 丕賳 爻賷賮賴丕 丕賱氐睾賷乇 "丕賱兀亘乇丞" 賱丕賷賯賵賷 毓賱賷 賱毓亘丞 丕賱毓乇賵卮
兀亘賳 睾賷乇 卮乇毓賷 賱毓丕卅賱丞 賰亘乇賷..賷卮毓乇 亘丕賳賴 賲賳亘賵匕 賵賱賯亘賴 賵氐賲丞 毓丕乇 賮賷亘鬲毓丿 毓賳賴賲 亘丕賱乇睾賲 賲賳 丕賳鬲賲丕亍賴 丕賱卮丿賷丿 賱賴賲, 賱賷賵丕噩賴 賲禺丕胤乇 丕賰亘乇 賲賳 賱毓亘丞 丕賱毓乇賵卮
賯夭賲 賯亘賷丨 賲賳 毓丕卅賱丞 孬乇賷丞 賲卮鬲賴賷丞 爻賱胤丞 ..賱賰賳 賲丕亘丿丕禺賱賴 賲賳 匕賰丕亍 賵卮乇賮 賷賮賵賯 賲丕亘賴賲 ,賵賷賯丨賲賴 丕亘賷賴 賮賷 賱毓亘丞 丕賱毓乇賵卮 亘乇睾賲 賲賳 禺胤乇賴丕 毓賱賷 賯夭賲 賲孬賱賴
賮鬲丕丞 賲賯賴賵乇丞 丕賱丨賷賱丞, 賷亘賷毓賴丕 丕禺賷賴丕 賱賯丕卅丿 賴賲噩賷 賲賳 丕噩賱 鬲賰賵賷賳 噩賷卮 賱賷賱毓亘 賱毓亘丞 丕賱毓乇賵卮
兀賱賲 兀賯賱 賱賰 丕賳賴賲 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 胤亘賷毓賷丞 賵賲孬賷乇丞 亘丨賯責
賯丿 鬲賰賵賳 禺賷丕賱賷丞 鬲賲丕賲丕 賵賱賰賳 亘毓囟 兀丨丿丕孬賴丕 鬲鬲卮丕亘賴 賲毓 丕賱毓氐賵乇 丕賱賯丿賷賲丞 兀賵 丕賱毓氐賵乇 丕賱賵爻胤賷 賵爻賷丕爻鬲賴丕貙 乇亘賲丕 鬲噩丿 賮賷賴丕 賲賳 丕賱爻賷丕爻丕鬲 丕賱丨丕賱賷丞貙 乇亘賲丕 鬲乇丕賴丕 賮賷 氐乇丕毓丕鬲 丕賱毓丕卅賱丕鬲 丕賱賰亘乇賷 賵丨鬲賷 丕賱毓丕丿賷丞
兀毓鬲乇賮 丕賱賲丐賱賮 賳賮爻賴 亘兀爻鬲賱賴丕賲賴 亘毓囟 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 賲賳 賵賯丕卅毓 鬲丕乇賷禺賷丞 .. 賵賲賱丨賲丕鬲 兀爻胤賵乇賷丞 兀禺乇賷 爻丕亘賯丞 賰亘賳丕亍 毓丕賱賲 囟禺賲 賰賲丕 賮毓賱 鬲賵賱賰賷賳 .. 賵賱賴匕丕 噩丕卅鬲 丕賱賳鬲賷噩丞 丕賱賳賴丕卅賷丞 賲賱丨賲丞 賲鬲賲賷夭丞 .. 賲孬賷乇丞 賵賱賴丕 兀亘毓丕丿 賵毓賲賯 賵賮賰乇丞 賯賵賷丞 賮乇賷丿丞
爻鬲卮毓乇 兀賳賴丕 賰兀丿亘 丕賱乇丨賱丕鬲 , 鬲鬲噩賵賱 賮賷 禺乇賷胤鬲賴丕 亘賷賳 丕賱卮賲丕賱 賵丕賱噩賳賵亘 賵丕賱卮乇賯 賵丕賱睾乇亘..賲毓 孬賯丕賮丕鬲 賵毓丕丿丕鬲 賵兀賲丕賰賳 賲禺鬲賱賮丞 丨鬲賷 鬲丨賮馗 禺乇賷胤鬲賴丕
"乇亘賲丕 兀噩賱鬲 丿丕卅賲丕 賯乇丕亍鬲賴丕 賱鬲乇丿丿賷 賲賳 賮賰乇丞 丿禺賵賱 毓丕賱賲 囟禺賲 賱賴 禺乇丕卅胤賴 賰賴匕丕 賵賱賰賳 氐丿賯賳賷 丕賱兀賲乇 賷爻鬲丨賯 , 賵爻鬲噩丿 亘賳賴丕賷丞 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 丕賱兀賵賱 兀賳賰 丨賮馗鬲 禺乇賷胤丞 匕賱賰 丕賱毓丕賱賲 賰馗賴乇 賷丿賰"
賱睾丞 賱賷爻鬲 氐毓亘丞 , 賱賰賳 鬲賯賱賯 廿匕丕 賲丕 賵丕噩賴鬲賰 氐毓賵亘丕鬲 賮賷 丕賱亘丿丕賷丞 ,亘毓丿 匕賱賰 爻鬲噩丿 廿賳賰 兀毓鬲丿鬲 賲氐胤賱丨丕鬲賴丕
兀亘鬲賰乇 兀賷囟丕 賱賴丕 丕賱賲丐賱賮 賲氐胤賱丨丕鬲 賲禺鬲賱賮丞 賱鬲噩毓賱賰 鬲卮毓乇 兀賳賰 鬲乇賰鬲 毓丕賱賲賰 鬲賲丕賲丕 賵氐乇鬲 賮賷 毓丕賱賲 兀禺乇..毓丕賱賲 兀睾賳賷丞 丕賱噩賱賷丿 賵丕賱賳丕乇
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賵賱賰賳賴丕 賮賷 賳賮爻 丕賱賵賯鬲 乇賵丕賷丞 賲乇賴賯丞 貙 鬲乇賵賷 賲賳 禺賱丕賱 賵噩賴丞 賳馗乇 8 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賲禺鬲賱賮丞 鬲賲丕賲丕 賵賰賱 賮氐賱 禺丕氐 亘卮禺氐賷丞 賱賴 胤乇丕夭賴 賵兀爻賱賵亘賴 丕賱禺丕氐 丨鬲賷 兀丨賷丕賳丕 鬲卮毓乇 兀賳賴丕 賱賷爻鬲 鬲乇賵賷 賲賳 賳賮爻 丕賱賲丐賱賮貙 丨乇賵亘 賲乇賴賯丞 賵氐乇丕毓丕鬲 睾賷乇 卮乇賷賮丞.. 睾賲賵囟 賵兀賱睾丕夭 ...賯氐氐 丨亘 丨丕賱賲丞...賵乇賵丕亘胤 兀爻乇賷丞 鬲乇賴賯賴丕 丕賱丨乇賵亘 賵丕賱賲丐丕賲乇丕鬲
賯丿 鬲賰賵賳 賴匕賴 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賰賱賴丕 賲孬賷乇丞 賵毓賲賷賯丞 丿乇丕賲賷丕..賵賱賰賳 賲丕夭丕賱 賴賳丕賰 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賲孬賷乇丞 兀禺乇賷 賵賱賰賳 賱賷爻 賱賴丕 賮氐賵賱 禺丕氐丞..賵爻鬲毓卮賯賴丕 亘丕賱乇睾賲 賲賳 賯爻賵鬲賴丕
賵賯亘賱 兀賳 賳亘丿兀 亘鬲賯賷賷賲 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 賲毓 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 丕賱孬賲丕賳賷丞 丕賱乇卅賷爻賷丞 爻賵賷丕 -賱鬲賯賱賷賱 賲爻丕丨丞 丕賱乇賷賮賷賵 - 兀賱賷賰賲
爻兀賰鬲賮賷 亘匕賰乇 賳亘匕丞 亘爻賷胤丞 "!!!" 毓賳 禺賷賵胤 賵兀丨丿丕孬 丕賱賯氐丞 賮賯胤 賱賲賳 賱賲 賷鬲丕亘毓賴丕 賲賳 賯亘賱 賱鬲賰賵賳 兀爻丕爻 丕賱乇賷賮賷賵賴丕鬲 丕賱鬲丕賱賷丞
賮乇賵丕賷丞 賰鬲賱賰 賲賳 丕賱囟禺丕賲丞 丕賱鬲賷 賲賳 丕賱氐毓亘 匕賰乇 賳亘匕丞 毓賳 賰賱 禺賷賵胤賴丕 賮賷 乇賷賮賷賵 賵丕丨丿 亘丨賯
** 丕賱兀丨賭賭賭賭賭丿丕孬 賵 丕賱卮禺氐賭賭賷丕鬲 **
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鬲爻鬲賯亘賱 毓丕卅賱丞 爻鬲丕乇賰 賲賳 賲丿賷賳丞 賵賷賳鬲乇賮丕賱 亘卮賲丕賱 丕賱賲賲丕賱賰 丕賱爻亘毓 ,丕賱賲賱賰 乇賵亘乇鬲 賵丕賱匕賷 噩丕亍 賵兀爻乇鬲賴 賱夭賷丕乇丞 賱賵乇丿 廿賷丿丕乇丿 爻鬲丕乇賰 賱賵乇丿 賵賷賳鬲乇賮丕賱 賰賷 賷毓賷賳賴 賰賲爻丕毓丿 "賷丿" 丕賱賲賱賰 亘丿賱丕 賲賳 丕賱賲爻丕毓丿 丕賱匕賷 鬲賵賮賷 賲丐禺乇丕
賷鬲乇丿丿 廿賷丿丕乇丿 爻鬲丕乇賰 賮賷 賯亘賵賱 丕賱鬲賰賱賷賮, 禺丕氐丕 賵兀賳賴 賱丕 賷賵丿 鬲乇賰 兀乇囟 丕賱卮賲丕賱 ,賮兀爻乇鬲賴 丕賱毓乇賷賯丞 賲賳 兀賴賲 爻丕丿丞 丕賱卮賲丕賱..賵賷鬲胤賷乇賵賳 賲賳 丕賱廿賳鬲賯丕賱 賱賱噩賳賵亘
賵賱賰賳 夭賵噩鬲賴 賰丕鬲賱賷賳 爻鬲丕乇賰 賷氐賱賴丕 乇爻丕賱丞 賲賳 兀禺鬲賴丕 鬲卮賰 賮賷 兀賳 夭賵噩賴丕 , 賲爻丕毓丿 丕賱賲賱賰 丕賱爻丕亘賯 賯丿 鬲賲 廿睾鬲賷丕賱賴 賵賱賰賳 賲賳 賯丕賲 亘賯鬲賱賴責
賱匕賱賰 賷賯亘賱 兀賳 賷匕賴亘...賱賷賮賰 睾賲賵囟 賯丕鬲賱 氐丿賷賯賴 丕賱賯丿賷賲 賵夭賵噩 兀禺鬲賴 ,丕賱賲爻丕毓丿 丕賱爻丕亘賯, 賵兀賷囟丕 賱賷丨賲賷 氐丿賷賯賴 丕賱兀禺乇 丕賱賲賱賰 乇賵亘乇鬲 賱兀賳 賲毓賳賷 廿睾鬲賷丕賱 賲爻丕毓丿賴 兀賳 賴賳丕賰 賲丐丕賲乇丞 鬲丨丿孬 賮賷 兀乇丕囟賷 丕賱賲賱賰 囟丿 丕賱賲賱賰 乇賵亘乇鬲 鬲賴丿賮 兀賰賷丿 賱廿賳鬲夭丕毓 丕賱毓乇卮 賲賳賴
廿賷丿丕乇丿 '賳賷丿' 爻鬲丕乇賰
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賴賵 賰賲丕 賵氐賮賴 丕賱賲丐賱賮 賲丐禺乇丕 丕賱卮禺氐賷丞 丕锘焚囐� 賱賷爻 亘丕賱噩夭亍 丕锘焚堎� 賮丨爻亘 賵廿賳賲丕 丕賱爻賱爻賱丞 鬲賯乇賷亘丕 賰賱賴丕貙 亘丕賱乇睾賲 丨鬲賷 賲賳 毓丿賲 鬲賵丕噩丿賴 賮賷 丕锘坟藏ж� 丕賱賱丕丨賯丞..賵賱賰賳賴 賴賵 賵夭賵噩丕鬲賴 賵兀亘賳丕亍賴 賵丨鬲賷 匕卅丕亘賴賲 賲賳 兀賴賲 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞
賮賷 '賱毓亘丞 丕賱毓乇賵卮' 丕賱噩夭亍 丕賱賲乇賵賷 毓賳 賳丿 爻鬲丕乇賰 賴賵 丕賱噩夭亍 '丕賱亘賵賱賷爻賷' 亘丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 "丕锘坟嘿嗁娯�" 丨賷孬 爻賷囟胤乇 賳賷丿 爻鬲丕乇賰 鬲乇賰 丕賱卮賲丕賱 賵 賲丿賷賳鬲賴 賵賷賳鬲乇賮賷賱 亘賳丕亍 毓賱賷 賳氐賷丨丞 夭賵噩鬲賴 賱賷賯亘賱 賲賳氐亘 賷丿 丕賱賲賱賰 賱賷毓乇賮 爻乇 賲賯鬲賱 噩賵賳 丌乇賷賳 貙 夭賵噩 兀禺鬲賴丕 賵 賷丿 丕賱賲賱賰 丕賱爻丕亘賯 賱賴...賵賷亘丿兀 鬲丨賯賷賯丕鬲賴 賮賷 亘賱丕胤 丕賱賲賱賰 賲賳 禺賱丕賱 賲噩賲賵毓丞 賲賳 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 丕賱鬲賷 賮賷 賲噩賱爻 丕賱丨賰賲 貙 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賲毓賯丿丞 賵賲孬賷乇丞 賵睾丕賲囟丞 賮賷 賳賮爻 丕賱賵賯鬲 貙 賮賱丕 賷毓乇賮 賳賷丿 爻鬲丕乇賰 賲賳 賲毓賴 賵賲賳 囟丿賴
賮賷 賮賮賷 亘賱丕胤 丕賱賲賱賰 鬲賳爻噩 丕賱賲丐丕賲乇丕鬲 賵丕賱鬲丨丕賱賮丕鬲 丕賱爻乇賷丞 賵丕賱禺賷丕賳丞 賵賱賰賳 賮賷 胤乇賷賯賴 賱賱爻乇 爻賷噩丿 賳賮爻賴 賲卮丕乇賰丕 乇睾賲丕 毓賳賴 賮賷 賱毓亘丞 丕賱毓乇賵卮...賵賰賲丕 賯丕賱 賱賴 賱賵乇丿 丕賱賴賲爻丕鬲, 丕賱毓賳賰亘賵鬲, 賮丕乇賷爻 兀丨丿 賲爻鬲卮丕乇賷 丕賱賲賱賰
鈥溫з勝冐з囐� 丕锘坟官勝� 賯丕賱 賱賷 匕丕鬲 賲乇丞 兀賳賴 賰賲丕 賳禺胤卅 貙 賳毓丕賳賷. 廿匕丕 賰丕賳 賴匕丕 丨賯賷賯賷 貙 賱賵乇丿 廿賷丿丕乇丿貙 賯賱 賱賷 ..賱賲丕匕丕 丿丕卅賲丕 丕锘坟ㄘ辟娯ж� 賴賲 兀賰孬乇 賲賳 賷毓丕賳賷 毓賳丿賲丕 鬲賱毓亘賵丕 兀賳鬲賲 廿賷賴丕 丕賱爻丕丿丞 丕賱賰亘丕乇 賱毓亘丞 丕賱毓乇賵卮 禺丕氐鬲賰賲責
The High Septon once told me that as we sin, so do we suffer. If that鈥檚 true, Lord Eddard, tell me鈥hy is it always the innocents who suffer most, when you high lords play your game of thrones?"
賮毓賱丕 丕锘坟ㄘ辟娯ж� 賴賲 賲賳 賷毓丕賳賷...賮賮賷 賱毓亘丞 丕賱毓乇賵卮貙 賱毓亘丞 丕賱爻賷丕爻丞 丕賱賳噩爻丞貙 賱賱兀爻賮 賲賳 賷賱毓亘 亘卮乇賮 賱丕 賷賲賴賱賴 丕賱禺亘孬丕亍
賮賴賱 爻賷賰鬲卮賮 爻鬲丕乇賰 丕賱爻乇 責 兀賲 爻賷毓丕賳賷 賴賵 賵兀爻乇鬲賴責
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亘乇丕賳丿賵賳 "亘乇丕賳" 爻鬲丕乇賰
賵賱賰賳 兀亘賳 廿丿丕乇丿 爻鬲丕乇賰 丕賱氐睾賷乇 亘乇丕賳 毓乇賮 丕賱爻乇 賵乇丕亍 廿睾鬲賷丕賱 賲爻丕毓丿 丕賱賲賱賰 丕賱爻丕亘賯 ..亘丕賱氐丿賮丞 乇兀賷 爻賷乇爻賷 丕賱賲賱賰丞 賮賷 賵囟毓 賲禺賱 賲毓 兀禺賷賴丕,丨丕乇爻 丕賱賲賱賰 賲毓 兀賳賴 匕丕亘丨 丕賱賲賱賰 丕賱爻丕亘賯 丕賱賲噩賳賵賳 噩賷賲賷 賱丕賳爻鬲乇 賵丕賱廿孬賳丕賳 賲賳 毓丕卅賱丞 賱丕賳爻鬲乇 ,兀睾賳賷 賲丿賷賳丞 亘丕賱爻亘毓 賲賲丕賱賰
賵賱賱兀爻賮 賷丿賮毓 亘乇丕賳 爻鬲丕乇賰 丕賱孬賲賳 賯丕爻賷丕 亘卮賴丕丿鬲賴 賱鬲賱賰 丕賱賵丕賯毓丞 賯亘賱 兀賳 賷鬲賲賰賳 賲賳 丕賱廿亘賱丕睾 毓賳賴丕...賮賱賲 賷毓乇賮 兀亘賷賴 賱賵乇丿 爻鬲丕乇賰 禺胤賵乇丞 賲丕賴賵 賲賯丿賲 毓賱賷賴
賮賰賷賮 爻鬲賰賵賳 丨賷丕丞 亘乇丕賳 丕亘賳 廿賷丿丕乇丿 爻鬲丕乇賰 匕賵 丕賱爻亘毓 爻賳賵丕鬲 亘毓丿 匕賱賰 丕賱丨丕丿孬 丕賱匕賷 爻賷睾賷乇 丨賷丕鬲賴貙 乇亘賲丕 賷賰賵賳 丕賱噩夭亍 丕賱賲賯丿賲 賲賳 賵噩賴丞 賳馗乇賴 賱賷爻 胤賵賷賱丕 賵賱賰賳 賲賳 禺賱丕賱賴 爻賳鬲毓乇賮 亘毓囟 賲賳 鬲丕乇賷禺 丕賱賲賲丕賱賰 丕賱爻亘毓 亘丕賱兀禺氐 丕賱卮賲丕賱 賵兀爻丕胤賷乇賴.. 賴匕丕 睾賷乇 賲丕 爻賷丨丿孬 賮賷 賵賷賳鬲乇賮賷賱 賲賳 亘毓丿 乇丨賷賱 兀亘賷賴 賱賲賴賲鬲賴 貙 賵兀賲賴 賲賳 亘毓丿賴 賱鬲亘丨孬 毓賳 爻乇 賲賳 丨丕賵賱 廿睾鬲賷丕賱賴
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賰丕鬲賱賷賳 爻鬲丕乇賰
賰丕鬲賱賷賳 爻鬲丕乇賰 夭賵噩丞 賳賷丿 鬲囟胤乇 賱鬲乇賰 賵賷賳鬲乇賮賷賱 賱鬲亘賱睾 夭賵噩賴丕 丕賱匕賷 匕賴亘 賱亘賱丕胤 丕賱賲賱賰 噩賳賵亘丕 毓賳 賲丨丕賵賱丞 廿睾鬲賷丕賱 亘乇丕賳 貙 賵賴賳丕賰 賷爻鬲賯亘賱賴丕 兀丨丿 賲爻鬲卮丕乇賷 丕賱賲賱賰 '賱賵乇丿 亘丕賱賷卮' '賱賷鬲賷賱賮賷賳噩乇' 賵丕賱匕賷 賰丕賳 亘賷賳賴賲丕 賲丕囟 丨賷孬 鬲乇亘賷丕 爻賵賷丕 賵卮睾賮 賴賵 亘賴丕 丨亘丕貙 賵賷禺亘乇賴丕 賱賵乇丿 亘丕賱賷卮 兀賳 丕賱賲爻卅賵賱 毓賳 賲丨丕賵賱丞 丕賱廿睾鬲賷丕賱 賴賵 鬲丕賷乇賵賳 賱丕賳賷爻鬲乇 丕賵 '丕賱賯夭賲' 貙 兀禺賵 丕賱賲賱賰丞 爻賷乇爻賷貙 賮鬲丨匕乇 賰丕鬲賱賷賳 夭賵噩賴丕 賯亘賱 兀賳 鬲鬲乇賰賴 賱鬲毓賵丿 廿賱賷 賵賷賳鬲乇賮賷賱...賵賱賰賳賴丕 賮賷 胤乇賷賯 鬲賯丕亘賱 鬲丕賷乇賵賳 亘丕賱氐丿賮丞 賱鬲賳賯賱亘 丕锘坟ж� 乇兀爻丕 毓賱賷 毓賯亘
噩夭亍 賰丕鬲賱賷賳 噩夭亍 氐毓亘 丿乇丕賲賷丕 賵兀賷囟丕 孬乇賷 亘丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 丕賱賲孬賷乇丞 賱鬲乇丨丕賱賴丕 賱兀賰孬乇 賲賳 賲賰丕賳 賵賮賷 馗賱 氐乇丕毓丕鬲 賰亘乇賷
賮賴賷 丕賱夭賵噩丞 丕賱鬲賷 亘丕賱乇睾賲 賲賳 兀禺鬲賱丕賮 兀氐賱賴丕 毓賳 夭賵噩賴丕 廿賱丕 兀賳賴丕 氐丕乇鬲 賲孬賱賴 貙 賯賵賷丞 賵氐賱亘丞貙 賵賴賷 丕锘焚� 丕賱鬲賷 鬲丨丕賵賱 丕賱孬兀乇 賱兀亘賳賴丕 丕賱氐睾賷乇貙 賵鬲賯賮 亘噩賵丕乇 兀亘賳賴丕 丕锘焚冐ㄘ� 賵鬲爻丕賳丿賴 賵賮賷 賳賮爻 丕賱賵賯鬲 賷鬲賯胤毓 賯賱亘賴丕 賱亘毓丿賴丕 毓賳 亘賳鬲賷賴丕
賵賰賲丕 賳噩丨 丕賱賲丐賱賮 賮賷 賵氐賮 賰賱 賲卮丕毓乇 賰丕鬲賱賷賳 丕賱賲鬲毓丿丿丞 貙 賮鬲噩丿賴 兀賷囟丕 賷賲賷賱 賱賱兀爻賴丕亘 賮賷 賵氐賮 賰賱 丕賱胤乇賯 賵賯賱丕毓 賵丨鬲賷 丕賱賲賱丕亘爻 -賵賴匕丕 賱賷爻 賮賷 噩夭卅賴丕 賮丨爻亘 亘賱 賮賷 賰賱 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞- 賵賱賴匕丕 賰丕賳 噩夭卅賴丕 噩夭亍 卮丕賯 亘丨賯貙 賱賵氐賮 乇丨賱鬲賴丕 丕賱氐毓亘丞 賮賷 胤乇賯 賲禺鬲賱賮丞 鬲乇亘胤 亘賷賳 卮賲丕賱 丕賱賲賲賱賰丞 賵噩賳賵亘賴丕 賵卮乇賯賴丕 賵睾乇亘賴丕 -亘賱丕 賲亘丕賱睾丞 -賷賰賮賷 兀賳 兀亘賱睾賰 兀賳 賴賳丕賰10 氐賮丨丕鬲 賵氐賮 胤乇賷賯 氐丕毓丿 賱賯賱毓丞 賮賵賯 噩亘賱 丨鬲賷 鬲丿乇賰 賰賲 賴匕丕 丕賱噩夭亍 卮丕賯
賵賱賰賳賴丕 賱賲 鬲賰賳 賵丨丿賴丕 賮賷 賴匕丕 丕賱胤乇賷賯... 亘賱 賰丕賳 賲毓賴丕 丕賱賲鬲賴賲 賮賷 賲丨丕賵賱丞 兀睾鬲賷丕賱 兀亘賳賴丕貙 鬲丕賷乇賵賳
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鬲丕賷乇賵賳 賱丕賳爻鬲乇
鬲丕賷乇賵賳 賱丕賳賷爻鬲乇 賴賵 丕賱卮禺氐賷丞 丕賱孬乇賷丞 賳爻亘丕 賵丿乇丕賲賷丕 賮賷 鬲賱賰 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞...卮禺氐賷丞 丨賰賷賲丞 賵賴匕丕 賷馗賴乇 賲賳匕 丕賱亘丿丕賷丞 , 亘丕賱乇睾賲 賲賳 兀賳賴 "賯夭賲" 丕賵 賰賲丕 賷爻禺乇 賲賳賴 丕賱亘毓囟, 丕賱毓賮乇賷鬲
氐丕乇 卮禺氐賷鬲賷 丕賱賲賮囟賱丞 賵乇亘賲丕 兀睾賱亘 賲賳 賷賯乇兀 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 爻賷鬲賷賯賳 兀賳賴 卮禺氐賷丞 丕賱賲丐賱賮 丕賱賲賮囟賱丞 兀賷囟丕
乇丨賱鬲賴 兀賷囟丕 乇亘胤鬲 亘賷賳 卮賲丕賱 賵噩賳賵亘 賵卮乇賯 賵睾乇亘 丕賱爻亘毓 賲賲丕賱賰貙 賲賳 乇丨賱丞 賱丨丕卅胤 丕賱卮賲丕賱 賱賱丨乇爻 丕锘坟迟堌� 賰夭丕卅乇貙 賱賯賱毓丞 丕锘蒂娯辟� 賰兀爻賷乇...孬賲 賰賲丨丕乇亘 賮賷...丿毓賳丕 賱丕賳丨乇賯 丕锘坟ж� 賴賳丕
賴賵 丕賱賯夭賲 貙 丕賱匕賷 賱賲 賷賰賳 賵爻賷賲丕 賰兀禺賷賴 匕丕亘丨 丕賱賲賱賰 '噩賷賲賷 賱丕賳賷爻鬲乇' 賵賱丕 賷丨馗賷 亘丨亘 兀禺鬲賴 丕賱賲賱賰丞 爻賷乇爻賷 賵賱丕 兀亘賷賴 鬲丕賷賵賳 賱丕賳爻鬲乇
賵賱賰賳 毓賱賷 丕锘焚傎� 賰丕賳 兀爻乇賴 爻亘亘丕 賰丕賮賷丕 賱賯賱亘 丕锘坟ж� 賮賷 丕賱賲賲賱賰丞 賰賱賴丕
賯丿 賷賰賵賳 賯夭賲丕 賵賱賰賳賴 賲賳 兀匕賰賷 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賵兀賰孬乇賴賲 丨賰賲丞貙 賵兀賰孬乇賴賲 丨賳賰丞 賵丿賴丕亍 賵乇亘賲丕 兀賷囟丕 賷卮鬲乇賰 賲毓 丌賱 爻鬲丕乇賰 賮賷 丕賱卮乇賮 亘毓賰爻 丌賱 賱丕賳爻鬲乇
毓丕卮賯 賱賱賰鬲亘 賵丕賱賯乇丕亍丞 貙 賵乇亘賲丕 賷亘丿賵 賮賷 丕賱賲爻賱爻賱 賰卮賴賵丕賳賷 賵賱賰賳賴 賮賷 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 毓賱賷 丕锘焚傎� 兀賰孬乇 兀丨鬲乇丕賲丕 賵丕锘焚囐呚� 兀禺賱丕氐丕 亘乇睾賲 禺丿丕毓 丕锘坟辟娰� 賱賴
鬲鬲賲賷夭 乇丨賱鬲賴 賲孬賱 賰丕鬲賱賷賳 亘丕賱鬲賳賵毓貙 丕锘坟辟囏з�..亘賱 賵丕賱丨乇亘 亘丕賱乇睾賲 賲賳 毓丿賲 禺亘乇鬲賴 兀胤賱丕賯丕 亘丕賱賲毓丕乇賰..賮賴賱 爻賷賳噩賵 賲賳 賵賷賱丕鬲 賱毓亘丞 丕賱毓乇賵卮責
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賵賳毓賵丿 锘蒂� 爻鬲丕乇賰
爻丕賳爻丕 爻鬲丕乇賰
爻丕賳爻丕 爻鬲丕乇賰 兀亘賳丞 爻鬲丕乇賰 丕賱丨丕賱賲丞 匕丕鬲 丕锘坟嗁� 毓卮乇 毓丕賲丕貙 鬲毓卮賯 丕锘坟贺з嗁� 丕賱丨丕賱賲丞 毓賳 卮噩丕毓丞 丕賱賮乇爻丕賳 賵賯氐氐 丕賱丨亘...鬲鬲賲賳賷 兀賳 鬲賰賵賳 丨賷丕鬲賴丕 賰賴匕賴 丕锘坟贺з嗁娯� 毓賳丿賲丕 賷噩乇賷 丕賱兀鬲賮丕賯 亘賷賳 丕賱賲賱賰 乇賵亘乇鬲 賵兀亘賷賴丕 爻鬲丕乇賰 毓賱賷 賯丿賵賲 丕锘坟娯� 賱兀乇丕囟賷 丕賱賲賱賰 賵賴賷 亘乇賮賯鬲賴 賵兀禺鬲賴丕 丕锘坟地贺� 貙 賷噩乇賷 丕賱丕鬲賮丕賯 丕賷囟丕 毓賱賷 夭賵丕噩賴丕 賲賳 丕亘賳賴 丕锘焚冐ㄘ� 噩賵賮乇賷 亘丕乇丕孬賷賵賳 毓賳丿賲丕 鬲亘賱睾 爻賳 丕賱夭賵丕噩
賵賲賳 賵賯鬲賴丕 鬲夭丿丕丿 兀丨賱丕賲賴丕 亘丕賱夭賵丕噩 賲賳 丕锘焚呝娯� 噩賵賮乇賷 丕賱賵爻賷賲 -丕賱匕賷 賷卮亘賴 毓丕卅賱丞 兀賲賴 丌賱 賱丕賳爻鬲乇 兀賰孬乇 賲賳 兀亘賷賴- 賵賷夭丿丕丿 卮睾賮賴丕 亘鬲丨賯賷賯 兀睾賳賷鬲賴丕 丕賱丨丕賱賲丞...賵賱賰賳 賴賱 鬲毓鬲賯丿 兀賳 兀丨賱丕賲 丕锘坟ㄘ辟娯ж� 丿丕卅賲丕 鬲爻賷乇 賲爻丕乇賴丕 賵賯鬲 賱毓亘丞 丕賱毓乇賵卮責
兀毓噩亘賳賷 噩丿丕 兀爻賱賵亘 丕賱賲丐賱賮 賮賷 丕賱噩夭亍 賲賳 賵噩賴丞 賳馗乇 爻丕賳爻丕... 鬲卮毓乇 賰兀賳 丕賱賲丐賱賮 鬲睾賷乇 賵鬲丨賵賱 賱賲丐賱賮丞 乇賵丕賷丕鬲 賲乇丕賴賯丞 賮丕賱賵氐賮 賴賳丕 丨丕賱賲 賷賱賷賯 亘賮鬲丕丞 賲乇丕賴賯丞 鬲鬲毓賱賲 賱賰賷 鬲賰賵賳 '賱賷丿賷' 賵兀賲賷乇丞 賲爻鬲賯亘賱丕
賵賱賰賳賴丕 爻乇毓丕賳 賲丕 鬲鬲毓賱賲 兀賳 丕賱丨賷丕丞 賱賷爻鬲 賰丕锘坟嘿嗁娯ж� ... 禺丕氐丕 毓賳丿賲丕 賷亘丿兀 丕賱爻丕丿丞 賮賷 氐乇丕毓 毓乇賵卮賴賲
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丌乇賷丕 爻鬲丕乇賰
丕賱噩夭亍 丕锘焚勜焚� 賵丕賱兀噩賲賱 貙 賴賷 兀亘賳丞 爻鬲丕乇賰 丕賱氐睾乇賷 貙毓賰爻 丕禺鬲賴丕 丕賱賰亘乇賷 爻丕賳爻丕 鬲賲丕賲丕, 賮賴賷 賱賷爻鬲 賱賷丿賷 乇賯賷賯丞 鬲賴鬲賲 亘鬲毓賱賲 丕賱兀鬲賷賰賷鬲 賵丕賱禺賷丕胤丞 , 賵兀賳賲丕 鬲賴鬲賲 噩丿丕 亘兀賱毓丕亘 丕賱爻賷賵賮 賵丕賱賲亘丕乇夭丕鬲 賵丕賱賱毓亘 亘丕賱爻賴丕賲 亘丕賱乇睾賲 賲賳 賲毓丕乇囟丞 兀賲賴丕 丿丕卅賲丕 賱兀爻賱賵亘賴丕
賱賰賳賴丕 鬲賳鬲賯賱 賲毓 兀亘賷賴丕 廿賱賷 丕賱噩賳賵亘 賲毓 兀禺鬲賴丕 爻丕賳爻丕 ,丨賷孬 賷賵丕賮賯 賵賯鬲賴丕 兀亘賷賴丕 毓賱賷 鬲毓賱賲賴丕 丕賱賲亘丕乇夭丞 亘丕賱爻賷賮 丕賱匕賷 兀賴丿丕賴丕 兀賷丕賴 兀禺賷賴丕 丕賱睾賷乇 卮乇毓賷 "噩賵賳 爻賳賵" 賯亘賱 兀賳 賷匕賴亘 賱丨丕卅胤 丕賱卮賲丕賱
賵賱賰賳 賲丕匕丕 賯丿 賷賮賷丿 賮鬲丕丞 賱賲 鬲鬲噩丕賵夭 丕賱爻丕亘毓丞 丨鬲賷 賵廿賳 賰丕賳鬲 賲丕賴乇丞 賮賷 丕賱賲亘丕乇夭丞 亘爻賷賮賴丕 "丕賱兀亘乇丞" 賮賷 氐乇丕毓 丕賱毓乇賵卮 亘爻賷賵賮賴 丕賱毓賲賱丕賯丞 責
禺丕氐丞 亘鬲丨丿賷賴丕 賱噩賵賮乇賷 亘乇丕孬賷賵賳 , 賵賰卮賮賴丕 賱丨賯賷賯鬲賴 賰噩亘丕賳 賵賲爻鬲亘丿 兀賲丕賲 兀禺鬲賴丕 爻丕賳爻丕
賴賱 爻賷噩毓賱 賴匕丕 丌乇賷丕 賮賷 禺胤乇 賵爻胤 賱毓亘丞 丕賱毓乇賵卮責
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噩賭賭賵賳 爻賳賭賭賵
賮賷 丕賱卮賲丕賱 賷賵噩丿 噩丿丕乇 囟禺賲...丨丕卅胤 丕賱卮賲丕賱 賴賰匕丕 賷胤賱賯賵賳 毓賱賷賴, 亘胤賵賱 兀乇丕囟賷 丕賱卮賲丕賱 賰賱賴丕 賵賷丨賲賷 丕賱賲賲丕賱賰 丕賱爻亘毓 賲賲丕 賵乇丕亍 丕賱噩丿丕乇, 賲賳 兀乇囟 丕賱噩賱賷丿 丨賷孬 賷毓賷卮 賯亘丕卅賱 睾賷乇 賲鬲丨囟乇丞 "亘乇亘乇賷丞" 鬲丨鬲 乇毓丕賷丞 賲丕 賷爻賲賷 亘"賲賱賰 賲丕賵乇丕亍 丕賱噩丿丕乇" 賵賴賲 賯亘丕卅賱 賴賲噩賷丞 賲賳 賵賯鬲 賱兀禺乇 鬲賴噩賲 毓賱賷 亘毓囟 賯乇賷 丕賱卮賲丕賱 廿匕丕 賲丕 鬲爻賱賱賵丕 賲賳 禺賱賮 丕賱噩丿丕乇
賵賱賰賳 賴賳丕賰 丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱睾乇丕卅亘 賵乇丕亍 丕賱噩丿丕乇 賮賷 鬲賱賰 丕賱兀乇囟 丕賱噩賱賷丿賷丞..賳賵毓 賲賳 丕賱賲賵鬲賷 丕賱兀丨賷丕亍..賷馗賳 丕賱亘毓囟 兀賳賴丕 賲噩乇丿 兀爻胤賵乇丞 賵賱賰賳 賮賷 亘丿丕賷丞 賴匕丕 丕賱噩夭亍 丕賱兀賵賱 賲賳 兀賳卮賵丿丞 丕賱噩賱賷丿 賵丕賱賳丕乇 賷亘丿賵 兀賳 丕賱賲賵鬲賷 丕賱兀丨賷丕亍 兀賲乇丕 丨賯賷賯賷丕..賵禺胤乇 賷賴丿丿 丕賱賲賲丕賱賰 丕賱爻亘毓
賵賴賳丕 賷兀鬲賷 丿賵乇 丕賱丨乇爻 丕賱賱賷賱賷 賵丕賱匕賷賳 賷丨賲賵丕 丕賱賲賲丕賱賰 賲賳 丕賱賴賲噩 ..兀賵 賲賳 兀賷 禺胤乇 賲賳 禺賱賮 丕賱噩丿丕乇
賵賮賷 亘丿丕賷丞 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 賷賳囟賲 噩賵賳 爻賳賵 丕賱兀亘賳 丕賱睾賷乇 卮乇毓賷 丕賱賵丨賷丿 賱兀賷丿丕乇丿 爻鬲丕乇賰 賱賱丨乇爻 丕賱賱賷賱賷 "丕賱睾乇亘丕賳 丕賱爻賵丿" 賵賱賷賳囟賲 賲毓 毓賲賴 亘賷賳噩丕賲賷賳 爻鬲丕乇賰 賵丕賱匕賷 賲賳 賮乇賯丞 丕賱噩賵丕賱賷賳 亘丕賱丨乇爻 丕賱賱賷賱賷
賷卮毓乇 噩賵賳 爻賳賵 兀賳賴 爻賷賮鬲賯丿 賵賷賳鬲乇賮賷賱 ,賲丿賷賳丞 兀爻乇鬲賴 賮賷 丕賱卮賲丕賱, 賵賱賰賳 亘賯乇丕乇 匕賴丕亘 賵丕賱丿賴 爻鬲丕乇賰 賱賱噩賳賵亘 爻賷卮毓乇 兀賳賴 賱賷爻 賲乇丨亘丕 亘賴 禺丕氐丕 賲毓 毓丿賲 賯亘賵賱 夭賵噩鬲賴 "賰丕鬲賱賷賳" 賱兀亘賳 夭賵噩賴丕 睾賷乇 丕賱卮乇毓賷 賵兀賷囟丕 賴賵 丿丕卅賲丕 賷卮毓乇 兀賳賴 賱賷爻 爻鬲丕乇賰 賰丕賲賱丕..賮賴賱 爻賷卮毓乇 亘匕賱賰 毓賳丿賲丕 賷賯爻賲 賯爻賲 丕賱兀禺賵賷丞 賲毓 丕賱丨乇爻 丕賱賱賷賱賷責
丕賱賲毓囟賱丞 賴賳丕 兀賳賴 毓賳丿賲丕 賷匕賴亘 毓賲賴 賱賱亘丨孬 賵乇丕亍 丕賱噩丿丕乇 丨賵賱 丨賯賷賯丞 丕賱賲賵鬲賷 丕賱兀丨賷丕亍 "丕賱兀禺乇賵賳" 賵賴乇賵亘 亘毓囟 丕賱賴賲噩 賲賳 丕賱兀乇丕囟賷 禺賱賮 丕賱噩丿丕乇 賵睾夭賵賴賲 賱賱賲丿賳 丕賱卮賲丕賱賷丞 賮兀賳賴 賱丕賷毓賵丿 亘毓丿 賮鬲乇丞..賲賲丕 賷夭賷丿 賲賳 丕賱賯賱賯 毓賲丕 賯丿 賷兀鬲賷 賲賳 禺賱賮 丕賱噩丿丕乇..賵兀乇囟 丕賱噩賱賷丿
噩夭亍 噩賵賳 爻賳賵 賲賳 丕賱兀噩夭丕亍 丕賱鬲賷 亘賴丕 丿乇丕賲丕 噩賷丿丞 噩丿丕 兀賷囟丕 賱氐乇丕毓賴 丕賱賳賮爻賷 賰兀亘賳 睾賷乇 卮乇毓賷 賱兀丨丿 賰亘丕乇 "賱賵乇丿丕鬲" 丕賱卮賲丕賱 賵賲賰丕賳賴 賮賷 丕賱兀爻乇丞 亘賷賳 兀禺賵鬲賴 賵 兀亘鬲毓丕丿賴 毓賳賴賲 賱賷賳囟賲 賱丨乇爻 丕賱卮賲丕賱
賴賵 賲賳 毓孬乇 毓賱賷 匕卅丕亘 丕賱卮賲丕賱 丕賱賵賱賷丿丞 賵噩毓賱 賱賵乇丿 爻鬲丕乇賰 賷丨鬲賮馗 亘賴丕 賱賰賱 兀亘賳 賲賳 兀亘賳丕亍賴 丕賱卮乇毓賷賵賳 匕卅亘丕 賵兀丨鬲賮馗 賴賵 兀賷囟丕 亘匕卅亘 賲禺鬲賱賮 毓賳 兀禺賵鬲賴 賵賰兀賳賴 賷賲賷夭賴 賰兀亘賳 睾賷乇 卮乇毓賷
丕賱匕卅丕亘 鬲賱賰 兀賷囟丕 賱賴丕 丿賵乇 賯賵賷 亘丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 賱賰賱 兀亘賳丕亍 爻鬲丕乇賰 賵丨鬲賷 噩賵賳 爻賳賵
賴匕丕 睾賷乇 賲丕 爻賷賵丕噩賴賴 賲賳 睾乇丕卅亘 賮賷 丕賱噩丿丕乇 賮賷 馗賱 丕賱禺胤乇 丕賱匕賷 賷賵丕噩賴賴 丕賱卮賲丕賱 賲賳 兀乇囟 丕賱噩賱賷丿
噩夭亍 孬乇賷 兀賷囟丕 亘丕賱賲卮丕毓乇 毓賳 丕賱兀禺賵丞 賵丕賱氐丿丕賯丞
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賰賱 賴匕賴 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 鬲卮鬲乇賰 兀丨賷丕賳丕 賮賷 賮氐賱 兀賵 兀孬賳丕賳 毓丿丕 丕賱卮禺氐賷丞 丕賱兀禺賷乇丞
賵廿賱賷 丕賱卮禺氐賷丞 丕賱兀禺賷乇丞 丕賱亘毓賷丿丞 毓賳 鬲賱賰 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 丕賱賲鬲卮丕亘賰丞 .. 賵廿賳 賰丕賳 賱賴丕 鬲兀孬賷乇 賳賵毓丕 賲丕 賮賷 爻賷乇 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 亘丕賱賳爻亘丞 賱賳賷丿 爻鬲丕乇賰
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丿丕賳賷乇賷爻 "丿丕賳賷" 鬲丕乇噩賷乇賷丕賳
賮賷 丕賱卮乇賯 ,丕賱丿賵賱 丕賱卮乇賯賷丞 , 鬲鬲丕亘毓 丿 丿丕賳賷乇賷爻 鬲丕乇噩丕乇賷丕賳 賵兀禺賷赖丕 賮賷爻丕乇賷 乇丨賱鬲賴賲 丕賱亘胤賷卅丞 賮賷 賲丨丕賵賱丞 噩賲毓 噩賷卮丕 賱賱毓賵丿丞 賵丕賱噩賱賵爻 毓賱賷 毓乇卮 丕賱賲賲丕賱賰 丕賱爻亘毓
賮賯丿 鬲賲 賳賮賷賴賲 賲賳匕 氐睾乇賴賲 賱賱賯丕乇丞 丕賱卮乇賯賷丞 賵丕賱賲丿賳 丕賱爻亘毓 丕賱丨乇丞 亘毓丿 賲賯鬲賱 丕賱賲賱賰 丕賱賲噩賳賵賳 , 賮賴賲 兀禺乇 賵乇孬丞 兀爻乇丞 鬲丕乇噩丕乇賷丕賳, 賵乇孬丞 丕賱毓乇卮 丕賱丨丿賷丿賷 丕賱兀氐賱賷 ,賲賱賵賰 丕賱爻亘毓 賲賲丕賱賰 賲賳匕 賯乇賵賳 .. 賵兀禺乇 兀爻乇丞 兀氐丨丕亘 丕賱鬲賳丕賳賷賳
賵賷氐賱 丕賱兀賲乇 亘兀禺賷賴丕 兀賳 賷亘賷毓賴丕 賰夭賵噩丞 賱夭毓賷賲 賯亘賷賱丞 丕賱丿賵乇丕孬賰賷 ,賯亘賷賱丞 賲賳 賲賲鬲胤賷 丕賱噩賷丕丿 ,賴賲噩賷丞 賮賯胤 賰賷 賷賲賳丨賴 噩賷卮丕 賱賷毓賵丿 賵噩賱爻 毓賱賷 毓乇卮 丕賱賲賱賰
亘賷賳賲丕 丿丕賳賷 鬲卮毓乇 兀賳 兀禺賷賴丕 丕賱兀賳丕賳賷 丕賱賯丕爻賷 賱丕 賷氐賱丨 賱廿毓鬲賱丕亍 丕賱毓乇卮..賵賱賰賳賴賲 兀禺乇 禺賱賮丕亍 丕賱賲賱賰 丕賱睾丕夭賷..賵丕賱毓乇卮 丨賯賴賲 丕賱卮乇毓賷
賵賳鬲丕亘毓 乇丨賱鬲賴賲 亘賷賳 賲丿賳 丕賱卮乇賯 亘賷賳賲丕 丨賱賲賴賲丕 賱賱毓賵丿丞 賱亘賱丕丿賴賲 賵賵胤賳賴賲 賱兀爻鬲毓丕丿丞 賰乇爻賷 丕賱毓乇卮 丕賱匕賷 兀睾鬲氐亘賴 賲賳賴賲 乇賵亘乇鬲 亘丕乇孬賷賵賳
賵賱賰賳 賲丕賱丕 賷毓乇賮丕賳賴 賴賵 兀賳 乇賵亘乇鬲 亘丕乇孬賷賵賳 賱賴 噩丕爻賵爻 賵爻胤賴賲...賯丿 賱丕賷鬲乇丿丿 賮賷 兀賷 賱丨馗丞 賱賯鬲賱賴賲丕 亘賳丕亍 毓賱賷 兀賵丕賲乇賴, 賮賰賱 丕賱睾丿乇 賲鬲丕丨 毓賳丿賲丕 賷賱毓亘 丕賱賲賱賵賰 氐锟斤拷丕毓 毓乇賵卮賴賲
賲賳 賮鬲丕丞 賱賲 鬲亘賱睾 丕賱禺丕賲爻丞 毓卮乇 ,禺丕囟毓丞 賱兀禺賷賴丕 丕賱毓氐亘賷 丕賱賲噩賳賵賳, 丕賱賮禺賵乇 亘丿賲丕亍 丕賱鬲賳丕賳賷賳 丕賱鬲賷 鬲噩乇賷 亘丿賲丕卅賴賲 廿賱賷 夭賵噩丞 夭毓賷賲 賯亘賷賱丞 賴賲噩賷丞 賰亘乇賷..鬲鬲胤賵乇 卮禺氐賷丞 丿丕賳賷乇賷爻 鬲丕乇噩丕乇賷丕賳 鬲胤賵乇丕鬲 賲賰鬲賵亘丞 亘胤乇賷賯丞 賵噩賵 賲禺鬲賱賮 鬲賲丕賲丕 毓賳 噩賵 亘丕賯賷 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲
乇丨賱丞 賱賲丿賳 賵丨賰丕賷丕鬲 睾乇賷亘丞 賲禺鬲賱賮丞 毓賳 丕賱賮氐賵賱 丕賱爻丕亘賯丞 賵毓丕賱賲 賵孬賯丕賮丞 賵賲毓鬲賯丿丕鬲 噩丿賷丿丞
兀賱賲 兀賯賱 賱賰 兀賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 鬲卮亘賴 兀丿亘 丕賱乇丨賱丕鬲
賵賴匕丕 丕賱噩夭亍 丕賱孬乇賷 賷賰賮賷 兀賳 兀禺亘乇賰 兀賳 丕賱賲丐賱賮 賯丕賲 亘兀爻鬲禺乇丕噩賴 賲賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賵噩毓賱賴 賰乇賵丕賷丞 賯氐賷乇丞 賲賳賮氐賱丞 亘毓賳賵丕賳 "丿賲丕亍 丕賱鬲賳賷賳" 賵丨丕夭鬲 毓賱賷 噩丕卅夭丞 兀賮囟賱 乇賵丕賷丞 賯氐賷乇丞 毓丕賲 1997
賯丿 賷毓賷亘 賴匕丕 丕賱噩夭亍 , 賵兀賷囟丕 亘毓囟 丕賱兀噩夭丕亍 丕賱爻丕亘賯丞 亘毓囟 丕賱兀噩夭丕亍 丕賱噩賳爻賷丞 丕賱氐乇賷丨丞 賵賱賰賳賴丕 兀賯賱 亘賲乇丕丨賱 毓賲丕 賮賷 丕賱賲爻賱爻賱
鬲胤賵乇 卮禺氐賷丞 丿丕賳賷乇賷爻 賮賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賷賵囟丨 兀賰孬乇 賰賷賮 爻賷賰賵賳 丿賵乇賴丕 賱丕丨賯丕 賮賷 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬
賵亘丕賱乇睾賲 賲賳 兀賳賴丕 賮鬲丕丞 氐睾賷乇丞 賵賱賰賳賴丕 鬲鬲毓賱賲 丕賱賰孬賷乇 毓賳 丕賱丨賷丕丞...賵賱毓亘丞 丕賱毓乇賵卮
賯丕賱鬲 丿丕賳賷 " 賲賴賲丕 賷賰賳, 賲丕夭丕賱鬲 毓丕賲丞 丕賱卮毓亘 賷賳鬲馗乇賵賳賴. 丕賱賲丕噩賷爻鬲乇 廿賷賱賷乇賵爻 賷賯賵賱 兀賳賴賲 賷丨賷賰賵賳 乇丕賷丕鬲 丕賱鬲賳賷賳 賵賷氐賱賾賵賳 賱賮賷爻丕乇賷 兀賳 賷毓賵丿 賲賳 丕賱亘丨乇 丕賱囟賷賯 賱賷丨乇乇賴賲"
"毓丕賲丞 丕賱卮毓亘 賷氐賱賾賵賳 賱賱賲胤乇, 兀胤賮丕賱 兀氐丨丕亍, 賵氐賷賮 賱丕賷賳鬲賴賷,"
賯丕賱 賱賴丕 爻賷乇 噩賵乇丕賴 . "亘丕賱賳爻亘丞 賱賴賲 賱丕 賷賴鬲賲賵賳 毓賳丿賲丕 賷賱毓亘 丕賱爻丕丿丞 丕賱賰亘丕乇 氐乇丕毓 毓乇賵卮賴賲, 胤丕賱賲丕 賷鬲乇賰賵賳賴賲 賮賷 爻賱丕賲 , 賴賲 賱丕賷賴鬲賲賵賳 兀亘丿丕"
Dany rode close beside him. 鈥淪till,鈥� she said, 鈥渢he common people are waiting for him. Magister Illyrio says they are sewing dragon banners and praying for Viserys to return from across the narrow sea to free them.鈥�
鈥淭he common people pray for rain, healthy children, and a summer that never ends,鈥� Ser Jorah told her. 鈥淚t is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace.鈥� He gave a shrug. 鈥淭hey never are.鈥�
廿賱賷爻 賴匕丕 丨賯賷賯賷丕責
賰賲丕 賯賱鬲 賴賷 乇賵丕賷丞 爻賷丕爻賷丞, 丿乇丕賲賷丞, 兀噩鬲賲丕毓賷丞 賵乇賵賲丕賳爻賷丞
賴賷 兀丿亘 乇丨賱丕鬲..兀丿亘 爻賷丕爻賷..鬲丕乇賷禺賷 賵噩睾乇丕賮賷 賵廿賳 賰丕賳鬲 噩睾乇丕賮賷丕 賵鬲丕乇賷禺 賲賳 毓丕賱賲 兀禺乇, 賲賵丕夭賷..賵賱賰賳 爻鬲噩丿 丕賱賲卮丕毓乇 賳賮爻賴丕 賮賷 毓丕賱賲賳丕, 賵丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 丕賱爻賷丕爻賷丞 兀賷囟丕 賳賮爻賴丕
廿賱賷爻 賴匕丕 賴賵 噩賵賴乇 兀賷 乇賵丕賷丞 責
賵賱賰賳 賰賲丕 賯賱鬲 賴匕賴 賱賷爻鬲 乇賵丕賷丞..亘賱 兀睾賳賷丞..兀睾賳賷丞 丕賱噩賱賷丿 賵丕賱賳丕乇
賵賴匕丕 賰丕賳 兀賵賱 賳卮賷丿 亘賴丕, 氐乇丕毓 丕賱毓乇賵卮
"毓賳丿賲丕 鬲賱毓亘 賱毓亘丞 丕賱毓乇賵卮, 兀賳鬲 廿賲丕 鬲賰爻亘 賵廿賲丕 鬲賲賵鬲. 賱丕賷賵噩丿 丨賱 賵爻胤"
Cersei insisted. 鈥淲hen you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.鈥�
賵廿賱賷 丕賱賳卮賷丿 丕賱孬丕賳賷
賲丨賲丿 丕賱毓乇亘賷
賲賳 7 賲丕乇爻 2015
廿賱賷 24 賲丕乇爻 2015
"賯丿 賷賰賵賳 賵賯鬲 賯乇丕亍丞 胤賵賷賱, 丕賱賱睾丞 氐毓亘丞 賮賷 丕賱亘丿丕賷丞 賱賰賳 亘賲噩乇丿 兀賳鬲賴丕亍賰 賲賳 賳氐賮 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 爻鬲噩丿 丕賱兀賲乇 兀爻賴賱 亘賰孬賷乇
賵賱丕 鬲賳爻
September 12, 2021
And thus I'm back to the beginning and hating and loving people all over again!
And the dumbass King ruins it all by having a wicked witch for a wife, but if not then it would just be some other wickedness to get the party started.
There are so many characters I love in these books and the wolves of course. And all who kill wolves can have their head on a pike!
So suck it Greyjoy! You get what's coming to you later on 馃槃
And oh how I love Tyrian 鉂わ笍
And he does this:
Oh if he only killed him off right then. And his mother for that matter but I digress.
All the sadness that came and a bit of revenge to come later on
In other parts of the world. I love Dany and Khal Drogo so much. Once again, love nothing in these books!
And the Mother of Dragons.
to be continued. . .
Mel 馃枻馃惡馃枻
Old Review
I love the book and the shows. I still have the other books to read. The only thing I don't like is the killing of the wolves and horses and the rapes, but we know those things are going to happen.
And I will not like anyone again on the shows or in the books because every time I do they get killed! So, I'm just going to pretend I can't stand them all :)
I love the book and the characters. I hope to see some good revenge in some of the other books and I hope some certain lady takes most all of them out. I'm not saying any names in case I jinx it :)
And the dumbass King ruins it all by having a wicked witch for a wife, but if not then it would just be some other wickedness to get the party started.
There are so many characters I love in these books and the wolves of course. And all who kill wolves can have their head on a pike!
"He must have crawled away away from the others," Jon said.
"Or been driven away," their father said, looking at the sixth pup. His fur was white, where the rest of the litter was grey. His eyes were as red as the blood of the ragged man who had died that morning. Bran thought it curious that this pup alone would have opened his eyes while the others were still blind.
"An albino," Theon Greyjoy said with wry amusement. "This one will die faster than the others."
Jon Snow gave his father's ward a long chilling look. "I think not, Greyjoy," he said. "This one belongs to me."
So suck it Greyjoy! You get what's coming to you later on 馃槃
And oh how I love Tyrian 鉂わ笍
"Boy," a voice called out to him. Jon turned.
Tyrion Lannister was sitting on the ledge above the door to the Great Hall, looking for all the world like a gargoyle. The dwarf grinned down at him. "Is that a wolf?"
"A direwolf," Jon said. "His name is Ghost." He stared up at the little man, his disappointment suddenly forgotten. "What are you doing up there? Why aren't you at the feast?"
"Too hot, too noisy, and I drunk too much wine," the dwarf told him. "I learned long ago that it is considered rude to vomit on your brother. Might I have a closer look at your wolf?"
Jon hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Can you climb down, or shall I bring a ladder?"
"Oh, bleed that," the little man said. He pushed himself off the ledge into empty air. Jon gasped, then watched with awe as Tyrion Lannister spun around in a tight ball, landed lightly on his hands, then vaulted backward onto his legs,
And he does this:
"One word," Tyrion said, "and I will hit you again."
"I'm going to tell Mother!" Joffery exclaimed.
Tyrion hit him again. Now both cheeks flamed
Oh if he only killed him off right then. And his mother for that matter but I digress.
All the sadness that came and a bit of revenge to come later on
In other parts of the world. I love Dany and Khal Drogo so much. Once again, love nothing in these books!
And the Mother of Dragons.
to be continued. . .
Mel 馃枻馃惡馃枻
Old Review
I love the book and the shows. I still have the other books to read. The only thing I don't like is the killing of the wolves and horses and the rapes, but we know those things are going to happen.
And I will not like anyone again on the shows or in the books because every time I do they get killed! So, I'm just going to pretend I can't stand them all :)
I love the book and the characters. I hope to see some good revenge in some of the other books and I hope some certain lady takes most all of them out. I'm not saying any names in case I jinx it :)
February 10, 2017
I am on page 470, and although it pains me to put a book down unfinished, it is simply time for me to quit.
A Song of Ice and Fire is the Grey's Anatomy of fantasy. It isn't perfect in the beginning (it's pretty flawed, actually), but you think "That's okay, the premise is good! It will improve!" And then before you know it, everyone is having everyone else's baby and murdering their mother (who is also their sister, and a schizophrenic) and traveling around on horseback setting things on fire for no apparent reason.
The characterization is painfully, painfully flat. I'm tempted to go through the text and count the number of times Jon Snow is referred to as a bastard. I get it! His mother is not his father's wife! He is a bastard! Please, god, can we move on now? No, we can't move on; here on page 470, AGAIN, Jon points out in dialogue that he is a bastard. (Cue self-inflicted eye-stabbing.) The kicker: Jon Snow is probably the deepest character in the book.
And exactly like Grey's Anatomy, there comes a moment (often when a character married to two people at once and pregnant with some other dude's baby decides to throw herself off a bridge, and then survives, but is left in a coma that can only be cured by the medicine her dead best friend left in her nightstand) when you just can't take one more bit of drama just for the sake of it. (Plus, I totally cheated and looked up what happens in the sequels, and the plot only gets more convoluted and depressing.)
So yeah, thanks so much to all you guys who rated this FIVE STARS. I would like to know what you've been smoking, because it apparently gives you the power to turn crap into gold.
A Song of Ice and Fire is the Grey's Anatomy of fantasy. It isn't perfect in the beginning (it's pretty flawed, actually), but you think "That's okay, the premise is good! It will improve!" And then before you know it, everyone is having everyone else's baby and murdering their mother (who is also their sister, and a schizophrenic) and traveling around on horseback setting things on fire for no apparent reason.
The characterization is painfully, painfully flat. I'm tempted to go through the text and count the number of times Jon Snow is referred to as a bastard. I get it! His mother is not his father's wife! He is a bastard! Please, god, can we move on now? No, we can't move on; here on page 470, AGAIN, Jon points out in dialogue that he is a bastard. (Cue self-inflicted eye-stabbing.) The kicker: Jon Snow is probably the deepest character in the book.
And exactly like Grey's Anatomy, there comes a moment (often when a character married to two people at once and pregnant with some other dude's baby decides to throw herself off a bridge, and then survives, but is left in a coma that can only be cured by the medicine her dead best friend left in her nightstand) when you just can't take one more bit of drama just for the sake of it. (Plus, I totally cheated and looked up what happens in the sequels, and the plot only gets more convoluted and depressing.)
So yeah, thanks so much to all you guys who rated this FIVE STARS. I would like to know what you've been smoking, because it apparently gives you the power to turn crap into gold.
October 24, 2019
Even for someone who has watched the HBO series, George R.R. Martin鈥檚 Game of Thrones is an engaging and enjoyable read! The strength of Martin鈥檚 writing shines through in these pages. Each chapter is well-crafted. You know exactly how to picture the setting and you feel the desires and discontent of each chapter鈥檚 (POV) character. Watching how Martin develops characters, with all their flaws, keeps the story going as much or more than the 鈥榞ame of thrones.鈥� If you鈥檙e looking for new information in the book; however, you鈥檙e not likely to discover much. Definitely nothing that one could really classify as a surprise.
In fact, it distracted me (for a while) that the two were so remarkably similar (scenes, dialogue, action all seemed to match). When there was a small conflict with the series, I found myself noting the difference. This often had to do with the age of the characters (they are younger in the book) or the description of a few of the characters such as Tyrion. In the end, however, I was swept up in this epic story! I liked the pace produced by the shifting perspectives. The one drawback to this approach (for me) came at the end. It somehow didn鈥檛 feel like I鈥檇 finished anything. The last chapter was a good one, but because there are so many perspectives and everything is still in motion, (despite the deaths) you don鈥檛 feel that anything has really ended. In fact this is true; the ending of book 1 is really just the beginning of Martin鈥檚 epic. 4.5 stars!
In fact, it distracted me (for a while) that the two were so remarkably similar (scenes, dialogue, action all seemed to match). When there was a small conflict with the series, I found myself noting the difference. This often had to do with the age of the characters (they are younger in the book) or the description of a few of the characters such as Tyrion. In the end, however, I was swept up in this epic story! I liked the pace produced by the shifting perspectives. The one drawback to this approach (for me) came at the end. It somehow didn鈥檛 feel like I鈥檇 finished anything. The last chapter was a good one, but because there are so many perspectives and everything is still in motion, (despite the deaths) you don鈥檛 feel that anything has really ended. In fact this is true; the ending of book 1 is really just the beginning of Martin鈥檚 epic. 4.5 stars!
January 11, 2019
I have finally done it! I have joined in on the fun that is A Game of Thrones. It is 2018 and I managed to make it all the way here without reading a page or watching a minute of the show. Now, it is the nature of the internet to keep me from being completely in the dark on this one, but I think I did a pretty good job of avoiding hearing or seeing too much about it.
Is this a great fantasy book? It really is quite good. The plot and the characters are well thought out. Comparing it to other fantasy books I have read, it is right up there or better.
Yeah, but since this has been taking the world by storm it must have blown your socks off!? Um, no, not really. It was good, but not, "OMG THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER!" good.
How about mainstream interest? So many people say they are not fantasy fans but they love this series. This has to be 95% because of the show. This book is SOOOOOOO fantasy, if it wasn't already popular I would never recommend it to anyone except a diehard fantasy fan. In fact, it isn't even really "fun" fantasy - it is dark with lots of politics and plotting. Some of my 欧宝娱乐 friends said that historical fiction fans get a kick out of it, too, and it is loosely based on the War of the Roses.
Do I want to watch the show now? Yeah, I think I will check it out.
Sex and violence? I have seen some people wary of this book because of sex and violence. Internet spoilers, SNL skits, etc. sure do make it sound pretty vicious and risque. However, compared to other fantasy novels, it is pretty normal. In fact, the depiction of sex is pretty tame. Violence is maybe a little more intense, but nothing that made me feel the book was too extremely brutal. Perhaps these things get amped up in future books?
EVERONE DIES! One thing that seemed to leak through the internet and my friends talking about the book was to not get too attached to a character because they will probably die. So far, only one death was kind of shocking to me. I expect the death count and the shock value to go up as the books progress.
I think that covers the main points.
- I liked it, but wasn't completely blown away.
- I have no idea how HBO managed to get a bunch of non-fantasy fans into this.
- I cannot wait to check out the next one to see what happens!
Is this a great fantasy book? It really is quite good. The plot and the characters are well thought out. Comparing it to other fantasy books I have read, it is right up there or better.
Yeah, but since this has been taking the world by storm it must have blown your socks off!? Um, no, not really. It was good, but not, "OMG THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER!" good.
How about mainstream interest? So many people say they are not fantasy fans but they love this series. This has to be 95% because of the show. This book is SOOOOOOO fantasy, if it wasn't already popular I would never recommend it to anyone except a diehard fantasy fan. In fact, it isn't even really "fun" fantasy - it is dark with lots of politics and plotting. Some of my 欧宝娱乐 friends said that historical fiction fans get a kick out of it, too, and it is loosely based on the War of the Roses.
Do I want to watch the show now? Yeah, I think I will check it out.
Sex and violence? I have seen some people wary of this book because of sex and violence. Internet spoilers, SNL skits, etc. sure do make it sound pretty vicious and risque. However, compared to other fantasy novels, it is pretty normal. In fact, the depiction of sex is pretty tame. Violence is maybe a little more intense, but nothing that made me feel the book was too extremely brutal. Perhaps these things get amped up in future books?
EVERONE DIES! One thing that seemed to leak through the internet and my friends talking about the book was to not get too attached to a character because they will probably die. So far, only one death was kind of shocking to me. I expect the death count and the shock value to go up as the books progress.
I think that covers the main points.
- I liked it, but wasn't completely blown away.
- I have no idea how HBO managed to get a bunch of non-fantasy fans into this.
- I cannot wait to check out the next one to see what happens!
November 13, 2022
Minimalist magic for maximum character badassery
Letting the story unfold without much caring about establishing complex magic or fantasy fraction constellations
Martin does what麓s the possibly hardest thing, writing suspenseful and credible characters, dialogues, and power struggles without wasting too much time with elves, dwarfs, or wizards, just some dragons, and ice zombies. His writing is so incredibly absorbing that I麓m close to saying that he麓s the best at blending characters with plot, but at the same time circumventing the problem of implementing too complex hard magic systems. That麓s kind of
Unique to the genre
Most fantasy lives from showing how the magic characters deal with the pros and cons of their talents, abilities, and ethical dilemmas that come with throwing fireballs and mind controlling friends and foes. It麓s also possible that I simply still haven麓t read enough genre fiction, but from what I麓ve seen in the most first few volumes of series I tend to read before losing momentum and stopping the journey, no big one in the game dared to go full medieval warfare mode with just some grains of magic
Brutal, barbaric, and thereby totally realistic
This series is just badass as heck, Martin Chuck Norrises each atrocity thinkable throughout the series, and it starts wonderfully bloody, perverted, and disturbing. Definitely, a bit too extreme for some readers, especially because his writing is so realistic.
Not just too much to handle for the audience, but the author too
I guess a reason for the time it takes to continue the series lies in the sheer complexity of this thing. In fan wikis and wikipedia one can see the number of protagonists exploding with each part of the series, which makes it impossible to read with big breaks in between the parts, and is even sometimes confusing while reading the series at once. Maybe it麓s not just laziness or the attempt to become a legendary master procrastinator, but simply the fact that Martin doesn麓t know how to handle the beast he unleashed. But it麓s the final consequence of
Incredible characterization
Hardly ever reached in the genre. Just a total genius level how Martin creates such inner introspections and monologues, dialogues, and character evolution. It麓s a bit like with the Stephen King magic, one just can麓t understand how it麓s possible to be such a brilliant artist. There are long passages without much action, plot, or any other dynamic, just character evolving and struggling with life and there isn麓t a nanosecond of problems with suspension of disbelief or boredom. And it麓s also never bad to be a
Total medieval nerd
Without that second, important ingredient, Martins麓 knowledge about and fascination for these disturbingly primitive and crazy times, he couldn麓t have come up with this worldbuilding. What good luck for readers that prodigy writing skills met nerdgasmic knight overkills.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
Letting the story unfold without much caring about establishing complex magic or fantasy fraction constellations
Martin does what麓s the possibly hardest thing, writing suspenseful and credible characters, dialogues, and power struggles without wasting too much time with elves, dwarfs, or wizards, just some dragons, and ice zombies. His writing is so incredibly absorbing that I麓m close to saying that he麓s the best at blending characters with plot, but at the same time circumventing the problem of implementing too complex hard magic systems. That麓s kind of
Unique to the genre
Most fantasy lives from showing how the magic characters deal with the pros and cons of their talents, abilities, and ethical dilemmas that come with throwing fireballs and mind controlling friends and foes. It麓s also possible that I simply still haven麓t read enough genre fiction, but from what I麓ve seen in the most first few volumes of series I tend to read before losing momentum and stopping the journey, no big one in the game dared to go full medieval warfare mode with just some grains of magic
Brutal, barbaric, and thereby totally realistic
This series is just badass as heck, Martin Chuck Norrises each atrocity thinkable throughout the series, and it starts wonderfully bloody, perverted, and disturbing. Definitely, a bit too extreme for some readers, especially because his writing is so realistic.
Not just too much to handle for the audience, but the author too
I guess a reason for the time it takes to continue the series lies in the sheer complexity of this thing. In fan wikis and wikipedia one can see the number of protagonists exploding with each part of the series, which makes it impossible to read with big breaks in between the parts, and is even sometimes confusing while reading the series at once. Maybe it麓s not just laziness or the attempt to become a legendary master procrastinator, but simply the fact that Martin doesn麓t know how to handle the beast he unleashed. But it麓s the final consequence of
Incredible characterization
Hardly ever reached in the genre. Just a total genius level how Martin creates such inner introspections and monologues, dialogues, and character evolution. It麓s a bit like with the Stephen King magic, one just can麓t understand how it麓s possible to be such a brilliant artist. There are long passages without much action, plot, or any other dynamic, just character evolving and struggling with life and there isn麓t a nanosecond of problems with suspension of disbelief or boredom. And it麓s also never bad to be a
Total medieval nerd
Without that second, important ingredient, Martins麓 knowledge about and fascination for these disturbingly primitive and crazy times, he couldn麓t have come up with this worldbuilding. What good luck for readers that prodigy writing skills met nerdgasmic knight overkills.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
December 2, 2020
鈥淲hen the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.鈥�
This took me quite a while. First, because I already knew what happened from the show, second because I guess you just cannot rush through this book that fast, and third because I dreaded all the horrible things and painful deaths that were going to happen.
Sometimes I wish I could forget everything I knew about a book/show and just start anew. Maybe I would have read this novel faster if I hadn't known everything already? Because A Game of Thrones is very close to the first season of the show, only with more detail.
So GRRM is a great storyteller, but also a cruel one. You just never know what is going to happen next and you really fear for all the characters you love. This whole series is just so big. And awesome. And I really don't know where this is all going to go and how it will end but well...Hoping for many dead Lannisters.
POVs from most to least liked:
Daenerys Targaryen
Ned Stark
Tyrion Lannister
Arya Stark
Jon Snow
Catelyn Stark
Bran Stark
Sansa Stark
This took me quite a while. First, because I already knew what happened from the show, second because I guess you just cannot rush through this book that fast, and third because I dreaded all the horrible things and painful deaths that were going to happen.
Sometimes I wish I could forget everything I knew about a book/show and just start anew. Maybe I would have read this novel faster if I hadn't known everything already? Because A Game of Thrones is very close to the first season of the show, only with more detail.
So GRRM is a great storyteller, but also a cruel one. You just never know what is going to happen next and you really fear for all the characters you love. This whole series is just so big. And awesome. And I really don't know where this is all going to go and how it will end but well...Hoping for many dead Lannisters.
POVs from most to least liked:
Daenerys Targaryen
Ned Stark
Tyrion Lannister
Arya Stark
Jon Snow
Catelyn Stark
Bran Stark
Sansa Stark
March 22, 2009
I know no one reading this knows me much (well some of you may) but I DON'T reread books. I usually read a book once and its quite well locked into my brain. As much as I've enjoyed many books I've read, they just don't require a second read for me. I read them, now its time to move on. "A Game of Thrones" is different. I loved this book and its characters so much, and crave the world and narrative so much that I couldn't wait for Martin to get the newest installment out. So I started rereading the first book I've ever reread.
Let me just say that I didn't find ANY of the characters boring. Even the characters that I would find an anoying personality type, are deeply engrosing in this tale. And those types of characters number just 2 for me in this book. There are so many characters, with such a broad range of personalities that there is someone to match everyones likes. Yet even the characters I initially found myself repulsed by, grow and change and are just as fascinating as those that I admire and empathize with.
Normally I dislike when an author has too many characters and jumps from character to character from one chapter to the next, not so in this book. Martin's ability to tell a story and hook you on it, is so great that I started to look forward to these jumps to different characters. With this many characters you really are provided with a great narrow and broad picture of the currents of this world and narrative. Its like watching individual storms all over the globe, all adding up to the global weather system.
Which leads me to my next point, his pacing. I've read my share of epic fantasy series. In particular Martin's two major contemporaries/rivals for the top spot of the epic fantasy genre: Terry Goodkind and Robert Jordan. Both these authors have good parts, and bad parts to their books. There are momments in their books where I stop and think, "That was the coolest thing (event) I've ever read". Yet there are way more parts in both author's works where I was thinking "when are we going to get to the next awsome and exciting event? Why are we still walking/riding/working/...etc(you get my drift)". I came to expect this in any book, particularly epic fantasy. I just thought that when a book/series gets as long as these tomes, you end up having to spread some borring filler in there because one imagination can only do so much exciting work. Martin broke that mold for me. I kept waiting for a momment where part of my mind would start, metaphorically, tapping its foot in bordom thinking, "?". It never happened. Each chapter would grab me, and by the time the chapter ended I was groaning at having to leave behind this story thread because I was wrapped up in its narrative path. Then I'm instantly swept up by the events of the next chapters story thread.
Finally there is the commitment by the author to this narrative. Many stories have jeopardy but you kind of know that in the end, the main character can't die, there are more books to come. Don't ever count on that in "A Game of Thrones". Everyone of the characters is fair game, and people/characters will die in horrible and tragic ways. In this book and in subsequent ones in the series, I literally threw down the book and got up in shock. Sometimes even shouting out to no one at all, "Oh my GODS!, he killed !". It gives me confidence in Martin and his own level of commitment to telling me the best and most real story possible, complete with unfair and tragic events happening to good AND bad people (though in the case of the bad people I suppose it would be "fair and happy" when negative things happen to them..lol). Ok, thats it, I can't believe how much I wrote here. Hope this gets some folks to read this book. Cause once you read the first, you'll be hooked.
03/22/2009: I just finished re-reading this book, and have to say it was even better the second time around. I caught subtleties to the plot that I never caught before, particularly about Jon Snow, Lyanna Stark, and Eddard Stark. I also found it interesting how much more the tension in the book was increased for me because I knew certain great momments were coming in the book, and the tension that created for me was most enjoyable. This is quite possibly THE best first book in a fantasy series I've ever read. I can't wait to re-read book #2 now, if only I had more time to read!
Let me just say that I didn't find ANY of the characters boring. Even the characters that I would find an anoying personality type, are deeply engrosing in this tale. And those types of characters number just 2 for me in this book. There are so many characters, with such a broad range of personalities that there is someone to match everyones likes. Yet even the characters I initially found myself repulsed by, grow and change and are just as fascinating as those that I admire and empathize with.
Normally I dislike when an author has too many characters and jumps from character to character from one chapter to the next, not so in this book. Martin's ability to tell a story and hook you on it, is so great that I started to look forward to these jumps to different characters. With this many characters you really are provided with a great narrow and broad picture of the currents of this world and narrative. Its like watching individual storms all over the globe, all adding up to the global weather system.
Which leads me to my next point, his pacing. I've read my share of epic fantasy series. In particular Martin's two major contemporaries/rivals for the top spot of the epic fantasy genre: Terry Goodkind and Robert Jordan. Both these authors have good parts, and bad parts to their books. There are momments in their books where I stop and think, "That was the coolest thing (event) I've ever read". Yet there are way more parts in both author's works where I was thinking "when are we going to get to the next awsome and exciting event? Why are we still walking/riding/working/...etc(you get my drift)". I came to expect this in any book, particularly epic fantasy. I just thought that when a book/series gets as long as these tomes, you end up having to spread some borring filler in there because one imagination can only do so much exciting work. Martin broke that mold for me. I kept waiting for a momment where part of my mind would start, metaphorically, tapping its foot in bordom thinking, "?". It never happened. Each chapter would grab me, and by the time the chapter ended I was groaning at having to leave behind this story thread because I was wrapped up in its narrative path. Then I'm instantly swept up by the events of the next chapters story thread.
Finally there is the commitment by the author to this narrative. Many stories have jeopardy but you kind of know that in the end, the main character can't die, there are more books to come. Don't ever count on that in "A Game of Thrones". Everyone of the characters is fair game, and people/characters will die in horrible and tragic ways. In this book and in subsequent ones in the series, I literally threw down the book and got up in shock. Sometimes even shouting out to no one at all, "Oh my GODS!, he killed !". It gives me confidence in Martin and his own level of commitment to telling me the best and most real story possible, complete with unfair and tragic events happening to good AND bad people (though in the case of the bad people I suppose it would be "fair and happy" when negative things happen to them..lol). Ok, thats it, I can't believe how much I wrote here. Hope this gets some folks to read this book. Cause once you read the first, you'll be hooked.
03/22/2009: I just finished re-reading this book, and have to say it was even better the second time around. I caught subtleties to the plot that I never caught before, particularly about Jon Snow, Lyanna Stark, and Eddard Stark. I also found it interesting how much more the tension in the book was increased for me because I knew certain great momments were coming in the book, and the tension that created for me was most enjoyable. This is quite possibly THE best first book in a fantasy series I've ever read. I can't wait to re-read book #2 now, if only I had more time to read!
April 12, 2011
there are about a billion reviews of this one so i doubt i have anything to add. the only thing i feel truly compelled to say is TYRION THE DWARF IS AWESOME! my God, i haven't read a character who is so different and so enjoyable in years. many-layered and consistently surprising, hero & antihero, generous & spiteful in equal amounts, as capable of high-handed miscalculation as he is of clever deduction, brave & loyal & vindictive... just overall a superb creation. Tyrion, you are the tops! and now you're going to be played by the studliest dwarf actor in the business. GO, TYRION, GO!
the novel itself is fast-paced and fun, featuring lavish and completely enjoyable world-building, a narrative that is widescreen in scope but often intimate is scale, some nifty twists, and strong & vivid characterizations. this is not a novel with much idiosyncratic "style" but there is a very literary feel to it nonetheless. it is complex but straightforward, nuanced, carefully planned writing, in the classic historical-novel mode... but made grand & epic by the range of fascinating (and overlapping) multiple perspectives. the action scenes are sparse but very well-rendered; the magic is likewise rare but that rarity make each appearance even more fascinating. although it is all rather archetypal and familiar, it is still never less than pleasing.
___
when thinking on it again, a few months after first reading it, everything just seems perfectly accomplished, even meaningful. DING DING DING!! you & your sequel just won 1 more star, congratulations amazing novel!
the novel itself is fast-paced and fun, featuring lavish and completely enjoyable world-building, a narrative that is widescreen in scope but often intimate is scale, some nifty twists, and strong & vivid characterizations. this is not a novel with much idiosyncratic "style" but there is a very literary feel to it nonetheless. it is complex but straightforward, nuanced, carefully planned writing, in the classic historical-novel mode... but made grand & epic by the range of fascinating (and overlapping) multiple perspectives. the action scenes are sparse but very well-rendered; the magic is likewise rare but that rarity make each appearance even more fascinating. although it is all rather archetypal and familiar, it is still never less than pleasing.
___
when thinking on it again, a few months after first reading it, everything just seems perfectly accomplished, even meaningful. DING DING DING!! you & your sequel just won 1 more star, congratulations amazing novel!
June 9, 2023
HOLY HELL.
I really can't review this, the story is way to complicated to even begin to do that.
I really can't review this, the story is way to complicated to even begin to do that.
August 3, 2017
WE MADE IT!!!! WE HAVE EMERGED VICTORIOUS!!!!
this book was exhausting and knowing that all the other books are bigger terrifies me but the writing and world building in this book is so vivid and even though I chose favorite characters quickly, the ones that I thought less interesting still had very important story lines and every character has a distinct, well-written personality. Basically I am in love with Daenerys, and I also adore Jon and Arya and Sansa, and even Tyrion. Reading this makes me super interested in the TV show and i've heard so many people telling me to watch it that as soon as I have the time (which might not be for a while lol) I will definitely be looking into that! At this point i'm too exhausted to even consider reading the sequels; i'm giving myself a break after reading this hahaha. geez louise it's a commitment, but it was worth it.
Also sidenote- the audiobook is great. I'd say I listened 3/4th of this. You can find the entire series on audiobook on Scribd.com, which I have a promo code for ;)
"WhittyNovelsOnScribd" at gets you two free months!!
this book was exhausting and knowing that all the other books are bigger terrifies me but the writing and world building in this book is so vivid and even though I chose favorite characters quickly, the ones that I thought less interesting still had very important story lines and every character has a distinct, well-written personality. Basically I am in love with Daenerys, and I also adore Jon and Arya and Sansa, and even Tyrion. Reading this makes me super interested in the TV show and i've heard so many people telling me to watch it that as soon as I have the time (which might not be for a while lol) I will definitely be looking into that! At this point i'm too exhausted to even consider reading the sequels; i'm giving myself a break after reading this hahaha. geez louise it's a commitment, but it was worth it.
Also sidenote- the audiobook is great. I'd say I listened 3/4th of this. You can find the entire series on audiobook on Scribd.com, which I have a promo code for ;)
"WhittyNovelsOnScribd" at gets you two free months!!
June 25, 2016
So glad I reread this! I loved it even more this time and it just reaffirmed that this is my favorite series
September 8, 2022
Well, I made it friends. This made for one of the most odd reading experiences I've ever encountered. I was completely enamored with the story, as the world building and intricate detailing into the politics of the seven kingdoms is exquisite, yet every time I picked up this book it felt like a chore to read. This could be perhaps due to the fact that, after waiting 900 years to read these books I've already encountered most of the twists and spoilers, which takes away some of the anticipation. Either way, I respect what George R.R. Martin has created here, and despite my slow going, I'm interested in continuing on.
December 27, 2016
Son 4.5 estrellas, creo. O tal vez 4. Es dif铆cil decidirme.
Lo estuve pensando y creo que me gust贸 m谩s la primera temporada de la serie que el libro en s铆, 驴ser谩 porque la vi primero? Siento que algunos momentos fueron mucho m谩s 茅picos en la tele que en el libro.
脡ste lo termin茅 de leer a inicios de Diciembre, pero no lo hab铆a actualizado porque no sab铆a qu茅 calificaci贸n ponerle. Pens茅 en 4 estrellas porque me gust贸 mucho, pero no me sorprendi贸 nada, y luego me quedaba pensando en que si no hubiera visto la serie, habr铆a quedado en shock y MUY sorprendida mil veces con todo lo que ocurri贸 en el libro, hahaha, 隆fue dif铆cil calificarlo!
En fin, es eso: siento que si no hubiera visto la serie, el libro me habr铆a impactado m谩s. La primera temporada s铆 se parece DEMASIADO, entonces a veces me fastidiaba el saber ya todo lo que iba a ocurrir.
Lo estuve pensando y creo que me gust贸 m谩s la primera temporada de la serie que el libro en s铆, 驴ser谩 porque la vi primero? Siento que algunos momentos fueron mucho m谩s 茅picos en la tele que en el libro.
脡ste lo termin茅 de leer a inicios de Diciembre, pero no lo hab铆a actualizado porque no sab铆a qu茅 calificaci贸n ponerle. Pens茅 en 4 estrellas porque me gust贸 mucho, pero no me sorprendi贸 nada, y luego me quedaba pensando en que si no hubiera visto la serie, habr铆a quedado en shock y MUY sorprendida mil veces con todo lo que ocurri贸 en el libro, hahaha, 隆fue dif铆cil calificarlo!
En fin, es eso: siento que si no hubiera visto la serie, el libro me habr铆a impactado m谩s. La primera temporada s铆 se parece DEMASIADO, entonces a veces me fastidiaba el saber ya todo lo que iba a ocurrir.
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