A Game of Thrones...

Author: George R. R. Martin
Rating: 9

Finished a magnificent book this weekend - A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin which is book one of the Fire and Ice series. The best way to describe this book would be a retelling of medieval England/France from early 1300 to 1500 during the Hundred Years War or the Wars of the Roses time period except that the story is set in an alternate time/location of the author's imagination.

The plots, sub-plots and twists thereof are extremely deep, haunting, and mysterious. The story elements of foreshadowing, symbolism, etc. are simply amazing - continuously I'll look back as the story unfolds and see how the author brilliantly twists a piece of information. The reader learns about an amazing number of characters who live in this dark and gritty world and the story is told from their individual point of views - each chapter is 3-10 pages with that chapter moving the story forward by focusing on the character's viewpoint of the current events. Sounds strange, but it is very well done - and gets you really into each character. The reader experiences their joys, trials, and more often then not - their untimely deaths.

The general story is about the family life and political turmoil of several noble families - most of A Game of Thrones focus is on the Stark's, the Lannister's, and the exiled Targaryen's. Warning - general plot spoilers ahead... the book starts out with focus on the Stark's visit by the King who asks the father to be the new King's Hand (the authority figure who takes care of the daily business of running the realm). This causes a split of the family as half go south to the King's place of residence. There the mystery of who killed the last King's Hand is revealed as well as the plotting of the Lannister's to kill the current King and steal the thrown. Ultimately they are successful and the kingdom's turmoils turn into civil war; which at the end of the book is at a stalemate. Additionally we learn about the last of the exiled Targaryen's - a brother and sister who have been secreted across the seas and become involved with a nomadic race of warrior people. There the sister becomes a queen and looks to start a new clan that will one day go back and regain the throne of the Seven Kingdoms.