Title: A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) Author: George R. R. Martin Published by: Bantam Spectra Published on: 6 Agustus 1996 Pages: 835
Never 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.
-Chapter 5, Jon I
Who doesn't know Game of Thrones?
Arguably the best and most popular TV show in the 2010s* (*terms and conditions apply: valid only until S8E2), it was adapted from A Song of Ice and Fire by grandpa George R. R. Martin -- or GRRM, as he's more adorably known in the fandom. Mostly because that's the sound we make waiting for the next book in the series. *cries in The Winds of Winter*
For those of you living under a rock and have heard neither of GoT nor ASoIaF, do allow me to explain this very complicated plot and universe in the friendliest way possible.
A Song of Ice and Fire is told through the narration of several characters living in Westeros, the fictional continent in this fantasy world often referred to as Ice & Fire, with limited third person POV. In short, it's about political intrigue and the power struggle of noble families in Westerof for the Iron Throne -- which is the name of the throne in the Seven Kingdoms. All of these play out, while the threat of supernatural creatures that want to wipe out the world lurking in the background. Sounds fascinating, no?
A Game of Thrones is told from the POV of the following characters: Ned Stark, Catelyn Tully Stark, Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, Bran Stark, Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister, and Daenerys Targaryen. Oh, and do not forget Will, one of the brothers of the Night's Watch honoured to tell the prologue from his POV. *coughs coughs*
Before continuing, let me explain the geography of this world based on the above map. The Ice and Fire world consists of four continents, but the main story is happening in Westeros and Essos -- with Westeros as the main stage. Centuries ago, Westeros was divided into seven major kingdoms warring with each other. Until Aegon Targaryen and his sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, conquered them and established one big kingdom: the Seven Kingdoms. With its capital on King's Landing, the kingdom consists of four main regions, each having a major Westerosi House as its warden:
- House Stark as Warden of the North
- House Arryn as Warden of the East
- House Lannister as Warden of the West
- House Tyrell as Warden of the South
But what exactly made the Targaryens so powerful, seven different kingdoms bent their knees? There is only one answer: dragons. As the blood of Valyria, a very powerful kingdom in Essos, most of Valyrian noble houses are dragon riders -- Targaryens being one of them, though they were actually only a minor house. About 12 years before the Doom of Valyria (imagine Atlantis), Daenys the Dreamer had a prophetic dream about it and managed to convince her family to move out of Essos. A couple of minor Valyrian noble houses followed suit. The Targaryens set up their position on an island to the west of Westeros called Dragonstone. Here's where Aegon Targaryen started dreaming of uniting Westeros.
When our story begins, though, it was a Baratheon sitting on the Iron Throne, after overthrowing the last Targaryen King almost two decades ago. And we start in the North, more specifically with the Starks.
Winterfell, the Starks' stronghold, was preparing to welcome King Robert Baratheon and his family. The head of the household, Eddard 'Ned' Stark, was Robert's childhood best friend. Not only that, both were important figures in Robert's Rebellion and played a key role in the overthrow of Aerys II Targaryen. Ned married Catelyn Tully, and they had five children: Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon. Jon Snow was Ned's bastard son that he brought home after the war. And although Cat was an amazing mother for her children, she could never bring it to herself to love Jon and was always hostile towards him.
Robert and his party arrived in Winterfell not long after Ned and his sons returned from their trip up north, near the border of The Wall. On their way home, Bran found the carcass of a female direwolf. Its pups were later adopted by each Stark children.
It turned out that Robert didn't just come to Winterfell for a visit to his childhood best friend, no. He wanted to appoint Ned as Hand of the King -- some sort of Prime Minister in modern governmental system. The previous Hand, Jon Arryn, died, and Robert had no other trusted person other than Ned. Although having some reservation, Ned later decided to accept the position. He took his two daughters along, Sansa and Arya, in the hopes that both could find prospective husbands in the capital. It seemed such a promising plan, as Sansa and Prince Joffrey, Queen Cersei's son, soon became closely acquainted. As the eldest, Rob held the title of Lord of Winterfell in Ned's absence.
As we all know, things never go as plan in stories like this. The night before Ned and their daughters' journey, Cat received a mysterious letter from his sister, Lysa, who was also Jon Arryn's widow, in which she explained how her husband was poisoned by someone in King's Landing. Ned would be in grave danger.
But the juiciest part is of course what Bran witnessed when he was climbing around the castle. It's worth mentioning here that, no matter how panic this activity sent his mother into, Bran climbed like a squirrel. He'd never fallen off of anything. That evening, when he was on top of one of Winterfell's tower, he witnessed Queen Cersei having sex with her twin brother, Jaime Lannister. They both found out about the boy during and, without any hesitation, Jaime pushed Bran off the tower.
But the story isn't always about the Starks. When Ned was finally off to King's Landing, Jon Snow decided to join the Night's Watch, an ancient brotherhood with a sacred oath to guard The Wall -- a super-high wall of ice bordering Westeros with the outside world to the north. Other than wildlings, there were legends on dangerous creatures hindered by the mere existence of the Wall. With Ned's promise to tell him of his birth mother nestled safely in his heart, Jon went through a long and ardurous adaptation process with his brothers of the Night's Watch. That is, until Benjen Stark, Ned's younger brother, disappeared in one of his hunt north of the Wall.
We also meet with Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen, Aerys II's children who managed to smuggle out of King's Landing to Essos by their mother and Targaryen's loyalists. Both lived like beggars in a strange land, under the "protection" of Illyrio Mopatis, a cunning magistrate with questionable motive. Without money, home, nor dragons, it seemed like both were the last of the Targaryens. Until Viserys, consumed with retaking the Iron Throne, sold his only sister to Khal Drogo, the fearsome leader of Dothraki -- the most barbaric people who plunder everywhere they went in Essos.
Could Ned overcome the danger lurking and awaiting him in King's Landing? Could Jon find Uncle Benjen? And what would happen to Dany once married off to Khal Drogo and becoming the Dothraki's khaleesi?
EGGLYSIS
I started reading ASoIaF thanks to the recommendation of my good friend from an online Harry Potter community I joined awhile back. We used to give book recommendations to each other, mostly fantasy, and sharing whatever e-book copies we had. Back then, Game of Thrones the TV show just finished its first season in HBO and the world was just beginning to get hooked. I wasn't even twenty.
Admittedly, I was confused on my first read. The scope of the story was enormous and so very detailed, with an appendix explaining the genealogy of each noblehouse in Westeros. Not to mention the political intrigue and the wars. My only experience in the fantasy genre, at the time, was only Harry Potter. Heck, even I was still struggling to finish LotR!
But after powering through the first 300+ pages, I got hooked. The world building and characterisation were so deliciously strong. This was the first time I read very humane, very realistic characters with flaws and good all mixed up into one. For example, I really loved Catelyn, but I despised how she treated Jon. So was with Robert, who seemed so much like a superfun uncle, an amazing warrior, but an incompetent king. And do not forget Dany that made me fall in love at first read -- so shy and timid at first, only to grow as one of the strongest women warrior I've ever had the pleasure of reading.
As a whole, I highly recommend A Game of Thrones. It has such a rich story and GRRM indeed did not play when creating this universe -- no wonder people dub him The American Tolkien. On the other hand, though, reading a series means you should be ready to dedicate a portion of your time and brainpower to it, especially one as thick as this. Not a light read, but I promise you the time and energy you invested in this series are well spent and so very worth it.
That is, if GRRM is ever going to finish the last two books.
Overall, A Game of Thrones...
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