A Game of Thrones - George R.R Martin - Book Review

  

 
           "Game of Thrones" - The name has been taking the world by storm in the recent past with the HBO web series nearing its epic final and the series hoarding all the possible accolades in media industry. All this started when George Martin started to write a fantasy story in his way.

           The story is set in a fantasy world. The Hand to the King of Westeros had passed away and the King Robert Baratheon rides north to meet his friend Ned Stark who is the lord of north; commanding him to be the new Hand of King. While pondering over the options of accepting or rejecting the offer, his wife receives a letter from her sister who was the wife of the deceased Hand. She discloses that the Hand was murdered and the King is in danger. This prompts Ned to take up the position. Meanwhile; across the seas Danerys is married of to the Dothraki chief by her brother in order to secure the Dothraki force to take back the Kings Landing where Tangeryans had ruled before being driven out. What happens next at Westeros and Winterfell and Dothraki transpires throughout the story. Primarily the friction between Starks and the Lannisters (Queens family) is established throughout the story.

         This is the first installment of the famous series 'A Song of Fire and Ice'. What attracted me to the story was that, it was a far cry from the usual colored fantasy stuff. George shows the grey nature in most of the humans throughout the story instead of the usual black and white portrayal. We can expect the unexpected in the least expected places. This book is just the first part but we already have a handful of characters to ponder over. There is nice depth in the characterization of the persons involved. All emotions like friendship, loyalty, lust, love, incest are put to test as well as portrayed beautifully. The concept of the wall was interesting as was the Dothraki ways. I particularly liked the portrayal of Tyrion Lannister and Varys. The characterization of the dwarf was done beautifully and differently from any other authors that i have read; including Tolkein. But the book being a long read; does become cumbersome after a certain period of time. The story set over four different locations does take its sweet time to proceed.

        Tolkien has always been my most favourite author in the fantasy genre. I have always looked at 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of Rings' with awe. George Martin is fondly known as the 'American Tolkien'. There is marked difference in the writing styles but he has created a whole new world like Tolkien had done with the Hobbit and Lord of Rings series. As a whole; me being a fan of fantasy; i really did enjoy the book with slight bouts of lethargy (of course!). The book with suit those readers who likes the story to unfold in its own leisure pace.

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