I try and avoid doorstop fantasy novels. After Robert Jordan's never-ending Wheel of Time series, I became cynical and disillusioned with the notion that a series of novels that stretches literally thousands and thousands of pages and shows no sign of ending just isn't something I can get jiggy with anymore. I mean, Tolkein at least stopped after three books. Robert Jordan literally died before finishing his series- which I believe is hovering somewhere in the 13, 14 book range at this point and still not done.
So it was with some trepidation that I picked up George RR Martin's A Game of Thrones. I did so for a couple of reasons: first, I knew that HBO was making it into a television series (which, by all accounts is kicking ass) and second, I was deep into writing my own, well, I guess we can call it a novel now and I was looking to get a good, inspirational injection of political intrigues to help me spice up my own writing a bit.
Happily, Martin delivers the goods and then some. A Game of Thrones is set in the fictional land of Westeros, which is loosely based on medieval Europe and as the novel opens, trouble is brewing. It's been fifteen years since a brutal Civil War shook the land and the evil tyrant King Aerys was overthrown by a couple of our heroes, Eddard Stark a lord of the North and the current King Robert Baratheon who sits on the throne of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros- albeit chafing and resenting the somewhat mundane duties of ruling his kingdom. Across the Sea, the last children of the old Tyrant plot to return to reclaim their lost throne and in Westeros plots and intrigues are swirling.
In short order, Eddard Stark is pried away from his northern castle and family to be 'Hand To The King', his friend Robert in the South and when the King is killed in a hunting accident all bets are off. Civil War erupts and multiple people start claiming the throne and the fragile peace that has held for fifteen years flies apart. As the novel closes, the winds of war are blowing. And I was somewhat irritated because by the end of the book, I knew that I was hooked. I was going to have to buy every last one of these books and see the story through to the very end.
There's more to the story than the vague plot synopsis I just wrote, of course. There are bad guys, good guys, shifting loyalties, a kaleidoscope of motivations driving each and every character- it's an impressive world that Martin creates and it's packed with an amazing amount of detail. For sure, Martin thrusts himself right up there into the top ranks of fantasy authors. I don't know if he can be put right up there with Tolkein, but if there's a step below him, Martin can be slotted right in there. The other thing he does that I found interesting was that every chapter he writes is told from the point of view of a different character. This probably explains why his books are so long and heaven only knows what he has to do to keep them all straight, but what it does do is allow each character to develop almost in a vacuum and somehow he manages to move the story along while he does this.
Overall: A fantasy gem. I'm hooked. Almost wish I had HBO so I could watch the television show.
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