A Game of Thrones--Jeet

 

A Game of Thrones is the first novel in the Song of Ice and Fire series, published in 1996 by

Bantam Spectra in the U.S. This book is often considered one of the greatest of all time, and one

of the classics of modern fiction. But is it really worthy of this title?

First, for some background. A Game of Thrones is set in a medieval setting with some

supernatural elements. At its most basic level, there are three storylines. One is of the struggle

for power over a kingdom called Westeros, another is of a group called the Night’s Watch

defending the country from supernatural creatures and feral humans called wildlings, and the

final storyline is about a woman’s journey to reclaim the kingdom of Westeros after her family,

the ancestral rulers of Westeros, were deposed. The first of these storylines involves two clans

named the Starks and Lannisters, and they have different archetypes, both of which are

subverted. The Starks are classic “good guys”. They live in the frigid north, and the main

characters in the Stark clan are all generally good people. However, this archetype is subverted

because they are not against killing people to achieve their goals. In fact, the head of the clan

executes people himself when it is needed. The Lannisters, on the other hand, are tricky and

conniving. They try to manipulate the throne and the kingdom to get what they want, but this

archetype is also subverted. A character named Tyrion Lannister is widely hated, but is truly a

kind person who is not as ruthless as the other Lannisters. Major themes in this novel include

moral ambiguity, political intrigue, and power. Many characters in A Game of Thrones are not

good or evil. They simply do what benefits them, whether that throws the kingdom into chaos or

helps bring it back. Their actions are not done from a moral standpoint, but simply their own

personal gain. This helps the story feel more real, as it feels more like what real humans would

do. The other two main themes of the novel are power and political intrigue, which are closely

related. The book emphasizes the role of political power and status in this book, and the benefits

it can bring people. Also, there is very little violence (compared to other books in the series) in

this novel. Most of the novel involves conversations between characters that slowly reveal what

is going on with the plot, and build up to the dramatic climax.

Martin does not have a distinctive technique that he uses throughout the novel, nor a particular

style of language, but instead is a jack of all trades. Throughout the novel, he shows an amazing

ability to write many different types of scenes, whether they are small hushed conversations

between two characters, or massive scenes with a huge amount of characters involved. However,

as the saying goes, Martin is also a master of none. While he is good at writing a variety of

scenes, there is none that he truly excels at. Also, his writing is often long-winded, making

scenes too long to keep the reader’s attention. Another one of his weaknesses is his almost

extreme tendency to spend time on minutiae. The book could definitely be much shorter if he did

not include this, but it is also a double-edged sword, given this is part of the reason why Martin’s

worlds are so fleshed out. In terms of the characters, they all feel very human. Despite some of

them doing despicable things, the characters feel very clear in their motivations, and almost none

of their actions ever feel forced in order to progress the story forward. Because of how believable

the characters feel, the plot also feels believable. Despite all of the plotlines in this novel, they do

not feel overwhelming, and because the story is character-driven, the plot feels purposeful.

In terms of literary value and reader interest, A Game of Thrones is an amazing book overall. Its

worldbuilding and character driven plots are its main strengths, as well as the slow buildup

leading up to the dramatic climax at the very end of the book. However, some readers may be

turned off from this book simply because of the length. Also, because George R. R. Martin

focuses so much on the minutiae, a reader might give up after just a few chapters because there is

simply not enough happening in the novel. However, if you can get past these flaws, A Game of

Thrones is an amazing novel worth checking out.