A Game of Thrones
George R. R. Martin
835 pages
published in 1996

I've always had a weakness for epic fantasy, not so much Tolkien as his imitators, happily reading my way through long, long series of books as thick as my fist: Donaldson, Feist, Eddings, Jordan, I've read and enjoyed them all. They may not have been very good, but as long as there was even a hint of a sufficiently epic story, I read them. As long as I could get my kick I was happy. Fortunately, not all epic fantasy is crap these days, as several excellent writers have turned their hand to it. George R. R. Martin is one of them. Until he started his A Song of Ice and Fire series, he was better known as somewhat of a cult science fiction writer, having written some excellent novels (Tuf Voyaging comes to mind) as well as short stories (Sandkings, The way of Cross and Dragon). With this series however Martin moved from being a well respected science fiction and fantasy writer to being a still respected but bestselling science fiction and fantasy writer. He deserves it, as this is easily the best post-Tolkien epic fantasy series I've ever read.

There is a downside however. Writing good fantasy takes time, which means the wait inbetween novels has been long and getting longer. The first one, A Game of Throne came out in 1996, when the idea was that this would be a proper trilogy, three books, no more. Instead the series has become a proper fantasy trilogy: four books and counting. Currently it seems the whole series will eventually be seven books long, but who knows if that remains the case.

Which creates a problem. If you're reading a series of standalone novels, it doesn't matter much that the latest one came out more then five years after the previous one, but in a case like this, where the entire series tells one complex, interwoving story with dozens of main characters, you're lost if you start on the latest installment cold. Well, at least I am. Which means that you have to reread the previous novels to get up to speed again: a major undertaking when it's four three, big, big novels each of which takes roughly two weeks to finish (I'm reading mostly on commutes and such, an hour or two a day). Nevermind, A Song of Ice and Fire is worth the investment in reading time.

A Game of Thrones is set in a typical pseudo-medieval fantasykingdom called Westeros, ruled over by king Robert who wrested it away from the corrupt house Targaryen, which three hundred years ago invaded the seven kingdoms of Westeros and united them under their rule. Eddard "Ned" Stark, Warden of the North is one of Robert's oldest allies; together they started the rebellion against the last Targaryen king, after he had killed the women they were betrothed to. Robert himself was a canny warlord, but as a king he's more interested in hunting and tournaments thatn in properly ruling his kingdom; intrigue flowers at his court, encouraged by his queen, Cersei, of the rich and powerful house of Lannister. Though most of the Tangaryen royal family was killed during the uprising, the last two surviving descendents of the righful king are still alive, having escaped to the Free Cities across the Narrow Sea from Westeros.

The book starts with a prologue set in the high north, beyond the Wall, which was built to prevent the wildlings living beyiond it from invading the Seven Kingdoms. A patrol of the Nightwatch, the protectors of the wall, runs into trouble with supernatural undead creatures called the Others, who slaughter the patrol's leader and cause the other men to desert. When one of the deserters is caught near Winterfell, Ned Stark is called upon to execute him, something the Wardens of the ?North have always done themselves. Ned takes his sons, both his three legitamite ones, Robb, Bran and Rickon, as his bastard son Jon Snow, to witness the execution, as they themselves will be called upon to do so later. Coming back from the execution they stumble upon a dying direwolf bitch, which has given birth to six puppies, one for each chold of Ned's, including Jon...

The story proper begins with king Robert paying a visit to Winterfell, to ask Ned to become his new Hand, after the old one died of illness. For Ned this means leaving the cold, harsh life and certainty of the north for the soft comfort and swamp of intrigue at the capital, Kings's Landing, in the south. At the same time Robert asks for Ned's oldest daughter, Sansa, to be wed to his oldest son, Joffrey, who turns out to be spoiled brat tending more to his mother than to his father. Ned takes Robert up on these offers despite his wife's, Catelyn, misgivings, which are strenghtened after Bran is discovered having fallen down while climbing a disused tower, more dead than alive. Nevertheless, Ned leaves, leaving Robb in charge of Winterfell, while Jon Snow is bundled off to the Nightwatch. And then an attempt is made on Bran's life...

From this, four major storylines develop in the rest of the book. First, there's the continuing story of Ned Stark and his daughters at the court in King's Landing, with Ned discovering the secrets that fester around the king. The second storyline follows Jon Snow as he travels towards the Wall and becomes a member of the Nightwatch. The third storyline chronicles what happens in Winterfell after the assasination attempt on Bran, bifurbicating when Catalyn decides to travel towards King's Landing, while Rob and Bran stay at Winterfell. Finally, the fourth storyline takes place outside Westeros altogether, as the story of Daenerys, last living descendant (together with her brother) of the old king, is told. Daenerys is wed to a mighty horselord of the Dothraki to obtain his help with reconquering Westeros...

A Game of Thrones starts as if it's going to be just another epic fantasy story and runs along familiar lines for roughly the first half of the novel, setting up your expectations only to yank the rug out from under you. You expect another Tolkienesque fantasy, you get the War of the Roses, as Westeros descends into civil war following the death of king Robert. And Martin is realistic in what happens in a civil war and how the people fighting it behave, even the supposed good guys.

what further sets this novel and the series apart from other fantasy works, is that Martin is not afraid to make his sympathetic characters be stupid, or ignorant. Several of the viewpoint characters behave in ways that have you shouting at them for their stupidity, because you know it's going to go all hideously wrong (and it does), but it's always believable, in character and with solid if wrongheaded reasoning behind it. Fortunately, these characters also learn from their mistakes, apart from the ones who cannot do so any longer...

Finally, while there are hints of magic and there is the threat of the Others, magic itself does not play the same role as in other fantasies: there are no ancient orders of all powerful wizards, no convenient magical artifacts, no dragons.

Yet.

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George R. R. Martin, A Game of Thrones, fantasy, book review