A Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin

⭐ 10.0/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

Game of Thrones? More like Game of trying to remember who the hell all these characters are, am I right? (Has that joke been done before? If not I'm claiming it.)

So I started watching the show long after it began, only joining the hype train at the end. I liked it, and figured that George was elite in his craft when it came to world building and political drama. For some reason I thought he'd be a crummy writer who the filmmakers elevated. I just didn't want to give the books a chance because I thought he was just a pervy weirdo.

Well, the sex scenes are still pretty yucky, but otherwise holy crap! I am now fully convinced that this man is a genius, incredible in all he does. There is not really one aspect of this book that I think is bad or even middling. I thought the characters might be lacking, but no! They are almost all charming, complex, unique, interesting and compelling. Arya, Tyrion, Sansa, Jon, Ned, Danni. The villains are all terrific (Geoff, Tywin, Jamie), and lots of side characters seem bursting with personality (Syrio, Mirri Maz Duur, Waldur Frey). Just an amazing amount of characters who are all easy to remember because they are all cool.

I also thought I'd be critical of George's writing. But no, I think he's an incredibly skilled writer. He goes all-in with this old-english style, like, replacing all instances of "jumped" with "leapt." This is the same as what Tolkien did with LOTR and yet I find it even more impressive with a modern American man. I love the style, and it's perfectly fitting to help immerse yourself in this world.

Then there is just the world building aspect that I knew I liked from the start, yet it still jumps out at you. Everything in this world makes sense and feels steeped in tradition and history. It feels alive and lived-in, going back thousands of years, generations after another. Again this feels like Tolkien-levels of care and research.

One other quick thing I'll mention is that Martin is a genius namer, and I think that's super important. Reading tons of beautiful words is important when books are this big. You want to read about the Battle of the Trident, or the Whispering Woods, or Manse Rayder, or Brynden 'Blackfish' Tully, or Gregor Clegane or the High Septon of Baelor. This man is just a factory of beautiful words, and I love that he knows it and clearly puts a lot of effort into it.

Anyways, that's a lot of praise, but I really have no negatives. Maybe the sex scenes are a bit weird? But I think this is the perfect book. I really am now thinking that GRRM is something similar to our generation's Tolkien, and trust me when I say there is no higher praise I can give. I think he, better than anyone I have read, understood what made Tolkien's work special. He obviously has his own style, but where Tolkien does incredible work taking influence from Medieval fairy stories, GRRM has this incredible understanding of medieval European history and infuses it with fantasy tie-ins. Amazing book, and while I'm excited to continue, it does sadden my that this series (apparently) tapers off a bit and will likely never finish. That's okay, we'll still always have this one.