 |
I must say, I only posted on this forum some years ago...oh well.
Last year I read George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, which inclues "A Game of Thrones," "A Clash of Kings," "A Storm of Swords," and "A Feast for Crows."
This is an extremely epic fantasy series that switches between several character's point of view every chapter. There are three main storylines going on.
1. The War of the Five Kings. Eddard--Ned--Stark, the King of Winterfell in the north is approached by his dear friend, Robert Berethean (not sure about the spelling), who is king of the Iron Throne, and rules all the divisions of the continent. (So he rules over Eddard, who rules over the north, and also the others that rule of the other parts of the land) and asks Eddard to be his Hand--his trusted advisor and, if needed, the king. (Think vice-president).
At first Eddard refuses, but accepts on his wife Catelyn's wishes when one of their sons, Bran, is thrown from a high window in an abandoned tower of the castle. Bran has survived, but is in critical condition...
And that starts the War of the Five Kings. The great war that tears apart the land and forces the men to take sides: Robb, Joffrey (and Tywin), Stannis, Renly, and Balon.
And another thing. Winter is coming. A long winter that will surely last a decade.
2. The Wall. When Eddard leaves to become the Hand, his half-son Jon also decides to go, not south, but north, with Tyrion Lannister, to The Wall and become a Brother of the Night's Watch.
The Wall is a large, well, wall of ice created thousands of years ago. It cuts through the continent, from sea to sea, left to right, and is 700 feet tall. On the other side is a wild land, rules by the Wildling humans and the Others, strange men with icy-blue eyes and almost mystical weapons and abilities. When they catch you, there is no escape. And right after they're done with you, you are now a wight--a creature of the dead, and their slave.
While Jon prepares to become a Brother, he must make friends of enemies, and face his trainer, who hates him with a passion. Along with Ghost, his albino direwolf, he starts his journey.
3. Not even on the main continent of Westeros, Daenerys Stormborn and her brother, Vyseris Targergyion (once again, bad spelling of their names), are the the only surviving children of Aegon Targaryon, the former king of the iron throne, just before escaping on a ship some twelve years ago when King's Landing was sacked by the men Eddard Stark and Robert Baretheon.
Seeking to reclaim his father's throne through war, Vyseris has found the perfect opportunity: sell his sister to a king in trade for an army. When the marriage is finished, Viserys soon finds that he may have to wait for his end, and a king does not like waiting.
The series is a great one, as I said before probably, in which the first book has a 20-page appendix of characters, and each grows until the fourth has one over 50 pages. And that only includes major characters. All small characters are forgotten, but there are over 300 in the series.
George released the first book, A Game of Thrones in 1996 and the fourth in 2004. The fifth book has not been finished yet, and there are supposed to be 7. The fourth and fifth book were originally going to be one, but it became too lengthy. Indeed, the fourth book alone has over 1000 pages, with size 8-font and it only has half of the POV characters that were supposed to be in it.
One of the reasons this is a great series is the depth and scope he gives the characters and locations. If you don't pay attention to a single word, you may be lost for pages. The characters have amazing personalities that are "gray." Black and white--bad and good--does not exist in these books. It's what you see the character as, because there are no characters that jump up and say "I'm gonna rule the world." No, they plot and plan and all have a caring/good side. They are all gray (Except for Eddard, who is purely white.)
One of the biggest reasons this is, in my opinion, the best book series of all time, is that the characters die. The main characters, the major characters, the small characters, none are spared. By the end of the first book, you'll see two of the most beloved characters dead and by book four, the entire Stark family (what is perceived as the main family, as the series really focuses on them) is either dead or in a great depression. What's to expect from a 14-year-old girl who believes her entire family is dead? Or a 9-year-old cripple boy?
Yes, the series is severely depressing and you will grow hate for some characters. Like Joffrey. Robert's son is as a complete pain in the--okay, keeping it clean. Think of the worst teenage brat you've ever known. One who complains of every little pain he gets moments after gloating how great he is at swordplay (or sports). Now make him king of the land. Make his uncle the leader of the King's Peace. Make his grandfather the king of the biggest and best army in Westeros. Yeah, it's not going to go very well.
But back to death. By the end of the fourth book there are something like 15 point of view characters, and I can think of, like, 5 there are dead right now and I just crawled out of bed to finish this. I know I'm forgetting some, but oh well. There's plenty of death, let's just go with that.
Oh, and this series is for 18 and up, really. There is cussing, which isn't too bad. When you have characters going to the local whorehouse, or just bringing them home and going into some detail (not a lot, but there's so much that it evens out.).
Of course, I'm only sixteen, so I have little right to say 18+.
Oh well, you should give this series a try with "A Game of Thrones."
Anybody else read it?
|
 |
Reply
![[Dick Dastardly]'s avatar](https://a1cdn.gaiaonline.com/dress-up/avatar/ava/2e/99/4478f0df63992e_flip.png?t=1383173490_6.00_00)
