Just finished reading A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. I’m really late to the game here, as it’s been out several years now. It’s the first in a (so-far) 5 book series. The Wife picked it up for me and said it’s being compared to The Lord of the Rings.
I can see why. The book is filled with royal families and set in a land all it’s own. Martin takes the time to develop family histories and relationships in great detail. There’s so much of it that it’s hard to keep all of it straight. There’s even an appendix in the back for reference on who the main characters are and there positions in the families.
That said, the book mainly deals with people, as opposed to the hobbits, elves, orcs and other fantastic characters of the Tolkien lore. That isn’t to say it’s inferior; rather, it’s just different. The book itself is a fairly dense 800+ pages and it took me less than a week to read it. So clearly, Martin knows how to write a story and keep it interesting.
The world Martin creates is a harsh, brutal one and not just in the day-to-day lives of the story’s characters. It’s brutal to the traits of the characters. It’s a world where honor and innocence counts for little and seems as like to end in the characters demise as not. By contrast, being a feckless little weasel seems to offer the best chances for survival. That, and being an honorless pursuer of power. There are few “good” guys to speak of. Instead, Martin fills the book with characters ranging from out-and-out sociopaths to severely-flawed-but-doing-the-best-they-can. The Stark family appears to be the good guys of the story, and they suffer severely as the story is told.
Having started the series, my main fear is that I’ve signed on to a never-ending tale. There are so many moving parts that it’s difficult to see how the story ultimately resolves itself, or where it is, in fact, even going. With the Tolkien version, there was a clear purpose to the story and was something that everyone could easily grasp. That was the strength of the story.
Martin’s unfolding series is less straight forward. Is it about the path a young Princess will take to work her way back to the throne that was so savagely seized from her family? Is it about the path a family will take to retain it’s honor in a time of change? Is it about the toll that exacted on the innocent by those who seek power at all cost? Or perhaps, in a more simple sense, is this just a story that Martin has created with nothing more to offer than a chronicling of the lives of his creations? All of the above?
The next book in the series is +1000 pager. In fact, none of the 5 books is less than 800 pages, putting Martin firmly into Stephen King territory in terms of verbosity. That said, he’s so far proven that he could write a story interesting enough to get my attention. We’ll see if he is able to keep it.
4 replies on “A Game of Thrones”
Well, to answer your “direction” questions…the books have already been sold and converted to a series on HBO that is currently airing its second season…that usually means, no definable end in sight. At least, until the TV money dries up, then the story will dry up too, in some haphazard and abrupt way that will leave you wondering why you put yourself through it.
Be warned!
Well, that’s a gloomy and ill-informed comment! Yes, they are adapting the books to a series. However, it’s an adaptation (and a faithful one at that) not at all a “conversion”. Noel seems to be implying that now that there is a TV show the story will be bent to that model – ongoing so long as there’s still an audience – and the books will vanish or be subordinate to the show. That’s simply not true.
Martin is still writing the books (that’s right, multiple, and they only get better after the first.) The fifth just came out, recently, and Martin plans for 7 total. There IS a definable end in sight, and the story will absolutely NOT dry up if the TV money does. He was writing the books starting more than 15 years before the TV show was made, and continues to. He’s made clear that the books are the priority and will not be compromised to suit the limits of television.
Since I think that by “definable end” you mean to the larger story, not some fear about it disappearing, rest assured that it takes shape as the books go on. It’s large enough and so much happens that I’d still say I don’t really know what form the resolution will take, but that’s a good thing! It’s clearly not an A-to-B story like that of Frodo and the ring, but a more expansive epic, the story of a land, and its people. The story will resolve when conclusion comes to: the question of certain deposed monarchs returning to Westeros, the various internecine struggles of the 7 kingdoms and their many lords, and the looming threat from the Far North. I can imagine after the first book those resolutions seem almost impossibly far off – but there are many events yet to come! Read on!
Your interpretation of “definable end” is correct. I’m aware that the books had begun many years before the mini-series and, frankly, would not have pegged the book as a TV screenplay. As opposed to say, Under the Dome by Stephen King which I expect will adapt very well to a miniseries. As you say, the story is truly epic and I deliberately avoided saying much about it details-wise because there are 4 books and I’d expect many of those questions to be answered going forward.
But still, a 7 book series, especially of the length that Martin will end up with, as opposed to Harry Potter which was 7 books that could be read at a single sitting, is just a lot of storytelling. I think it’s easy for an author to get lost in that world. Based on your comment; however, it sounds like he is taking the reader someplace plausible. I’m certainly curious about the journey.
Wow, Justin, those were A LOT of words you put in my mouth, I was wondering why my jaw hurt so much last night during dinner. When reading, “Noel seems to be implying”, I think back to the old saying about when people ass-u-me…