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Book Review: A Game of Thrones

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“The devil is in the details, they say. A book this size has a lot of devils, any one of which will bite you if you don’t watch out.”

Disclaimer: I read this book with the hindsight of having watch the current 7 series on telly. Regardless, the knowledge of what is to come did not diminish the pleasure of reading this masterpiece at all. In fact, it served to reiterate what a momentous effort it must have been to create an epic story of this proportion.

I feel it is unwise to label this book as ‘fantasy’. The brilliance of this novel for me lies in the variety and complexity of characters interwoven with an even more complicated plot. George R.R. Martin’s inventiveness and grasp of history, religion, language even fashion is downright mind-blowing. The schemes and battles of the seven kingdoms resembles many stories in the real world, both past and present. Who is to say that the use of advance technology that is common in one nation can be depicted as witch craft in a less developed country? Should the schemes of our G7/G8/G10 nations be told from a different point of view, it may well sound like a fantasy too.

The novel also touches upon a large number of perennial subject matters, such as ambition, greed, sibling rivalries, failure and growth, class distinction and even the psychology of unequal parental love. The stark contrast between the two (Stark) sisters – Sansa and Arya is depicted splendidly. The two girls not only represents common sibling rivalry but also symbolises the conflict of two very different females and their place in society.

There was a guilty pleasure in devouring this book within a few days when I considered the years it must have taken to write it. Now I am hungering for more.



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