Book 39

Day 27:

Well, my procrastination reared its ugly head yesterday. The book I started yesterday and finished today was large, and due back to the library today with no possible renewals. I also had a doctors appointment and errands to run, so I cut it a little close on time. It is nearly 3am and I only just finished, but as long as it is in before they open it will not be late ;)

Scooter and the book!

Book 39: A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire

Author: George R. R. Martin
Genre: Science Fiction Fantasy
Pages: 674
Series: Yes, Book 1 of 5
Purchased or Borrowed: Borrowed from the library
Date Read: January 28, 2013

3.5 stars
I had high hopes for this book as it is has been heralded as a wonderful fantasy series and tv show. I was interested in the tv show and of course felt the need to read the book first. It tells the story of a game of thrones, told by eight different narrators. King Robert and his evil queen Cersei Lannister come to visit his old boyhood friend Lord Eddard (Ned) Stark and ask him to be the Hand of the King as the previous one, Stark's own brother-in-law had died (been murdered really). Though he does not want the position he has to go, bringing his two daughters Sansa and Arya with him, and leaving three sons and his wife Cat behind, his heir Robb, the littlest Ricken, and Bran, an 8-year-old climber who had been crippled from a fall. He sends his bastard son Jon to protect the realm at the Wall. All of his children possess a direwolf, a wolf twice the size of a normal wolf and the Stark family symbol. They were found beside their dead mother and were taken as a sign. Each wolf is bonded very closely with its child. Thus it begins with Ned trying to figure out who killed Lord Arryn and maimed his son. Unfortunately, the plot is much more complicated than that and the Lannisters much more devious. Meanwhile, over the Wall, Dany, the heir of the murdered former king with the blood of the dragon begins to make her way to reclaim her throne.

If the plot is hard to understand now, it was even more difficult to read, specifically in the beginning when all of the characters were being introduced. With so many narrators it was difficult to keep the plot connected. I enjoyed the characters and each of their stories, but for me it was the writing that I felt was this book's downfall. The writing was VERY longwinded and took me ages to get through and I am a fast and steady reader. His prose was often superfluous and I just felt like it drug on at times and I just wanted to know what happened and have it be done with. Also, I know it was to be expected but the sheer amount of incest, scheming and fighting did not add up in its favor, at least in the way it was portrayed. I'm not sure at this point if I will chose to read the other books, which is sad because I do like the characters but I think at this point I might rather just chance watching the tv show instead. A sad day when I chose the film version over the original.

xo,
Erin