Game of Thrones

          Last week, I read Game of Thrones, the first book in the "Song of Ice and Fire" series by George R. R. Martin. I first heard of Game of Thrones because of its popularity on HBO after the book was adapted for TV. Many of my friends saw it, and they said it was awesome. Mitchell, who also heard great things, procured this book the same day I got Ender's Game. After reading it, he recommended it to me, so I read it.
          My expectations of the book were high, perhaps too high. They were all of them exceeded. The novel, already rather long at 674 pages, seems to contain ten books' worth of narrative. This could be because there is a purpose for every chapter: every section of the book has something important going on in it. Contrast this with The Fellowship of the Ring, where two chapters that span fifty-nine pages, Many Meetings and The Council of Elrond, could be shortened to a matter of sentences, and entire sections, like the Tom Bombadil and Barrow-Downs sequences, could be removed from the book entirely and no difference would come of it. You can understand why a more purposeful book could be appealing.
          The story of Game of Thrones centers around the Starks, a family of nobles living in the northern part of the Seven Kingdoms. Lord Eddard (called Ned) is the head of the family. When his king and long-time friend Robert Baratheon tells him that his assistant, the Hand to the King, is dead, Ned is devastated, and surprised to hear that Robert wants him as the replacement. Ned travels to King's Landing, leaving his home of Winterfell and his family behind, in order to serve and protect his friend and King. The plot thickens as the king's enemies attempt to secretly dethrone him.
          The perspective, once again, is a huge aid to the storytelling. In The Hunger Games, the first-person point-of-view allows you to feel Katniss's pain more clearly. In Ender's Game, the third-person perspective told you how lonely Ender was. In Game of Thrones, each chapter is written from another character's perspective. Each of the characters has their own plan and motivation, and seeing things from their perspective helps you understand the complexities of the story. Because of this, you get the feeling that there are a lot of different things going on.
          One of the nice things about this is that you don't read about a certain character unless they've got something going on. Contrast this, again, with The Fellowship, where there's a lot of sitting around and waiting. For example, if Martin wrote the book instead of Tolkien, instead of Frodo sitting around in the Shire wondering why Gandalf wasn't there, the perspective would change to Gandalf's, where you would see Saruman's treachery from the grey wizard's point-of-view. I think that this would be much more interesting, and it could be why I like Game of Thrones so much.
          One other thing that this book has over Lord of the Rings in my opinion is that it doesn't beat you over the head with ancient lore. There is history in the book, but the characters don't waste their times singing songs about it. The author lets you know what you need to know to understand the world that he creates, which is exactly how much I want to know about it. When I read a book, I want a story about what's happening as the characters experience it, not some tale from long ago.
          Game of Thrones was an excellent read. I've started reading the sequel, A Clash of Kings, and so far it's as good as the first book. I look forward to reading the rest of the books as well as watching the HBO series based on them.