As regular visitors of this website will know, I greatly admire George R.R. Martin and his Song of Ice & Fire series. The storylines are so deep and the books so well written that he is todays number one writer and Ice & Fire the number one series.
The story is about politics and warfare: the most powerful Houses of Westeros are fighting for the throne, while at the Wall in the north long-forgotten, mythical enemies gather for invasion. At the same time, on another continent, a young girl – the righteous queen of Westeros according to some – prepares for an invasion of her own. And she will bring some interesting pets to battle…
There is a lot of focus on character development. At first several members of the Stark family are followed but later on in the series more and more characters get importants roles in the story, partly because some of the original ‘main characters’ have died. Another interesting point is that the characters are rarely simply black or white, good or evil. Everyone has his/her doubts and everyone has a dark and/or weak side.
Fantasy does not have a prominent place in A Song of Ice & Fire, certainly not in the beginning of the series. Especially in the beginning of the series you might think you are reading a historical novel but more and more fantasy elements are introduced. Examples are the mysterious Others who threaten the northern Wall and the dragons of Daenerys.
The Books:
1. A Game of Thrones (1996)
2. A Clash of Kings (1998)
3. A Storm of Swords (2000)
4. A Feast for Crows (2005)
5. A Dance with Dragons (Forthcoming)
6. The Winds of Winter (Forthcoming)
7. A Dream of Spring (Forthcoming)
George R.R. Martins writing skills, together with many, interesting plots, unexpected turns and incredible characters, make this series a masterpiece. All the better is the news that a television series based on the first book of the series (A Games of Thrones) will be produced. If only Martin had a bit more “writers testosterone” and would also focus part of his attention on completing the next books in the series…
Tags: A Song of Ice & Fire, Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin
