When you play a game of thrones, you win or you die.
Intricately detailed and immensely fascinating, “Game of Thrones,” the first in the Series of Ice and Fire series, provides a breathtaking experience for readers as they explore George R. R. Martin’s fantasy world of medieval kingdoms and battles.
Author R. R. Martin divides the book into multiple subplots, using each chapter to narrate the experiences of a few main characters and melding it all together into a cohesive, enthralling tale of a world that alternates only between summer and winter, a phenomenon in which each season can last for decades.
With the recent death of the Hand of the King, the king’s second-hand-man, King Robert Baratheon appoints Lord Eddard Stark to be the new Hand, and thus effectively guide the decisions of the king in regards to the rule of the kingdom. Despite his misgivings to the situation, Stark accepts the position and travels to the South, where he effectively serves as Hand. Yet, amidst the strange circumstances regarding the last Hand’s death, Stark throws caution to the winds and investigates the death, an act that drastically changes the affairs of the kingdom and his own life and livelihood.
The Starks play a cardinal role in the book, as they guide and direct a number of events in the book. They struggle against the Lannister family, a wealthy family known to serve the king and loan money. Yet, their story is not the only one to be told. With the near elimination of the last Targaryens, the family who last ruled the kingdoms, the remaining survivors, Daenerys Targaryen and Viserys Targaryen, struggle to reclaim the honor and position their family formerly had.
In a book where family and house mean everything, and secret machinations and betrayals are the order of the day, politics dominate. And often, this comes at the cost of lives. Politics change and power moves from one hand to another. As R.R. Martin illustrates through Lord Eddard Stark’s forays into politics as he serves as the Hand of the King, this “game of thrones” comes at the cost of fortunes, livelihoods and lives.
R.R. Martin makes the medieval world come alive. Taking ideas of honor and chivalry, he shows us just how real these ideas are – if for better or worse – in a place dominated by such ideas. Betray a king, even a mad one who slaughters millions, and your name is besmirched.
This bleak portrayal of a world dominated by politics and men, where women are sold off and soldiers are made expendable, forces us to question this world, and through it, our own. For despite the alien quality of this world to ours, there are undeniably some parallels. The unswerving, “winner-take-all” attitude amongst the families who roll the dice and play politics and restrictive social norms are those that we can relate to. And while this book may appear to hyperbolize our world, there are definite areas where our criticism of this medieval realm parallel those we should apply to our own.
With a plethora of characters remarkably natural and invigorating, “Game of Thrones” is a must-read for any reader. Amidst the strange nature of the seasons and the rule of the houses, there are notes of familiarity that ring with us – and which remind us that these characters are just as human, and just as fallible, as the rest of us.
