A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones

 

Around 10 years ago when I was watching Game of Thrones on HBO, Sarah's parents bought me this book at a library book sale. I read about the first 50 pages of the book, but put it down because it was exactly the same as the show. Fast forward to current time, and I remember the big events from the TV show, but a lot of the details I forget. After watching House of the Dragon season 1, I was in the mood for more Game of Throne stories and decided to attempt to read this book again. I'm glad that I did, because this book is really good.

First of all, I'd like to discuss the story in general. The book and the TV show are both really good. In fact, this is one of the rare instances where I've read the book and watched the TV show/movie and thought the show was actually better. That's not a knock against the book. It's praise for how good the TV show was. The only other example I could think of off the top of my head where this was the case was the Godfather book/movie. This story has a lot of characters and made-up locations, and it is easy to get lost in the weeds of the details. Having seen the show prior to reading the book was actually a benefit, because it gave a face to the characters and made the locations easier to identify.

The plot of this story is really good, but I think above that is the characters. Who could forget the Lannisters of Casterly Rock or the Starks of Winterfell? Tyrion Lannister (the Imp) is one of my all time favorite characters. All of these families with interesting characters, clashing in Westeros for the Iron Throne is just absolutely epic. It's one of the only fictional books I've read where I actually remember quotes. "When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground." The final chapter, where Daenerys Targaryen emerges from the fire, naked and holding 3 dragons, is absolutely amazing. 

A quote on the back of the book says "It grab hold and doesn't let go." I think this is absolutely true. Even mostly knowing what happens, I was excited to read the next chapter. The story and characters are that intriguing. I've already started the next book in the series.