George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
Bantam Books, 2005 (first published in 1996)
Fire and ice: A heady cocktail
Nimish Dubey
A Game of Thrones is the first book in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. And in my opinion it pushes the bar to a new level in the heroic fantasy genre. Although the book spans almost 800 pages, I raced through it in less than a week (skipping no part) and at the end of it all, felt a bit of a wreck. A Game of Thrones is the kind of book that shakes up the reader. This is intense stuff and strictly for those with good digestive systems.
The story of the book does not follow the routine "an ordinary boy discovers he is a powerful man and sets out to rule the world" formula that is the hallmark of most of the fantasy literature being churned out these days (from the Wheel of Time to the Belgariad to the Bartimaeus triology). This is a story of lords and their relationship with their king. The setting is in a fantasy land that seems rather similar to medieval Europe, with knights (they are called "Ser" instead of "Sir"), and lords and ladies galore. Magic, however, is largely conspicuous by its absence, although it does make a brief appearance towards the end.
The book gets under way in the ice-covered land of Winterfell, where the local ruler, Lord Eddard Stark and his family live content, if isolated, lives. An honourable and just man, Eddard is known for his honesty and courage. He even carries out all official executions himself, his rationale being:
We believe that the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man's life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, perhaps the man does not deserve to die....You must take no pleasure in the task, but neither must you look away. A ruler who hides behind paid executioners soon forgets what death is.
(p.16)
A visit by the King, Robert Baratheon (a close friend of Eddard), however, changes his life irrevocably. Afraid that his own wife and her brother are conspiring against him, Robert asks Eddard to become his Hand (something like a prime minister) and accompany him to his capital. Eddard dislikes the politics of the court but does not have the heart to refuse his friend. He accepts the post, taking some of his children with him to court and leaving the others behind with his wife, Catelyn Stark. Meanwhile, Viserys Targaryen, the a survivor of the family Robert overthrew (and mercilessly slaughtered) to become King, is attempting to retain the throne his father lost by any means—even if it means offering his thirteen-year-old sister Daenerys as a bride to Khal Drogo, the chief of the Drothaki, a mighty warrior clan that seems to bear more than a passing resemblance to the Mongols.
"We go home with an army, sweet sister. Wih Khal Drogo's army, that is how we go home. And if you must wed him and bed him for that, you will." He [Viserys] smiled at her. "I'd let his whole khalasar fuck you if need be, sweet sister, all forty thousand of men, and their horses too if that was what it took to get my army."
(p.38)
And even as all this is happening, the realm is coming under threat from strange, mystical creatures called The Others who are slowly but steadily killing those who guard the Wall that lies along its border.
Eddard's decision has terrible consequences for his family. The air is thick with deception and plot after plot is hatched as he desperately tries to do the right thing, little realizing that he is endangering his own family and himself in the process. Within months of his departure, they find themselves at war against the king. Eddard himself is in mortal danger and one of his children is crippled after he witnesses a shocking scene. Jon Snow, Eddard's illegitimate son, leaves Winterfell to serve as a member of the Watch whose job it is to protect the Wall. After swearing an oath never to marry or to be involved in internal battles, he finds himself torn between family and duty as war wages behind the very borders that he is defending. Meanwhile, Daenerys emerges from the shadow of her brother as a formidable leader in her own right.
The narrative unfolds from the viewpoint of seven different characters in the book, although the narration is always in third person. That may sound like six too many at the outset, but Martin handles it superbly, never allowing the pace to slacken. It helps that the seven he chooses as his focal points are all fascinating personalities, from the upright Eddard Stark to the witty dwarf Lord Tyrion Lannister to the brooding bastard, Jon Snow. The relationships between different characters are handled brilliantly and the chemistry between some of them is outstanding. There are scores of brilliant scenes—one in which a mother listens to the sounds of battle, trying hard to distinguish the voice of her son in all the carnage, is particularly moving.
She closed her eyes and listened. The battle came alive around her. She heard hoofbeats, iron boots splashing in shallow water, the woody sound of swords on oaken shields and the scrape of steel against steel, the hiss of arrows, the thunder of drums, the terrified screaming of a thousand horses. Men shouted curses and begged for mercy, and got it (or not), and lived (or died).
(p.699)
The book begins slowly and some might feel a bit overwhelmed by all the new characters that keep popping up on every page. Fortunately, there is incident and emotion aplenty and by the time you reach page 50, Martin is well into his stride. And in best tradition, he leaves the reader in breathless anticipation for the sequel.
A word of warning—this is not a book for the squeamish. There are some extremely graphic and gory descriptions here. Martin does not draw a curtain of modesty over violence or sex—some of the reading can therefore be distinctly disturbing. Martin also does not fight shy of killing major characters. In fact, one of the main characters of the book dies a terrible death towards the end.
Beautifully written, unpredictable, packed with incident and featuring some of the most memorable characters I have ever encountered in fiction, A Game of Thrones has got to be one of the best heroic fantasy books I have ever read. Mind you, I am not sure that I would like to read it again in a hurry—it is far too intense and disturbing for that.
Perhaps Robert Jordan could learn something from George R.R. Martin.
RATING: 8.5/10