A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
(Book 1, A Song of Fire and Ice)
The original Game of Thrones - the book behind the television saga. I won't spend time on a summary, because those who've seen the series know the events of the first book fairly well and those who haven't seen the series aren't really interested anyway.
I thought I would finish this as part of my 2021 reading list, but alas, I didn't make it through it before the new year. There's a lot of description, and it's a long book. I'm glad I waited to read until after I'd watched the series - at least for this first book that's helpful. I'm sure things will diverge significantly later on.
I appreciate Martin's ability to describe everything - he spends paragraphs on the description of woods, and landscape, and setting a scene. Dialogue is fairly limited, though there are a lot of internal monologues - the characters think a lot, which doesn't intend to imply that the thoughts are always intelligent or rational.
I also love the combination of fantasy/alternate world and medieval/historical details that Martin is able to intertwine. Not a fan of the continued misogyny from the historical time period but it does lend an air of something to the story. For me, it made me root for Danaerys in a more real way, because she is in the best position to show the men what a woman can really do.
I fully understand why and how this came to be an HBO series. All the elements are clearly visible in this first book of the series.
(#01-2022)
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