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| Monday, July 1, 2013 09:08 AM |
| Book Report - A Games of Thrones |
 by Fëanor |
I just finished listening to the audio book of A Game of Thrones. I think it's probably my third or fourth time "reading" the book. I wasn't too far into it this time when I almost gave up on it. It was right around the scene when Ned has to kill the wolf. It was so brutal, and it made me remember all the other brutal and awful things to come for all these poor characters, and I just wasn't sure I could face it. These books are rough. Every time a character prays desperately for something not to happen, it happens, and vice versa. As soon as Martin establishes that a character loves something with all their heart - boom, he takes that away from them.
But I stuck with the book, and I'm glad I did. It really is excellent. I feel like later on in the series, things begin to get a bit tired and plodding, but this is a fantastic first book. I tried to focus this time on the structure and the form, on the way Martin builds the world and its people. He carefully and skillfully introduces you to a huge number of characters and a huge, complex world, giving you pieces at a time, slowly adding more, repeating things so they stick, slipping you hints of what's to come. Because I'd read it all before and knew what was coming, it was easier to notice those hints, and I was able to recognize a lot of subtle foreshadowing. He slowly begins to grow these characters, and teach them and mold them and change them. Each chapter is from a single character's perspective, and each one is a complete scene, with its own little arc. I feel like every Jon chapter he learns a little more, becomes more of a man, becomes more of a leader - the same with the Dany chapters. And everything slowly builds to those last two chapters, which are absolutely amazing - so powerful and triumphant and exhilarating. The King in the North! Mother of Dragons! This book is an impressive achievement. I'm going to try to listen to the rest of the series in audio book format, too. Hopefully by the time I get through them all, there will be a new one available... |
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