And in my spare time I'm nearly done all 4 of them. From my understanding, there's a 5th book out right now and a 6th and 7th in the future. So if my impression of the series changes I might do another review then.
But for now, here's my thoughts on the first 4 books.
A smart person would have turned this into 4 blog posts with 4 book reviews.
The series takes place in a somewhat medieval era where most magic has died. Most of the story thus far takes place on the continent of Westeros which mostly consists of the Seven Kingdoms. Whoever sits on The Iron Throne rules all of the Seven Kingdoms. And this is which much of the conflict of the story pertains to. The Game of Thrones refers to the fight for said Iron Throne.
No seriously, you'd have to be completely blind to not see where most of the conflict and plot is coming from. What happens when you cram a bunch of people into a room and tell them only one person can rule over the others? The ambitious people start killing and backstabbing each other, the uninterested get dragged into the conflict anyways, and crazy people are going to be crazy.
Lots of this.
The Game of Thrones is unique in the way that the story is told, utilizing multiple protagonists. Each chapter is distinguished by a different character and is told from his or her point of view at that specific time in the story. You are given a look into their very thoughts, motivations and feelings of ongoing events. Each book has both old and new characters each time, mostly to replace dead people but we'll get to that later.
The first book mostly focuses on characters from the House of Stark, a family of people from the North who are dragged into the fight for the Iron Throne against their will. By the 4th book the number of characters we have is completely diverse and unique in terms of their role is in the Game of Thrones. Several which aren't even from Westeros but on 1 of the other 3 continents.
I am told that book 5 takes place at the exact same time as book 4 but told from the perspective of additional characters, but I wouldn't know. I haven't read that far yet.
As of writing, I haven't seen any copies in paperback in my area.
The writing is excellent, the characters are usually interesting and entertaining in their own ways. Myself, I find Tyrion and Jaime Lannister hilarious and I can't stand Eddard, Catelyn or Sansa Stark. The story continues to evolve and hint at things for future books which is nice. I don't like having random plot devices inserted into my stories that conveniently help one random person.
And yes, there is lots of sex but it's done almost tastefully. Well, it's the most tasteful I've ever read it. None of that over-the-top nonsense that you'd see in something trashy like Fifty Shades of Grey. Yes the book contains violence but it also isn't over excessive and overly gory.
The incest aspect wasn't that prominent either. I think people just like to blow things out of proportion. Same thing with dying characters. Yes, usually at least one main character will die in each book but most people generally will come out at alive.
But that's only because the series isn't done yet.
I haven't watched the TV series yet but my friend has and he complains a lot about the deviations from the book. That, and much of the events in the story are quickly glossed over. I'd recommend reading the books first before watching the show.
You know what, read the books regardless even if you have no intention of watching the show. It's a great series and I normally cannot stand the fantasy genre. Game of Thrones is the first exception I've made in years.
BONUS PICTURE FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE READ THE BOOKS:
I tried getting into the books, but couldn't
ReplyDeleteThe way the story is narrated sounds pretty incredible Damien, I've heard so many good things about the book series and yet I still haven't bought them and read them but if anything's going to convince me to stop being lazy it's this post, thanks for sharing this with us mate.
ReplyDeleteThey do sound quite interesting, but I'm not sure how well I'd handle the character switching. Sometimes it can turn me off of a book, and the most character switches I've ever read is two.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like the show nor the books because they are 100% dark and violent and there's almost nothing positive in them, but I know millions of people love such things. I did like some of the dragon scenes in the show.
ReplyDeleteHa! I've watched it and read some of the books but mostly relied in wikipedia. It's FANTASTIC. I know it deviates but I highly recommend the tv show, too. Tyrion = boss.
ReplyDeleteLMAO at Downey, just like his ego. Never read the books but watched the show and enjoyed it, but yeah the books are always usually better.
ReplyDeletei havent read the books but i saw the movie and i liked it.
ReplyDelete:p
Awesome! This makes me wanna watch the TV show! I like when characters die, and I like it when theres a lot of characters with different motovations! You've definitely sold me on this!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for doing it with out giving away spoilers!!
Have only seen the series, not read the books, but love it. Books and series are always different.
ReplyDeleteHmmm... Interesting! I knew their was a book series, but I never got around to reading it.
ReplyDeleteI always see memes about the show online though.
They've been on my reading list but I haven't gotten to them yet. People seem to love the series too (I haven't seen that either.) I'm really behind.
ReplyDeleteIt's usually best to read the books first. I have a friend who started watching the series and THEN read the books and though the books were more detailed, he found them boring because he already knew what was gonna happen. Felt bad for the guy almost.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read it yet, nor watched the series. I do intend to do so, one day, as the concept seems pretty cool, especially with the jumping between minds and characters and all.
ReplyDeleteTONY STARK. WEAPON MAN.
I've not read the books although I've watched some of the show.
ReplyDeleteI think my youngest would enjoy these books...thanks for the recommendation.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read them yet
ReplyDeleteIt's not a series I planned to read, but my husband has been watching the series on DVD. Maybe one day when I've caught up on my DVD To Be Watched Pile, I'll watch it. :)
ReplyDeletefor me i like in the movie, when i read book it's boring :)
ReplyDeleteI'm starting the books after I finish the novel I'm reading. I plowed through the TV series, really loved the story, and felt bad for not reading the books first. Now I'm THAT guy. Time to rectify!
ReplyDeleteI read the first book, but haven't gotten around to the others. I suppose it's because the novels are so long and there are so many of them. :P
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited for the series to start back up again. I don't think I would enjoy reading the series as books, but I definitely like watching it on TV.
ReplyDeleteI have heard of game of thrones but I don't really know what it is...Definitely interesting.
ReplyDeleteI have got to get on this show---I keep hearing rave reviews about it!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a great weekend!!
I'll check it out. I'm in the need of a new book to read.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for RDJ at the end.
uNF.
I really love this saga! I have already read all 5 books (in portuguese of course xD).
ReplyDeleteSome things are different in the serie but it's still great in my opinion.
I am totally impressed. Of all the young ones I know, just you and our daughter are the only ones that read for pleasure, not just school or work.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen it but it's talked about a lot!
ReplyDeleteI have not seen the series as I don't get HBO, but I have the books and I've been meaning to get to them. So far I haven't. They sound really good, though.
ReplyDelete