Summer Reads...

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin- 4 stars ****

After starting to watch the TV adaptation of this series of books on Sky Atlantic, I really wanted to begin reading them so I could get an idea of what the originals were like. A Game Of Thrones is the first instalment in the collection, which currently consists of five completed publications, although two further novels are planned for the future.

The epic fantasy novel is set in fictitious lands that are divided into The North and The South (together named The Seven Kingdoms), and Pentos, across the sea. At the top of The North stands The Wall, that separates the Kings' lands from the barbaric Haunted Forest. The Wall is protected by men of The Night's Watch, who swear their lives to it, forsaking the chance of marriage or children.

The way of life for people living in the lands seems quite medieval almost like in a historical novel, yet there are aspects that are heavily fantasised, for instance the inclusion of mysterious monsters, wolves and dragons. The book is split up into chapters, each of which are seen through the eyes of different characters. In this particular book, they are the viewpoints of Eddard Stark (the Hand of the King Robert Baratheon), Catelyn Stark (Eddard's wife), Sansa, Arya and Bran Stark (his children), Jon Snow (his bastard, a man of The Night's Watch), Tyrion Lannister (a dwarf, the brother of Queen Cersei Baratheon) and Daenerys Targaryen.

Daenerys' father was King Aerys II, who was overthrown and murdered by the current King, forcing her and her brother Viserys into exile across the sea. Viserys is hellbent on recapturing the throne, and sells 13 year old Daenerys in marriage to a horse lord called Drogo in the hopes that he can use their men to wage war on the mainland. Her tale is the only one that does not correspond to the rest of the story, as her viewpoint focuses around what is happening in Pentos where she lives.

Eddard Stark is made Hand of the King at the beginning of the novel, after the death of the previous one, Jon Arryn. It is discovered that this occurred in suspicious circumstances and he leaves his wife and sons to investigate at Winterfell where they live, while he travels to Kings Landing with his daughters. Stark is a loyal subject, but he learns that the King's children are actually fathered by Jaime Lannister, the queen's twin brother, in an act of incest. However, the King is killed in a hunting accident before Ed has chance to reveal the secret, and his 'son' Joffrey (who is betrothed to his daughter Sansa) is crowned King. As Eddard objects, he is executed. His eldest son Robb takes charge, and travels to gain support to avenge his father's death, while Tywin Lannister (head of the house) declares war on the Starks as punishment for their capture of his son, the dwarf Tyrion. The book ends with the Lannisters being thwarted and Robb being named 'The King in the North'.

As you can probably tell from my lengthy but by no means detailed account of the plot, it is a long and quite complicated sequence of events. However, the book is very well written, and is a bit more of a 'grown up' fantasy, touching upon more adults topics such as sex, and delving into the emotions of characters rather than just sticking to cold, hard facts. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a new saga to dig their teeth into, as I thoroughly enjoyed it, and found it difficult to put down, which is saying a lot for a book that is 807 pages long! I am just waiting for the second book to arrive, so look for a review of that soon. For those of you that are not into heavy going, long books, I'd still say to watch the TV series, as it's amazing!