I started reading George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones, the first novel in his A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels because I found out that HBO are making it into a new TV series. Plus the added bonus that Sean Bean was playing one of the lead characters Eddard Stark!The good news is that Game of Thrones is a great read, with lots of interesting characters and a complicated but compelling story. It has been aptly described as, “the Sopranos in Middle-earth".
Each chapter is told from a different character’s perspective. Usually, I find this narrative structure annoying and all too easily used by writers who can’t sustain a proper narrative. But fortunately it works here and Martin is able to create a compelling level of suspense while also giving the reader an overall view of the intersecting stories.
In a very short amount of writing, Martin creates a vast world of believable characters and situations. I also liked the fact that Martin is not afraid to kill of major characters in the book, which makes it exciting!
The bad news is that I didn’t quite make it through the second book, A Clash of Kings. I got mid-way and just lost interest. The story seemed to drag on and as more different characters were introduced it all got a bit too long and laborious. Plus I was distinctly disappointed at the lack of fantasy element in the book ie. where is the magic/dragons?
I’m not sure whether I will try the second book again.......
The series is set to premiere on April 17, watch the trailer video here:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2864422169/
Oh and here's pic of Sean Bean in character:
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