A Game of Thrones [REVIEW]

This was one of the best books I have read in a while. To me it seemed like the Wheel of Time series mixed with the Outlander series.

I was in Costco one day looking at the books and I saw a box set for the this book. I thought it looked really cool and it had a picture of Sean Bean on it (this made me squeal). I thought about buying it for my mom for Christmas, but I wasn’t sure what it was really about so I decided not to.

After that I saw a few commercials for the Game of Thrones TV show and thought, ‘Wow! That looks great!’ The series was half way through when I saw this, so I waited until it came out on DVD to watch it. My mother got me the first season as an Easter present. I bought the books a few weeks before and quickly started to read the first book. My mother got the book on her Kindle and started reading it too. As we read we would watch up to whichever point in the books we were at.

I was in class one day with nothing to do so I pulled my book out and started to read. My Oceans teacher walked by me and glanced at my book. I noticed her do this, but continued reading. All of a sudden she smiled and said, ‘I’m readying that book too! When you finish it we so have to talk about it!’ I was surprised, but I was glad that we had something in common.

This book is split into chapters from different characters’ point of views. This includes: Lord Eddard Stark, Lady Catelyn Stark, Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, Bran Stark, Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister, and Princess (Khaleesi) Daenerys Targaryen. I enjoy books that have different point of views most of the time and I really liked it in this one. There are a few people though that I cannot stand.

All the POV people are connected in some way. Eddard and Catelyn are married and Sansa, Arya and Bran are their children. Jon is Eddard’s child and Tyrion is the queen’s brother (the queen’s husband is Eddard’s best friend). Daenerys’ father was king before the current one.

Slowly they break apart and all start their own stories, but every so often they come back together.

Jon Snow is my favourite character because he is different. He is the bastard son of Eddard Stark and an unknown woman, though he is treated almost like one of the Stark children. His last name is Snow and not Stark because the bastard children in the North all get that for a last name. Everyone in the Stark family treats him like one of their own except Catelyn and Sansa. He is strong, one of the best fighters for his age, and caring. He is more of a do first think later type of character. He goes through some hard times, but throughout the book this helps him mature.

Princess Daenerys Targaryen is the Princess of Dragonstone and my second most favourite character. She is thirteen when the book starts and is forced to marry Khal Drogo, a great leader of the Dothraki people. She is innocent when the book starts, but as it goes on she learns that the world can be a very cruel place.

Eddard Stark is the lord of Winterfell and the husband of Catelyn. He is the father of Robb, Jon, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon. He is best friends with Robert, the king, and soon becomes the Hand of the king. He is very wise and is always trying to do the right thing.

Catelyn Stark is Eddard Stark’s wife and mother to his children (save Jon). She is a strong woman who will risk nothing to save her children. At times she can seem cruel, but soon she would do something fierce and you would give her forgiveness.

Bran Stark is eight when the story starts. He is a bright young boy who loves to climb. He is brave and wants to be a knight when he is older. He faces a hardship in the book, but in my opinion, it only made him stronger.

Sansa Stark is the Starks’ elder daughter. She is described as very pretty and ladylike. All she wants is to get a good marriage and live in a castle. She is mean, in my opinion, especially to Jon (who she refers to as her half-brother and everyone else calls their brother) and Arya. She is one of my least favourite characters in the whole book and my least favourite POV character.

Arya Stark is the youngest daughter of the Stark family. She is a tomboy if I ever saw one. She loves her brother Jon more than anyone in the world and wishes to do something great. She is very strong willed and very spunky. I really enjoy reading her parts.

Tyrion Lannister is the queen’s brother and is more commonly known as the Imp because of his size. I have mixed feelings about him. At times he seems completely evil but then he will turn around and do something good. He is very cunning and can talk his way out of anything.

This book gave me mixed feelings. I don’t mean I hated and loved it, I mean I had so many emotions while reading this. I felt anger, joy, fear, I even cried a few times. When I read a book, you can see my emotions on my face. It was funny because I would be reading on the bud and something good would happen and I would be cheering silently or something terrible would happen and I’d be sitting there holding my breath; this can get you some strange stares from others.

All in all, I highly recommend this book*. It is a great (if a bit long) read.

*This book is not for the weak of heart. It has sex scenes (though not that bad), and a lot of violence. There were some moments where I was glad I was laying down and reading because I could feel my knees grow weak.

I rate this 5/5.