Now that's a hefty title, and I hope I can give justice to the masterpiece that is A Song of Ice and Fire. Martin has hooked many of us readers on this series for decades.
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As the title states, the series is written by George RR Martin. He was born in 1948, to a low end family. His greatest enjoyments as a kid was reading, and even from a young age, he was creating stories. He was also a big follower of comics, in fact his first publication was a letter sent into one of those comic companies.
He started as more of a science fiction writer. He's won a few Hugo Awards, and has been to countless Comic-cons. I've actually only read one other book of his besides the A Song of Ice and Fire series, and honestly I found it to be enjoyable, but also kinda weird. He adds a horror style undertone with his science fiction, so there are always aspects of his books that are graphic, whether it be a death scene, a love scene, or just the language used in conversation with characters.
This all brings me to the series A Song of Ice and Fire. Martin strayed from his norm, and tried his hand at fantasy writing. Martin published the first book in 1996 called A Game of Thrones which has went on to become the number one television show, quite possibly, ever on HBO. All that is well and good, but what about the series itself?
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The series is based in a medieval setting; swords knights, and carriages. It's set in a feudal society, in a world he has created, many of his fans have started calling Planetos. His major continents are Westeros and Essos, so it's easy to see how we come to this conclusion. We follow two main great houses, House Stark and House Lannister. We also get the last of the usurped dynasty trying to survive, and build an army to regain their family's throne.
Houses Stark and Lannister are based on British history, being House York and House Lancaster. In the late 1400s, these two houses warred for the English Throne, in what's now known as the War of the Roses. This is one of many reasons I love this series. I am supposed to be reading a fantasy novel, but underneath the characters he's created, is a layer of history. Me being me, I had to start digging and learning as much about the events the story is loosely based on as I could. Once you become acquainted with the real people involved in the War of the Roses, their personalities become apparent in the characters he's adapting. It's rarely an exact copy. You will find traits of this one mixed with characteristics of that one, but in the appearance of someone completely different. It's a beautiful way, to retell history and keep a reader's attention.
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Martin writes in a point of view chapter format. I'm a huge fan of this style anyways, because it allows us to really be inside the characters, to become them essentially. Like so many other things though, he cranks the knob all the way up. In the beginning of the series, we stick mostly to the House Stark characters. This gives them the perceived "good guy" effect, and we all grow to love them. As events unfold, the point of views broaden, and we begin to get some of the Lannisters perspectives. Through two books, we are thinking this family is the evil awful bad guys, but once we get a peek inside their minds, we realize there really are no good guys and bad guys. There are bad guys doing heroic deeds, and good guys doing awful things. He paints in shades of gray that mirror the world we live in spectacularly.
Martin's characters are top notch. Very few characters feel thrown in as extras. They are full fleshed out, and me as a reader, truly began to feel for them. There are characters I just love to read about, and it's not because of the huge action sequence. Just following their train of thought and watching them grow in this world is a masterpiece in itself. There are characters that I truly hate, as well, and can't wait for something horrific to happen to them, or the just die from being stupid. They just all feel so relatable, it's definitely a fully functioning society.
He also does something that keeps us all on our toes. We all as readers have a certain expectation when reading. Usually the main character has something plot driven to make them act, then they take on the opposing force whatever it may be, and in the end the good guy walks away happily ever after. Martin subverts these tropes in ways, none of us could expect. He makes major events believable, instead of last minute the sidekick swooping in to save the day. People die, and people die who don't deserve to die. The first time you lose a point of view character while reading, it has a profound effect over the rest of the series. It draws you closer to the characters, and you truly worry for their outcome. He hooks us in, then ties the line off, knowing we will have to read the next book to see if our favorite characters manage to survive.
Personally, I love his magic adaptation. I've read a lot of fantasy, and typically the magic has a set of rules they have to adhere to. Martin has wrote his magic in a way that, even twenty years later, it's debated whether this series is fantasy or science fiction. His magic is so minor, or so subtle that we have to really consider the possibility, that what the characters see as magic, might just be technology they don't quite understand. When that is brought up, there are really no ends to the possibilities. He also added dragons. Who doesn't love dragons?
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Probably my favorite part of the entire series, is the deep history and lore. In 2014, Martin released A World of Ice and Fire which is basically the last 8000 years of history in this world. There are some detailed accounts of certain events, while others are only mentioned with a passing sentence or two. He has also wrote this book in a way, that it's supposed to be written from the perspective of a character in the story, so this character will have his own. biases and ulterior motives. There are key parts that are glossed over, while some seem to be overly highlighted. There are also conflicting reports to many stories, so sifting through it all makes for a wonderful scavenger hunt. This also allows for unreliable narration. This is an interesting addition. Knowing what the characters thinks can be a double edged blade, when they inherently hate someone just because of their family.
This all leads to what I do most with the series, theorycrafting. He writes in such an ambiguous way almost anything is possible and I enjoy being one to make connections. I love scouring the texts looking for minute details that don't seem to have much importance, but when added to a few lines here and a few lines there, events can be predicted. The parallels he writes are a work of beauty, and with each new find, it just goes to show how much of a genius Martin really is. His knowledge seems to be never ending, and his exploration of human nature is second to none. He weaves a tale that, if we didn't know we were reading a fantasy novel, could have been a legend of old, but then we realize, Martin added those legends of old as well, when we really analyze specific character.
Just think, I didn't even cover the good juicy details within the novels. I hope to be writing up my chapter notes here soon. @agirlis and myself have a YouTube channel and we will be recording our chapter notes soon. Thanks you to any and all that check us out. We are just starting
AB's Corner
Thank you George RR Martin for your amazing gift to us readers and thank you all who took the time to read,
-Bran the Builder
