Book Title: Game of Thrones (Book 1 of Song of Fire & Ice Series)

Author: George R. R. Martin

Genre: Fantasy

Summary:

Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.

Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

Review: 

Being a fan of both Historical Fiction and Fantasy, I have not encountered much of the two genres crossing each other in a way that the fantasy won’t overpower the historical settings. Game of Thrones has subtle elements of fantasy that does not make one roll their eyes or be too cliché

With the TV show and books being all hyped up, I wanted to give this series a shot, I have not watched the series yet and made it a point to read the books first especially after a friend of mine told me that the level of language and writing style is in completely different class

And boy was she right!

There were lines in this book that blew my mind! There were chapters that blew my mind with just how Mr. Martin expressed words.

The story is very strong and the characters, while there were ALOT of characters, the most important ones are memorable and you get emotionally attached to a lot of them

Characters I liked:

• Tyrion Lannister who is probably my favourite character in the whole thing
• Jon Snow
• Robb Stark
• Daenerys Targaryen
• Ned Stark
• Khal Drogo
• Bran Stark
• Sansa Stark (Yes I like her!)
• Ser Jorah
• The Direwolves

(don’t recall at the moment more characters due to brain melting from awesomeness XD)

Characters I hated:

• Joffrey Baratheon (BURN!!!!!) This little boy has topped my most hated Character ever!
• Cersei Lannister (though she’s a character you love to hate)
• Jaimie Lannister

(don’t recall at the moment more characters due to brain boiling from hatred XD)

I would recommend this to avid readers, however I do recommend that if you do go into this; go into it with an open mind as there are some pretty adult elements in it. While I was disgusted beyond limits, the story, characters and writing got me so hooked to continue and I will continue to read the rest of the story

In short: This book is an emotional rollercoaster full of intensity and a gripping story. I don’t think I have words to describe how I felt about this book. Whatever I say won’t do it justice

Rating: 

Written by: Fatma Al Bannai