Game of Thrones

I finally finished this book, thankfully before the HBO series completed. It was a good book. Although this is in the "fantasy" genre, in truth in this book there is virtually no magic and there are no non-human races. There are no quests and no dark towers.

Rather this book is pretty much just what it sounds like-various noble families struggle with one another for power. Some of these families are downright evil, others less so but they are all quite self-interested.

Martin is a VERY dense writer. I still say that he could do with some tighter editing but when you have an epic to write that's what you do I guess.

Martin creates a world suspiciously similar to our own with areas that are like unto Europe, Asia and Africa.

Ned Stark, head of the Stark family rules in the North. He holds allegiance to his King, best friend and former brother-in-law, Robert Barratheon. Stark and Barratheon led a successful rebellion against the former evil and quite insane king some years ago.

Stark wants nothing more than to be left alone in the gloomy north. But his King calls him to court to be the Hand of the King (i.e underboss) as the previous Hand died under rather dubious circumstances.

Stark is very honorable, loyal and intelligent man but is unwise in intrigues. He finds that his old friend has become rather "pragmatic" when it comes to moral issues while the young Queen is a nakedly ambitious woman with plans of her own. And the children of the deposed king have escaped overseas where they seek allies among a Mongol/Comanche like people. They intend to return and conquer. Martin also throws in million different subplots-not all of which will come to fruition in this book.

This is VERY DIFFERENT from Tolkien, primarily because the prim Tolkien did not write realistically about two of the primary motivations of humans-lust and greed. Middle-Earth was a pretty sexless place. Martin's world is not. In an echo of dynastic practices of our own history, girls are betrothed before they reach ten and married off at fourteen. Bastard children don't inherit their father's name or wealth. The good guys don't always win in Martin's world-most importantly they can't always decide what is the right thing to do. Do you avenge your father if if means the lives of your sisters? Do you turn a blind eye to the murder of your family if to do otherwise would mean the destruction of the entire realm?

The other difference is that the women in Game of Thrones are well drawn characters. Whether they exert power in their own name or in that of their male relatives, few of them can be underestimated. Most of the characters, male or female, are complex. Even the evil ones have rational motivations for their actions.

Michael Moorcock once called LOTR "Epic Pooh". Game of Thrones is not. It's very adult. In LOTR Aragorn can return to Gondor 1000 years after the last king disappeared and be accepted as king with no issue. If he tried that in any kingdom in Game of Thrones, his head would have been on a spike in less than 24 hours.

I doubt that Martin meant it as a nod to the Godfather per se but in this book a well meaning but rather selfish and stupid person gives a piece of information to someone they don't realize is an enemy which results in the death of that person's loved one and the start of a devastating war.

Good stuff. Check it out. It is long (800 pgs+) but worthwhile. All of the Noble Houses have words to live by. The Starks' words are "Winter is Coming" which is not only a self-admonition to save and prepare for the multiple year winters but is also a boast and a battlecry...

*Speaking of LOTR, in the HBO series Sean Bean plays Ned Stark. But perhaps fittingly as the two series are similar, The Wire veteran Aidan Gillen has a role as a suitably smarmy and self-interested power-broker.