A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Being the Second Post of my Project Reread...
When you begin to reread a book you love, it is often with excitement at the prospect of entering a world which holds a strong place in your mind, and with a bit of trepidation, hoping the book is really as good as you remember it to be. As a big re-reader of books, this feeling is one I know and am comfortable with… this is actually my third full reread of A Game of Thrones. The fantasy genre lends itself to rereading… the other worldly nature and depth the genre is capable of is something that leads to missed details upon casual readings. That, and fantasy fans have a tendency to become fanatic in their love for series and authors.

A Game of Thrones begins with just a hint of what lays ahead. The prologue here is either one hell of a hook, or a bit of a turn off - I say the first, but can see where someone might say the second. For a fantasy novel which deals less with magic and dragons than court intrigue and politics (and much much more, including even some magic and dragons), the prologue isn’t quite as indicative of the next few hundred or so pages - although, it does come into play later and can be considered a start of one of the main storylines… it is rather gripping as far I am concerned.

~ Here I need to make a brief interlude and comment on my philosophy on reviews - I hate spoilers! I do my best to give away no more (and often less) of a story than is provided on a dust jacket or back cover - and with most of my reviews, vague details are the best you can expect.

After the prologue we are introduced to the word, and slowly drawn into all its complexities. The limited third person, in the form of point of view characters/chapters, is one that is executed quite well… we become attached to characters, and end up knowing more of what is going on than some characters alone might, yet never gaining the full picture - or more precisely, there is plenty of intrigue and mystery to keep you turning pages, always wanting to know more. Truly epic in scope (although somewhat subversive in terms of "epic fantasy"), A Game of Thrones is a book to get lost in.

The medieval setting is one that, on the surface, will not be foreign to fantasy fans… knights and lords and castles and such are pretty standard fantasy paraphernalia, after all. Although, Martin creates such a realistic world that it seems that this is something new. In many aspects the setting is more reminiscent of well drawn historical fiction rather than fantasy. There is a starkness (for fans, no pun intended, really) to the atmosphere which in no way limits the wonderment, but does add to the believability. The historical aspects are also worth taking note of, as one of the influences of the series mentioned by Martin is The War of the Roses… not something I am well versed in, but I can pick up some things - the similarity of the Stark/York and Lannister/Lancaster names to name the most obvious - and a quick review of Wikipedia on the subject should provide the observant reader with many more connections.

The story is just plain awesome. Yes, I know that isn’t the best description in terms of a book review, but it really is awesome! If you haven’t read A Game of Thrones, you should. GRRM is a gifted storyteller who seems to have progressively gotten better over his long career.

So, bottom line, does A Game of Thrones hold up to a reread? Absolutely. This book has enough layers and depth to gain pleasure upon multiple reads. I am amazed by the little things that are only briefly hinted at that do not get a full revealing until a couple books down the road… I firmly believe GRRM has an intricate and well thought out plan for his saga as a whole, and even though it may have grown in the telling (I have seen various grumblings around the interwebs - I won’t dignify such things by adding a link), but when all is said and done, I believe it will be considered a true classic of fantasy literature.

All right, that’s it for now - there will be much more as I get deeper into my reread of A Song of Ice and Fire (and who knows, maybe even more on A Game of Thrones too).
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Collector’s note - on his website, GRRM sets aside a small spot on his website for those who collect his work in mind. Additionally, his feelings on whether the US or UK edition is the “True First Edition” on his FAQ page is rather interesting.
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Up next on my Project Reread, the first book Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series, The Eye of the World.