It took two years of cajoling by my friends to start reading George R.R. Martin’s book A Game of Thrones.  I had never been a big fan of his other works and I am plainly stubborn and very picky about what author’s I follow.  After reading this book (as well as the following two), I can honestly say I was wrong.  I should not have been bull-headed.  I should have put my pretensions aside.  I should have read A Game of Thrones years ago. 

          I will endeavor to not put any spoilers into this review. As much as I would love to discuss Game of Thrones in depth, I would hate to ruin the experience for anyone else.  So I will be as generic as I dare to be and still have it qualify as a review.

          Characters in A Game of Thrones are well done and only get better as you go along.  There is a tremendous history built into many of the characters, Martin does a good job of explaining the back story as it becomes relevant.  Each chapter is dedicated to a specific character and is told from their perspective in the third person.  The interesting part is some very important characters never have a single page dedicated to them directly, but a great many pages dedicated to them from the view point of other characters.  Sometimes these perceptions can be very different.  Even minor characters and extras in the context of the plot are detailed enough to get a feel for them and how they fit into the grand scheme of things.  Martin is also not afraid to do terrible (and good things) to his characters.  There is always a reason for everything in A Game of Thrones, it might not seem that way at the time but pay attention for harbingers and read on.

          The plot in A Game of Thrones is primarily focused on the Starks of Winterfell, the great house of the north.  But politics and trouble are brewing in the southern lands and soon the Starks and the north are dragged into the problems in the south.  To add to the problems winter is coming, which can last for years.  There was a preternatural event that changed the seasons thousands of years ago, and winter does not bode well for the kingdom.   

Martin is very measured and disciplined in the plot, thus it is not surprise that A Game of Thrones is very thick and very dense.  Unlike other longer winded authors he progresses the plot throughout and it is clear that virtually every page has a place in the plot of the series in whole.  The continuity is staggering, every plot point and characterization is well thought out and usually has appropriately subtle and sometimes not so subtle harbingers of things to come. There is also a much bigger plot hinted at, but as A Game of Thrones concentrates on introducing many of the series’ characters and starts the series out very well. 

          The world building that Martin starts in A Game of Thrones encompasses a very rich history combined with a very active present.  He does a good job of explaining history and important facts as they arise, but only what is relevant to the story at hand and what is important and known to the character in any given chapter. There is often more to the story; be it facts or other character’s perceptions that is added in.  Virtually every one has a history of some sort and Martin does a good job of balancing information with explanation  while advancing he plot.

          If you have not read A Game of Thrones you are missing out.