A Game of Thrones: Book 1 of A Song of Ice and Fire

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ONE OF THE TIMES’ 25 BEST AUDIOBOOKSHBO’s hit series A GAME OF THRONES is based on George R. R. Martin’s internationally bestselling series A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. A GAME OF THRONES is the first volume in the series.Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.

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George R.R. Martin (Author), Roy Dotrice (Narrator), HarperCollins (Publisher) & 0 more

ASIN

B005CB5HTG

Customer Reviews Summary

I came to George R.R. Martin quite recently, after having bought "season 1" which roughly correspond to Game of Thrones (there is a little bit concerning Arya at the end in the TV series which in fact is from book 2). This volume has already attracted hundreds of reviews, most of which are extremely positive, and I can understand why and definitely share the feeling. Rather than paraphrasing what others have already mentioned perhaps a couple of years ago, I would like to insist on what a huge and superb job George R.R. Martin has done in creating a whole fantasy world. This is what has prompted some reviewers to compare him to Tolkien. I am not even sure that the term "fantasy world" is entirely appropriate, however. This is because, at times, you get almost the impression that this is just as much "alternative history" as fantasy: there is only a little magic - no wizards - at least in the first volume, although there are dragons, walking dead, extraordinary wolves and mention of other non-human creatures living beyond the Wall. The world that he has created is loosely based on bits and pieces aggregated from the Ancient history and the Middle Ages in Europe, and in the United Kingdom, in particular, and, to a lesser extent, Asia. Here are a few examples:- The maps of Westeros, the land of the Seven Kingdoms, make you think of a somewhat modified version of Britain. You can recognize the general shape, although it has been modified quite a bit and distances have been multiplied by a factor of eight or ten because Westeros is a whole continent, as opposed to a big island- The analogies go further. The Wall seem to have been loosely inspired by either Hadrian's Wall or Antonin's Wall, which was further to the north . The Night Watch seems to be loosely inspired by the Military Orders of the Middle Ages, at least with regards the vows that the applicants have to pronounce in order to join, renouncing whatever property (land in particular) and family and with pronouncing vows of celibacy. The recruitment mode is a little different, although Military Orders did also in some cases accept criminals who were ready to join them to do penance and atone for their crimes. Regarding knights, however, those who joined the historical Orders generally did so of their own free will, as opposed to being send or somewhat forced to join the Night Watch- The society of the Seven Kingdoms resembles the 15th century, given the castles and the equipment of the knights (plate armour, helmets, jousting and so on...), and the civil wars that take place once the King has died reminded me of the War of the Roses. The conflict seems to be just as bloody and treason is just as common. The only difference is perhaps that, up to now, noble families do not seem to change sides as frequently as they did during the War of the Roses, although this is only the first book, and there is plenty of time for this to happen in subsequent volumes- There are also other historical references. The name and description of the Dothraki suggests a parallel with the Thracians of Antiquity and perhaps also with the Skythians, although their eyes could suggest a reference to Asian steppe nomads (pick your choice: they were dozens of them between the Huns around AD 350 and the Mongols almost a thousand years latter. Both the Thracians and the Scythians sacrificed their warlord's horse during his funeral so that he could ride it in the underworld, although only the latter used horse archers. The reference to "arakhs", the swords, or perhaps more accurately the kind of sabres used by the Dothraki, also points to the Rhompaia of the Thracians, although there are differences. The historical rhompaia (which was also used by the Dacians) was a two-handed sword made of straightened scythe held and a long handle that could make up to half the length of the weapon. The blade was particularly sharp and the weapon was dreaded by Roman legionaries because it could loop of limbs. For those wanting to read more on the Thracians, and check some of the staements above, try "The Gods of Battle" by Chris Webber- Other, but somewhat less precise, allusions to historical references include the Forest people (not Elfes, as in Tokien's Lord of the Ring, but more probably inspired by pre-Celtic populations of the British Isles), The First Men, mostly in the North, who seem to have been inspired by the Celts and the Andals. I initially thought that the latter may allude to the Angles, Jutes and Saxons, because the word was close to "Vandals", who were also Germanic, although the Andals and the the mention of Stormkings who ruled before the Targaryens, could also allude to the Danes and the Targaryen conquerors, who invaded Westeros almost three centuries before the beginning of this story, would then allude to the Normand Kings of England. The Free Cities, on another continent, which, combined with the character of Illyrio, made me think of independent Greek Cities in something like 500 BCE.In addition to being a very entertaining romp and adventure story where, for the time being at least, three stories happen in parallel, I found the characters rather well drawn and well through, contrary to what some reviewers seem to have experienced. There are, of course, "goodies" and "baddies", but they are not caricatures. As another reviewer mentioned, the characters are various shades of grey, which makes them somewhat more realistic, rather than being painted in black or white. Even Robb replacing his father as the Warden of the North at the age of fourteen is not as far-fetched as it may first seem when you take a look at the 15th century in the English Kingdom. A historical character such as the Duke Richard of York (the future Richard the Third) fought his first battle alongside his brother Edward, the Yorkist King, at age fourteen. Shortly after the victory, his brother actually put him in charge of the North of England. At the time, of course, you were old by the time you were 40. You were married at 15 and you had had your first children by the time you were 20. All this is also perfectly well rendered in this book.So, in addition to all of the other praise and qualities that others have found in this book, I particularly appreciated the attention to details and how the author recreated a society based on the Late Middle Ages and made it as realistic as he could.Highly recommended and I can only hope that the next volume is just as good as this one.