Winter is Coming (A Game of Thrones)

I'm not usually one to read books that are part of a series (Harry Potter, Hunger Games and the Red Mars books aside).  No particular reason for this - it's just that I tend to gravitate toward books that stand alone.  So when I read, I hop from book to book with no thought of a continuing theme, much less a continuing story line.

Until now.

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

I had heard about how popular the Game of Thrones book series is (now a major HBO series as well), but it did not sound like my kind of read.  Generally speaking, fantasy books aren't my thing, plus, the only people I heard rave about them were guys and let's face it, their endorsement isn't gonna reel me in when I know both Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Weiner have books out that I haven't read yet.

But I got caught in a bind.

During my last trip to VA for work, I finished The Kitchen God's Wife and was left with no book to read on the way back to Denver.  My coworkers were more than happy to bring me the first book in this series, devious smiles on their faces because they knew I was backed into a literary corner.  The airport terminal I flew out of didn't have any book stores, so everyone involved knew I would be reading this.

To be classified as part of a Fantasy genre, A Game of Thrones doesn't read that way.  You feel more transported to the past than to a different world altogether.  People fight on horseback, live in castles and fortified cities, transport messages across the miles by using ravens.  There are hints, though, that something is amiss; there are tales of life behind the wall, dragons of long ago, children of the forest, and dead men with icy eyes that walk as if alive.

Martin presents the story through the eyes of several characters, which can be confusing in the beginning when the reader doesn't yet know anyone.  Eventually this writing style works, though, because it presents the events through several lenses and continues the suspense well.  The story follows the Stark family of Winterfell, a northern forest town.  They live in a time where the seasons can last for years; the catch being that the longer the summer lasts (10 years, 15 years), the longer the winter will last.  Winters are so rough that they have become part of the colloquialism, a way to interpret life's events.  No matter what, winter is coming.

Before you know it, despite your very best efforts, you will be sucked in to the story.  Even though the book is long, it is easy to pick up and put down as necessary because the story is divided neatly into those narrative chapters.  There may be a time or two when it is easy to get lost in the history of each family, the ancestors going back to who-knows-when (think Lord of the Rings) but these descriptions are rare and usually brief.

There are only five books released, with another two planned to cap off the story line.  When my coworkers gave me this book, it was with a stern warning to take my time and not fly through it.  I was like, yeah yeah.  Then I got into this one and realized I'm in for a world of hurt.  I just finished it a couple of days ago and am already well into the second book of the series.  As much as I tell myself that I'll stop and read other books in between, I kind of already know that I won't.  Which means that in a week or two, I'll be one of those poor souls waiting for the next book to come out.  This goes against my life philosophy.

I recommend that you read A Game of Thrones when you're in the mood for a good story, and for something a little different.

Enjoy! (And if you get into the first one, do yourself a favor and just plan to plow through all of them :)