A Game of Thrones - George R R Martin

The first book in the "Song of Ice and Fire" epic and on a short list of my favourite fantasy books. George R R Martin is a genius. He is one of the few writers that has prompted me to seek out previous work and consistently delivers diverse, unpredictable and complex stories that seem to have an unlimited weight and substance behind them.

A Game of Thrones was overwhelming, the first time I read it. The massive host of characters that are introduced give the initial and misguided impression that, for there to be so many, each character must be pigeon holed, good, evil, inconsequential. This initial reaction slowly faded as the story unwound, as I realised that each character is not a placeholder for the storyline, but an active participant. This realization was reinforced when assumptions made about a character are shattered as their very human personalities lead to events that all my conditioning to "fantasy storylines" could never have predicted.

Fellow readers can identify with the range of emotional responses evoked by the narrative twists and turns in this masterpiece.

Re-reading this description of this book, I can imagine how it might sound a little fanatical to the uninitiated, but I think if my reaction to this book was anything other than that, it would be an understatement.

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