NOW THE ACCLAIMED HBO SERIES GAME OF THRONES—THE MASTERPIECE THAT BECAME A CULTURAL PHENOMENON
Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost of the fiefdoms that owe allegiance to King Robert Baratheon in far-off King’s Landing. There Eddard Stark of Winterfell rules in Robert’s name. There his family dwells in peace and comfort: his proud wife, Catelyn; his sons Robb, Brandon, and Rickon; his daughters Sansa and Arya; and his bastard son, Jon Snow. Far to the north, behind the towering Wall, lie savage Wildings and worse—unnatural things relegated to myth during the centuries-long summer, but proving all too real and all too deadly in the turning of the season.
Yet a more immediate threat lurks to the south, where Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, has died under mysterious circumstances. Now Robert is riding north to Winterfell, bringing his queen, the lovely but cold Cersei, his son, the cruel, vainglorious Prince Joffrey, and the queen’s brothers Jaime and Tyrion of the powerful and wealthy House Lannister—the first a swordsman without equal, the second a dwarf whose stunted stature belies a brilliant mind. All are heading for Winterfell and a fateful encounter that will change the course of kingdoms.
Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, Prince Viserys, heir of the fallen House Targaryen, which once ruled all of Westeros, schemes to reclaim the throne with an army of barbarian Dothraki—whose loyalty he will purchase in the only coin left to him: his beautiful yet innocent sister, Daenerys.
This review is late, but I feel the need to express my almost hatred of this book. There is too much repetition among the chapters, and too many characters to keep track of. I found myself getting lost every so often as to who I was reading and how they were connected. It probably didn't help that parts got so boring I had to put it down. (There was also a two month gap where I didn't touch it because of how bland it got, so that might not have helped anything.) For me, this is much more of a man's book. Women are constantly put down, there is a rape at least every 50 pages, and if you don't have a penis you might as well not live.
The one plot line that kept me the most interested was the incest, but that might not be enough to finish the rest of the series. The only character I remotely liked out of all the main ones was Jon Snow, but if I had to read about how he was a bastard one more time I might as well have shot myself. (I might just finish reading the second one because I found it for 50 cents.)
I truly wanted to like this series because of all the raving reviews of it, but I just could not get myself into it.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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12 January, 2014:
Finished reading
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12 January, 2014:
Reviewed