Kirkus Style Review - A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin follows a series of characters in the fight for the throne of the kingdom before the oncoming winter.

With winter comes great despair and hardships. Throughout the realm of the Seven Kingdoms, various parties have different views of who would best rule for this oncoming time. Throughout multiple perspectives, we see that the fight for the thrones is fought with more than simple swords and shields. Secret battles, attempted murder, political intrigue, back-stabbing actions, and many other attacks are used to gain the advantage. Stuck in the middle of this complicated situation is the Stark family of Winterfell. George R. R. Martin weaves the various members of the Stark family, among many others, into the thick of the struggle for the throne. Every member of the Stark family plays an important role in this struggle, from 7-year-old Bran to head-of-the-household Ned. Even with a multitude of different characters, each one is well-developed. The various story plots interconnect between key figures and help to develop a complex and real story. The depth that Martin produces in both the plot and the characters provides for a world that the reader can immerse themselves into, as long as they can keep track of who is doing what.

This book, while creating an in depth and complicated world, is not for light readers. Serious focus is required in order to fully enjoy and understand this first novel in the series A Song of Fire and Ice.