This installment is written by a friend, Jojo, and concerns the opening volume in George R.R. Martin's Fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire. Thank you to Jojo for allowing me to share this with you. I hope you enjoy her choice. A Game Of Thrones A Game of Thrones, the first book in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice series, is an epic book of large proportions. Set in a world where summers last for decades ~ and winters just as long ~ this is a tale of changes. After nearly twenty years of summer, winter is coming, and the first to feel this is the Stark family nestled in the north up against the Wall in the very northern most keep of Winterfell. Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, is a stern man with a strong family, and very closely connected to the present King. Promoted, whether he will it so or not, to Hand of The King, Lord Eddard is forced to leave his home to go south to King's Landing. The position is an honorable one but a dangerous one, and once south with half his children, Ned discovers plots and intrigues that hint at civil unrest. Meanwhile, back in the north, winter is coming with barred teeth and stinging claws. Signs of creatures that had been, at best, legend, abound, foretelling of a long, hard winter. And to make matters worse, across an ocean the daughter of a dragon stirs, setting her sights on a land that should be hers by birthright... A Game of Thrones is the introduction to this epic, a book loaded with a myriad of characters and tasty hints at things yet to come. Fans of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time may find this series at once both appealing and daunting. It has the detail that every Jordan fan finds enjoyable, and yet, it is also an unfinished series. Rumor has it that it shall weigh in at six books ~ six hefty books, mind ~ and the third book has been released in the UK recently and is slated for release in the US shortly. The characters are enjoyable and believable, the world complex and well built, the writing smooth, and the plot, while not entirely original (but let's face it, what plot is?) very intriguing. I would definitely recommend it. Fans of Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, and Raymond Fiest would especially enjoy this book. ~Jojo Back to Reviews Index |