Some Thoughts on Game of Thrones

February 22, 2012 | Reviews

Currently, I am in the midst of reading Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold, part two of the third book in the Song of Ice and Fire series (“Don’t you mean you’re on the fourth book in the series?”, my gentleman friend recently asked me. “You would think so, but no” I remarked. “But aren’t they two seperate books?”, he pressed. “Sigh”, I replied.)

Every time that I’ve finished one of the books (or half-books, as the case recently was), I’ve thought about writing a review for it, but couldn’t quite work out how to do it. With the popularity of the series, what can I say that hasn’t already been said? However, since the series has been taking up my spare time and giving me some interesting dreams (one of the more normal ones involved me trying to find dragon eggs), I figured it is about time that I got a discussion started on here about it.

I know that many people know the series, Game of Thrones in particular, so I’m going to avoid a long, in depth review of each book. Instead, as a bit of an introduction to the series to those who might not be familiar with it, I’m going to post email exchange between me and my brother-in-law a little while back in which he asks me what I think of Game of Thrones.  It is more of a group of thoughts on the series than a general review.

In the emails, I am Dingus and he is Wingus. I’d like to say that those are just strange psedonyms I changed our names to for the story, but that is actually how we referred to each other in the original emails.  Futurama references amidst a Game of Thrones discussion? Why yes, we are nerds.

Oh, in case you read my reply and become concerned for my mental health at some point, I am often just joking. I assure you, I do not support child murder or sexual slavery.

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Dingus,

I’m reading a game of thrones and it is the most vicious and sexual
book I’ve ever read.  There’s a lot of child murder and thirteen year
old sex.  I hope it gets easier to read.  Have you read it?

Wingus

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Wingus,

You say child murder and thirteen year old sex like it’s a bad thing. Kids are growing up very fast nowadays. Wait, when were those books set? Never mind.

I have read Game of Thrones, and I’m soon starting on the second book in that series. It is good, but unlike any other fantasy series that I have read. For one, there is much more incest in Game of Thrones than Wheel of Time. (Except that one scene in Wheel of Time in which Mat sold his sister into sexual slavery, good times.)  It is a brutal series; indeed a scene from the book made it into my mental list of most disturbing images in literature–a part where a girl is being raped atop a pile of headless corpses. That’s right up there with the American Psycho rat scene for me.

That being said, I did think Game of Thrones was good, good enough to buy books 2-4 after I finished it. I think the coarseness of the language and the violence/inappropriate sex of different varieties caught me too at first because again, it was so different than other fantasy series. Once I got used to that, I really got into the book. I’m not sure how far you are, but one of the things that made the book for me was Tyrion Lannister. He became my favorite character in the book by far, not just because he’s a little person. He’s just so smart and snarky.

What is also good about that book is that it constantly surprises you (or at  least it did me).  I was warned by my dad that George R.R. Martin loved killing off characters, and always had that in the back of my mind when I was reading, but I was always surprised when a character did get killed off. You might think “Oh surely they wont kill off him/her” but then bam! Dead. It’s a book that always keeps you on the edge of your seat in more ways than one.

What was the question again? I need a nap.

Cheers,

Dingus

 

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Well, there you go! My reply may have been a bit rambly, and possibly offensive at times, but I think that was a good way to dive into the series. From here on out any posts on the series will be more specific, in other words loaded with spoilers. It will be more of me focusing on some issue from the books, or a rant on a particular character (I’m looking at you, Sansa Stark).