Book review - A Song of Ice and Fire

I'm going to write a review of the book series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. The first book was published in 1996.

First I want to say that it is a fantasy book, but not fantasy in the sense that there's magic and elves and dragons all over the place. It's much more a medieval story in a fictional land. Though there are dragons and undead in it, they are only mentioned very rarely and, so far, has not had much of an impact in the books, though I believe they will before the end.

Main plot:

The Stark family's father becomes the Hand of the King to the Iron Throne. The whole family moves to the castle and there a lot of intriguing happens. The queen murders the king, best friend of of Stark. He himself is in deep trouble. A mad prince in another country to the south is on his way back home with his sister to take back the throne to the old royal family. He is brutally murdered but his sister is raising an army and slowly works her way back to a home she's never seen, gaining powerful allies on the way. These include three hatchling dragons, the only ones in the whole world. At the same time, the kingdom is under attack of an unknown enemy from the cold north and families are split up, armies gathered and sent to the frontiers. Other lands watch in fear and wonders what will happen. A lot of the characters are deeply involved in the happenings in the kingdom, but they don't see the whole picture. The only one who seems to know more than the rest is a small crippled boy that is lost in the cold north and his older sister that had to flee the land and is currently hiding under the wing of a death cult of assassins. Knights are fighting and changing sides, one king replace another in rapid succession and a lot is pure chaos. Who will win and who will take the throne in the end? Will it be the Starks or the Princess from the south? The Lannisters that has it now or someone else? No one knows yet. There are fully 10 houses in conflict and 5 kingdoms.

This book is mainly about the kingdom in war and on the brink of civil war and not about the characters so much, though the characters are of course the driving forces in the books and the ones we as readers will follow. It's a book about intrigue and nobility. One thing that is also different in this book compared to many others is that there is no good and bad side. There are just sides, actions and consequences. This makes the book feel very realistic and one reason I like it so much. The head characters themselves are many and divided into houses/households and families. As a reader you will get to know them all and get your own favourites in the different families. Even in opposing families. It's a source of constant conflicting feelings when you like characters on both sides of a conflict and you cannot choose a side because you want for both to win.

Another thing that makes these books very exciting is that you never know what will happen next. In most books you are quite secure in the knowledge that the head characters will survive, that the good side will win, that the villains will be caught or even killed. No so in this book. The first chock comes when you read the first chapters and the person that you believe is the main character suddenly dies. After that you will become vary and every time a character is in dire straights you fear for their lives. A more exciting book series is hard to find.

I love it for the life like characters, the twists and turns of the plot and the unpredictability of it all. A book can never be as exciting as when you don't know if the characters you like will survive or not. Or how! The most catching book I have ever read. Situations that happen in the book are very realistic and complicated and it's hard to foresee what will happen next. Unfortunately the series is not finished so I cannot say if I like the ending or not yet. But I have my hopes and fears. My favourite characters and my antagonists, my suspicions and guesses. I can only hope that the ones I like best will survive, that the "bad" ones that I also like will find the right way and be good, that they will develop in the right direction. For people in this book does not continue to be the same way all through the book. The things that happen to them will change them, like it would change a real person. So some characters I liked in the beginning I now dislike, and some that I hated I now hope for and like. Others have gone from bad to worse and some from good to better.

I strongly recommend that you read this book series. It is very good and exciting. I have also tried to avoid to reveal anything that will ruin the surprises if you should actually read it.