A Game of Thrones (Martin)

A Game of Thrones  (Song of Ice and Fire, 1)
George Martin, 1996
Bantam Press
694 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780553103540


Summary
Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall.

To the south, the king’s powers are failing—his most trusted adviser dead under mysterious circumstances and his enemies emerging from the shadows of the throne.

At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the frozen land they were born to. Now Lord Eddard Stark is reluctantly summoned to serve as the king’s new Hand, an appointment that threatens to sunder not only his family but the kingdom itself.

Sweeping from a harsh land of cold to a summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, A Game of Thrones tells a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; a child is lost in the twilight between life and death; and a determined woman undertakes a treacherous journey to protect all she holds dear.

Amid plots and counter-plots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, allies and enemies, the fate of the Starks hangs perilously in the balance, as each side endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

Unparalleled in scope and execution, A Game of Thrones is one of those rare reading experiences that catch you up from the opening pages, won’t let you go until the end, and leave you yearning for more. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
George R. R. Martin is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including the acclaimed series A Song of Ice and Fire—A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, and A Dance with Dragons—as well as Tuf Voyaging, Fevre Dream, The Armageddon Rag, Dying of the Light, Windhaven (with Lisa Tuttle), and Dreamsongs Volumes and II.

He is also the creator of The Lands of Ice and Fire, a collection of maps from A Song of Ice and Fire featuring original artwork from illustrator and cartographer Jonathan Roberts, and The World of Ice & Fire (with Elio M. García, Jr., and Linda Antonsson). As a writer-producer, Martin has worked on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, and various feature films and pilots that were never made. He lives with the lovely Parris in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
We have been invited to a grand feast and pageant: George R.R. Martin has unveiled for us an intensely realized, romantic but realistic world.
Chicago Sun-Times


The major fantasy of the decade…compulsively readable.
Denver Post

(Starred review.) [T]riumphant…[with] superbly developed characters, accomplished prose and sheer bloody-mindedness. Although the romance of chivalry,…tournaments, derring-do and handsome knights abound, these trappings merely give cover to dangerous men and women who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
Publishers Weekly


[I]ntrigue, action, romance, and mystery in a family saga…it promises to repay reading and rereading, from first volume to last, on account of its literacy, imagination, emotional impact, and superb world-building. Roland Green
Booklist

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, feel free to use our LitLovers talking points to start a discussion for The Game of Thrones...then take off on your own:

1. One of the most compelling elements of George R.R.Martin's epic saga of Song of Ice and Fire is his characterization. He has crafted characters who come alive on the page—they are distinct, complex, and fully inhabited with their own memories and desires. Which characters are you particularly drawn to, admire most, or find particularly intriguing? Talk about the Stark family, especially Ned and Cat and also their children.

2. The book opens with Ned Stark beheading a young man for desertion. What do you think of his undertaking the execution himself? Why was no mercy shown?

3. (Follow-up to Question 1) Consider in particular how the Stark children grow and develop from when you first meet them in the beginning of the novel to the end.

4. King Robert makes a grand entrance into Winterfell. What were your initial impressions of the King and his retinue, including Cersei, Jamie, and Tyrion Lanister? What is the first indication of young Prince Joffrey's true nature? How would you describe him?

5. Metaphorically, what does it suggest that winter is approaching and is to last for decades.

6. Daenerys Targaryen has one of the most fascinating trajectories in the book (and in the entire series). Trace her development, from being under the thrall of her brother to her marriage to Khal Drogo. What are her initial feelings toward her husband and how do those feelings change? What does her survival of the funeral pyre and the birth of the dragons suggest, symbolically, about Daenerys?

7. Tyrion gradually becomes a central figure. How would you describe him and his position in the Lannister family?

8. Jon Snow also grows as a character when he goes to the Wall. How does he win the trust and admiration of the men? What does it suggest about the kind of young man he is? His loyalty is torn between his vows as a member of the Night Watch and his love for Robb Stark. What do you think of his decision to desert?

9. Originally, it seems readers are meant to take the side of the Stark family. But as the story develops, do you find yourself sympathizing with some members of the Lannister family...or other characters you might not have expected to like?

10. (Follow-up to Question 9)  Martin uses multiple viewpoints, allowing characters to be explored from different perspectives. Does that make a difference in how you have come to view them? In other words, is there a straight-line "good and evil" axis in this story?

11. What is the significance of the title? Why is winning the throne "a game"? What does the book suggest about the desire for power? Does anyone wish to use it for good? Or is the desire for power simply a matter of self-aggrandizement?

12. Talk about the medieval world Martin creates. How would you describe its culture, class divisions, living conditions, treatment of people, and the tournaments and trappings of chivalry for the wealthy? Does it feel real, if not realistic? Much of the writing is similar in style to historical fiction, but Martin has also added a layer of supernaturalism. Do the fantastic elements enhance the tale for you? Or do you find them unnecessary?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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