Written by George R.R. Martin, published in 1996. Summary and review.

The book that started a cultural phenomenon. A Game of Thrones is the first book in the Song of Ice and Fire series and, of course, book that was adapted to the Silver Screen (maybe it’s Bronze as it was made for TV?). George R.R. Martin takes us on a deep and intricate journey through the lands of Westeros, Kings, Queens, Knights, Dwarves, Magic, Dragons, and so much more.

Now as I’ve seen the TV show 3 times through, this was a very easy to follow… though can imagine for anyone that has not (and frankly do they even exist) this could be cumbersome and complicated. That said, I was curious to see how this book matches up to the TV series. And I’ll just say, in one of only a few examples you could probably count on one hand, the show mirrors the book basically word for word, shot for shot. So unfortunately from my own personal standpoint, there was nothing gained by reading this book other than get a feel for how Martin’s writing and storytelling are done, straight from his perspective.

Unlike the show, and perhaps because I read this in only a few days, the stories of individual characters did not feel out of place. I wasn’t left wondering for very long, what is happening with Cersei, or Tyrion, or Jon Snow.

I felt as though Martin did a masterful job (unique take, I know) diving into each character while managing to continue the over-arching story as we jump from character to character. A skill I can imagine that is very hard to master.

Again, as every has seen the show there is no need to dive into the story elements here. If you’ve seen the show, you’ve read the book. You get all the backstabbing, blood, gore, trickery, and plotting of Castle Black, House Lannister, and all the characters we know and love (at least until the books ended and the TV did it’s own thing… but I digress).

I’m curious, though hesitant, to see how the subsequent books vary (if at all) from the show but as A Game of Thrones is essentially identical to the show I’m less enthused to continue with this series. I THINK I know where this goes from here… and of course the series is still not complete as Martin has spent years “finishing” the story it may simply have to sit on the backburner for me to consider continuing.

If you haven’t seen the show, you should probably just watch the show. HBO did a masterful job adapting this book to the screen and again is one of few examples where the show is better than the book (up to a point anyway).

TLDR: An intricate story, masterfully woven among many, many characters each with their own motives and secrets. Martin created a vast world, landscape, and hint of magic and wonder while also doing a fantastic job explaining his vision via written word. This would be a perfect book if the show didn’t exist and thus it does lose a star. Would Recommend. 4/5 Stars.