A Song
of Fire and Ice
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A Song
of Fire and Ice
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A Game of Thrones
by
George R. R. Martin
The first volume in Martin's first fantasy saga, A Song of Ice and Fire, combines intrigue, action, romance, and mystery in a family saga. The family is the Starks of Winterfell, a society in crisis due to climatic change that has created decades-long seasons, and a society almost without magic but with human perversity abundant and active. Martin reaches a new plateau in terms of narrative technique, action scenes, and integrating (or not injecting) his political views into the story. He does not avoid a dauntingly large cast and a daunting number of viewpoint shifts, but these are problems seemingly inseparable from the multivolume fantasy genre. Accordingly, one doubts there will be any other comfortable entry point into this example of the genre except at the beginning. Judging by this beginning, however, it promises to repay reading and rereading, from first volume to last, on account of its literacy, imagination, emotional impact, and superb world-building. |
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A Clash of Kings
by
George R. R. Martin
In the sequel to A Game of Thrones, Martin skillfully limns the complicated, bitter politics of an inbred aristocracy, among whom an 11-year-old may be a bride, a ward, or a hostage, depending on the winds of war. Each of four men pronounces himself the rightful king, and the land of Westeros shudders with battles and betrayals. The dark, crisp plotting will please fans of the layered intrigues of Dorothy Dunnett or Robert Graves, and Graves' Claudius is echoed by the character of Queen Cersei's dwarf brother, Tyrion. Other notable characters are crippled eight-year-old Bran; Melisandre, a beautiful, menacing priestess; and Ser Davos, who won knighthood breaking a siege with a boatload of dried fish. Over all hover the threats of decades-long winter and the rebirth of the loathsome, magical Old Powers. Aided by an appendix of kings and their courts, Clash can be enjoyed on its own, though many then may retreat to Game, reread Clash, and impatiently await more of Westeros. |
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A Storm of Swords
by
George R. R. Martin
Here is the third volume in George R. R. Martin’s magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings. As a whole, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, bringing together the best the genre has to offer. Magic, mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure fill these pages and transport us to a world unlike any we have ever experienced. Already hailed as a classic, George R. R. Martin’s stunning series is destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction. Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey, of House Lannister, sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the land of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, the victim of the jealous sorceress who holds him in her evil thrall. But young Robb, of House Stark, still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Robb plots against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister hostage at King’s Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world.... But as opposing forces maneuver for the final titanic showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost line of civilization. In their vanguard is a horde of mythical Others--a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords. . . |
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A Feast for Crows
by
George R. R. Martin
This book will be published in April 2003. You may pre-order it now. |
