Book - 31, A Game of Thrones

A Game of Thrones (1996)

by

George R R Martin

Book Read: 05-14 October 2015

Note Written: 17 October 2015

Getting the whole set of 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series (5 books) for just Rs. 740 is perhaps one of the best deals I ever got. Thank you Flipkart, Ann (who lent me the money then), and Paulami (who received the order) for that. The sheer thickness of the books astounded me and I was wondering when and where will I find the time to read them all. Now that I have read the first book of the series, A Game of Thrones, I have discovered that it's no big deal, the language is as simple as it can get and the story is told straightforward - you don't need to work your brains a lot. You can just race through the books. 

When I was reading the book I became in awe of the TV series more and more - it's such a brilliant adaptation! The story is not much different from the book, at least the first one is not, just a bit more detailed, that's all. When you read through, you understand the scale and finesse at which the series was made - each character, each scene will appear in front of you - it's very easy to guide your imagination. They made Tyrion such a womanizer in the TV adaptation with added scenes in brothels and all and I wondered why, but then I realized that they were just playing showbiz - more skin, more controversy, more viewers, more money.

The narration, each chapter focusing a single character in his or her point of view is interesting, but the problem is that you wish while reading that some people you could just skip to reach other people. I wouldn't now know the fresh feeling of reading the book with its plenty of twists and turns since I am already familiar with the story. That's kind of sad I think. This is the problem when you come across adaptations and remakes - you constantly compare and lose the elements of freshness and surprise.

PS: I think R+L=J is true. Unless George R R Martin decides to deceive us or not tell us at all.