Saturday, April 27, 2013

Kernel's Library: The Beast And Badass Of All High Fantasies

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin Book 00089: A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Title:
- A Game of Thrones

First Publication:
- 6th August 1996 by Bantam Spectra


Trivia:
- A television series adaptation is popularly celebrated by fans and is currently aired at HBO.
- Each of the book's chapter is focused on the third person limited point of view of one character. - Aside from the minor character's point of view in the prologue, the book has eight main characters' point of view.
- The book has a limited edition published in 2000 by Meisha Merlin, featuring intricate illustrations by Jeffrey Jones.
- This book belongs in A Song of Ice and Fire series, which has seven book all in all. Only five books have been published at the moment with he sixth, entitled The Winds of Winter, coming soon.


Awards:
- Winner of 1997 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel
- Nominated for 1997 World Fantasy Award Best Novel
- Winner of 1997 Hugo Award for Best Novella for Blood of the Dragon
- Nominated for 1997 Nebula Award Best Novel
- Winner of 2003 Ignotus Award for Best Foreign Novel




I have to admit I am a late comer to this book series. But the moment I started reading this fantastic story, I fell in love to it right away. Aside from a great story, George R. R. Martin's writing skills hooked me to the very end.

These are some of the reasons -- and more -- why millions of fans love A Song of Ice and Fire books so dearly. We may have read a few similar plots somewhere, but it feels so original. The mythologies, histories and backstories are so well-crafted, making you think Martin lives in his created world rather in this one where we unfortunate souls lived on.

If you haven't read the books yet, A Game of Thrones in particular, better start now. Before the world ends, because winter is definitely coming.

Plot Synopsis


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 a master of contemporary fantasy comes the first novel of a landmark series unlike any you’ve ever read before. With A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin has launched a genuine masterpiece, bringing together the best the genre has to offer. Mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure fill the pages of this magnificent saga, the first volume in an epic series sure to delight fantasy fans everywhere.

Grade: A+

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