Emily B. (LibraryEm42) reviewed on 7/31/2010 + 26 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

I enjoyed this book and the rest of the series, with reservations.

I picked it up because I heard it was heavily inspired by the real-world Wars of the Roses, which sounded excellent. I'd also heard it praised for its unusual subtly, complexity, and worldbuilding.

I'll grant the second two. Even admitting that Martin has vastly simplified the conflicting web of feudal obligations and trade and economics*, there's a lot going on here. The story involves vast political upheavals in multiple kingdoms and scads of characters - and yes, most of them are relevant, because Martin shows how seemingly small decisions in one place ripple outward into huge events, as well as how much things that happened years ago still influence people's decisions in the present. I also loved the setup of the years-long seasons, the giant ice wall in the north keeping out the barbarian hordes, the mysterious Cold Ones, and the characters' knowledge that inevitably, Winter Is Coming. And it's going to be bad. Also, Martin undermines a few fantasy tropes, showing the dark side of those noble knights with their fancy armor. There are also lots of legends and songs about the old days, which contradict each other, but probably all have some truth in them, and it's fun trying to puzzle out exactly how they'll apply.

But I thought a lot of plot twists that so many people have praised as shocking and unexpected were dead obvious. Of course we know the spoiled noble in the prologue is going to bite it while patrolling past the Wall - I don't think that surprised anyone. But then, right at the beginning of the book, the Stark children find a litter of direwolves, conveniently with one cub for each child, and one pure-white cub for the bastard son just in case anyone forgot he didn't quite fit in. The cubs are next to their mother, who has a stag's antler through her throat. The direwolf is the symbol of House Stark, and the stag is the symbol of the royal House Baratheon. Gee, I wonder how this book is going to turn out? And that's even if you aren't looking for the Ricardian parallels, which make certain things even more dead obvious. That's the kind of "subtlety" I found throughout. Other mysteries and plot twists aren't solvable or guessable this early in the series, because we haven't (for instance) even heard of some of the characters involved yet, or other crucial information.

There are some bits more subtle than that, to be fair, and a lot of striking imagery. I tried looking at the story as not a surprise-twist adventure, but a tragedy all the more tragic because of its inevitability, which helped me enjoy it more.


*For a look at the real medieval world economy, check out Before European Hegemony: The World System 1250-1350. As for feudal obligations, I'll just note that you could swear fealty to multiple lords at the same time, with one designated as your "liege lord." This could make things very complicated if your lords started fighting.

Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details