Book Review: A Song of Ice and Fire (books 1 through 5)

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin

Books: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, A Dance with Dragons

*Spoiler Alert* If you have read at least most of the series you are safe. A few points I make may reveal the fate of some characters.


I have to approach this book series very carefully. There are aspects of this book series that are absolutely fantastic, and then there are parts of this book series that made me want to throw up after reading.

This is an extremely well written series. Martin shows a depth in his characters that most authors will never achieve. While reading A Game of Thrones, you develop certain opinions about different characters (Ned Stark and Jaime Lannister, for example). But once you make it to A Clash of Kings, you realize that his characters are not just one-dimensional. Each character (except maybe Petyr Baelish) has aspects that you love about him/her and aspects that you hate. Even the despicable Cersei Lannister has a love for her children that every parent would understand.

There are certain characters that you love more than any other, however. Daenerys, Jon Snow, and Tyrion are by far my favorite characters in the series. It is obvious that Martin thoroughly enjoys writing from Tyrion's perspective. He should, by all accounts, be dead, but he continues to sweet-talk himself back into the world of the living with hilarious flourish and promises of Lannister wealth.

The plot line complexities are astounding. The number of characters and the way that he twists them into such a dynamic story is impressive. When I think about how he is going to write the last two books, I can't imagine what kind of notes he must have to keep all of the different story lines straight in his head. Even just how he keeps you wondering about the identity of Jon Snow's mother throughout the series is enough to convince you to keep reading.

However, this is definitely adult fiction. I do not recommend children or teenagers read this series. The violence in the fantasy realm is to be expected, for the most part, (the Bolton family is a truly disturbing character group to consider), but many of the sexual encounters had me skipping entire sections. It was difficult as a Christian to read because of the filth he includes. There were many times I put it down and refused to read it for days or weeks because of its content. The only reason I picked it back up was because I plan on one day writing a fantasy novel and I felt I needed to read his work to appreciate the contemporaries in the genre. My only theories are that he wants to point out the abuses women suffer in male-dominated society...or that Martin is just a perverted old man intent on marketing this as ADULT fiction. Either way, I warn strongly against the sexual content in this book series. If, however, you can skip passages without qualms and ignore the occasional offhand sexual comment, this book may still be worth reading.

Another issue I had with this book was that it doesn't have much of a purpose. It is a fun story to read, and you never know where the next page might take you, but I didn't feel particularly challenged in my views about anything. Good writing is supposed to make you think about things in a different light and wrestle with issues. This book series has thus far not challenged or made me question my beliefs on anything great or small. Other than pointing out that men, all men, are fallible, there isn't much to think about, even with the inclusion of subjects like slavery and religion. I prefer to read books that make me want to change, and this book series just didn't do that.

I think one of the greatest absurdities of this series was the title given to Martin as "the Tolkien of America." Whoever said that had absolutely no appreciation of Tolkien, especially of the fact that he wrote Christian fantasy. Martin is a great writer, but I think even he was insulted by this comment because although they both write/wrote fantasy, their goals and intentions with their books as well as their writing styles are completely different, to the point of almost being opposite.

My biggest question about the series: Where is Rickon? And Shaggydog? I feel that they will be an integral part of the twists and turns of the plot in the end of this Game of Thrones.