Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire

Since I find it easier to say 'Game of Thrones' instead of 'Song of Ice and Fire', I will be referring the the saga as Game of Thrones for this post.

I have read the first four novels and seen the first two season of the TV show now.  I am fairly familiar with the on going saga of Game of Thrones.

A little while ago I saw someone on Facebook asking why Game of Thrones fans like the saga so much.  I should have read her full post, but was busy at the time.  Most likely she is one of those who has issues with the more intense nature of the stories.

I want to make it very clear, Game of Thrones IS NOT FOR EVERYONE.

I am enjoying the truly epic saga that is there, but I very much would NOT openly recommend the books or TV show to people. I know some people I think would enjoy it all, but I know many who would dislike it and wonder what was wrong with me for liking it. It is intense and a bit much for many people. You have rape, murder, incest, gore and so much more that is disturbing and I can very much see why there are those who would be extremely uncomfortable with these elements in their stories.

I will however answer the question to why I enjoy Game of Thrones.

To start with I really enjoy not knowing what is going to happen. I love the fact that you cannot count on any character surviving. Normally you read a story and you can make safe bets as to who will make it to the end and who is there just so the author can kill them off.  With Game of Thrones all bets are off. So many characters who felt like they were important and would make it through to the end have been killed of. So many people watching the TV show got upset over the Red Wedding (Some claiming it ruined their lives as they cursed Martin for having written it), I thought it was brilliant in that you could not see it coming.  It hits you hard and doesn't let up. For me that is good story telling.  Anyone can write a story where the obvious hero survives and does good and save the day and all that.  Such a simple story is not what Game of Thrones is all about.

Then there are the great characters.  There is a reason why Peter Dinklage has been winning awards and receiving high praise for his portrayal of Tyrion Lannister.  It is a powerful, complex character. Dinklage's talent takes that character and makes it stand out in a sea of powerful, complex characters, but the power of the character is what allowed for Dinaklage to get noticed. If you watch the show you see that there are many powerful characters and if not for the powerful performance by Dinklage, the other actors might be getting those awards as there are many great performances for these powerful characters. It is one of the main reason why there is such an impact when these characters die. You don't care about the fate of weak, uninteresting characters.

So for those who can handle the level of intense writing, I would recommend Game of Thrones.  They are long books and it may be some time before we get the last two books, but it is an intense ride.

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