A Song of Ice and Fire: Fire and Blood Author: George R. R. Martin Publisher: HarperVoyager Rating: 4/5
I’m an ardent follower of GoT (the show) but have always wanted to read GRR’s books. With such meticulous plotting and planning to detail, it is quite obvious to fall in awe of the creator of this marvellous fantasy world. Hence, when I tried reading A Song of Ice and Fire, I knew I was trapped within this cobweb of prejudices and bigotry for donkey’s years. While the writing style is praiseworthy owing to the simplicity and exemplary choice of words, the plotline is something that might put the readers, who are new to this world of iron throne, in a quandary. A Song of Ice and Fire traces the rise of the Targaryen Dynasty throughout Westeros. Right from Aegon to his descendent Ageon III, this prequel to GoT invites a plethora of kings and queens who collude with each other and with their opponents to get what they think will give them power over others. With (again) a lot of incestuous relationships, balmy gore, brutal murders, unwanted death and unanticipated plot twists, the narrative was totally in control. A bombshell was dropped mostly every time you would come to grips with the present situation. And then there were the dragons. Humongous. Easy on the eye. Formidable.
Laced with contemptuous humour, the facetious dialogues often urged me to do a double take, for I was often lost in the sensory overload that the luscious descriptions provided. Belittling each other, seducing for personal gains, playing mind games, thinking politically and debating about the eventual punishment for the one who loses form the main motifs in this massive storyline. I will be honest here though. The length of the book is scary. For all the die-hard fans who have been holding onto their seats for a long long time to get the answers to some very trivial questions, this book is a treasure trove of knowledge. But I couldn’t register and remember most of the details. I had to flip back often and use my annotation techniques at their best.
Nevertheless, I cannot take away the credit that GRR deserves. It’s like he lives in this magical realm of power, lust, violence, politics and god-complex. He lives there as a fly on the wall and his narrative, even if he uses historical chronicler Archmaester Gyldayn, shows by telling it all so perfectly.
Do I need to even mention that this book deserves to be read? I think not.
Buy this book from here: Amazon