Long Ago, in a place far from here, four families are swept up in the Game of Thrones, vying for power. There is a wall in the north where men take the oath of the black, to protect the kingdom from the Others and the children of the forest. Winter is returning to a land that has known summer for ten years and the kingdom is swinging out of balance. Trust no one because you don't know who is your friend or enemy and all is fair when you play the game of thrones.
The dragons have been dead for over a hundred years, and the people who ruled alongside them decimated, except for two young heirs, who pine for retribution. The current King, Robert Baratheon is a unhappy, heavy drinking womanizer with bratty kids. His wife hates him and wants him dethroned or dead. The Hand of the King is Ned Stark of Winterfall. Ned has a lovely family consisting of a wife, four sons, one a bastard, and two daughters. Stark's eldest daughter is betrothed to the King's heir to the throne. The Stark coat of arms is a gray Direwolf on a ice white field. A Game of Thrones opens with the Stark children finding a family of Direwolf pups, near their home of Winterfell, one for each child.
A Game of Thrones is an epic fantasy that is full of adventure, creative characters, sword fighting, romance, mystery and so much more. I loved the inclusion of dragon lore, the fantastical creations of animals and human like creatures. A Game of Thrones has a medieval feel with jousting, sword-fighting and good old fashioned beheadings. The castles are full of hidden nooks and creepy crannies and halls that echo with voices of conspiracy. Oh, it is so much fun to read on a dark winter night.
My favorite characters are Ned Stark, his daughter Arya Stark, Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf and the dragon princess, Daenerys. I also loved the direwolves, especially Ghost. Of course Martin kills off one of my favorite characters and I am still in shock about it. How could he kill off one of the best characters? The are plenty of characters you love to hate and hate to love and many who fight for their story to be told. I cannot wait to continue reading this amazing saga.
