A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire)

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 A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire)

Reviews of A Game of Thrones …

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 A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire)
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire)

A BOOK REVIEW…

I. General Description of the Book

Author

The writer of the book “A Game of thrones (A song of Ice and Fire) is George
R. R. Martin.

Born in 1948, fantasy writer George R. R. Martin grew up in Bayonne, New

Jersey. His first novel, Dying of the Light, debuted in 1977, and by the mid-
1980s he was also writing for television. In 1996 Martin published his first
installment of the A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series. He became a best-
selling author in 2005 with the fourth title of the series, A Feast for Crows,
paving the way for a widely celebrated HBO adaptation that premiered as
Game of Thrones in 2011.

A leading fantasy author, George R. R. Martin grew up in Bayonne, New Jersey,

where his world "was five blocks long." He may have spent his early years
staying close to home, but his imagination seemed to take him places. The
oldest of three children, Martin liked to watch offbeat and suspenseful
television shows, such as Thriller and The Twilight Zone.

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The son of a longshoreman, Martin started writing in elementary school. He

sold monster stories to other kids in his working-class neighborhood. During
his high school years, Martin moved on to other subjects. He started writing
fan fiction based on the comic books he adored and began creating new
superheroes as well. At Marist High School, a Catholic boys school, Martin
played on the chess team and worked on the school's newspaper.

After graduating in 1966, Martin went to Northwestern University where he

continued to pursue his passion for writing. He earned his bachelor's degree
in journalism in 1970 and then a master's degree in the same subject the
following year.

A conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, Martin worked with the
Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation as part of his alternative service
from 1973 to 1976. He then spent two years as a college professor at Clarke
College in Dubuque, Iowa.

The first installment of A Song of Ice and Fire may not have been an overnight
success, but the strong word of mouth boosted sales as the series progressed.
By the fourth volume, 2005's A Feast for Crows, Martin found his work at the
top of the best-sellers list.

 Genre

A Game of Thrones is the first novel in A Song of Ice and Fire, a series of
fantasy novels by the American author George R. R. Martin. It was fantastic
for it was like really true from what’s happening in the book. It was very
political as well as I read it.

 Title

A Game of Thrones (A song of Ice and Fire)

Why the first volume of the book series is named A Game of Thrones? Simply
because this is the main theme of this particular book. Power plays, intrigue,
deceit, and petty interests. The events of the first book are almost entirely
politically charged, for sure there are also psychological, moral and many
more fields, but ultimately the game is the focus.

Our professor told us to find a book, but much better if it is a novel. First book
comes to my mind was the Game of Thrones book because Game of Thrones
is one of my favorite TV show series. I was really moved by this story because
not only it was interesting but because of the lesson I’ve learned in this

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series. It opened my eyes in many different ways especially in terms of power,
friends, family, and politics.

 Preface/Introduction/Table of Contents

This book doesn’t have any preface. It starts with the picture of the map of
the North and the South. The prologue is actually told from the POV of a
character named Will, but he never shows up again in this book. And we’ll
just straight up to you that GRRM likes this structure: the Prologues of the
rest of the books in the series are all given through one character who then
doesn’t show up again.

The inside of the book tackles how power can do things easily, positively and
negatively.

The book has comments coming from different institutions such as the CEO
of Siemens,Unilever SVP of GE, author of New York Times etc., and those
comments serve as a sneak preview what would be the content of the book.
According to the comments I’ve read, Ibarra clears the myths about
leadership with her fresh profound, yet down to earth approach of her book
about the importance of action over introspection. This book also provides
insightful and practical advice about how to do the hardest thing of all –
change ourselves. By acting, as opposed to thinking, we can all become
leaders.

Moreover this book doesn’t have any other author aside from Ibarra. This
book contains five chapters, and every chapter there is a corresponding
summary for the key points being mentioned by the author. The chapters are
the subtopics of the author from her thesis topic on how to become an
effective leader in an organization. After the chapter 5, the author has a
concluding part stating how she started in an organization from the ranking
file up to the Execomm member.

You will also see the notes being used by the author coming from different
source. At the penultimate part of the book, it was written there the hardship
and process how does the book made possible. Lastly, at the end part of the
book, you may see the short profile of the author which makes her credible
to write a good book like this.

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 Book Jacket/Cover/Printing

About the cover of the book, as you can see it

is color blue because of the approaching
winter in the story aside from that according
to my research color blue is associated with
depth and stability it symbolizes trust,
intelligence, wisdom, harmony and truth
which is somehow connected to the story.

Another thing, upon reading the book you will know who to trust,
intelligence and wisdom is power, harmony and truth are important things
that you can acquire as a life lesson for the readers.

Aside from the color, another symbol used by the author is the sword which
symbolizes power, protection, authority, strength, and courage;
metaphysically, it represents discrimination and the penetrating power of the
intellect. It is a symbol of knighthood and chivalry. Sword is a constant theme
throughout the book.

II. Summary of the Content

 Characters

The point of view is third person limited omniscient, alternating between

eight different perspective characters. Within a single perspective chapter,
the narrator describes and comments on the perspective character’s thoughts
and feelings but never reveals knowledge of the thoughts and feelings of
other perspective characters. Thus the point of view is subjective depending
on the focal character.

 Themes/Motifs/Style

Talk about technique. GRRM definitely though this one through, he used a
limited omniscient view for each chapter, which means that we see
everything through one person’s point of view, but like over the shoulder. The
book is narrated by an anonymous third person narrator. Each chapter is
written from the limited omniscient perspective of one of eight characters,
meaning that the narrator only has knowledge of the perspective character’s
thoughts and experiences for the duration of the chapter. Each character has
a slightly different style of narration and perspective, indicating the
possibility of eight unique narrators. So we see what really happens, but we
kind of see it through that character’s biases. Having all of these character

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points of view lets us get really close to each of the character’s experience.
And because we have so many character perspectives, we can sympathize a
little with all of them. That’s what happens when you spend that much time
inside someone’s head.

 Argument

Game of Thrones got all the things you want in an epic fantasy novel
including knights, castles, war, barbarians, multiple god, made-up languages,
and even dragons. But it also has sex, murder, conspiracy, mutilation, incest,
rape, and worst of all, lice. So, if you picked up this book hoping for an escape
into an anxiety-free land of enchantment and chivalry, then you’re probably
going to be disappointed. A Game of Thrones may be fantasy, but it’s also very
real.

In the first book of A Song of Ice and Fire which is the A Game of Thrones
shows us that “Winter is Coming”, apparently many readers doesn’t really
what that truly means. Well, it simply means that the dead are coming which
are the White Walkers.

 Key Ideas

Power

A Game of Thrones is all about power. Where does power come from? And
what do people do with it? The biggest struggle in the book is the conflict
over political/royal power in the Seven Kingdoms; but power is also
portrayed through warfare, or even the supernatural. In A Game of Thrones,
power isn't anything close to absolute. Power is continually shifting and
changing, and even when you've got it, there's always someone else who's
ready to snatch it from you.

Betrayal

A Game of Thrones is chock-full of betrayals, treachery, and abandonment.

Even the people who are incredibly principled do their share of betraying,
but remember that betrayals are different than lies. In order to betray
someone, you have to have their trust first. So if there is a lot of betrayal in
the world of A Game of Thrones, that means there's also a lot of trust. In a
world where no one man can accomplish anything on his own, trust is hugely

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important, and that means betrayal is a major risk and a major pain in the
neck.

Family

Family is the basic unit for a lot of political decisions in A Game of Thrones. If
two men are fighting, it's rarely just an issue between two individuals. It's a
clash between two major houses and families. But this doesn't mean that all
families are totally in agreement. In-family fights range from sibling bickering
to, you know, Gregor Clegane trying to cut his brother's head off. Here's the
thing about family in this world, if your family decides not to accept you
because you're say, a dwarf, or not the first-born son, you might just get
kicked out of the family. It's not all family fun time, that's for sure.

Justice and Judgment

In a book where the good guys are usually the first to die, justice doesn't
seem to prevail. But this is what makes A Game of Thrones so engaging, the
good guys might lose out and the bad guys might never get their
comeuppance. In addition to the more universal concept of justice, individual
judgment is also central in this novel. In a world filled with betrayal, the
ability to see through lies and really understand the truth about people and
situations is a necessary skill.

Gender

Gender is a lot more constraining in A Game of Thrones than it is in our

world. The roles for men and women are pretty narrow, women are pretty
and nice and men are strong and capable of violence. At least, that's the way
things are supposed to be. But since it's a George R.R. Martin book, nothing
ever happens easily. Instead we're given a number of men and women who
push against the boundaries of the roles that society has given them, whether
it's tomboy Arya or sensitive Samwell. These characters don't always succeed
in changing the way society thinks about gender, but they do make us pay
attention to how rigid those gender roles really are.

 Quotes

“Ned closed his eyes and opened them; it made no difference. He slept and
woke and slept again. He did not know which was more painful, the waking
or the sleeping.”

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“There is only one god, death and there is only one thing you say to him, not
today.

“Syrio says that every hurt is a lesson, and every lesson makes you better”

“There is only one god, death and there is only one thing you say to him, not
today.”

-Syrio Forell”

― George R.R. Martin, A Song of Ice and Fire

III. Evaluation of the Text

Leadership is difficult but necessary. The achievement of good results requires the
willingness to confront challenges and guide yourself and your colleagues. As you
read fictional stories from George R.R. Martin’s series of novels, A Song of Ice and
Fire. The leadership decisions made by the characters in Game of Thrones
sometimes result in devastating consequences, but the characters who survive learn
how to improve their decisions and navigate risks more effectively.

The narrative in Game of Thrones is derived in part from myth (dragons, sorcery,
and the reanimated dead are all elements of the story) and in part from history. It
draws on and amplifies many past chronicles of leadership dilemmas and reversals.
What looks like a reasonable decision at first can result in trusting the wrong person
and being publicly executed.

As leaders, we have more capability to manage this tension than we may think —
especially if we can keep our perspective. In the first season of the series, Cersei
Lannister (queen of the seven kingdoms of Westeros, where most of the story takes
place) tells Ned Stark, “When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.
There is no middle ground.” The queen is wrong — both in her fictional world, and
in ours. There is a middle ground. It is the realm of thoughtful decision making, with
a full appreciation of other people’s values and beliefs.

IV. Conclusion and Recommendation

The world that George R.R. Martin created is fascinating and complex. He gives us
imaginative landscapes, complicated politics, multiple religions, powerful families,
tons of history, and even the seasons don't follow the same rules that we are used to.
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The writing is absolutely masterful! The book will expose you to a lot more richness
and depth to the characters and their stories as compared to the tv series which is
constrained by time. If you are a Game of Thrones TV show watcher considering
reading this book, you will not be disappointed either—there is plenty of
information that didn't make it into season 1, even though it's pretty faithful to the
main storylines.

The only people I wouldn't recommend this book to are those who have never read
fantasy before—it's not only a hefty book, but the rich writing takes some getting
used to as well. If you're up for the challenge—go for it. However, if you're used to
fast-paced contemporary reading—I would suggest easing into the genre with
something else. It also may not be the book for the fainthearted, since George R.R.
Martin doesn't shy away from violence, sex, and graphic descriptions. The book is a
Locus Award winner, World Fantasy Award and Nebula Award nominee for a reason.

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