Game of Thrones by George R Martin
First of all I'd like to apologise for the lack of posts recently. Hopefully the next three will make up for that! I've been working a lot lately and so have had limited time.
George R Martin is the greatest living author as far as fiction is concerned. Not only does Game of Thrones have romance, violence, incest and themes of fantasy and darkness, it is one of my all time favourite novels. Yes, it is a long read and yes, there are a ridiculous amount of characters to remember, but setting aside these two aspects, I believe anyone dedicated enough can enjoy the hell out of this novel. The main families followed in the novel are the Starks and the Lannisters.
The Starks are represented by a direwolf and at the beginning of the novel the family come across a few direwolf cubs that they take in. The father of the house, Eddard (known also as Ned) is married to a woman named Catelyn and they have children (in order of descending age) named Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon. Ned has also fathered a bastard that goes by the name of Jon Snow, but his mother is not mentioned very much as she holds painful memories for Eddard.
The Lannisters are a family represented by the symbol of a lion and they are a royal family. Queen Cersei Lannister is married to a man named Robert, who is King of the land. Cersei has two brothers named Jaime (the Kingslayer) and Tyrion (known as the Imp or Dwarf due to his lack of height). The Lannisters are an arrogant family and Cersei is known for being a cruel woman that despises most of the characters in the novel.
If you're looking for a novel filled with action, adventure, romance, revenge, incest, battles, wars, love, hate and a lot of other things then seriously consider reading this novel. I have "Clash of Kings", the second book of the "Song of Ice and Fire" series reserved at my local library and cannot wait to get started on it. This is one of the best novels I have ever read and if you can't commit yourself to reading the entire series then at least watch the television programme. I myself plan to watch it after reading the full series of this amazing and simply mystifying series of novels.
