Sara's Library: A Game of Thrones

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
Book one of A Song of Ice and Fire
Bantam 1996
Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel 1997, World Fantasy Award for Best Novel Nominee 1997, Nebula Award for Best Novel Nominee 1997
A

Summary from Goodreads: "Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.

As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.

The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne."

Spanning more than 800 pages and nearly a dozen POV characters, this first installment of Mr. Martin's epic can appear a bit daunting.  As one begins to wade through the tome, it can be difficult at first to keep track of the various characters and their factions, especially when there are several common names (Robert, Brandon, Jon) used for more than one character.  Due to this, it might be good to have some familiarity with the characters before reading, but it's not absolutely necessary.

There are three major plot threads in this first installment, all of which are left to be concluded in later volumes.  The main plot consists of Eddard Stark moving from his northern seat at Winterfell to the southern capital, where he becomes the chief advisor to his long-time friend King Robert.  Eddard becomes embroiled in a conspiracy when he uncovers information about Robert's wife and heirs and must ultimately choose whether to speak the truth and lose his position, or remain silent and lose his honor.  

The second plot thread involves the heirs of the deposed king, Viserys and Daenerys, who live in exile.  When Daenerys is wed to Khal Drogo, the leader of a Hun-like army, the two hope to travel back to Westeros and regain the throne stolen from them.  But the khal is slow to act, and a feud develops between him and Viserys.

Finally, in the far north, the dead have been coming back to life...

Even with its prodigious length, that's a lot to cram into one book, and yet it never reads like an info-dump.  Information is given carefully throughout the book, always incorporated organically in conversation.  The writing is realistic and straightforward; however, there is a sense of repetition with the writing.  It wouldn't suit the tale told here to have flowery writing, but perhaps a thesaurus would be a good investment for Mr. Martin.

The world-building and character development are definitely the strengths of the work.  While the regions and countries can be reconciled with those in our own world, the inclusion of dragons, dark magic, and the old gods give this tale of political maneuvering more flavor than an historical novel might have.  I've read that each new installment increases the amount of fantasy elements, so I'm interested to see how the elements already present are expanded.

With its emphasis on the history of Westeros, I'm reminded a bit of Tolkien, though there are no linguistic exercises here, and the tale is far grimmer, even without one ring to rule them all.  Winter is coming, after all.

Sara's Library: Stardust

Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Original publication: Avon Books 1998
This edition: William Morrow 2006
Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel Nominee 1999
Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature 1999
A-

In a village called Wall, so named for the wall between our world and that of the faeries situated nearby, a Faerie Market is held every nine years.  In 1839, Dunstan Thorn goes to the market to procure a gift for his love, Daisy.  After purchasing a crystal flower from one stall, he ends up having intimate relations with the stall-girl.  He marries Daisy shortly after the market, and in February the next year, a baby boy (presumably the result of his tryst with the stall-girl) is left at their doorstep.

Seventeen years later, the boy, Tristran, foolishly tells his heart's desire that he will find and claim a fallen star, which the two had seen fall earlier, as a gift for her.  He enters the world of Faerie and soon discovers that the star is not a dead space-rock, as we would expect, but a living, breathing girl named Yvaine -- though it should be mentioned that were she to ever cross the wall she would  become a space-rock.  Although at first Tristran intends to give Yvaine to Victoria, his ladylove, during the course of their travels he comes to view Yvaine as a person, not an object.

Two other characters in pursuit of the star round out the cast: a witch who wishes to gain immortality by snatching the star's heart, and the Lord of Stormhold, who is searching for a lost topaz in the star's possession.  The various encounters between the protagonists and these two account for most of the tension in the novel.

The two protagonists, Tristran and Yvaine, are both written rather believably and often have snappy dialogue, as is usual for characters attributed to Mr. Gaiman.  In the hands of a less capable writer, the story would have seemed too far-fetched and easily become asinine drivel.  But even the non-fantasy reader should be able to enjoy this tale, styled after the early fantasy novels of the Victorian era, yet accessible to modern readers by avoiding overly long and overly dry passages.

I will say that when I first read this I was not at all in the mood for a breezy fantasy, so I do caution potential readers to be in the right frame-of-mind when choosing this title.  Stardust isn't groundbreaking, but it is a beautiful homage to fantasies of the past.