Winter is Coming - Game of Thrones

Recently a friend of mine recommended the book series “Game of Thrones” to me. He said that it was pretty amazing, and since I’m really into the fantasy genre that I should try it out. Because I had nothing better to do at the time, I decided to try it out. So far (I haven’t finished it yet) I have both my likes and dislikes about the series.

Starting with the dislikes, I really think that it takes a little while to get into. The entire first half of the book is mainly character development, which is usually shortened into the first few chapters of other books. I realize that this is because it’s a massive, complex series of books with complicated characters and plots. But still, it’s annoying. So if you don’t persevere, you might get bored and quit. Aside from the character development, it seems like the first half of the book really lacks in epicness. Not much really “happens.” But then the author tries to make up for it by adding a ton of violence to the last half. It really makes for a story that is unbalanced. Another downside that I can see in the story is the confusion that one might feel at the beginning. The chapters are marked at the beginning as to whom the point of view is from, but switching from family to family is confusing, especially if these families happen to be fighting each other.

               There are a lot of things about the story that I like, though. The swashbuckling action that’s common in all fantasy stories is present in GoT, too, even if it takes a little longer to get into it. And boy, when the ball gets rolling it stays rolling. It’s pretty hard to find a dull moment in the last half of the story. And because of the character development in the beginning, you can find yourself getting really attached to the characters. You really end up “feeling” for the characters.

               Something else about the series that I thought was weird was the TV series. They tried really hard to make a good television show, but I really did not like it. They tried too hard to make it look realistic, when it’s obviously not. But they do have some really nice actors, and it’s nice to have on in the background if you just want to make noise.

                                                                                                                                       Winter is coming!

                                                                                                                                       Matthew Finley