So, I just finished A Game of Thrones, and find myself in the
uncomfortable position of wanting to run out and tell everyone they
absolutely must read this book I just read, but knowing they'll look at
me and ask "where were you 10 years, five books and a miniseries ago?"
Late
to the party. Which I don't generally mind, but when you find a book
that you absolutely love and want to become evangelical about, but
everyone has already read it...it's a little disappointing.
But
on the other hand, I have to say that A Game of Thrones transcended the
hype that has surrounded it for the last year. Having watched the first
five episodes of the series, knowing some of what was going to happen
(thanks a bunch, internet spoilers!), this book still wrapped me up in
its story and took me along for the ride.
(And given my lack of a
visual imagination, having actors' faces to attach to characters
actually helped me keep track of this sprawling cast a great deal.)
This
was a book that I looked up from and blinked, dazed, every once in a
while, expecting the world around me to have changed, just a little bit,
in response to the vast changes that were happening within it.
So
what can I say that hasn't already been said? It has a sprawling but
complex and appealing cast of characters? That the shifts in narrative
voice were interesting and always kept me reading (but I was always
hoping another Tyrion, Arya or Dany chapter would come along soon)?
That the geopolitical machinations of a realm are expertly navigated,
and I never felt entirely lost?
At any rate, there is just this:
if you're where I was two weeks ago, and you've never read A Game of
Thrones. Do. For the rest of you: yeah, yeah, you were right. I should
have read this years ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment