Book Ramble/Review - 'A Game of Thrones (1)'

A friend of mine has read most of the books written by George RR Martin from the A Game of Thrones (AGOT) series and would often mention it to me. It didn't take long for me to download the first book, A Song of Ice and Fire, on to my kindle and start making my way through it. It took me a couple of weeks to finish, which I eventually did yesterday. I know a few people follow the TV programme based on these books, but I personally haven't got around to watching it myself. 

This book is quite different from other books that I've previously read, and to begin with I was unsure whether it would be able to hold my interest. Although when I started reading, I was quickly drawn in to the characters and the stories within this book and found myself pleasantly surprised. 

This book, along with the others from the AGOT series, is described as an epic fantasy novel. Here's a description of the book, which I've taken from amazon; 

"Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.

Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones"

As you can probably see from the above this book has many different themes within it. There's quite a bit of violence, and it can be pretty heavy going, but despite it being something I'd not normally pick up I really did enjoy it. I think it's extremely well written which definitely helped me to get stuck in and want to continue reading. I did find that I had to be in the mood to read this book and make sure I was giving it my undivided attention as there are a variety of different characters within the story, so it's easy to get a bit confused and wonder who's who! At the end of the book theres a handy bit which lists all the characters within the houses which is helpful.

I like that each chapter or so is from one of the various character's view point as it allows you to explore the story fully. Also as there's a lot going on, it becomes more manageable and ties together nicely. I think I'll go for a couple of lighter reads before I tackle the second book. 

I'd love to hear what you think if you've read or are reading any of the AGOT books :)