A Game of Thrones

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This article is about the novel. For the TV series, see Game of Thrones. For derivative works of the same name, see A Game of Thrones (disambiguation).
A Game of Thrones
LC Class
PS3563.A7239 G36 1996
Followed byA Clash of Kings 

A Game of Thrones is the first novel in

New York Times Bestseller[4] and reached No. 1 on the list in July 2011.[5]

In the novel, recounting events from various

several games. It is also the namesake and basis for the first season of Game of Thrones, an HBO television series that premiered in April 2011. A paperback TV tie-in re-edition was published in March 2013, titled Game of Thrones.[6]

Plot

A Game of Thrones follows three principal storylines simultaneously.

In the Seven Kingdoms

Upon the death of Lord

Lysa believes he was poisoned by Robert's wife Queen Cersei Lannister and her family. Shortly thereafter, Ned's son Bran discovers Cersei having sex with her twin brother Jaime Lannister
, who throws Bran from the tower to conceal their affair, leaving him comatose and paralyzing his legs.

Ned leaves his castle

King's Landing, bringing along his daughters Sansa and Arya
. Upon arriving in King's Landing to take his post as Hand, Ned finds that Robert is an ineffective king whose only interests are hunting, drinking, and womanizing.

At Winterfell, an assassin attempts to kill Bran while he is unconscious, and Ned's wife

Bronn to defend him in trial by combat
.

Ned investigates Jon Arryn's death and eventually discovers that Robert's legal heirs, including Joffrey, are in fact Cersei's children by Jaime, and that Jon Arryn was killed to conceal his discovery of their incest. Ned offers Cersei a chance to flee before he informs Robert, but she uses this chance to arrange Robert's death in a hunting “accident” and install Joffrey on the throne. Ned prepares to send his daughters away from King's Landing and enlists Littlefinger's help to challenge Joffrey's claim; but Littlefinger betrays him, resulting in Ned's arrest. Arya escapes the castle, but Sansa is taken hostage by the Lannisters.

Ned's eldest son Robb marches his army south in response to his father's arrest, and in order to relieve the threat on the riverlands. To secure a strategically necessary bridge crossing, Catelyn negotiates a marital alliance between Robb and the notoriously unreliable House Frey. Robb defeats a Lannister army in the riverlands, capturing Jaime. Tywin sends Tyrion back to King's Landing to act as Hand of the King to Joffrey. When Ned is executed, Robb's followers declare the north's independence from the Seven Kingdoms, proclaiming Robb "King in the North".

On the Wall

The

wildlings
" who live north of the Wall.

Jeor Mormont, making him a potential successor to Mormont. Benjen fails to return from an expedition north of the Wall. Six months later, the dead bodies of two men from his party are recovered; these re-animate as undead wights
before being dispatched by Jon.

When word of his father's execution reaches Jon, he attempts to join Robb against the Lannisters, but is persuaded to remain loyal to the Watch. Mormont then declares his intention to march north to find Benjen, dead or alive, and to investigate rumors of a "King-beyond-the-Wall" uniting the wildlings.

Across the narrow sea

Across the sea to the east of Westeros live the exiled prince

Dothraki people, in exchange for the use of Drogo's army to reclaim the throne of Westeros. Illyrio Mopatis, a wealthy merchant who has been supporting the penniless Targaryens, gives Daenerys three petrified dragon eggs as a wedding gift. Jorah Mormont
, a knight exiled from Westeros, joins Viserys as an adviser. Initially terrified of her new husband and his people, Daenerys eventually embraces her role as Drogo's "khaleesi ". Drogo, however, shows little interest in conquering Westeros, and an impatient Viserys tries to browbeat his sister into coercing Drogo. When Viserys publicly threatens Daenerys and her unborn child, Drogo executes him by pouring molten gold on his head.

An assassin seeking King Robert's favor attempts to poison Daenerys, finally convincing Drogo to conquer Westeros. While sacking villages to fund the invasion of Westeros, Drogo is badly wounded, and Daenerys commands the captive

persistent vegetative state
.

With Drogo completely incapacitated and unable to lead, much of the Dothraki army disperses. Daenerys smothers Drogo with a pillow and has Mirri tied to Drogo's funeral pyre. She places her three dragon eggs on the pyre and enters it herself. When the fire burns out, she emerges unharmed, with three newly hatched dragons. Awe-struck, Jorah and the remaining Dothraki swear allegiance to her.

Themes

Throughout the novel, characters are often faced with decisions that match one redeemable trait against another. The Guardian outlines characters who are frequently "forced to choose between their love for those close to them and the greater interests of honour, duty and the realm."[7] In Westeros, Ned ultimately decides to venture south with Robert, leaving much of his family in Winterfell. At the Wall, Jon wrestles with the predicament of joining his half-brother Robb in rebellion or staying with his sworn brothers in the Night's Watch. Daenerys has issue with the Dothraki treatment of those they conquered in Essos. These conflicts characters encounter oftentimes reflect inconsistent decision making. Catelyn initially is overwhelmed by grief and does not leave Bran's bedside while he is comatose, ignoring her political responsibilities, choosing family over duty. But soon after, Catelyn leaves Bran and her family for King's Landing to inform Ned of potential Lannister treason, effectively displaying a more duty fulfilling role. Family, duty, and honor play major roles in conflicts that arise in the story arc, and qualities traditionally categorized as noble oppose each other in resolution. Character decision conflicts and consequence analysis are particular to how Martin wants to portray fantasy.[8][original research?][neutrality is disputed]

Martin characteristically deviates from the traditional fantasy model and clear-cut lines of good versus evil. Martin reflects: "I think the battle between good and evil is fought largely within the individual human heart, by the decisions that we make. It's not like evil dresses up in black clothing and you know, they're really ugly".[8] This viewpoint characterizes the book and is evident in the actions of several different families which frequently have conflicts with each other. The Starks' and Lannisters' conflict is a central component of the novel, and the reader receives points of view from both sides. Likewise, Daenerys' storyline develops around the Targaryen's upheaval in Westeros, in which the Starks played a significant role. Martin argues:

Having multiple viewpoints is crucial to the grayness of the characters. You have to be able to see the struggle from both sides, because real human beings in a war have all these processes of self-justification, telling ourselves why what we're doing is the right thing.[9]

Viewpoint characters

Each chapter concentrates on the

point of view
of a single character; the book presents the perspective of eight main characters. Additionally, a minor character provides the prologue. Chapter headings indicate the perspective.

  • Prologue: Will, a man of the
    Night's Watch
    .
  • Lord
    Winterfell
    , Hand of the King.
  • Lady
    House Tully
    , wife of Eddard Stark.
  • Sansa Stark, elder daughter of Eddard and Catelyn Stark.
  • Arya Stark, younger daughter of Eddard and Catelyn Stark.
  • Bran Stark, middle son of Eddard and Catelyn Stark.
  • Jon Snow, illegitimate son of Eddard Stark.
  • Tyrion Lannister, a dwarf, brother of the twins Queen Cersei and Jaime, son of Lord Tywin Lannister.
  • Princess
    Aerys and sister of Aerys's heir Viserys
    .

In the later books, certain viewpoint characters are added while others are removed.

Writing

Martin acknowledges several authors who lent their time and expertise during the writing of the novel:

Laura Mixon.[10]

Editions

The HarperCollins/Voyager 1996 edition was the British first edition. Its official publication date was earlier than that of the US Bantam edition, but Bantam went to print several months earlier to hand out copies at the American Booksellers Association (ABA).

Meisha Merlin published a limited edition of the book, fully illustrated by Jeffrey Jones.[11]

Adaptations

Main article: Works based on A Song of Ice and Fire

A Game of Thrones and the subsequent novels in the A Song of Ice and Fire series have been adapted into an HBO television series, a comic book series, several card games, board games, video games, and other media.

Reception

A Game of Thrones has received critical acclaim. Lauren K. Nathan of the

San Diego Union-Tribune, called Martin's writing "strong and imaginative, with plenty of Byzantine intrigue and dynastic struggle", and compared it to Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time books, "though much darker, with no comedy or romance to relieve the nastiness."[16]

On November 5, 2019, the

100 most influential novels.[17]

Awards and nominations

  • Locus Award – Best Novel (Fantasy) (Won) – (1997)
  • World Fantasy Award – Best Novel (Nominated) – (1997)
  • Hugo Award – Best Novella for Blood of the Dragon (Won) – (1997)
  • Nebula Award – Best Novel (Nominated) – (1997)
  • Ignotus Award
    – Best Novel (Foreign) (Won) – (2003)

References

  1. ^ Martin, George R.R. "The Long Game...of Thrones". Not a Blog. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  2. ^ a b "1997 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Archived from the original on 2009-07-09. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  3. ^ "2004 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Archived from the original on 2009-07-09. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  4. ^ Taylor, Ihsan (2 January 2011). "The New York Times Bestseller List". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 January 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
  5. ^ Taylor, Ihsan (10 July 2011). "The New York Times Bestseller List". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
  6. ^ "Coming Next Month". George R.R. Martin. February 13, 2013. Archived from the original on February 17, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  7. ^ Walter, Damien G. (26 July 2011). "George RR Martin's fantasy is not far from reality". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 2012-04-09. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
  8. ^
    ISSN 0040-781X. Archived
    from the original on 2012-04-27. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
  9. ^ "Locus Online: George R.R. Martin interview excerpts". www.locusmag.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-18. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
  10. ^ Martin, George R. R. (1996). Game of Thrones (2016 Mass Market Tie-in ed.). p. 836.
  11. ^ a b c Martin, George R. R. "FAQ – George R.R. Martin". Archived from the original on September 12, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2019 – via georgerrmartin.com.
  12. ^ Nathan, Lauren K. (November 10, 1996). "'Game of Thrones' fit for a king". The Associated Press.
  13. ^ Perry, Steve (October 13, 1996). "Writer leaves TV to create epic fantasy". The Oregonian.
  14. ^ Riskind, John S. (July 28, 1996). "Science Fiction & Fantasy". The Washington Post.
  15. ^ Eisenstein, Phyllis (August 11, 1996). "Near the frozen north, where dragons awaken". Chicago Sun-Times.
  16. ^ Prior, John (September 12, 1995). "Chilling 'Decline' a feminist vision of confrontation between the sexes". San Diego Union-Tribune.
  17. ^ "100 'most inspiring' novels revealed by BBC Arts". BBC News. 2019-11-05. Archived from the original on 2019-11-08. Retrieved 2019-11-10. The reveal kickstarts the BBC's year-long celebration of literature.

External links

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