Book Review: A Song of Ice and Fire

This week's book review is on George R. R. Martin's series, A Song of Ice and Fire.

I will, first off, admit that I have not read all of the most recent book in the series - it is my opinion that the third book is the last palatable one, with the fourth and fifth both being unreadable in comparison to the rest of the series, which, by the way, is excellent.

A Song of Ice and Fire is set in a fantasy realm by the name of Westeros. The nation is ruled by a king, a Baratheon by the name of Robert. The Baratheons are one of seven great noble houses that make up the majority of the actual power in Westeros.

The plot itself involves the death of Robert and the ensuing conflict over who gains control of the throne, or even if Westeros will remain a single kingdom, rather than breaking apart into several different nations.

Beyond this, virtually any other discussion of the plot will probably reveal an important spoiler of one kind or another - the plot is really that intertwined, complicated, and full of intrigue.

The writing itself is excellent, if somewhat too gritty for some people. There is a great deal of graphic sex and violence in the series, as well as plenty of good humor and many very realistic reactions by equally realistic characters.

This, at least, holds true for the first three books. After that point, the previously interesting and intriguing plot becomes mostly dull, with a great deal of things that seem incredibly unrealistic. Before the third, fourth, and fifth books, magic was largely a fringe element of the story, but during those books magic takes a more prominent role, which largely detracts from the story, rather than adding to it.

Perhaps more importantly, it is my opinion that the quality of the writing is much worse towards the end of the third book, and that this poor quality continues on into the fourth and fifth books.

Regardless. If you like well-written fantasy and don't mind quite a lot of graphic realism and intrigue, I'd advise you read through the first three books of A Song of Ice and Fire. They really are quite good, if a little lengthy.