There is no refuting that award-winning author George R. R. Martin can intertwine a fine tale, what with the short stories, long string of novels, and television versions credited to his name. However, with a Game of Thrones book, he broke through the barricades of the fantasy genre, bringing to light a distinctive story-telling structure that is sure to set a new yardstick for upcoming generations of fantasy writers.
Imaginably the most exciting facet of the Game of Thrones book is how Martin manages to create a world that is realistic and fantastical at the same time. While the setting has hints of dragons, magic and ethereal creatures, these are used more to enhance the characters and the world rather than to serve as the motivating forces of the story. There is no ‘deus ex machina’ component that is typical of fantasy worlds; no presence of wizard, an all-powerful god, or creature that will save the main protagonist from future doom. Instead, all of the main characters have to get out of plights through their own maneuvers and when they are incapable to do so, they can and will be subjected to austere punishment, sometimes even death. One of the reasons the series has become so notorious is Martin’s ostensible willingness to exterminate any of the characters for the sake of the story.
According to a vivid reader Jack Bonner, another intriguing feature of the book is its character-driven, unique nature. Instead of emphasizing the fantastical elements of the world, Martin focuses on the mortal nature of its main players. A Game of Thrones is just that – a power tussle between four main families, the Starks, Baratheons, Targaryens, and Lannisters, who are struggling for control of the Iron Throne in much the similar way as War of the Roses. The story is voiced from the viewpoint of eight different characters who epitomize each of these families. The shifting views provide the probability of diverse perspectives for a specific event, leading readers to reconsider their initial expectations. A nobleman who orders a dreadful beheading at the beginning of the book may be seen as a cold-blooded tyrant, but is later discovered to be the main hero of the book and probably the most decent among the key players. The Lannister family can be professed as the villains, but it is the perspective of the Lannister dwarf who provides the most interesting, earthly, and entertaining perspective to the fundamental war.
Throughout the lengthy prose, the diverse cast of characters keeps readers like Jack Bonner engaged. They are not merely princes, kings, and knights, but also sons, fathers, widowers, bastards and outcasts. There are the crippled, stunted, and the maimed, but they are no less as strong as the individuals around them. Women play a fundamental role as well. Anything but being type-casted as beautiful witches or delicate elven princesses, they are the daughters, mothers, friends and sisters; and they possess a strength of character and determination that can easily overpower the men.
