Game of Thrones! *swoons*

I read GRR Martin's 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series (the four books that are currently out) two years ago, having received the first two books from Bhatia and Karpet as a birthday gift. Bhatia had sagely as ever warned me that the series, while good in a lot of ways, was extremely frustrating, but as ever, I didn't quite listen to him and demanded that he buy the book for me.

The series proved to be extremely frustrating yes, but an outstanding plot, a veritable host of complex, brilliant characters, and an excellent way of telling his story makes Martin's books a must-read for anyone who is interested in either fantasy literature or history or that exceedingly niche field of historical fantasy. Of course, as the overwhelming popularity of the recent HBO series on the first book has shown, even those base villains of no taste who think fantasy is stupid, will enjoy Martin's work because it is vastly different from your staple fantasy fare. Indeed, one of the most recurring comments made by reviewers about Martin's work is that it's a fantasy series even for non-fantasy people.

At this point I thought I'd give a synopsis of the plot of the series, but that'll just become too long. You can find that on Wiki, but be careful about it, since you don't want to know any of the plot twists that define the series. What I'll do here is tell you what's good about the series, what sets it apart from other fantasy series, and also discuss the negatives.

Ok, to begin with positives, you have the plot. Unlike your regular fantasy series, where the noble, outnumbered Good guys take on insurmountable odds to defeat the badass Evil guys who have millions of minions but are ridiculously stupid, there is no Good v. Evil theme to A Song of Ice and Fire. There are three broad themes. The first is the struggle for power in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros between the Houses Stark, Lannister and Baratheon. The second is the story of the Night's Watch, a once-revered order of warriors who guarded Westeros from monsters from the north, but who are now a motley band of old knights, criminals and inexperienced boys. Jon Snow, a bastard son of Lord Eddard Stark, is the main protagonist here as he rises through the ranks to help them face the barbarians and worse that they must protect the realm from. The third is the story of Daenerys Targaryen, last scion of the what was once the most powerful royal dynasty in Westeros, who had dragons conquer the world for them. The young princess' tale is one of coming of age, and her quest to win back the crown of her ancestors.

Each theme is magnificently rendered, and has its own sub-plots and sub-sub-plots. The first theme is the most prominent and features a large number of powerful characters jockeying for control. The second and third deal more with the stories of two individuals with their own personal struggles and demons, and how they try to find their own place in a world where they are initially nothing. What Martin's work does brilliantly is take you on a rollercoaster ride - both in terms of the plot and how you feel about characters. NO character is innately good or bad -their choices may be so classified, and every choice has a backstory, which makes you actually feel for even those characters who you hate. Martin is also willing to kill off prominent characters, a risky thing, but brave, and makes the series more gritty and believable, while also hammering home the consequences of each little action. It's a series that you won't be able to put down in that regard, and its been a horrible wait for those who read the fourth book and are waiting for the fifth. Another excellent aspect of the story is Martin's depiction of a very real medieival society, not the romanticized version most writers talk about - there are no true knights, Kings and nobles are scheming assholes, not wise and benevolent, and there are no chaste maidens and men who live out their great love stories for years until they are finally united in holy matrimony. Also brilliant is Martin' excellent concepts of religion - a key element to each culture in his books is their religion, and the undercurrents of conflicts religion creates.

Now for negatives. The series is superbly written, yes, but a tad overlong. You're willing to excuse this in the first three books, especially the third, because SO much happens, keeping you on the edge of your seat, but the fourth drags a fair bit, since things have cooled down so to speak. Some characters' stories have barely gone forward since the first book, and all you get is hints and more hints - which is fine for two books, but starts to get on your nerves as the series progresses. Another problem with the way the books are written is that Martin tells each chapter from a character's point of view - this is a useful tool since you see concurrent events through several different eyes, but this can be a bummer when things are moving slowly. And then of course, there's the fact that Martin often allows the worst of his characters to prevail over the better ones - which is a distinctive feature of his books, and one to be applauded, but which can get on one's nerves, especially in the third book. All in all though, the series is fantastic, and is an unputdownable read, with the potential to enthrall people of all tastes in books - I've seen already out of the people who've borrowed it from me how even those people who've never cared for fantasy traditionally have enjoyed it, and given its plot, it's easy to see why.

Now the reason I'm writing about these books to start with, rather than anything else, is of course the aforementioned TV series' first season that just concluded abroad. And what a series it is. Brilliant performances by a cast that is a healthy mix of seasoned veterans and precocious debutants, breathtaking visuals, and a soundtrack that sticks in your head, combine perfectly to bring to life a script that has remained blessedly true to its source material. It's been remarkable to see how much interest the series has garnered in just our college, with my copy of the first book booked for weeks down the line. Let's be clear, the series is not absolutely perfect - a list of complaints would include dealing with some critical scenes in a bit too much of a hurry (which I was very pissed off about), not showing the two massive battles that take place towards the end (which I was rather pissed off about), and some unnecessary sex scenes (which I cannot really say I was pissed about at all, but then again that's Sachdev the almost 21 year old guy, not Sachdev the TV critic).

Be that as it may, the series deserves the tipping its getting for the next Emmy awards, with performances to watch out for including Peter Dinklage's rude, funny, surprisingly compassionate and generally awesome Tyrion Lannister, Lena Headey's delightfully vicious Cersei Lannister, Maisie Williams' rebellious Arya Stark, Kit Harrington's brooding Jon Snow, and in the later episodes, Richard Madden's masterclass as Robb Stark. Sean Bean (best known for his roles as Boromir in the Lord of the Rings and Lieutenant Sharp in the Sharp) plays Eddard Stark to perfection, while Aiden Gillen (best known for his role in The Wire) is brilliant as the devious Petyr Baelish (commonly known as LIttlefinger). It also has one of the most outstanding series finale scenes you'll see across movies or other serials, so don't miss out on this one.

In summary - the books and TV series are well worth it. HBO's adaptation stays true to the source material, barely deviating from it, which is a relief given the kind of crap that is mostly done with book adaptations. If you haven't read the books first, I would suggest you watch the TV series, then read the first book, will save the surprises for you. Do post your comments on this review and what you thought of the books/TV series.

Vakasha