In Progress: A Game of Thrones (Continued)

Bantam

I'm not very far into A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, but I've already witnessed incest, attempted murder, murder, extreme gratuitous violence, violent sexual and emotional abuse, along with a litany of other horrible things that have happened in the last two hundred pages.  I'm still hooked, but I had to take a break and read something with a little less gore.  (I checked into one of Susan Mallery's books, reading part of her Fool's Gold series, which includes Just One Kiss.)

Otherwise, I am still enjoying Martin's novel.  I'm slowly beginning to understand the connections between friends and families and foes, and I'm gradually making connections.  I recognize house names now:  Stark, Lannister, Baratheon, Targarygen, among others.  And I'm starting to like characters, like Tyrion Lannister, Arya Stark, Jon Snow, and hating a few others equally (Joffrey Baratheon and Cersei Lannister, just to name a couple).

But my biggest accomplishment has become learning to read the maps Martin put into his book.  Locations are finally taking shape.  I'm starting to recognize the big landmarks and territories, like the Wall and Winterfell, Riverrunn and the Eyrie, King's Landing and the Narrow Sea, and the lands across the sea that are patrolled by the fearsome Dothraki.

I like the details of A Game of Thrones.  There's an intricacy to it that's staggering, because Martin gives each family a history, gives each myth and legend room to grow and thrive.  It's a living, breathing creature that seems to take a shape all its own.  Never static, never stagnating, but always dynamic, always changing and growing with each detail added and story told.

I'm constantly wondering if I'm ever going to catch up to the series.  Thus far, I understand three things:  the Lannisters are terrible conniving people; the Starks are honorable to a fault; Robert Baratheon hates the Targarygens with a fiery passion that (I fear) may lead to his destruction.  I'm curious about all of it, but I'm equally nervous about the entire endeavor.

You see, the only bad thing about reading A Game of Thrones this late in the game is that I've had the opportunity to watch a few episodes of Game of Thrones on HBO.  Moreover, I've had ample opportunity for major plot points to be ruined by commercials, rumors, internet articles, and coworkers.

Yes, I kind of know what's going to happen.  It's a little disheartening when you're sure of the major plot points, but I am glad to have some story to fill in the gaps and explain a little better who's who in Westeros.