The Specialists

When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.

— Cersei Lannister

In the post-Tolkien world, fantasy fiction is a dime a dozen. Bookstores are stuffed with tales of knights, wizards, dragons, scantily-clad warrior women and pad-footed thieves. There are evil kings and magical swords and more often than not, a young hero who learns that he was born to fulfill a much higher purpose than his low birth would suggest. At this point, it’s pretty hard to come up with something new, or even a new take on something old. Trust me, I’ve tried.

But visionaries do occasionally emerge. One who has been receiving a lot of attention lately is George R. R. Martin with his A Song of Ice and Fire books. Much of this attention is due to the upcoming HBO series, A Game of Thrones, based on the first book of the series. The plan is to devote one season to each of the series’ seven books (the fifth of which will be published in July).

Winter is coming.

–The words of House Stark

The fantasy elements of the Ice and Fire books are toned down compare to many other fantasy series. There are no elves or dwarves (at least not the bearded, mountain-dwelling variety). There were once fearsome dragons, but they’re now extinct, and magic seems to have died with them. This is not a story that features magic artifacts or armies of orcs.

But that doesn’t make it any less epic. The scope of the story is immense. It involves a civil war for control of the continent of Westeros, which was once divided into several sovereign kingdoms which were then united under a single king. When that relatively new stability is threatened, the old loyalties and rivalries reemerge, and military and political struggles break out all over. Meanwhile, the exiled members of the previous ruling house begin to gather strength in a faraway land, preparing to take back their land that was once theirs. Finally, the wildlings and the mysterious “Others” beyond the great ice wall to the north also seem poised to strike.

Let me give you some council, bastard. Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.

–Tyrion Lannister

One of the things that I love the most about these books is the way that they switch between multiple points of view. Each book features eight or nine POV characters. The chapters are each devoted to one of these characters. In this way, the great and complex conflict of the series is seen from multiple angles. In the first book, most of the POV characters are members of House Stark, the rugged and honorable wardens of the North. At a glance, they may seem to be the “good guys” of the series, but things are not that simple. Tyrion Lannister, another POV character, is as different from the Starks as can be, but he’s every bit as likeable.

The characters are complex enough to defy the shorthand descriptions of “heroes” and “villains”. One of the most amazing feats of the series is a character who is utterly despicable in the first book, but is given his own POV chapters in subsequent volumes and becomes quite sympathetic. Even the most loathsome characters are multifaceted and interesting. They may not be likeable, but they are at least relatable.

Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realm of men. I pledge my life and honor to the nights watch, for this night and all the nights to come.

–Vow of the Night’s Watch

A Song of Ice and Fire is the kind of series that you can really sink your teeth into. It has a richly detailed setting, engaging characters, a complex plot, and a compelling story. It’s an extremely satisfying read, if you’re looking for something a little more substantial than the standard sword-and-sorcery novel.

But for all my love of the series, I should add a couple of caveats. First, Martin is absolutely cruel to the inhabitants of these books. Characters that you like, and that seem like major protagonists, will suddenly die. Others may be maimed or horribly disfigured. For me, this is a plus, because it means that I can never get too comfortable. I can’t ever assume that the character I’m reading about is going to pull through, and that’s exhilarating. But for some people, it’s just too dark. For them, the brutal treatment of the characters is just punishing to read. I can understand that, and in a different series, I might feel the same way, but somehow, Martin manages to maintain just enough hope, and enough interest to see what happens next, that I can tolerate the death and dismemberment.

Another, and probably more important issue, is the painfully slow release of the series so far. Each book has taken longer to complete than the last. The upcoming fifth volume, A Dance With Dragons, has been allegedly just around the corner for years, though an official July release date was recently announced. Also, the size of the series continues to grow. It was initially intended to be a trilogy, and was then upgraded to a five-, six-, and finally seven-book series. So it is possible that there may be more than two more books to come, and they may not get here for years. Since Martin is not a young man, many fans fear that he may not complete the series in his lifetime.

So you may want to wait until the series is complete, but if you’re looking for a fantasy epic that’s will challenge and surprise you, look no further than George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.