A Game of Thrones

This article is about the novel. For the TV series, see Game of Thrones. For derivative works of the same name, see A Game of Thrones (disambiguation).

A Game of Thrones
US first edition cover
AuthorGeorge R. R. Martin
LanguageEnglish
SeriesA Song of Ice and Fire
GenreEpic fantasy
PublishedAugust 1, 1996 (1996-08-01)[1]
PublisherBantam Spectra (US)
Voyager Books (UK)
Publication placeUnited States
Pages694
LC ClassPS3563.A7239 G36 1996
Followed byA Clash of Kings 

A Game of Thrones is an epic fantasy novel by American author George R. R. Martin. It was published in August 1996 as the first entry in his series A Song of Ice and Fire. Taking around five years to write, Martin was influenced by earlier fantasy writers and drew inspiration broadly from historical sources.

A Game of Thrones is narrated in third person from the perspective of several point-of-view characters. On the continent of Westeros, A Game of Thrones depicts the political schemes of the continent's aristocracy chiefly from the perspective of House Stark—the house's lord Ned, his lady wife Catelyn, and their children Sansa, Arya and Bran. Across the sea, the plot follows Daenerys Targaryen, the last daughter of a royal house deposed before her birth. In the far north, Ned's illegitimate child, Jon Snow, joins a group stationed along a gigantic wall of magical ice to protect Westeros from northern raiders and an ancient race of mythical enemies.

The novel received broadly positive reviews, with reviewers praising the novel's characters and commending the political intrigue. It won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel,[2] and was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel,[2] and the World Fantasy Award for novels.[3] A novella titled Blood of the Dragon–comprising Daenerys' chapters—won the 1997 Hugo Award for Best Novella. Only a modest commercial success at the time of release, the novel became a New York Times Bestseller in January 2011,[4] reaching the top of the list in July 2011.[5]

The novel is the namesake and basis for the first season of Game of Thrones, an HBO television series that premiered in April 2011. It inspired several spin-off works, including several games. A Song of Ice and Fire has become one of the most famous fantasy series. The BBC listed A Game of Thrones on its list of the 100 most influential novels.

Plot

In the Seven Kingdoms

After the death of Lord Jon Arryn, King Robert Baratheon recruits his childhood friend Eddard "Ned" Stark, the lord of the castle of Winterfell, to replace Arryn as Hand of the King, and to betroth his daughter Sansa to Robert's son Joffrey. Shortly thereafter, Ned's son Bran discovers Robert's wife, Queen Cersei Lannister, having sex with her twin brother Jaime. Jaime throws Bran from a tower to conceal their affair, leaving Bran comatose and paralyzed.

Ned brings his daughters Sansa and Arya to the capital city, King's Landing. There, Ned finds that Robert is an ineffective king whose only interests are hunting, drinking, and womanizing.

At Winterfell, an assassin attempts to kill Bran while he is unconscious, and Ned's wife Catelyn travels to King's Landing to bring word to Ned. Catelyn's childhood friend, Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish, implicates Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf brother of Cersei and Jaime, in the assassination attempt. On the road, Catelyn encounters Tyrion by chance and arrests him to stand trial for the attempt on Bran's life. In retaliation for Tyrion's abduction, his father Lord Tywin Lannister sends soldiers to raid the Riverlands, Catelyn's home region. Tyrion regains his freedom by recruiting a mercenary named Bronn to defend him in trial by combat.

Ned investigates Jon Arryn's death and discovers that Robert's legal heirs are Cersei's children by Jaime; he infers that Jon Arryn was killed to conceal his discovery of their incest. Before Ned can act, Cersei arranges Robert's death in a hunting accident and installs Joffrey on the throne. Ned enlists Littlefinger's help to take Cersei and Joffrey into custody; but Littlefinger betrays him, resulting in Ned's arrest. Arya escapes the castle, but Sansa is taken hostage by the Lannisters.

Ned's eldest son Robb marches his army south in response to his father's arrest. To secure a strategically necessary bridge crossing, Catelyn negotiates a marital alliance between Robb and the notoriously unreliable House Frey. Robb defeats a Lannister army in the Riverlands, capturing Jaime. Tywin sends Tyrion back to King's Landing to act as Hand of the King to Joffrey. When Joffrey has Ned executed, Robb's followers declare the North's independence from the Seven Kingdoms, proclaiming Robb the "King in the North".

On the Wall

The prologue of the novel introduces the Wall: a huge magical wall of ice at the northern border of the Seven Kingdoms. The Wall is defended by the Night's Watch: an order of warriors who serve for life, defending the realm from the Others, an ancient and hostile inhuman race, as well as from the human "wildlings" who live north of the Wall.

Jon Snow, Ned's bastard son, is inspired by his uncle, Benjen Stark, to join the Night's Watch, but becomes disillusioned when he discovers that its primary function is as a penal colony. Jon unites his fellow recruits against their harsh instructor and protects the cowardly but good-natured and intelligent Samwell Tarly. Jon is appointed steward to the leader of the Watch, Lord Commander Jeor Mormont. Benjen fails to return from an expedition north of the Wall; when the bodies of two men from his party are recovered, they re-animate as undead wights before being dispatched by Jon.

When word of Ned's execution reaches Jon, he attempts to join Robb against the Lannisters, but is persuaded to remain loyal to the Watch. Mormont declares his intention to march north to find Benjen, and to investigate rumors of a "King-beyond-the-Wall" uniting the wildlings.

Across the Narrow Sea

Across the sea to the east of Westeros live the exiled prince Viserys and princess Daenerys, children of the late "Mad King" Aerys Targaryen, who ruled Westeros before being overthrown by Robert Baratheon. Viserys betroths Daenerys to Khal Drogo, a warlord of the nomadic Dothraki people, in exchange for the use of Drogo's army to reclaim the throne of Westeros. Illyrio Mopatis, a wealthy merchant who has been supporting the penniless Targaryens, gives Daenerys three petrified dragon eggs as a wedding gift. Jorah Mormont, a knight exiled from Westeros and Jeor's son, joins Viserys as an adviser. Initially terrified of her new husband and his people, Daenerys eventually embraces her role as Drogo's "khaleesi ". Drogo, however, shows little interest in conquering Westeros. When Viserys publicly threatens Daenerys and her unborn child, Drogo executes him by pouring molten gold on his head.

An assassin seeking King Robert's favor attempts to poison Daenerys, finally convincing Drogo to conquer Westeros. While sacking villages to fund the invasion, Drogo is badly wounded, and Daenerys commands the captive folk healer Mirri Maz Duur to save him. The healer, angered by the Dothraki raids against her people, sacrifices Daenerys's unborn child to power the spell to save Drogo's life, which restores Drogo's physical health but leaves him in a persistent vegetative state.

With Drogo completely incapacitated, much of his army disperses. Daenerys smothers Drogo with a pillow and has Mirri tied to Drogo's funeral pyre. She places her three dragon eggs on the pyre and enters it herself. When the fire burns out, she emerges unharmed, with three newly hatched dragons.

Background

Author

George R. R. Martin was born and raised in Bayonne, a blue-collar town in New Jersey.[6] His family were poor,[7] and he began writing in childhood and sold horror stories to other children for a nickel.[7][8] He developed an interest for science fiction and fantasy after discovering comic books and, as a teenager, wrote superhero stories for fan magazines.[9] His first published work was a science-fiction story for Galaxy Science Fiction in 1971 after he finished college.[10][7]

Martin's first two published novels, Dying of the Light (1977) and Fevre Dream (1982), performed well;[9][7] he had accrued 3 Hugo Awards by 1983.[11] Martin's publisher provided him with a large advance for his third novel, The Armageddon Rag (1983).[11] The novel was a commercial disaster and temporarily halted Martin's literary career.[12] A fan of the novel later hired Martin as a writer on a revival of The Twilight Zone (1985–1989),[11] and he later worked on the CBS series Beauty and the Beast (1987–1990), and The Outer Limits (1995–1997).[9][13] Martin became frustrated by the limitations imposed by television budgets, citing requests to reduce cast lists and minimise special effects. He found the experience of writing and having a show not picked up by a network "ultimately unsatisfying".[10]

Inspiration

Martin had several literary predecessors, particularly in fantasy. The work of English writer J. R. R. Tolkien greatly influenced him. Earlier in his career, Martin felt fantasy suffered from a "dark period" of Tolkien imitation and he wanted to avoid being linked with those novels, which copied Tolkien's worst but failed to capture its strengths.[9] Martin disliked depictions of the perfectly good against the completely evil, describing this as a conflict that occurs within every person.[12] Other fantasy novelists who influenced Martin include Robert Jordan, Stephen R. Donaldson, and Tad Williams.[14]

A Game of Thrones' setting was deeply influenced by history,[15] particularly the Middle Ages.[16] The genre has been described as neomedieval fantasy,[17] chivalric romance,[18] and epic fantasy.[19] Martin drew from a range of historical sources, with the foremost inspiration being the Wars of the Roses—a series of civil wars waged by the aristocracy of 15th-century England.[20] The houses Stark and Lannister have been compared to the House of York and House of Lancaster,[15] who clashed during the aforementioned civil wars.[20] The massive ice wall depicted by the novel was inspired by Hadrian's Wall, a fortification built by the Romans.[21] Martin has described epic fantasy and historical fiction as siblings, citing several historical novelists as influences,[22] and sought to infuse fantasy and magic with its gritty realism.[23]

Textual history

Composition

In summer 1991, Martin was writing a science fiction novel, but was strongly compelled by an image of "dire wolf pups in the summer snows" and began working on the novel that became A Game of Thrones.[24] Martin had been frustrated by the limits television writing caused by budgets, such as requests for him to reduce cast sizes and special effects.[13] The novel took him around five years to write,[6] with progress slowed by his ongoing television work and the Wild Cards series.[13]

He acknowledges several authors who lent their time and expertise during the writing of the novel: Sage Walker, Martin Wright, Melinda Snodgrass, Carl Keim, Bruce Baugh, Tim O'Brien, Roger Zelazny, Jane Lindskold, and Laura Mixon.[25]

Publication

The HarperCollins/Voyager 1996 edition was the British first edition. Its official publication date was earlier than that of the US Bantam edition, but Bantam went to print several months earlier to hand out copies at the American Booksellers Association (ABA).[26] The novel has been translated into many languages and published in multiple editions in hardcover, paperback, e-book, and audio book form. In different languages, the number of books may not be the same. For example, for the German paperback editions published by Blanvalet and later Penhaligon, the book and the other novels of the series were split in two.[26] In June 2000, Meisha Merlin published a limited edition of the book, fully illustrated by Jeffrey Jones.[26]

Reception

A Game of Thrones received modest reviews. Don D'Ammassa said it might be "the major fantasy publishing event of 1996".[27] In The Year's Best Science Fiction (1997), Gardner R. Dozois described the novel as "the year's Big Fantasy Novel, reviewed everywhere", and a favorite for the World Fantasy Award.[28] The first printing sold a few thousand copies.[15] Martin said sales were "solid" but appeared on no best-seller lists. He toured to promote the novel, visiting four states.[29]

Two writers celebrated Martin's return to writing fiction after a long absence.[30][31] Several noted that readers would eagerly await a sequel,[32][33][34] with the Jeff Watkins of the Albuquerque Journal remarking that "[a]fter so many pages, a reader wants to know how the thing comes out".[35] In 1996, Martin thought the series would be a trilogy,[29] a fact mentioned by several contemporary reviewers.[31][35]

The characters received commentary from the contemporary press. Dorman Shindler of The Des Moines Register said Martin elevated characters beyond archetypes, imbuing the Stark children with "as many shortcomings" as their antagonists.[31] Reviews by Phyllis Eisenstein for the Chicago Sun-Times and Paul Kershaw for the Detroit Free Press described a conventional fantasy set-up that was elevated by Martin's execution.[36][37] An anonymous 1999 review by The Guardian described the characters as "so venomous they could eat the Borgias".[38] The Washington Post's John H. Riskind, meanwhile, criticised them as one dimensional.[39] Four reviewers praised the intrigue and political maneuvring,[34][33][40][38] with the Associated Press' Lauren Nathan commending Martin's narrative structure.[33]

Awards and nominations

Themes

Throughout the novel, characters are often faced with decisions that match one redeemable trait against another. The Guardian outlines characters who are frequently "forced to choose between their love for those close to them and the greater interests of honour, duty and the realm."[42] In Westeros, Ned ultimately decides to venture south with Robert, leaving much of his family in Winterfell. At the Wall, Jon wrestles with the predicament of joining his half-brother Robb in rebellion or staying with his sworn brothers in the Night's Watch. Daenerys has issue with the Dothraki treatment of those they conquered in Essos. These conflicts characters encounter oftentimes reflect inconsistent decision making. Catelyn initially is overwhelmed by grief and does not leave Bran's bedside while he is comatose, ignoring her political responsibilities, choosing family over duty. But soon after, Catelyn leaves Bran and her family for King's Landing to inform Ned of potential Lannister treason, effectively displaying a more duty fulfilling role. Family, duty, and honor play major roles in conflicts that arise in the story arc, and qualities traditionally categorized as noble oppose each other in resolution. Character decision conflicts and consequence analysis are particular to how Martin wants to portray fantasy.[43]

Martin characteristically deviates from the traditional fantasy model and clear-cut lines of good versus evil. Martin reflects: "I think the battle between good and evil is fought largely within the individual human heart, by the decisions that we make. It's not like evil dresses up in black clothing and you know, they're really ugly".[43] This viewpoint characterizes the book and is evident in the actions of several different families which frequently have conflicts with each other. The Starks' and Lannisters' conflict is a central component of the novel, and the reader receives points of view from both sides. Likewise, Daenerys' storyline develops around the Targaryen's upheaval in Westeros, in which the Starks played a significant role. Martin argues:

Having multiple viewpoints is crucial to the grayness of the characters. You have to be able to see the struggle from both sides, because real human beings in a war have all these processes of self-justification, telling ourselves why what we're doing is the right thing.[44]

Adaptations

Main article: Works based on A Song of Ice and Fire

A Game of Thrones and the subsequent novels in the A Song of Ice and Fire series have been adapted into an HBO television series, a comic book series, several card games, board games, video games, and other media.

References

  1. ^ Martin, George R. R. (August 1, 2016). "The Long Game... of Thrones". Not A Blog. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "1997 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Archived from the original on July 9, 2009. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  3. ^ "2004 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Archived from the original on July 9, 2009. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  4. ^ Taylor, Ihsan (January 2, 2011). "The New York Times Bestseller List". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 22, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
  5. ^ Taylor, Ihsan (July 10, 2011). "The New York Times Bestseller List". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  6. ^ a b Berwick 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d Gilmore 2014.
  8. ^ Macnab 2014.
  9. ^ a b c d Flood 2018.
  10. ^ a b Carroll 2018, p. 1–2.
  11. ^ a b c Huddleston Jr. 2019.
  12. ^ a b Shindler 2005.
  13. ^ a b c Carroll 2018, p. 2.
  14. ^ Antonsson & García 2012, p. 1.
  15. ^ a b c Lowder 2012, p. xiii
  16. ^ Westfahl 2012, p. 60.
  17. ^ Fitzpatrick 2019, p. 104.
  18. ^ Blaszkiewicz 2014, p. 116.
  19. ^ Stableford 2009, p. 267.
  20. ^ a b Tharoor 2015.
  21. ^ MacLaurin 2000.
  22. ^ Cornwell 2012.
  23. ^ Poniewozik Pt 2 2011.
  24. ^ Snider 2025.
  25. ^ Martin, George R. R. (1996). Game of Thrones (2016 Mass Market Tie-in ed.). p. 836.
  26. ^ a b c Martin, George R. R. "FAQ – George R.R. Martin". Archived from the original on September 12, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2019 – via georgerrmartin.com.
  27. ^ D'Ammassa 1996.
  28. ^ Dozois 1997, p. xxxii.
  29. ^ a b Oswald 2016.
  30. ^ Perry 1996.
  31. ^ a b c Shindler 1996, p. 18.
  32. ^ D'Ammassa 1996, p. 76.
  33. ^ a b c Nathan 1996.
  34. ^ a b Mazzacco 1996.
  35. ^ a b Watkins 1996.
  36. ^ Eisenstein 1996.
  37. ^ Kershaw 1996.
  38. ^ a b The Guardian 1999.
  39. ^ Riskind 1996.
  40. ^ Scunthorpe Telegraph 1998.
  41. ^ "100 'most inspiring' novels revealed by BBC Arts". BBC News. November 5, 2019. Archived from the original on November 8, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2019. The reveal kickstarts the BBC's year-long celebration of literature.
  42. ^ Walter, Damien G. (July 26, 2011). "George RR Martin's fantasy is not far from reality". the Guardian. Archived from the original on April 9, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  43. ^ a b Poniewozik, James. "GRRM Interview Part 2: Fantasy and History". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on April 27, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  44. ^ "Locus Online: George R.R. Martin interview excerpts". www.locusmag.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2015.

Bibliography

Contemporary reviews

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