A Song of Ice and Fire

I finally finished all the 5 books from the series. This is the only series that I got hooked to, other than Harry Potter and Lord of the rings. I loved this series a lot, mainly because it is a fantasy and is set in the medieval ages. I have been recommending this series to anyone and everyone I meet or talk to.

Favorite characters

– When the series started, Jon Snow and Arya Stark appealed to me the most. But as the series progressed and I finished third part of the series, I was sure I liked Tyrion Lannister the most. I liked his character so much that I ended up reading “The wit and wisdom of Tyrion Lannister”.

Characters I dislike

– Cersei Lannister, Joffrey Baratheon, Ramsay Bolton. These are the only characters which are truly black, others have a shade of grey.

---

My reaction after finishing the books

According to me, third book was the best, followed by first, second, fifth and my least favourite was fourth book. I took the following reviews from Goodreads:

1. A Game of thrones

[pullquote]”When you play a game of thrones you win or you die. There is no middle ground.”[/pullquote]

Read this book very slowly and you will love it.
Reasons to pick this book:

• different point of views
• war, politics
• way too many interesting characters
• plenty of subplots
• kings and knights
• every single character is flawed
• No single hero or villain
• Epic fantasy
• Martin’s writing, dialogues
• twists and turns that you don’t expect
• “Age of empires” live in action

2. A Clash of Kings

969 pages! No joke. Definitely one of the fattest books I have read. Still no regrets. Loved it. Bran’s narration was little boring, rest all were good.
Women in medieval age – what I felt after reading this series: http://wp.me/p3iG9o-1H3

3. A Storm of Swords

WOW! what a book. So many twists and turns that I couldn’t even imagine. This is definitely the best book in the series and one of the best books I have ever read. I am so badly addicted to this series. Don’t want it to end.

{ Spoiler: I started liking a character (Jaime) that I did not like right from the first book. Most of the characters that I disliked are gone. Probably, there are some new characters in the next book for me to dislike 🙂
Jon Snow and Arya are still my favourites, but Tyrion got added to the favorites list now after the terrific ending. Daenerys got so strong and commanding in this book. Liking her character too. And wait! Catelyn Stark is alive! And Lysa died. Her death was totally unexpected.}

4. A Feast for Crows

Pretty boring since none of the important characters are there in this book. I missed Tyrion’s storyline the most. Nothing important happens in this book. I had a tough time finishing it. But I had to read it, since I am very eager to read the next book.

5. A Dance with Dragons

1000+ pages. This is the fattest book I have ever read in my life. Slow paced but ending was fantastic, as always. Last few chapters were good. This book had all my favourite characters – Tyrion, Daenerys, Jon Snow. Wish it was smaller in size and fast paced like the other books.
This is the only book where I got confused with the names. There were so many people in Meereen with similar names like Skahaz, Reznak, Shavepate and these people even were called with multiple names. This made me lose track of who belonged to which free company. There were so many free companies and sellswords to keep track of!!!
Now I am waiting for the next book to release.
I am thinking that the next book will be really good, as all the stories have come to the climax part in this book.

6. The Wit and Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister

I love Tyrion’s quotes from all the books. Best dialogues/quotes in the books belong to Tyrion. So how could I not read this book?! This book is great with many awesome quotes from Tyrion.

[pullquote]”Why is it that when one man builds a wall, the next man immediately needs to know what’s on the other side?”[/pullquote]My favourite quotes from this book:

“They say I’m half a man. What does that make the lot of you?”
“My mind is my weapon. My brother has his sword, King Robert has his warhammer, and I have my mind … and a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone if it is to keep its edge.” 
“There has never been a slave who did not choose to be a slave. Their choice may be between bondage and death, but the choice is always there.”
“Kings are falling like leaves this autumn.”
“The best lies are seasoned with a bit of truth.”

and many more…. Grab this book if you love this series.

---

Some GRRM facts

(taken from his interview here).

• (In his house)A letterbox shaped like a castle, complete with a drawbridge, and a car registration reads GRRM.
• Started the first, A Game of Thrones, in 1991, when he was 42.
• A giant sword and axe are mounted on the hall wall, and when he flicks a switch in the tower, dozens of intricately painted medieval dioramas are illuminated.
• ‘I’m fascinated by war,’ Martin admits. ‘War brings out the best and the worst in people. Literature of the past used to celebrate the glory of war; then the hippie generation in the 1970s wrote about the ugliness of it. I think there’s truth in both.
• Two bedrooms are for Martin’s books; the third is for McBride’s Lord of the Rings figurines.
• Points of view of different characters – currently 16 – each with a distinctive voice.
•  Hadrian’s Wall was the inspiration behind the wall of ice conceptualized in the novel.

Some other links

• This link gives the history behind the series – http://history-behind-game-of-thrones.com/. Like how the story most closely resembles the Wars of the Roses.
• http://www.westeros.org – a great site if you want to read up more about the series or just want to remember something.
• http://www.innatthecrossroads.com/ – providing recipes for dishes featured in the book. I found the page “Dishes even WE can’t make!” more interesting. 🙂
• http://www.innatthecrossroads.com/a-feast-of-ice-and-fire/ – The Official Game of Thrones Cookbook. I saw this book at a local store. Most of the dishes are non-veg, so no point in buying it.
•  http://www.westeros.org/GoT/Characters/ – talks about all the characters.

I will be back with more quotes from the books.