Being an avid reader, I have found that, as with other avid readers, there is a tendency to prefer fantasy over science fiction and vice versa, even if you like both genres. I am definitely in the latter category, preferring hard sci-fi and space opera over wizards, elves and goblins. Where sci-fi has legitimately interesting science behind sweeping narratives set against the wider universe, fantasy often falls in the trappings of the conventional and clichéd, namely: the protagonist is often the unwilling chosen one destined to bring about an age old prophecy against impossible and magical odds. Think Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time saga and you have most fantasy literature.
What I found most interesting about A Game of Thrones is that it seldom falls into these trappings. Whilst there is talk of beasts and dragons, the main focal point of the narrative is power and greed. Set in what could be construed as an alternate medieval timeline (despite being set in a fictional world known at The Seven Kingdoms), the plot is all about power. There are numerous ruling houses that are held together by threadbare allegiances that, come the inevitable conflict, reduce the land to the horrors of war. The House of Lannister are particularly horrid, stooping to the likes of incest and the attempted murder of children to secure their slice of the power pie, where as the House of Stark, the most noble and honourable, are so to a fault, their nobility reduced to useless words and actions as the game of thrones turns deadly.
As with most fantasy, there is a lot to take in, but its reliance on scheming politics over magic was refreshing. There is no prophecy, no chosen one, just a group of ruling houses doing their best to screw each other over.
Well worth your time.
4/5
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