After Dostoyevsky I decided I was in the mood for something a bit lighter.  Pop fiction, if you will.  I had been meaning to read Game of Thrones, so this seemed like the perfect time.  I actually read the first two books of the series, Game of Thrones and Clash of Kings.  Serious literature they are not, but they’re quite fun to read.   I mentioned in my post on Oscar Wao that I’m somewhat of a “genre” fan, and these books definitely fit the bill.  There’s a feel of historical fiction about them, with some magic and fantasy mixed in.  There are even dragons, so you know it’s going to be good.

I first heard about these books when I read a preview of the upcoming HBO show.  It sounded awesome, so I planned to read the books, but didn’t get around to it. We started watching the show on HBO and it really was good, so I bit the bullet and bought the books.  The first season of the show directly tracks the first book in the series.  It’s almost shocking how exactly spot on the show is.  The order of the scenes, the dialogue – everything is straight out of the book.  So reading the first book was a little boring at times since I knew everything that was coming.  But the second book was awesome.  I just put it down and I’m dying to start on the third one.  I’m going to save it for when I need another break of light reading, though.

So how do the books compare to others in the fantasy genre?  They have a feel of The Once and Future King, what with Lords and Ladies, Knights, and battles.  But I actually like them a lot more than TOFK.  I know, I know, TOFK is sacrosanct to some enthusiasts, but I felt like it was mostly written for young boys. To be fair, a lot of fans probably are young boys, or at least read it for the first time then.  Thankfully, Game of Thrones is definitely written for adults. Realistically, they’re not as good as Lord of the Rings (but really, what is?), but they’re very entertaining and you just can’t put them down.  I usually try to get as much sleep as possible to keep up with little Adeline, but I found myself reading during all her naps and staying up late to keep reading.  Now I’m overtired – oops!  I like that there is a large cast of characters and I like the way he often tells the story from an unexpected point of view.  And there are some kick-ass women, so that’s always nice. I don’t have much else to say about the books without giving away plot points – and in this kind of book you definitely don’t want any surprises ruined.  So I’ll just say that if you like fantasy novels, you will like these books.  Enjoy!