A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin

Review by DWM Merrick

In this review I will attempt to review A Song of Ice and Fire as a whole, whilst also talking a little about the books separately. I will begin by saying I think that the first three books are one story, A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords… the fourth book, A Feast for Crows, is something else entirely, then the fifth book, A Dance With Dragons, is a strange amalgamation of the story before A Feast for Crows and sections of that story too.

I love A Song of Ice and Fire, so this review is mainly gushing. I think it’s a masterclass of character, setting, atmosphere and stakes, though like nearly all fantasy series I have ever read, it struggles with pacing.

This review will be spoiler-free, obviously as you go through each book it will mention minor things from the previous. I will talk about the book in question and the series interchangeably throughout the review.

A Game of Thrones

People very rarely mention that the first book is a murder mystery story.

It has three main plots - like the whole series was intended to have I believe.

An exiled princess across the sea and her rise to power. Daenerys Targaryen.
The bastard of the Night’s Watch against the White Walkers and his rise to power. Jon Snow.
The machinations of the nobles of Westeros, mainly the Starks versus the Lannisters.

A Game of Thrones has a tight plot with empathetic and relatable characters we are routing for. All have flaws, be it too much whoring or too much honour, too much pride or too stubborn. We support them all regardless, even when they come into conflict with each other, it makes the choosing difficult. Eddard, Daenerys and Tyrion are the three standout POV characters.

My mother only put these books in my hands after I’d watched the first season of HBO’s Game of Thrones. I thought the first season was inspired, brilliant, dramatic and risqué. As soon as I found out there was a series of books, I devoured them all within two weeks on holiday in Turkey.

Reading Joe Abercrombie had already given me a taste of this ‘grimdark’ fantasy, so it wasn’t the darkness or murder that was surprising… but it was welcome all the same.

The writing is underrated, it is pacy and liberally endowed with mysteries. Martin is a master of cliffhangers and conspiracies. You can really see his experience in television, leaving us hooked after each chapter.

I’m sure it’s been said before, but to say again - I became engaged in one POV, left wanting more at the end of the chapter, then became so engaged in another that I forgot about the previous POV. Eventually it jumps back into that previous POV I fell in love with and then keeps rolling. You are soon hooked and remember why you want to keep reading each POV character as they pop up. This pace slacks off after A Storm of Swords, where some POVs become boring.

I think the most illuminating scene in this book for the whole series is the contrived conversation between Varys and Illyrio Mopatis in the dungeons, whereupon Arya stumbles, like a soap opera.

Their conversation doesn’t have to take place in the dungeons, why can’t they write in code to each other, why don’t they speak through messengers, which they must be doing already, why does Arya happen to hear upon it? Because Martin was building to a conclusion faster. Contrived scenes like this don’t happen often in later books because the mysteries can’t be unlocked yet, he is telling a bigger story than he started with. “The tale grew in the telling,” says Martin himself, quoting or paraphrasing Tolkien. Oft frustrating that the series hasn’t got a conclusion yet, but hopefully we will see it one day.

The setting is brilliant, though I do have qualms with the names, the North, the South, the Westerlands, the Riverlands etc, all very simplistic… but memorable. The Wall, Kings Landing, Winterfell, Castle Black… names that most Dungeon Masters probably came up with at one time or another.

Martin rolls with it, and cements images of these places in our brains that are difficult to shake.

The society is similar to our own, with its own twists and tricks. It is medieval, feudalistic and full of traditions we have in our own world, and some alien ones that wouldn’t seem too out of place in our own, somewhere at some point in time.

This is the brilliance of the world-building, we feel as though we know Westeros, it moves and shakes so similarly to ours, with fantasy on its edges, in the past, forgotten or half-remembered. Most characters guffaw at the fantasy, which makes it such great drama to introduce us to the magical creatures beyond the wall in the first chapter. We are promised the fantasy will threaten all our characters eventually.

Everybody mentions the parallels to British history, Hadrian’s Wall (The Wall), Yorks (Starks, though I think they’ll win, unlike the Yorks) vs Lancasters (Lannisters, though I’ll think they’ll lose unlike the Lancasters), the rules of various kings, Robert Baratheon (Henry 8th)… but other histories are sprinkled everywhere, and clearly Martin is an enthusiast.

From the Mongols (Dothraki) to the Romans (Valyrians), to the free cities of Renaissance Italy (Braavos etc), this all contributes to the believability of the setting, it all ticks like a very precise clock. We have no trouble imagining the various cultures.

The world has its own internal rules that are completely immersive, the ravens trained and sent from castle to castle, the Maesters of the citadel advising every castle, the Kingsguard all sworn for life to protect the King.

This all feels somehow familiar yet unmistakably unique to Westeros.

Romanticism and symbolism are key. Ice and Fire, Love and Hate, like the poem by Robert Frost that Martin eludes to. It has a classic feeling, a symbolism that hits you like a hammer, clear and poetic, potentially cheesy, but we don’t care, we embrace the romanticism because of the harshness that it juxtaposes with.

There are six direwolves found in the snow, five for the true-born Stark children, one for the “bastard” Jon Snow hidden off away from the pack… it is obvious yes, but it is potent and inspired. Why did Jon call it Ghost? Don’t know yet, but it’s probably symbolic… (see end of 5th book for details). Will Bran be King at the end after being pushed from the tower by the KINGSLAYER? Can the Mother of Dragons mother no humans? All these questions are raised by Martin early, and because he is posing the questions, we trust the answers are forthcoming…

Even the characters who don’t have POVs are all distinct. Robert Baratheon the fat whoring king, Varys the mincing powdered spy-master, Cersei Lannister the conniving blonde-beauty and so on and so on. Each has ticks and traits that are simple yet effective, each have goals, even if you don’t know what they are… you find yourself questioning, what do they want? I know they want something, dammit!

This is the quality of Martin’s writing I believe, stronger than all other parts praised. Motive. The characters all have clearly defined motives in his plans for them, and this shines through in the writing.

We might not know what they are up to, but we believe implicitly that Martin does. I get the sense he has a biography of them with motives that reads something like this - What do they want? What do they really want? What do they really really really really want? What would they sell their mother for?

The dark desires of our POVs are out to show, but of the schemers in the background we know nought, despite how important they are to the series.

With the exception of Tyrion, I get the sense that most of the characters who are not POVs are smarter than those with POVs. Littlefinger, Varys, Robb Stark, Stannis Baratheon, Tywin Lannister, Doran Martell, Bloodraven and so on… they don’t get POVs, but they are in power - and those in power have hidden motives. That is kind of Martin’s main theme for this book and the series.

I think A Game of Thrones is the 3rd strongest in the so far 5 book series.

A Clash of Kings

The second book sees a shift of focus. Tyrion was an integral part of the first book, but the second book is his book. The standout new characters for me are Stannis Baratheon, Melisandre of Asshai and Davos Seaworth.

The brotherly dynamic of Stannis and Renly is fascinating, as is seeing Melisandre’s magic, the first taste of full-blown sorcery we get. These characters help elevate the series from a tight story to a sprawling one, where everyone wants a slice of the power cake.

The first book was a tight murder mystery with the fire dragons and ice wights on the edges. The second book is a spy-war epic. With the espionage of Jon Snow and the Halfhand, Theon Greyjoy and his Winterfell escapades, Tyrion scheming against the Small Council, Stannis’ war plans, Robb Stark taking to the fields against the Lannisters and Catelyn struggling to do what is right for herself versus what is right for the North.

The outlier, as with most of the series, is Daenerys in Essos. She is stuck in a sticky web of complicated factions in the city of Qarth, which is an exquisite location, something from the old sword & sorcery tales.

That location and this book contains one of my favourite passages in all of fantasy…

In a chapter reminiscent of something from Fritz Leiber’s Lankhmar series, or Robert E Howard’s Conan series - we have The House of the Undying. Daenerys pits herself against the blue lipped Warlocks in a magical tower, where she experiences hallucinatory visions which have serious ramifications for the series. It is a truly inspired piece of writing that foreshadows the major beats of the series to come, and of Daenerys’ future.

I could gush about this chapter for a long time, I am a big fan of Leiber and Howard and this chapter reeks of their influence. It is truly dreamy, LSD inspired, dark, horrific and enlightening, yet shadowed in theory-crafting. Fans to this day still argue about what the visions mean in this chapter. It has a beginning, middle and end. It wraps up neatly and leaves much to be desired, proving Martin is a fantasy master, but also reminding us that he was a master of short stories first… just read Sandkings, With Morning Comes The Mist, Bitterblooms or any of his Dunk & Egg novellas.

There are many great sequences in this book full of tension, usually involving Tyrion and his rulership of King’s Landing, dealing with the viper’s nest of Varys, Littlefinger, Joffrey, Cersei and worrying about the warring Baratheon brothers.

The why of it. This is still the most important factor of this story. Why do they protect a lecherous king like Joffrey and fall in love with whores despite knowing better? Why do they place trust in malevolent priestesses of foreign religions and not their loyal advisors? Why do they fight wildlings, just because there’s a wall separating them? There’s always an answer that reveals something about our nature.

Martin provides such depth with the characters, such clarity with the setting, such a knowledge for history and great fiction of the past that it bleeds pure and rings true. He wrote the story as big as he wanted and I think the series was still on track here, although the characters he introduced, he just couldn’t disregard. Characters like Davos and Theon could have ended in this book easily… but Martin wants to give every character a satisfying arc, despite his unjustified reputation for murdering his characters.

You can see the seeds of the story growing too carboniferous to be a 7 book series, and it is both to Martin’s credit and detriment that he decides to tell the story in this way.

I read this book before season 2 aired, and as such became a fervent “book-purist”. So this is the first time I can moan about the TV show (which I could do all day, but alas, life is short).

For me A Clash of Kings is a little better than A Game of Thrones, it has a broader scope (not always a good thing, but works here), the politics are brilliantly Machiavellian, the battles are deviously devised, the characters are revelling in their glory and we readers get the sense that it is building to something even more epic in the next volume. And it does.

A Storm of Swords

The third book in the series of A Song of Ice and Fire is probably the best and it probably won’t get better than this. I have high hopes for The Winds of Winter but I can’t see it getting stronger than what happens in this volume.

It has the best resolutions of conflicts, the best character moments, the best plot moments, all with the same characters we have come to adore or despise. It has the conflict against Mance Rayder’s Wildings at the Wall, the revelation of Jon Arryn’s murderer, the struggles of the Lannister family climaxing, the Red Wedding, the Purple Wedding, Tyrion’s trial, the Mountain and the Viper and the turn of the Kingslayer…

Whereas in the previous book I thought the plot of Daenerys was strong, in this book it’s not as strong, she has too much competition with better storylines.

So much happens in this book that it makes the two sequels seem insignificant in comparison.

I have a feeling The Winds of Winter will be akin to this one. There is great writing spilling out of even seemingly minor events, such as the Trial by Combat of The Hound against Beric Dondarrion… such a wonderful battle scene, every crunch and clang is felt… and it somehow manages to be the second best duel in the book.

The best new character is Oberyn Martell the Red Viper of Dorne, a wild man ruled by passions with a tragic motivation. Always I find myself talking about motivations when talking about these books, but it’s so true. Every character makes decisions in this book that make so much sense, their motivations are so sympathetic, logical (either emotionally or rationally) and/or compelling all at the same time.

The two previous books in the series had their storms, but even darker clouds were gathering to events that transpired here. It feels like the end of a mini-trilogy within the series.

A Storm of Swords will always rank high in my favourite fantasy books of all time. I think the character work is just brilliant. I don’t ever remember being so attached to the fate of so many different characters in one fantasy book.

A Feast For Crows

I think people are harsh on A Feast For Crows, but I also find it to be the weakest in the series. And whilst it has different authorial intentions to the previous books, that doesn’t stop it being about characters we previously had little or no connection to. We had the storm and this feels like the aftermath.

I’m pretty sure Martin wanted to show the real effects of a great war upon the normal people. But why exclusively show us nobles scheming for three books? I think the idea is better than the execution. We loved or hated those nobles. I think Martin struggled with the idea that there were Seven Kingdoms, and we had to know what was happening in each of them.

What’s happening in Dorne? What’s happening in the Reach? What’s happening in the Iron Islands? These are questions that other fantasy series ignore.

It couldn’t do for him to just write in a few sentences - ah well there was a massive fleet of Iron Island ships sailing east for Daenerys - we had to see that conflict play out, otherwise it would’ve felt contrived. I think that was Martin’s belief. It adds to the breadth of the series, but not the focus.

A Feast For Crows features beautiful sections, Brienne wandering the lands with Pod, witnessing the consequences of a storm of swords, very reminiscent of the Dunk and Egg novellas, Doran receiving his brother’s fate in a letter, not able to read it from the light of the sun, waiting for it to set and therefore requires a servant bring a candle, Cersei tearing things apart in King’s Landing.

But for me, it doesn’t sustain the momentum, and though that would have been near impossible with the pace set in the previous one, it’s such a 180 turn, there wasn’t the right balance.

I love the attempt and it draws us deeper into the world, but we don’t get to follow our characters.

A Dance with Dragons

The series picks up the pace again with this one, but it stutters in my opinion, too many POVs crowding the limelight.

My favourite is Theon and the conflict about to happen at Winterfell between Stannis and the Boltons. The conspiracies of Mereen are not as interesting, too many factions that we don’t care about, too many rolling parts that are forgotten in the madness. I really wanted Daenerys to get a move on and get to Westeros, but again the realism strikes and she is paralysed by political conflicts and the desire to rule well, which is difficult.

The problem with all of the conflicts here is they are all cliffhangers. There is no resolution. Which is a bummer. Winterfell, Mereen, The Wall, The Iron Fleet. We have to wait and wait and wait. Things are building. But a whole 1000 pages of building without payoff is too much.

There are great MOMENTS herein, such as certain spoiler-y deaths. But they don’t answer questions, rather they pose more.

I still like the book, it returns to all the characters we loved from the first three, plus a few from the 4th one. It is raised a little stronger than A Feast For Crows simply because of those great moments, my favourite being Bran’s interactions with THAT shady character hinted at for so long, the Pink Letter and Theon’s wanderings.

The greatest strength of this book is the atmosphere throughout, a tension that is rising and rising, especially in Winterfell, with Ramsay, Roose, Mance Raydar, Theon, fake-Arya, the Manderlys, the Karstarks, Asha and the Freys. It’s a fantastic boiling pot waiting to spill into chaos… only we don’t get to see the chaos, we have to wait for The Winds of Winter…

Tyrion is kind of a non-event here, which is a shame.

Final Thoughts on A Song of Ice and Fire

Martin has not overthrown Tolkien nor grown out of his shadow. He relishes in loving Tolkien, Vance, Moorcock and more, building upon the milieu of fantasy literature that he grew up on. Other fantasy books are open influences, no secrets are made, and I love that. Martin embraces his influences and creates something of his own. Elric of Melnibone from Moorcock being the Targaryen influence, Memory Sorrow Thorn by Tad Williams having ice creatures and dire-wolves and red garbed priests, a near-Vancian description of tourneys, dinners and soirees almost overwhelming, the politics of Maurice Druon’s series with incest and scandal. All are there to see, and it is no shame, it is a feast of fantasy. A writer in love with the genre and showing it and surpassing his influences, especially in scale.

Martin has built an iconic series with the best character cast ever, a series that will always be mentioned on best of lists regardless of its completion. I really really hope it all ends by his pen satisfactorily, which seems like a mammoth task. Here I am in 2020, nine years after the previous one. I just don’t see an end in sight… I really don’t. The series became too sprawling to tie everything up, and I think it would take another 3 books to tie-up what is happening without rushing it. The Winds of Winter… (another one or two books in-between) … then The Dream of Spring.

But I am ever hopeful.

Characters - the best in the genre.

Setting - will become iconic but are definitely simplistic in naming. Therein lies its strength - they feel real, they feel like what the people of the world would call them.

Plot - sprawling and complex with many whirring cogs, strong in the first three, weaker in the second two.

Page-Turnability (pacing) - in the beginning a little slow, then it builds and explodes in the 3rd book then falls in the 4th book, the 5th is trying to build up again.

As a writer I will always consider these books a turning point for me. They’ll always be my first adult love, the first books I loved after the early days of my childhood/teen reading. I haven’t re-read them for many years and I suffered the TV show. The minute The Winds of Winter is announced, I’ll pre-order, and despite the terrible ending of the TV show and all its spoilers, this book series will always be a special one, I pray the ending will be one to remember. Martin is good at endings, especially in his novellas and short stories… so we’ll see…