I just learned today from one of my former geology 211 students that another student of mine from the same quarter got into a fatal car accident near Spokane over spring break. The least I can do is acknowledge that he was a bright student, and a great person.
Rest in peace, Sammy Alurfali.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
A Game of Thrones and a Clash of Kings Review
When I first hear about the A Song of Ice and Fire Saga I felt little to no interest in George R.R. Martin's epic series. But, of course, that was before I actually read any of the books, and now I have been sucked into the world of political intrigue, betrayal, heroism, and subtle mysticism. Not only that, but I also had to pick of the LCG (living card game) based on the series, but I'll get to that in a future review.
I have already powered my way through the first two novels, which could be aptly labeled as tomes for their size. A Game of Thrones, the first novel, focuses primarily on the various members of the Stark family, a hard, honest people who inhabit the keep and lands of Winterfell in the north of Westeros, the small continent which is the primary setting for the novels. Each chapter is told from a different character's perspective, which is an excellent story-telling device and I can't imagine these books any other way. From the start the six children of Eddard (the lord of Winterfell) Stark find a direwolf mother dead, having been locked in a deathly embrace with a stag. They discover six pups, which they adopt and remain loyal to their children throughout the course of the books.
Soon enough, Lord Eddard's king and old friend, Robert Baratheon, arrive at Winterfell to ask Eddard to become the Hand of the King, who basically does all the hard work, which Eddard is forced to begrudgingly accept. A secondary storyline focuses on Daenerys, the daughter of the old king who was rebelled against by Robert and friends, who has been exiled overseas with her brother on a vast, arid continent. As the book progresses, the importance of her role continues to grow, and although her storyline often felt almost jarring in its difference from the events in Westeros, it was still a welcome dialogue with interesting occurrences.
From this point forward the plot twists and turns in intriguing and sometimes unexpected directions, bringing the reader to truly care about the fate of the plethora of characters, regardless of whether they are good, evil, or somewhere in between. I don't really want to give away too much more of the plot because I feel it would spoil a lot of the surprises for a first-time reader. I absolutely recommend reading A Game of Thrones. I think it is one of the most fantastic and well-written pieces of literature I have ever read, which nearly anyone could find some part to enjoy. If you like intrigue, action, love, hate, and everything else in a book, this is the series for you!
I would also like to make a few comments on A Clash of Kings, the second book in George R.R. Martin's series. This novel introduces a couple of new perspectives from which the narrative is driven, those being the characters Davos and Theon. Davos is an old corsair turned loyalist who brings into focus the events surrounding Stannis Baratheon, Robert Baratheon's brother. Theon Greyjoy is a young man of age with the eldest Stark, Robb, who is also a ward of the Starks, and his narrative focuses on his return to his father on the island of Pyke.
I also managed to plow through A Clash of Kings quickly, but I found the plot twists to be a little less intriguing than in the first novel, but it had more than enough interesting parts to carry on a fantastic storyline, and I was definitely left eager for the next novel, A Storm of Swords, which I am already several hundred pages in.
I love these books and I just wanted to give a shout out to my graduate student compatriot, Joe, for introducing me to the series!
I have already powered my way through the first two novels, which could be aptly labeled as tomes for their size. A Game of Thrones, the first novel, focuses primarily on the various members of the Stark family, a hard, honest people who inhabit the keep and lands of Winterfell in the north of Westeros, the small continent which is the primary setting for the novels. Each chapter is told from a different character's perspective, which is an excellent story-telling device and I can't imagine these books any other way. From the start the six children of Eddard (the lord of Winterfell) Stark find a direwolf mother dead, having been locked in a deathly embrace with a stag. They discover six pups, which they adopt and remain loyal to their children throughout the course of the books.
Soon enough, Lord Eddard's king and old friend, Robert Baratheon, arrive at Winterfell to ask Eddard to become the Hand of the King, who basically does all the hard work, which Eddard is forced to begrudgingly accept. A secondary storyline focuses on Daenerys, the daughter of the old king who was rebelled against by Robert and friends, who has been exiled overseas with her brother on a vast, arid continent. As the book progresses, the importance of her role continues to grow, and although her storyline often felt almost jarring in its difference from the events in Westeros, it was still a welcome dialogue with interesting occurrences.
From this point forward the plot twists and turns in intriguing and sometimes unexpected directions, bringing the reader to truly care about the fate of the plethora of characters, regardless of whether they are good, evil, or somewhere in between. I don't really want to give away too much more of the plot because I feel it would spoil a lot of the surprises for a first-time reader. I absolutely recommend reading A Game of Thrones. I think it is one of the most fantastic and well-written pieces of literature I have ever read, which nearly anyone could find some part to enjoy. If you like intrigue, action, love, hate, and everything else in a book, this is the series for you!
I would also like to make a few comments on A Clash of Kings, the second book in George R.R. Martin's series. This novel introduces a couple of new perspectives from which the narrative is driven, those being the characters Davos and Theon. Davos is an old corsair turned loyalist who brings into focus the events surrounding Stannis Baratheon, Robert Baratheon's brother. Theon Greyjoy is a young man of age with the eldest Stark, Robb, who is also a ward of the Starks, and his narrative focuses on his return to his father on the island of Pyke.
I also managed to plow through A Clash of Kings quickly, but I found the plot twists to be a little less intriguing than in the first novel, but it had more than enough interesting parts to carry on a fantastic storyline, and I was definitely left eager for the next novel, A Storm of Swords, which I am already several hundred pages in.
I love these books and I just wanted to give a shout out to my graduate student compatriot, Joe, for introducing me to the series!
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