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A Game of Thrones

A Game of Thrones

Book One of A Song of Ice and Fire
Epic FantasyFantasy
Pages
835
Published
1996
Language
English

Synopsis

A Game of Thrones opens A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin's sprawling epic of power, family, and survival in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. Summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, and as the long summer ends, a chill gathers in the North beyond an ancient wall of ice.

When King Robert Baratheon asks his old friend Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell to serve as his Hand, Ned is drawn south into a nest of court intrigue where a single misstep means ruin. As the great houses of Westeros — Stark, Lannister, Baratheon, Targaryen — maneuver for advantage, alliances are made and broken, and the realm slides toward war. Far across the Narrow Sea, the exiled Daenerys Targaryen begins a journey that could one day threaten every throne in the land.

Told through many rotating points of view, Martin's novel is prized for its moral complexity, unsentimental brutality, and refusal to guarantee any character's safety. It reshaped modern epic fantasy and became the basis for HBO's Game of Thrones.

Prose complexity
7/10

Vibe

DarkTenseGritty
Multiple POVsBetrayalMorally GreyCourt Intrigue

Genres

Epic Fantasy Fantasy High Fantasy Dark Fantasy Adventure Paranormal Politics Science Fiction

About the author

G
George R. R. Martin

George Raymond Richard Martin (born 20 September 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey) is an American writer of fantasy, science fiction and horror. His early work includes the novels Dying of the Light (1977), Fevre Dream and The Armageddon Rag, and the story collections Sandkings and Tuf Voyaging. From the mid-1980s he also wrote for television, on the revived The Twilight Zone and on Beauty and the Beast, where he became a co-supervising producer. He is best known for the epic fantasy sequence A Song...

Characters

Daenerys TargaryenProtagonist

An exiled princess beginning a journey that could threaten every throne in Westeros.

Eddard "Ned" StarkProtagonist

Honorable Lord of Winterfell, drawn south to serve as Hand of the King.

Cersei LannisterAntagonist

The queen, ruthless in defense of her family's power.

Jon SnowSupporting

Ned Stark's bastard son, who takes the black at the Wall.

Tyrion LannisterSupporting

Sharp-witted younger son of House Lannister, dismissed for his stature.

All characters in A Game of Thrones

Frequently asked questions

  • Does A Game of Thrones have a TV adaptation?

    A Game of Thrones was adapted into the first season of the HBO series Game of Thrones, which closely follows the book's storyline and introduces the main characters and political landscape of Westeros.

  • Is A Game of Thrones the first book in a series?

    This book is the inaugural volume in The Song of Ice and Fire series, establishing the foundational conflicts and character arcs that continue throughout subsequent novels.

  • Does A Game of Thrones end on a cliffhanger?

    The book concludes with several plotlines unresolved and major character fates uncertain, setting the stage for the next installment in the series.

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