Many years ago (too many to count) I picked up a novel and misread the authors name – I thought it said George Lucas (best known for Star Wars and Indiana Jones) – but as I began to read it I realize my mistake – I’d bought the first book in the series ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ by George R R Martin.
The book was called A Game of Thrones. As I read through and struggled a little as the writing style is at times a little difficult, and the story complex I realized that I was reading one of the best fantasy novels I had read.
Like Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, if you can get through the first 50 pages or so, then the story line, depth of character and sheer scale of the story will capture you and not let go. I’ve read all of the books so far and feel it is well worth the effort.
Imagine my joy when HBO picked up the series. The TV adaptation is amazing, and while some of the story lines are different I feel the producers have done an amazing job in bringing such a complex series to the screen.
What I love is that the characters really embody their book counterparts and I find myself falling in love with them again as I did in the books. There are some brilliant characters – I could name 20 that are my favorites (half of them dead!) but there are 5 or 6 that really stand out for me. Their complex characters that are not quite good or evil, and the way they are entwined in a story bigger than themselves makes these characters amazing – to watch their growth throughout the series is like watching a child grow and prosper. Suffice to say I love the series and love the characters.
If you haven’t seen Game of Thrones by now, why not? If you have, then you must have your favorite characters! Here are my six favorite characters from GOT – feel free to vote for them or add your own.