A Game Of Thrones Book

A Game of Thrones is the name of the first book in his fantasy series called A Song of Ice and Fire.

The story in the A Game Of Thrones takes place in a fantasy version of our medieval times (somewhere in Europe) where supernatural things do happen. It all starts in Winterfell, the home of the family and ruler Stark, house belonging to one of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. I won't go into details with the story as I don't want to give away the plot, but let's just say there aren't many times when something doesn't happen (in most cases something gory).

Something happened ages ago that impacted the balance of the Earth, bringing the cold and Winter to Winterfell. This winter that is approaching is so powerful that most of the book is dominated by its quiet yet strong presence. Maybe this is why the book has a very sombre atmosphere all throughout.

However this doesn't deter from the enjoyment of the book. On the contrary. After having read so many fluff and easy fantasy novels, I was glad to finally get into a book that hooks you right into its world to never let you go.

To the South, the powers of the current King are falling, which makes the rest of the kingdoms eager to take the King's place. To illustrate this, the author presents the entire novel from the several points of view, each chapter focusing on one particular kingdom. Some people might find this annoying (in other books I don't like this shifting of the point of view either), but the author executes it quite elegantly, in a way that you won't even notice much the shift.

I guess this is why I found myself cheering for each party in turn, instead of having a clear favorite. I loved the Stark family, but I also rooted for Daenerys, the sister of Viserys Targaryen living in the East, who was also preparing to overthrown the kingdom.

I've heard from some people that there were too many characters in the novel. That is true, one can get easily overwhelmed by the many people entering and exiting the stage. However let me say that I found none of them boring or shallow. All characters are nicely fleshed out and you can actually see in your mind's eye how each of them look, feel, think and act.

None of the characters are purely black and white. None of them are just good or evil. They are all complex human being, with their faults, but also with their true loving hearts. So you can't really hate many of them (well with one or two exceptions) and when some of them perish and die, you can't but feel sad and at times angry or defeated along with their demise.

Following the amazing popularity of the first book in the fantasy series, HBO created the instantly popular TV series with the same name.

The TV series was first shown in the US on April 17, 2011 and it was such a big hit that shortly after many other countries have bought the rights to show them as well.

What I personally liked about the TV series was the fact that they didn't deviate too much from the book. The story line was pretty much the same, and now that we could really see the characters in flesh and blood, the entire story took the world by storm. For example I know of friends who actually bought all 5 books AFTER watching the TV show first.

Just like the first book, the plot follows the different houses from their points of view, and if the book described some gory scenes, the screen showed the very scenes as well, leaving not much out. So you will see plenty of beheadings, arms cut, blood spilled, and even nudity. This might come as a shock to many people watching, since although we are used to violence on TV, explicit scenes with gory details are rarely vividly depicted - usually that is left to our imagination. So if you're squeamish, beware!

The second season of Game of Thrones is out in April 2012 - I can't wait!

A Game of Thrones has received (and will still receive) several awards for its excellent casting, design, costumes, directing and so much more. Here are some of the main awards the show has received or was nominated for:

Emmy Award Nominations

Outstanding Main Title Design ( award won)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series
Outstanding Costumes for a Series
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Outstanding Drama Series
Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series
Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic)
Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series
Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series
Outstanding Stunt Coordination
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

Casting Society of America, USA Nominations

Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Television Pilot - Drama
Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Television Series - Drama

Satellite Awards Nominations

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Best Television Series, Genre

Television Critics Association Awards Nominations

Outstanding New Program of the Year (award won)
Individual Achievement in Drama
Outstanding Achievement in Drama
Program of the Year

Writers Guild of America, USA Nominations

Drama Series
New Series

Golden Globes, USA Nominations

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Best Television Series - Drama

People's Choice Awards, USA Nominations

Favorite Cable TV Drama

For more detailed informations on the 2011-2012 nominations, visit the IMDB website.

With the popularity of the Game of Thrones series (the series is in fact called A Song of Ice and Fire, but everyone knows it under A Game of Thrones), artists and creative folks have done their part in adding a lot of accessories related to the epic series. Calendars, posters, playing cards, even games have all sprung like mushrooms after rain. So here are some of the most popular accessories that Game of Throne aficionados have been purchasing ever since

George R. R. Martin was born on September 20, 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey. He is the son of a longshoreman. Martin began to write science-fiction short stories in the early 1970s. His first story nominated for the Hugo Award[citation needed] and the Nebula Award was With Morning Comes Mistfall, published in 1973 by Analog magazine.

Martin's novella, Nightflyers, was adapted into a 1987 feature film of the same title.

In 1991 Martin briefly returned to writing novels, and began what would eventually turn into his epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, which was finally published in 1996. A Clash of Kings, the second book in the series was published in 1998. The third book, A Storm of Swords, got published in 2000. A Feast for Crows, the 4th one in the epic series was published in 2005., and finally after a long wait by the fans, book 5 called A Dance with Dragons was published in 2011. There are apparently 2 more books to come.

Read more about George R.R. Martin's biography at Wikipedia.