Winter is Coming

Hi, everyone! I volunteered to fill in for Cate this time. It'll be good for me. It'll build character.

Today I want to talk about--wait for it--books! Specifically the series A Song of Ice and Fire. You can guess it's a fantasy series, right? You may have heard of it; a television adaptation of the first book is on HBO now, and they are sticking these confounded HBO stickers on the covers of the all books, which is aggravating when you want your covers to match but not be torn apart.

This book is over eight hundred pages long. I've already torn it up enough reading it one and a half times.

I have to be honest. I own all of the books that are presently out, and I've only read A Game of Thrones and part of A Clash of Kings. It was summer, and I had to go back to school.

The world of A Song of Ice and Fire is an awful lot like medieval Europe, but with magic. The magic is minimal at first, only showing itself in the form of the creation of a wight in the prologue, and wonky seasons that last for years at a time. The magic becomes more apparent toward the end of the book.

The Seven Kingdoms are tenuously held together by King Robert Baratheon, who rebelled and took the throne of King Aerys II Targaryen. The first novel follows Eddard Stark, who participated in Robert's Rebellion and is now the Warden of the North; Jon Snow, Eddard's illegitimate son, who joins the Night's Watch, a small group of men who patrol the wall to the north of the Seven Kingdoms, keeping them safe from wildlings and other threats; and Daenerys Targaryen, Aerys's daughter, and whose brother Viserys wants more than anything to recover the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms for the Targaryens.

As the name implies, it gets pretty complicated. There are no elves, but there is plenty of intrigue, and a lot of death.

I recommend you read the book and then watch the HBO adaptation, which will show you just how bloody it all is.

Buy through Barnes & Noble for $21.33.

Hugs and puppies,

Maureen