A Song of Fire & Ice: A Game of Thrones

Though I've tried, my journey into the fantasy epics has been somewhat limited to Harry Potter.  Well, no more!  Despite not having watched Game of Thrones, Season 1 Box Set, I decided to read the first book of A Song of Fire and Ice.  The books' spine was thick, and its pages were thin as they come.  With a deep sigh, initially, I opened the pages and delved into the exciting world of George R. R. Martin's plane of intrigue and drama.

Firstly, I would be hesitant to nail A Game of Thrones solidly into the "fantasy" genre.  For the first half of the book, it reads very much like a historical fiction text with sudden bounces into the extremely fantastic (e.g. reanimated dead corpses).  The story centers on Eddard Stark - a Lord of Winterfell - and his family, as he is named Hand to the King and uncovers a plot that led to the previous Hand's death.  The story is told from various point of view (POV) characters, including Eddard himself, his wife Catelyn, his daughters Sansa and Arya, his son Bran, his bastard son Jon, the dwarf brother of the King's wife, Tyrion, and finally a mysterious young woman who is the last of the line of Targaryeans (the previous ruling nobility), named Daenerys.

Already, I was pretty lost.  It kind of felt like being in AP Euro again and not knowing who was related to who and what.  At one point of time, I almost drew a genogram of the families.  Somewhat helpful is an appendix at the end of the text that listed the noble families.  It was more helpful than I care to admit. 

George R. R. Martin writes engrossingly, but the sudden switches in POV lead to some frustrations as a reader (especially with cliffhangers).  I was very happy when the author discovered he could use dialogue to move the story forward, and there was a point when things moved very, very quickly.  The language is pretty dense, and on more than one occasion, I tried to look up the definition of some words by holding my finger to solid page and expecting a definition to appear.  I highly recommend an eReader for these texts unless you have a very proficient vocabulary, are excellent with archaic syntax, or read with a dictionary nearby.

Throughout the book, the mysticism and magic of fantasy remain beyond the reach of the reader.  Only at the end do we (the readers) get a good look into just how deep the rabbit hole of the world can possibly go.  I can't deny that I am eagerly anticipating the next in the series.

If you do give A Game of Thrones a whirl, be patient; there really is a lull until the action gets going - and before you start to see character dynamics unfold.  Before long, you barely notice that you once were unaware of the long and mythic history of the Seven Kingdoms, and you'll be nibbling at every new shred the book gives you to fill in the blanks.

A Tale of Two eReaders

As a boy, I would have told you that books weren't worth the paper they were printed on.  Reading books on the computer would have been my ideal scenario.  But as an adult, I've shied away from embracing this new technology, only recently completing a text via eReader.

Because of the iPad, I've been able to dip my toes in the world of reading via a mobile device, and have now read enough on two different platforms (iBooks and the Kindle iPad App) to judge them against each other.


Side by side comparison.  Kindle (left), and iBooks (right).



Neither is ideal, and both of them make me want to make an eReader that I would find ideal, but since I lack talent for anything other than complaining and criticizing, that is what I shall do!  So check out the criticism, after the jump...

Books: The Hunger Games

I think it might be impossible to review The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins' inaugural dystopian novel of a post-war America, without using terms relating to my own hunger for reading the novels, or symbolic utilization of food in comparison with the text itself.  Trying to resist is futile, so instead I will comically overuse these reviewing standards.

The Hunger Games is the delectable first voyage into the dystopian (by the way, Google Chrome - that is a word) world of Panem, as narrated by a young woman named Katniss.  Every morsel-sized chapter flourishes with the flavor of the intricately designed world of Collins.  Because of rebellion against the overseeing government, every year one young man and young woman are selected by lottery to compete in arena deathmatches called The Hunger Games.  This is the story of how Katniss goes to the Games and her experience.

The relative isolation of District 12 where Katniss originates from is a convenient avenue to introduce readers to the strangeness of the world.  But the effect never feels burnt to the reader, and very natural - or shall we say, granola.

There are moments when putting the book down is near impossible, the savory story absolutely enraptures the reader.  Action sequences (which you can depend on with any story that involves 24 individuals fighting to the death) are well written, but so are those scenes where Katniss is alone, and in survival mode.  This varies substantially from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, where Harry and Hermione's similar treks into the wilderness are near painful.  Instead, I'm chomping at the bit to follow the heroine's trek in the arena.

Sure, sure, the book has the stink of an Atwood dystopia (still a word, Google Chrome!), but it's a delicious smell, really.

This book was also my first run reading a book on the iPad Kindle reader.  I really enjoyed it.  iBooks has a slightly cooler looking dictionary tool, but luckily The Hunger Games didn't push my vocabulary.  Kindle lets me read via the CLOUD, which sounds so future-esque.

So, I've added the series to my Amazon Wish List.  Also, the list below:

• The Hunger Games and The Hunger Games (Kindle Edition)
• Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) and Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) (Kindle Edition)
• Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, Book 3) and Mockingjay (The Final Book of The Hunger Games) (Kindle Edition)

Books: Southern Vampire Mysteries

Sarah (whose blog has some to-die-for food pictures, NSFD- not safe for diet) got me interested in True Blood, an HBO series based off of the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris.  The series was addictive, and before long I'd watched a great deal of every episode available for human consumption.  For my birthday, I'd asked to give the foundation books a go, and I've been eating them just as quickly!

The books center on the first-person narrative of Sookie Stackhose, a waitress in Bon Temps, Louisiana's only successful bar, Merlotte's.  Sookie is a twenty-something everywoman, except that she has a "disability" - as she calls it - of telepathy.  When Bill Compton, a vampire walks into Merlotte's, Sookie cannot read his thoughts and finds his silence blissful.

The books (and subsequent HBO series) do the in medias res thing I like so much.  Vampires have "come out of the coffin" and are (mostly) doing their best to fit in with the mortal population, baring the ability to walk in daylight, lest they burn into flames (as they should, Ms. Meyer).  Vampires may be old hat to big cities like New Orleans, but Bon Temps is a whole different story.  This is a helpful literary tool because it allows the reader to gain some backstory on vampires through some of the residents' naivety.

As a reading experience, Dead Until Dark was much closer One for the Money and Evanovich's other Stephanie Plum books, that is to say: funny, witty, with a side of mystery whodunnit thrown in for good measure.  Harris doesn't shove anything down the reader's throat, nor is the revelation a sudden change in direction.  The ending of Living Dead in Dallas did seem a little rushed, but that's my only compliant - and it's minor.  These books are edible and DELICIOUS.

True Blood on the other hand, is a different monster entirely.  The show follows the basic plot points from Harris' text, but spreading a couple hundred pages over 13 full episodes does require some fleshing out.  If you are a fan of the show, you'll likely enjoy the book, but they are not the same.  Whereas the HBO series is dark, sexual, and violent, Harris' books are more fun, and about the relationships (especially between Sookie and her vampire suitor, Bill - and a much-sexier-than-I-had-given-him-credit-for-because-I-didn't-find-the-actor-attractive, Eric).

It's been a perfect summer read, and if you have any interest at all, I'd say you need to sink your teeth into this series.  It's to die for: Sookie Stackhouse 8-copy Boxed Set (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood)

Reading List is Taking Over!

My reading list has taken over a little, lately, care of some birthday presents.

I have found that, indeed, I can enjoy books on my new iPad, so I have bought two, and they are both based off of video games.  From Dragon Age, a prequel about the birth of King Marric (whose son is a featured character in Dragon Age: Origins) called Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne and from Bioshock, another prequel about the founding and downfall of the underwater city, Rapture, called simply BioShock: Rapture.

Since both books had Samples available on iBooks, I was able to get a feel before committing to purchasing.  I've never tried an e-Reader before, but have been surprised at how well the iPad serves in that aspect (as well as having some game, which I'll do a feature on soon).

Also, some nice solid down to earth books, namely Dead Until Dark: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel.  It's much much campier than its television inspired series (HBO's True Blood) - up to being laugh out loud funny, the kind I haven't had sine One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, No. 1) or Grift Sense series (both campy murder mystery types).