Reading Response: A Game of Thrones

I've just begun the one series that may keep me from reading the whole thing in the course of a week. I begun the first book of A Song of Ice and Fire series with the epic story of A Game of Thrones George R.R Martin, and  have to say I don't think a book has every grabbed my attention so quickly. This tale of fantasy tale if held in a place where winter's and summers can last decades, and in this medieval time period also sets up a story of glory and deception in a way that I've never seen before.Not only is the plot and world interesting but each character has a path that makes me feel like I'm reading individual stories with each chapter.

My favorite character by far is Jon Snow, the bastard son of Eddard Stark, ruler of Winterfell (when a bastard is born, they aren't allowed to take the last name of their father and must take the name "Snow"). Jon is a strong-willed character that has a rough life not because he was born a king's son, but because he was born at all. His father had him while being married to his wife for a year and is looked upon by the world as the boy who disgraced his family and as someone who shouldn't be. This makes me drawn to this character because he is the outsider accepted by a few people, which is who I am most of the time. In the story, Jon decides that if he must be the outsider, he will take the road to where even a bastard can be looked upon in greatness, as a part of the Night Watch, the warrior's who guard the outer wall's of the land. I wish to see more of Jon in the story but as the character's keep alternating it keep's my attention away as I look at their lives as well.

In this book there are definitely some things that throw me off. An example would be who are the conflict's fall between, because there seem to be quite a bit of hate to one group but other hates rise out under it from the past as well. I would also want to know what type of fantasy am I dealing with in the story, in terms of magic and creature among other things. The main things that I wish to know more about are the outer wall, the Night's Watch, the Dothraki and the Targaryen's. And these are just my main concerns, not even mentioning my other haunt's of this book.