Evil dies with the help of a dragon lady and good wins.
What is a summary of the book "A Game of Thrones"?
A Game of Thrones is the first book in the fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. He hasn't actually finished writing the series yet, and based on his age and his writing pace, a lot of people doubt that he'll ever actually finish it.
Personally, I think George R. R. Martin is a brilliant story-teller but a bad writer - it's very rare for me to prefer a TV or movie adaptation of a book (or series of books) but this is an exceptional case!
Summary of the Novel A Game Of Thrones
A Game of Thrones is made up of several narratives, with alternating chapters that follow different characters. They are all interlinked, and presumably will all tie together at the end, but there's no way of knowing if they will just yet!
It's very difficult to explain in detail, so to simplify the book, I'll divide it into three main story-lines:
- The Seven Kingdoms - the mainland is at peace to begin with, but war soon breaks out when secrets are revealed and honesty and loyalty bring death to Ned Stark, who appears (at first) to be the main character (or protagonist).
- The East - This is set primarily in a desert-like place and mainly follows Daenerys Targaryen, a strong-willed young princess forced to marry a barbarian who soon becomes the love of her life. By the end of the novel, it is revealed that she is the mother of dragons - after the death of her husband, she walks unharmed into fire holding three fossilised dragon eggs - a wedding gift - which hatch as she emerges from the fire.
- Beyond The Wall - Ned Stark's illegitimate son, Jon Snow, joins the Night's Watch - a legion consisting primarily of outlaws who defend the Seven Kingdoms from the dangers and mysteries that lie beyond the Wall. The wall lies to the very north of the Seven Kingdoms, and is an icy wasteland inhabited by savages and rumours of mystical, living-dead creatures known as Nightwalkers.
There's so much going on in the novel - politics, history, unanswered questions and uncertain loyalties - that it's really difficult to give a concise summary.
HBO's TV adaptation is brilliant, though - I don't know anybody who's watched it and doesn't love it - so if the way the book is written puts you off (as it did me, being a book-lover, literature student and writer) then I'd just watch that instead.
The third season, which is an adaptation of the third book, will be aired in April 2013, so watch out for that if you can't handle clichéd writing and clunky prose!