Did I read in March?

...Nope! For shame! I failed to read a single darn thing in the month of March and that, my friends, is Pathetic with a capital P. I honestly do not know what I was doing otherwise, but I can say that the month of April has started off differently.

I am currently on page 433 (thirty three!!!) of Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. The hubbers and I have been watching the TV series adaptation of this insanely awesome book series, so I thought it best that I finally read them...and I...am...HOOKED. We are currently watching the second season of the series, which I understand is based on book 2. So. What I'm doing is essentially "watching" book 2 while reading book 1. Confused? Basically. It's weird to read about what has already happened, and to know what will happen because I'm ahead, show-wise. Regardless of that, though, the book is still amazing and I am flying through these 800 pages with the speed of light! Definitely recommend this series, but if you intend to be as enthralled as I am, you're going to have to devote some time to it because it can get a little confusing and is definitely not just a 'fluff' book. ;)

With that said, if you are interested in reading more about what I have read so far...



First and foremost, I would describe this series as medieval fantasy. I would also describe it as a soap opera, at times!

Book 1 starts by introducing you to Brandon (Bran) Stark, a young child of the House of Starks in Winterfell. Winterfell is a kingdom that is part of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, the land in which all of our characters live. From here, the book continues to be told from the points of view of many other characters, including Bran's father (Lord Eddard Stark, the Warden of the North and, of course, the Lord of Winterfell, who has now become the Hand to King Robert Baratheon), Bran's sisters Sansa and Arya, his mother Lady Catelyn, Jon Snow (the bastard son of Lord Stark), Tyrion Lannister (the brother of the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms), and finally Daenerys (Princess of Dragonstone and heiress to the Targaryen throne).

So, you have a few families that exist:

-The Baratheons (the current King's family)
-The Starks of Winterfell
-The Lannisters (who have married into the royal Baratheon family, the Queen being a Lannister)
-The Targaryens
(There are others, but they are not as involved in book 1 except by brief mentions to connect some dots for you as far as who marries who, etc).

What you learn throughout this first novel is that the King of the Seven Kingdoms, Robert Baratheon, battled and overthrew the former King (a Targaryen) and basically stole his Iron Throne to rule over the Seven Kingdoms. The Targaryens are people of the dragon and had ruled the Kingdoms for hundreds of years until this battle, approx. 15 years before this story begins. The heirs to the Targaryen throne (Princess Daenerys and her brother, Viserys) fled the city of Kings Landing when their people were killed off by the Baratheon/Lannister people. They believe themselves to be the true heirs and have joined up with the Dothraki people of the East, a horse tribe, in the hopes to build an army to return to Westeros to re-claim their throne.

Meanwhile, King Robert is married to Cersei Lannister.  The Lannisters (Cersei and her twin brother, Jamie, and their younger brother, an Imp named Tyrion) are basically power-hungry A-holes and the Queen is a suuuuper bitch. The King and Queen's son, Prince Joffrey, is to be the heir to the throne when King Robert dies. But here's the twist. You learn, albeit slowly, that Joffrey and his siblings may not actually be the King's kids. Yes, they belong to the Queen...and someone else. I won't say who. ;)  This would mean that Joffrey is NOT the true heir.

Eddard Stark learns this truth. He realizes that this kid is not the true heir. In fact, the King has many bastard sons who would be, technically, and surprise surprise, the Queen has arranged for each of these bastard children to be killed so that they can't rise to their power. Sadly, this knowledge puts Stark in a really crappy position because not only is he now the King's Hand, swearing his loyalty to him, but his daughter Sansa is "betrothed" to Prince Joffrey - to be his Queen someday! This drama is incredibly, incredibly important...but I'll have to get to that in a later post!

So. What you have here are several families who believe themselves to be the true heirs to the Iron Throne:

The Targaryens, because they were originally.
The Lannisters, who just want the power, period.
The brothers of Robert Baratheon who think they should be King someday, and not this Joffrey kid.

In fact, just about the only people who aren't wanting the thone are the Starks, who again are only involved because the King has made Eddard his Hand.

Most of this book takes place in one of the following places: Kings Landing (where Eddard Stark now acts as the King's Hand, and he is there with the King, Queen, "their" children, Jamie Lannister, and Sansa and Arya Stark); at Winterfell (home of the Starks, remember, and where Bran is); Eyrie (where Lady Catelyn's sister lives and where she goes for a time, with Tyrion Lannister as a prisoner - long story here that involves the true father to the Queen's kids and all that biz); the East (where Princess Daenerys, her brother, and the Dothraki people are); and finally, the Wall.

The Wall is where Jon Snow stays. He has pledged to be a brother of the black, meaning a guard basically. See, the Wall is the farthest point north in Westeros. It is an old 700-foot-high, 300-mile-long barrier that protects the Seven Kingdoms and it is guarded by the Night's Watch (the black brothers). The Wall separates Westeros from lands north of the Wall that are pretty much unknown. It is said that The Others live in this land. They are creatures thought to be extinct, but the Wall was erected...just in case. The Nights Watch all have sworn to protect the Wall/the Seven Kingdoms, meaning they vow celibacy and a full and total oath to stay there always.

With the different families striving for the throne and the politics involved with it, the book goes off in a ton of different directions. I know my summary is a bit confusing. It's really hard to describe what is going on in an 800 page novel in just a few quick paragraphs! I urge you to research better summaries if you wish, or really, to just pick up the book and start reading! The drama that unfolds is ridiculous. Because I've seen the first series on TV, I know where the book is going, but I will pretend I don't so that next time I write I have more to say!
Stay tuned, folks!