A Game of Thrones

Article written by Joshua Ehiosun

C2 certified writer.

Regarded as one of the best fantasy novels ever written, ‘A Game of Thrones’ introduces its reader to a world of knights, lords, bastards, magic, history, and dragons. The story gradually unfolds as it dissipates its characters’ emotions, dreams, struggles, and desires.

Key Facts about A Game of Thrones

• Book Title: ‘A Game of Thrones.’
• Author: George R. R. Martin.
• Book Inspiration: The inspiration for ‘A Game of Thrones’ comes from numerous sources. The first and most important source of inspiration was George’s childhood. Growing up poor, he had a toy castle he played with, and in it, he named his pets Cersei and Sansa; this would influence his creation of the novel. George also stated he drew inspiration from one of the greatest fantasy novels ever, ‘Lord of the Rings’ by J. R. R. Tolkien.
• Publication Date: August 1, 1996.
• Literary Period: Contemporary.
• Point of View: Third-person omniscient.
• Number of Pages: 694.
• Genre: Epic fantasy.
• Setting: Westeros, Essos.
• Climax: The story climaxes when Daenerys enters the flames of her husband’s pyre. Though feared for dead, the flames subside, and three dragons are born with her as their mother.
• Protagonists: Eddard Stark, Bran Stark, Robb Stark, Jon Snow, Arya Stark, and Daenerys Targaryen.
• Antagonists: Cersei Lannister, Tywin Lannister, Jaime Lannister, Viserys Targaryen, Joffrey Baratheon.
• Sequel: ‘A Clash of Kings‘.

George R. R. Martin and A Game of Thrones

In 1996, George R. R. Martin released ‘A Game of Thrones,’ and more than 25 years later, it is still one of the best fantasy novels ever written. From lore to history and dragons, Martin crafted a story that portrays the real world with a world of knights, the dead, and war. The story became a success as it gained the attention of everyone, and soon, its massive influence on the literature changed many ideologies about the representation of fantasy in pop culture.

Books Related to A Game of Thrones

From short novellas to epic novels like ‘Lord of the Rings’ that shed light on heroism, bravery, and war, ‘A Game of Thrones’ has become a favorite for many readers. Here are some novels related to it:

• ‘The Hobbit’ by J. R. R. Tolkien is a fantasy novel that tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, an adventure-loving hobbit. Gandalf, a magician, tricks Bilbo into hosting a party for some dwarves who long to return home to the Lonely Mountains. He reveals Thror’s map, a map that contains a secret door into the mountain. Awed by the prospect of an adventure, Bilbo decides to join, and though the dwarves laugh at the idea, Gandalf beckons him to serve as a burglar that will help the dwarves reach home. The journey begins as the group enters the wild. While in the wild, they encounter trolls, but Gandalf saves them and leads them to Rivendell, where they receive more information about the map. As they continue their journey, they get confronted by goblins, and while Gandalf rescues them, Bilbo gets lost in the goblins’ tunnel. There he meets Gollum and escapes after winning a challenge. The group faces more monsters as they continue their journey. They defeat them even without the help of Gandalf. They finally reach the mountain, but a threat from the wood elves and lake-men makes Thorin, the dwarves’ leader, send a message to his fellow dwarves seeking help. Bilbo prevents a battle by handing the besiegers a treasure of the dwarves. Thorin later dies, and Bilbo returns home a wealthy hobbit.
• ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ by J. K. Rowling is a fantasy story of a young boy, Harry Porter. As the first novel in the seven-part fantasy series, it introduces Harry Porter, a young boy living in a cupboard under his aunt’s house. He learns he is a wizard and meets Hagrid, a giant who invites him to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry becomes a member of the Gryffindor House and develops an enmity toward Quirinus Quirrell, the defense against the dark arts teacher. Later, he discovers that Quirinus is working with Voldermort, an evil wizard seeking to regain his body with the power of the Philosopher’s Stone. Harry eventually confronts his teacher in a battle against evil.
• ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ by J. R. R. Tolkien is the first novel in The Lord of the Rings Series. It tells the story of the Rings of Power, magical objects imbibed with immense magical power to control realms. Crafted by the Elven smiths, the Rings of Power got handed down to different leaders. However, Sauron, the Dark Lord, forges a ring with a power so great it overshadows those created by the Elven smiths. Sauron rages war on the land with the ring, and before he conquers it, the league of men and elves comes together to stop him. Sauron gets defeated, but his power remains in the ring he forged, and after many generations, it falls into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit. As Bilbo ages, he asks his cousin, Frodo, to destroy the ring by throwing it into the Cracks of Doom. Frodo then begins his journey across Middle-earth to foil the Dark Lord’s plans and bring peace to the land.
• ‘Angels and Demons’ by Dan Brown is a mystery-thriller novel that tells the story of Robert Langdon, a symbologist, who gets contacted by Maximilian Kohler, the director of CERN, after he discovered the body of Leonardo Vetra, a physicist with an ambigram of the word Illuminati. With the ambigram, Robert begins a journey of discovery that leads him to uncover a deadly plot against the catholic church by the Illuminati, a powerful underground organization. In a desperate race against time, he joins forces with Rome and Vittoria Vetra to prevent an antimatter bomb from wiping off all of the Vatican.
• ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ by C. S. Lewis is the first novel in the Chronicles of Narnia series. It tells the story of Lucy and her siblings, Edmund, Peter, and Susan, who discovers a mysterious wardrobe in a professor’s house. They reach a world called Narnia after walking into the dresser. Lucy and her siblings realize that Narnia is under the enchantment of

The Lasting Impact of A Game of Thrones