A Song of Ice and Fire

A Song of Ice and Fire is a series of four novels by George R. R. Martin. It's set in a medieval fantasy land of warring kingdoms with the usual cast of royalty , knights, lords, wizards, dragons, and some more that are not commonly found in other medieval fantasy epics. The titles in the series are "A Game of Thrones"; "A Clash of Kings"; "A Storm of Swords"; and "A Feast for Crows. I am currently in the first portions of the last book.


Chess in prose is the most apt way I can describe the series. It is a large chessboard of seven kingdoms and even more territory, and a cast of characters more than the pieces that you have on your chessboard. And in a game of chess, at least you know whom to protect. Here, your freedom fighter soon turns out a dead hero, while the most unlikely to survive outscheme them all, all told in a very believable way.


If ever I have a frustration with the series, it's that I hardly recall the names and corresponding identity, as well as the circumstances of most characters except the most prominent ones (some of whom are already dead even before the first book has reached an ending! but they are kept alive by being mentioned in succeeding books in one manner or another). But I don't think I can fault the author for it. He delved deep enough for each character (especially the prominent ones) to make them so human that in more than one instance, I have to tell my wife how I felt about a character that I thought would turn out alive than dead or the other way around.


I guess my limited grasp of the personalities in the novels has to do more with my situation. For one, this is the first time I read through something of such number of characters. And this is also the first time I went through four related books (try as I may, I simply can't move forward in Lord of the Rings). Add to that is the peculiar way the names are in medieval fantasy types. My situation is not unlike one that faults standard chess because he is new to opening theory or unable to spend enough time to learn it well.

So if you have an interest in seeing chess other than in the boards, go try the series yourself.