Favorite Book

By Ian Pollock

Part of the reason I wanted to work with Friends of Literacy is because growing up I was a voracious reader. I often read the same books over and over again. My favorite books are the Song of Ice and Fire, more widely known as A Game of Thrones. The book series has been adopted into a hit HBO show that has introduced millions to it. The books were written by American author George R.R. Martin. Martin is a fantasy, horror, and science fiction author.

The books take place on two continents. The main one Westeros, which is modeled after medieval Europe, and Essos, which is huge and inspired by many different cultures. As the books go on, they begin to focus on a larger and more diverse cast of characters.  The series is low fantasy, meaning that while there is magic it is rare and often not a major factor in events. Much of the magic of the world is relegated to myth and legend. As the books go on these myths become more relevant but only to part of the cast. 

Game of Thrones is interesting to me because of two main reasons. The first reason is the characters and how real they seem. Characters personalities and desires are consistent throughout the stories. This is done in a way that also allows them to grow. The characters are not believable in that they act like people do now, but in that they act like we would expect nobility to act. The nobility reminds me of reading about Greek mythology. They are these power people who kill people, often on a whim, but they are also emotionally volatile, petty, arrogant, and full of fury. 

The second reason is because Martin does his world building in a very believable way. Instead of learning about the world through third person exposition dumps you learn through conversations and in world literary references. Though the books take place on only two continents people are often referencing others, either in the context of rumors or merchants from a far-off land. Also, the world in Game of Thrones is similar to other fantasy in that it has parallels to real history, but is still able to seem distinctive. The world still has many oppressive social beliefs and people justify them the same way people did in our world. There are also people who criticize the medieval social order and who do so in a way that seems like a primitive version of what we have now.

The Song of Ice and Fire book series is now up to seven books and has sold 90 million copies worldwide as of 2019. Fans eagerly awaiting the eighth book, though considering that George R.R. Martin wrote that last book in the series over the course of six years they may have to keep waiting. These books attracted tens of millions of people to them by being so rich in effort and storytelling. As well as by having compelling characters that all seem complicated and real.