The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros have been united under the banner of Robert Baratheon. The new king sits in the capitol city of Kings Landing and has been enjoying the spoils of war. Seventeen years have passed since the rebellion; but seventeen years of peace have not kept ambitious men from  plotting to take the throne. Domestic conspiracy has company abroad as the dethroned kings conspire with foreign nationals to restore their rule. Eddard Stark rules the Kingdom of the North and has more important things to worry about than the politics of the capitol. He is happy to watch his family grow and prosper while keeping one eye on the wall of the North. Winterfield bears the brunt of the responsibility for maintaining this ancient boundary between the civilized and uncivilized worlds. It seems that on old enemy is stirring in the far North as years of winter quickly approaches. Gritty and glorious, A Game of Thrones certainly lives up the hype. It is an epic tale that takes place in a colorful but cold world. The book is a lengthy work but the story moves at a steady pace. Author George R.R. Martin does a wonderful job at developing characters along side the major and minor plots. He has strung an intricate web between dosens of characters. The action in A Game of Thrones is both political and physical. Kings battle and politic with furious vigor and wit.

I would not recommend reading this book to the morally inclined. It is violent, graphic and contains adult material. I was uncomfortable reading several chapters and found myself skipping sections. Martin does not celebrate the violence but he has done a wonderful job at creating a series of depraved characters who are selfish and cold. This is not a simple good vs. evil story. The characters are endowed with full stories and we are impressed with their honor and cowardice alike. This book is well written and compelling. I hesitate to offer my recommendation because of the sexual content. It is too bad that Martin feels the need to describe what he can imply. With that said, I am willing to give the second book a chance but the self-censorship may become too exhausting for me to go on.