Today I’m going to be talking about a series that we’ve discussed before on the show in brief. Well, more accurately, I talked about the first book during Episode 80, back in the day. The series in question is George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire.

As mentioned on the show, this series is not for the feint of heart. I’ve currently read three and a half of these novels (I’m 300 pages from finishing the fourth book), which comes to the sum total of roughly 2,600 pages. From what I understand, the series originally started in seven parts, with Martin currently writing the fifth installment, but we shall see how it all ends up. It’s very interesting for me to be reading a series that is so well established that also has years and years to go before finishing. I am reminded of Steven King’s Gunslinger series, which has seven novels that took upwards of two decades to complete. I really hope that is not the case here, but only time will tell.

So why all the hubbub about this series? Isn’t it just simply some general fantasy B.S. that we’ve all heard time and time again? Well, the answer is yes and no. Yes in that – sure – the characters and settings are all fictional, set in a time where lords and ladies, kings and queens ruled the land. The series encompasses what one would believe to be the general fantasy canon. And that is where the “no” comes in. The content itself belies the simple nature of its setting, opting instead to bring forth an incredibly rich and thought out plot that doesn’t adhere to most normal fantasy standards.

The series begins humbly at house Stark, where its lord is forced to enact judgement on a fellow who has broken is vows as a protector of the Wall (a 300 foot tall – ahem – wall that protects the lands south of it from the wild, for all intents and purposes, “barbarians” of the north). The gentlemen in question has run away from the wall in the grip of fear. On an excursion across the wall, into the wildling terroritory, his band was destroyed by a group of otherwordly beings. (Zombies? MAYBE.) Stark, ruler of the northern lands, invariably takes the head of the deserter as the law requires of those who break their vows. He does so personally (he doesn’t believe in letting someone else do your work for you) and with great solace, however, as even though it is the law, he would rather not take the life of another if it is not needed. These honorable lessons he teaches to his five children, three boys and two girls.

So ends the first couple of chapters. We’re introduced to house Stark and those within it, pretty simple stuff. At this point, with the great care that was given to describe the happenings of this one house, I could only think that the rest of the series would stay with and among these few central characters. And this is where things are different from the norm. While house Stark is a major player in the series, it is by far the only in the game. And all the business about zombies? Well, it’s much less of a major plot point than you might think. I also didn’t even mention the fact that the children all get giant wolve puppies as pets and the wolves end up being their guardians. That part is cool, too. But did I mention the Lannisters? The Dornishmen? Those of the Eyre or of Riverrun? House Tully? The Free Men from beyond the Wall? The Greyjoys who live on the Iron Isles? The list goes on and on and on.

What strikes me as interesting about the series up until this point that I have read is that there are these story elements that you feel will be so central to the plot (Zombies! Wolves!) that you can’t even stand it that don’t end up that way. They’re important, sure, but in the end you feel like they are not there to “give a message,” so to speak, but instead they are simply points in the story of this living world. There is no “good” and “evil” inherently present in most of the characters. There are some that you know fight for good, and some that you just hate, but their actions and how the world ends up don’t align themselves to those simple slots. There will be characters in the series that die, and die for good, and they die way too soon for you. You will hate it; you will be pissed. But the realization you gain is that just because they’re a “good guy” does not give them a free pass if their head gets cut off. And even though you will sit and be pissed off that your favorite character of the whole damn thing dies, you will enjoy the fact that Martin didn’t puss out and let them slide. He’s telling the story of this land, not the story of one character, and during war anyone is vulnerable. And yes, one of my favorite characters died, and I was PISSED. In the end, though, it all works to the series’ favor; I haven’t been so invested in a group of characters in a long time, and with 2,600 pages to go over, you’ll get very knowledgeable of the land of Westoros and its inhabitants.

So why write a hunky article on this series? For one it’s because we simply need more high fantasy that doesn’t settle for being high fantasy for its own sake. Second, I’m sitting here looking at A Feast for Crows, wondering how Samwell Tarley will be able to accomplish the task he’s been given without being too scared and I thought it was just necessary to put to page a few more words on how great the series is. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some reading to do.