Dance With This
by jaegerla
After finishing George R.R. Martin's A Dance With Dragons, the fifth installment in the Song of Fire and Ice saga, my only thought was “I wish I had the next book in my hands right now.” The Song of Fire and Ice series is nothing short of fantastic (and this is coming from a staunch non-fantasy reader). If you haven’t started reading the books yet, begin with A Game of Thrones and get to it.
I hadn't heard of George R.R. Martin until the HBO television series, “Game of Thrones”, made its debut. The show was incredible, but left me with a sense that the story had been altered. I read the first book to get a sense of what was missing; the writing drew me in until I finished all five volumes.
What makes this saga different from the typical fantasy novel is its initial portrayal of a civilization similar to our own. There are no supernatural elements to consider. Politics have become irreversibly complicated. The government is ineffectual at best. Religious factions are in competition to recruit followers. Magic is non-existent in daily life. But, in Martin’s world, the magic is slowly seeping back into society. Each kingdom is feeling the metaphysical shift, whether through dragons hatching or fires showing the future.
Blog Post