If Balzac had turned his hand to the fantasy genre, he almost certainly would have produced something like A Game of Thrones. I do not mean that kindly. But first, a quick look at what the book is about.
Seven kingdoms under the rule of one mad king. A civil war. The king is slain along with most of his family, two infant children escape to exile. A new king elected. Fifteen years later, not everyone is happy with the way things turned out. Then the story begins.
And what a big and long-winded story it is. Whilst the action centers around eight characters, there is a huge number of supporting cast members. Although story-lines develop around each of the main characters, this book is essentially about the dilemmas of Lord Eddard (Ned) Stark of Winterfell. He has a terrible choice to make. The rest is basically to familiarise the reader with the lands and politics of Westeros, and to set the scene for the sequels.
I know Martin's novels are very popular, as is the subsequent T.V. series. I will say that at first I found myself engrossed in the story, but the book began to wear out its welcome at around the 300 page mark (that's about half way through). Oh! for a persuasive editor. There was so much that could have been cut out of this book without subtracting from the plot or narrative. Way too much description - description in photographic detail (just like Balzac) - that neither advances the plot nor develops the characters. Lots of repetition of the same ideas both in conversations and in internal dialogues. On the other hand, most of Martin's prose is very good, and some of it is beautiful. What a pity there is so much of it.
A Game of Thrones is the first installment in George R. R. Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire. Five installments have already been published, and there are two more on the way. Thanks, but no thanks. You can keep the sequels, I'll watch the T.V. series instead.
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