1 Marshall Sprigg Multimedia Writing Angel Matos 28 August 2012 The Quintessential Novel Since the beginning of time

mankind has been developing more complex modes of communication. Writing has always been at the core of this development. Progressing from early cave drawings to actual words and finally to some of the greatest literary achievements of our day. Many people would express the opinion that Shakespeare or some of the other novelists of that time are the greatest this world has seen. I am here to refute these opinions and convince everyone that George R. R. Martins A Game of Thrones is actually mankinds single greatest literary achievement of this or any other age. The plot of A Game of Thrones is centered on the political struggle of six royal families or houses for the throne. Under this lies a web of intrigue and deception employed by each to thwart the others. Instead of using the typical method of portraying the action through the eyes of a single character, Martin places the reader in the minds of many of the different characters to allow a greater insight into their morality and the reasons for their choices. While some books have tried this method before, Martin has perfected it into an art. Instead of feeling overwhelmed with the sheer number of characters, the reader begins to develop a connection with certain characters. Whether that connection is one of admiration, love, or hate is all up to you. Besides this I also love how deep Martins insights into

2 the world and morality are. Nothing is black or white, good or evil, rather Martin puts the conflicts on the table and we are allowed to do with them as we wish. Almost every conflict imaginable is portrayed from religion to politics to conflicts among family members. With that much going on there is never a dull moment, something is always happening and it is almost impossible to put this book down. Right from the beginning the reader is swept away and each time you pick it up it is like you are placed right into the world he is portraying. His imagery makes it impossible to not feel what each character feels or imagine the sights and sounds of the glorious cities. It is Martins very style that puts this book way above the rest. Each chapter is named for the character it focuses on. This allows the reader to delve further into the characters minds and see what each of them feels about a certain event. Unlike other books, Martin does not explicitly state every little thing; rather every chapter ends with a cliffhanger of its own. This builds up the readers excitement for what is to come because we so desperately hunger for the answer. While each of these things is great, what really puts this story above the rest is the fact that Martin leaves no character safe. I developed many connections with characters I really liked only to have them killed off. While this may not seem appealing to some people it really makes the story more believable. Instead of having a glorious hero that smites all evil and survives every challenge put before him, the consequences of every decision can come back to haunt them. Just thinking about this series makes me extremely excited to read it again even though I know exactly what is going to happen. I have never before come upon

3 a book that makes me want to just read it again and again. Everything about this book combines to make mankinds single greatest literary accomplishment.