Wolf Hall – Hilary Mantell

Finally! After several stuttering attempts to get into this book I have finished it.  Did I enjoy it? Well, yes actually, I did. Would I read it again?  Not sure.  Do I want to read the sequel? Quite possibly.

So why was it such a challenge?  It certainly met one of my criteria for a good read:  an historical period that fascinates me.  I think the reason it took so long to get into it was that almost like a journal, from the viewpoint of Thomas Cromwell.  And yet, it was not written in the first person, nor was it written in the past tense.  It felt a bit like a journal because it was so caught up in the minutiae of everyday life.  In the end, that was what made it so fascinating;  it was like opening a window into a Tudor world.

It certainly wasn’t what I would call an easy read, which may be further grounds for the length of time it took me to complete.  I have to confess to being a rather a lazy reader; I have tendency to skim text rather than read every word.  In this book every word mattered.  There were places you could feel how the author had carefully chosen particular phrases or specific words to create exactly the right mood or picture.  The plot did not move on at a great pace, but I don’t think that was the intention.  As a reader you were being lead through the situations and emotions of the main characters.  A very clever book, but not necessarily one I would recommend to everyone.

Game of Thrones – George R Martin

I appear to be behind the times on this ‘cult’ offering, probably because I do not subscribe to Sky TV.  However, having been brought up to speed by watching some of the TV episodes, I decided I wanted to read the book.

As a fantasy fiction reader, I am quite surprised that these books haven’t come my way before, I wish they had.  I am not a great fan of reading books that have been made into movies or TV series, after watching them.  Somehow it takes the edge off building my own pictures.  To me, part of the enjoyment of reading is that escapism into the world you create with the author.  Once you have seen the characters, heard their voices, seen the settings, that special relationship is skewed.

I watched half of the episodes before reading the book, and I must say the TV does seem quite true to the text – I could hear the words in my head as Sean Bean said them!  Inevitably there are comparisons to be made between the two, but I definitely want to read the next book before watching the next series.

So, taking the first book in the series, which is actually called A Song of Fire and Ice: Game of Thrones.  This is the kind of book that is often described as a huge, sweeping novel. There are lots of interesting characters with quite complex relationships.  The way that each chapter is written from the perspective of one of those characters makes it engrossing, and often has the effect of changing your perception about those characters as you read on.  First you don’t like them, then you do.  The setting is one of fantasy, although a lot of it seems to be based in a fairly medieval society, with castles, knights, tournaments and battles on horseback. 

If you enjoy fantasy fiction, and are prepared to settle into a long series of books, then I would definitely recommend it.  I can’t wait to get stuck into the next book: A Clash of Kings.