I just finished the book I was reading, A Game of Thrones. I described this book in an earlier post titled Reading is FUNdamental. I wanted to update and clarify a few things that I said about the book in that post.
First of all, I am not amending the ick factor of the 13 year old's marriage. That stands as is. As for the reviews that mentioned graphic descriptions of sexual assault, I can say that toward the end of the book, during a post-battle scene, it is mentioned that some of the men are raping some women. It is not described in detail. A character coming upon this scene makes some important decisions and actions in response to the rapes that are important for the plot, and the scene helps define the character of the people involved. I can see why it is included.
Although the reasons I give for not letting children or young teenagers read the book are legitimate concerns, I don't want to highlight only the sex parts or sexual violence parts. Those scenes are rare and brief. (In previewing the second book, it seems the descriptions of consensual sex will get more graphic though.) What I completely forgot to mention were the scenes of graphic violence and fighting. The book is not all blood and guts, but the author does not hold back much when describing violence. At the end of the book there are bloody battles described. All throughout the book, people are losing arms, entrails, and heads. It's not overdone. Still I would caution against having younger folks read the books.
Finally, let me say that I thoroughly enjoyed the first book One of my favorite characters died. One character survived against odds. One fights to stay true to his vow. One has become even crueler than I thought possible. One is lost and seeking home. One has made the most unusual transformation And there are many more! I can't wait to see what happens next. I am eager to get started on the second book. My friend is looking to see if he has it to loan. If not, then I will be downloading it onto the Kindle.
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