The opening chapter of a Song of Ice and Fire gives a nice big unforgettable hint that this isn’t simply medieval politics in an odd setting.
I got pissed off reading A Game of Thrones because the opening led me to expect an adventure story and I ended up with several hundred pages of politics.
I liked the other books much more because I successfully recalibrated my expectations.
The opening chapter of a Song of Ice and Fire gives a nice big unforgettable hint that this isn’t simply medieval politics in an odd setting.
I got pissed off reading A Game of Thrones because the opening led me to expect an adventure story and I ended up with several hundred pages of politics.
I liked the other books much more because I successfully recalibrated my expectations.