A Game of Thrones

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, 1996 Bantam Spectra

     When Eddard "Ned" Stark the Lord of Winterfell is called upon to exact justice on a deserter of the Night's Watch he brings his sons to witness their future duty. On their return the boys find a pack of direwolf pups, just enough of them for each of the Stark children, legitimate and bastard alike. The direwolf is the sigil of the House of Stark and each wolf connects with its child to mirror his or her traits.
     The King Robert Baratheon visits Winterfell to ask his longtime friend to be his Hand, the second in command to the king. Ned  is hesitant, but accepts the post, despite the mysterious death of the previous Hand. He promises his wife, Catelyn, to look into the possibility the queen Cersi's family Lannister could have poisoned the former King's Hand. Bran, the fourth legitimate Stark child, witnesses Queen Cersi cavorting with her twin brother Jaime Lannister, and is shoved from the windowsill. He falls and is paralyzed, and Jaime sends an assassin to keep the secret. However, Catelyn and Bran's direwolf are there to protect him. Catelyn goes to the capitol to discover the treachery that dared invade her home and to warn her husband of his danger.
     Bran stays at Winterfell with his older brother Robb and his younger brother Rickon, while his sisters Sansa and Arya journey with their father, and the oldest, illegitimate son, Jon Snow joins the Night Watch. With the Stark children go their direwolves: Ghost, Grey Wind, Lady, Nymeria, Summer, and Shaggy Dog.
     When the king is killed during a hunt, the people in power scramble for power. Queen Cersi grasps the throne through her son, Ned and the rest of the King's Council move in their own directions, the lords of the land bicker and break apart taking their properties and armies with them, Robb goes to war and claims the title King of the North.
     Away from Westeros and the Seven Kingdoms and the chaos of a regime change Danerys Targaryen, the granddaughter of Robert Baratheon's predecessor, and her brother attempt to make a new life for themselves. Viserys sells his sister to the roaming Dothraki in exchange for the promise of Westeros under his control. When her brother is killed Danerys takes over his dream. She convinces her husband to unite the wandering Dothraki and capture her homeland for her when an assassin attempts to kill both Danerys and her unborn child.
     When her husband dies, Danerys discovers her destiny as the Mother of Dragons. Her Dothraki clansmen swear allegiance to the western woman; as the story ends Danerys is just beginning her journey back to the country her family ruled for centuries and she hadn't returned to since her infancy.
     A Game of Thrones is an adult novel fraught with violence and political stratagem. A simple story of a family who puts duty before all else becomes the tale of governments and politics. The story is told from several different points of view, ranging from Ned Stark to Queen Cersi to Danerys Targaryen. The world is changing and chaos reigns in this first installment of A Song of Ice and Fire.