It was on August 1, 1996, when George RR Martin published A Game of Thrones and the world was introduced to a plethora of characters that later became fan favourites in the highly-acclaimed TV series ‘Game of Thrones’. It has been twenty-three years since Martin revealed to the world Lord Eddard “Ned” Stark, Lady Catelyn Stark, Arya Stark, Jon Snow, TyrionLannister and Princess DaenerysTargaryen among others who fought to claim the Iron Throne by raging battles over their enemies, entering into skirmishes and invading geographical terrains during a series of clashes that only add excitement and curiosity into the storyline. ‘Game of Thrones’ was the first novel in A Song of Ice and Fire, a series of fantasy novels by Martin, who is regarded as the American Tolkien by Lev Grossman of Time. The novel gained popularity because of the story being narrated by multiple characters. These viewpoints provide readers with a varying vantage point to look at the story and understand the motive of the characters’ actions. The other novels from A Song of Ice & Fire include A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast of Crows, A Dance with Dragons, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. The last two have not been published yet. Although Martin’s writing style has made him an internationally popular and a critically acclaimed author, A Game of Thrones perhaps remains his best works to date The other novels from A Song of Ice and Fire include A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast of Crows, A Dance with Dragons, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. The last two have not been published yet. Although Martin’s writing style has made him an internationally popular and a critically acclaimed author, A Game of Thrones perhaps remains his best works to date. Comprising 694 pages, 73 chapters and 292,727 words, A Game of Thrones has gained immense fan following and readership because of several reasons. First, Martin has explicitly defined and personified each character – whether these characters are major, minor or supporting. Second, Martin has flawlessly explained to readers his character’s personality, behaviour, likes, dislikes and how they strategize their war plans, which takes up most of the chunk when Martin describes his characters. After all, the major characters of the novel are expected to become warriors and fighters to fight for their respective houses and to protect their honour and family’s honour and dynasty. Martin’s creative prowess is observed with his ability to create distinctive fictional characters residing in a fictional world. Martin created The Known World, several fictional continents that comprise to form this world where the story takes place. Most of the story progresses in the continent of Westeros, which is one of the four continents. The other three are Essos, Sothoryos, and Ulthos. The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros are The North, The Iron Islands, The Westerlands, The Stormlands, The Reach, and Dorne. The novel kept the readers’ turn its pages because Martin kept the story moving forward mainly through battles and conflicts among the kingdoms. A Game of Thrones is a political adventure backed my magic and blended with suspense. The powerful and influential lords and ladies, kings and queens along with their families do all in their power to get hold of the Iron Throne. The readers, therefore, need to keep at par with what is happening in the story, understand the characters, their intentions and comprehend the complex storylines that follow. Martin has kept the storylines interconnected that compels readers to give their undivided attention when reading.Some of the awards George R. R Martin has won over the years include Hugo Award for Best Novella for “A Song for Lya” (1975); Nebula Award for Best Novelette for “Sandkings” (1979); World Fantasy Award for Best Novella for “The Skin Trade” (1989); PremioIgnotus for Best Foreign Novel for A Game of Thrones (2003); Northwestern University Medill Hall of Achievement Award (2015); Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series – Game of Thrones, Season 7 (2018); Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel for A Dance with Dragons (2012) among others. The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist. He can be reached at omariftikhar@hotmail.com