全球暢銷小說：權利的游戲系列小說（作者喬治·雷蒙德·理查德）確實非常驚人。這位暢銷書的作者被譽為當代托爾金。他的創作，書本還有電視劇全部已經獲獎。那么他這些成功的背后究竟隱藏了多少秘密呢？
托爾金的指環王至少可以解釋是因為那些厭戰的大眾想要看到一次正義戰勝邪惡。相比托爾金的精靈和霍比特人參加戰爭保護他們的生活的方式，權利的游戲的政治陰謀對于年輕讀者來說則是一個更加復雜的主題。這使得權力的游戲取得了更驚人的成功,尤其是當考慮到在西方世界選民在選舉日的冷漠。
 
The world-wide popularity of author George Raymond Richard Martin’s Game of Thrones series is truly astounding. The bestselling author is being hailed as a modern day J R R Tolkien; awards have been lavished on his creations, both in their book format and in their TV version. What is the secret behind this success?
While Tolkien’s Lord of the Ring trilogy can at least be explained in terms of a war-weary nation wanting to see good win over evil for once, the political machinations of Game of Thrones are a far more sophisticated theme for young readers to tackle than Tolkien’s elves and hobbits going to war to protect their way of life. This makes the success of Games of Thrones even more astonishing, especially when considering voter apathy on Election Day in the Western World.

Fantasy and science fiction are the only two genres in literature today addressing the big philosophical issues of our times, a role “serious” literature no longer fulfils.
If young adults read books at all, they prefer reading series of books, getting to know their heroes and heroines over a period of time in ever changing adventures – such as the seven Harry Potter books by J K Rowling for example or Philip Pullman’s Golden Compass series.
The most successful video games are also based on this “series” principle: once readers/viewers are hooked on believable, 3-dimensional characters, they want to learn more about the characters’ individual development and understand humanity as a whole better in the process.They want to grow up with their fictional heroes and heroines. Such books and TV programs help young adults to make sense of a very complex modern world.Game of Thrones author Martin taps into that need to make sense of the modern world.
Issues of loyalty versus betrayal, friendship versus enmity and power struggles are as applicable to multinational office environments in the 21st century as they are to a medieval worlds set in distant lands.
Themes like the corruptive nature of powerfor example remain as fascinating to us as ever. Corruption applies to African or South American dictators, medieval kings, sporting heroes and chief executives of global concerns equally. The human condition in all its glory and misery, as authors like G R R Martin have shown, can be packaged into a tasty morsel and dished up in a sexy fashion.

Summary總結

Young adults watch or read Game of Thrones because they want to understand the nature of political power AND be dazzled by Machiavellian strokes of genius as Martin’s protagonists try to outwit each other to gain power, test loyalties among their alleys, family members and friends.

Conclusion結論

The series of books presents politics in action in the truest sense of the word. Set against the backdrop of a medieval world, which is far less sophisticated than the 21st century, Game of Thrones draws on age-old values such as “an eye for an eye”, thus presenting sophisticated issues concerning our civilizationin a simplified way every one can understand.