A Song of Ice and Fire 4-copy bundle (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1-4)

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A Song of Ice and Fire 4-copy bundle (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1-4)

4.67 of 5 stars 4.67 · rating details · 10,549 ratings · 540 reviews

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR
GEORGE R. R. MARTIN

A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE

A GAME OF THRONES
A CLASH OF KINGS
A STORM OF SWORDS
A FEAST FOR CROWS...more

ebook, 3483 pages

Published March 22nd 2011 by Random House Publishing Group (first published 2011)

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Apr 05, 2012 Recynd rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, fantasy-sci-fi, abandoned

After putting off starting this series for a month or so (I mean, really, these books are WHOPPERS), I decided I was finally ready to give it a whirl. Now, with more than half of the first book (A Game of Thrones: Song of Fire and Ice) under my belt, I say, "Where have you been hiding, my dear? It seems I've been waiting for you my whole life!" Like any new romance, it is constantly on my mind, and I find myself wishing there were more hours in a day, so it could fill those too. I read when I wa...more After putting off starting this series for a month or so (I mean, really, these books are WHOPPERS), I decided I was finally ready to give it a whirl. Now, with more than half of the first book (A Game of Thrones: Song of Fire and Ice) under my belt, I say, "Where have you been hiding, my dear? It seems I've been waiting for you my whole life!" Like any new romance, it is constantly on my mind, and I find myself wishing there were more hours in a day, so it could fill those too. I read when I wake up in the morning, I read throughout the day, and I read until I fall asleep at night. I read while brushing my teeth and at meals. I am truly in love.

Historically, I haven't been a fantasy fan. The closest I ever came was enjoying the "Harry Potter" series, but that was a fluke. Twice I tried to develop a taste for "The Hobbit" (as a teen and more recently, as an adult), but it never took, nor did any of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy movies do the trick to capture my fancy. I haven't played World of Warcraft or any of the knock-offs; those fantasy worlds hold no interest for me. I do not want to rule armies or nations, which is a really good thing, since even the simplest strategy confounds me. So then what explains my deep infatuation with Game of Thrones ("GoT")?

Well, GoT has everything...and more, in spades...that I love in a good book: characters you can sink your teeth into, that are fully developed and multifaceted; romance, with plenty of sex (but not too graphic...but graphic enough); violence, but not without purpose; excellent pacing, with lots of twists and turns in the plot; drama, drama, and more drama; power struggles and intrigue...and that's just off the top of my head. Best of all, so far, anyway, the story is very well-written, and Martin takes full advantage of a broad vocabulary, without it ever feeling gratuitous or pedantic.

Simply put, I have fallen in love anew with the pleasures of reading. Not since I was a child have I lost myself in a story as deeply or as fully as I have with GoT. I feel like I am the recipient of a gift that is both magical and priceless. I'm a girl in love...and, thankfully, I've only just started my journey!

**********

Oh, how fickle am I?! Story of my life: from zero to sixty in a split second, and then, less than a mile down the road (after all, the acceleration's the fun part), I stop on a dime and forget where it was exactly I was headed. There MUST be a lesson there, somewhere, but...oh, look...a chicken!

2/3rds through the second book of the series, I abandoned it. Not because it's not good, but because my attention span just won't hold out for more of the same. Plus, there are too many damned characters to keep track of, and most of the names are un-pronounceable besides. A word of warning to you prudes out there: the prodigious sex is something akin to what a horny 15-year old boy might write. Seriously. Even my thick-skinned husband (who is working his way through the fourth book and still going strong) has complained about how juvenile the sex scenes are. However, he's still reading like crazy, so it's not that bad (or good, depending on how you look at it).

All things considered, I won't downgrade my five-star rating. It's not the books' fault that I have a commitment problem. As for the sex, who couldn't use a little vicarious adolescent indulgence every now and again?(less)

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Sep 19, 2011 Jenine rated it 2 of 5 stars

I am given to understand that G.R.R.Martin is an accomplished and beloved author. And I admit that these four books are the only G.R.R.Martin books I have read. So take this review with that in mind.

G.R.R.M. appears to have no concept of formulating a story arc around a central character (or characters) around which the plot (or plots) revolves, spanning problem to resolution and ultimately reaching some sort of conclusion. Instead, he seems extremely fond of creating lists of extremely detailed...more I am given to understand that G.R.R.Martin is an accomplished and beloved author. And I admit that these four books are the only G.R.R.Martin books I have read. So take this review with that in mind.

G.R.R.M. appears to have no concept of formulating a story arc around a central character (or characters) around which the plot (or plots) revolves, spanning problem to resolution and ultimately reaching some sort of conclusion. Instead, he seems extremely fond of creating lists of extremely detailed made-up stuff. Each successive scene is a pain-staking description of what everyone present is wearing, their homes and genealogy, what arms they carry and where they were made, what their home sigil is ... and what, if any, humorous nickname they might have.

Paragraph after paragraph of detailed lists! Lists of information that will NEVER be referred to again, and is not necessary for understanding the arc of the story. Because there IS no arc of story. He launches plot lines and fleshes out highly interesting characters only to abandon that entire story in the next breath, usually killing off the character you've just invested 200 pages getting to know in the process.

Maybe there's something here that is typical of the endless-fantasy-serial genre that I am just not familiar with. But in my book-reading world, if an author dedicates significant page space to a character or plot line, it's for a reason, and that reason becomes clear in ... well, let's say, FEWER than 4 books. But having read the first four, and the reader reviews of the fifth, I'm just not seeing it and I'm really REALLY unwilling to invest any additional time in this world without some promise of eventual CLOSURE.

So, basically, if you're looking for a travelogue of an interesting make-believe world where there's magic and swords and ladies in waiting, these are the books for you.

Oh yeah, and before you start, make sure you have a high tolerance for rape, brutality and torture. G.R.R.M. seems especially fond of these, and he never misses an opportunity to chuck a bucket of blood (or 7) all over the highly detailed scene he's just described over the course of the last 25 pages.(less)

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Jul 30, 2011 Jen Koontz rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Just finished Storm of Swords. WOW!

Never have I read a series with more intricate layers of the past affecting the present plot lines. The past is very slowly revealed to us, and motives and explanations take a while to surface. I can't believe we still don't know the full back story by the 3rd book, nor do we even have the events of the first book adequately explained by the third book. (But we're getting there...)

Never have I ever read a book where the character's wounds actually affect them f...more

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Sep 05, 2011 Mike rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone

I just finished Book 1: A Game of Thrones today actually now I'm starting A Clash of Kings. There were quite a few differences from the HBO miniseries but a fantastic read. I have no idea when I will finish this series. Probably by April 2012 when season 2 starts up. As they say in the show the tagline is "Winter is Coming!".

I heard George R.R. Martin has a new vampire series coming out tomorrow called Fevre Dream. Not sure about a vampire series but who knows.

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Jul 03, 2012 Matt Luedke rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It feels a little insane to review this entire series with one swing, especially considering that each book is like 800 pages, depending on the book and the format. But they are really intended as one big piece of work and I don't feel like writing a review of each separately anyway, so here goes (for the record I have read all 5, though for the first 3 books it was about 10 years ago).

In the 1990's, disgruntled TV writer George R R Martin decided to shake free of the budgetary restraints and ce...more It feels a little insane to review this entire series with one swing, especially considering that each book is like 800 pages, depending on the book and the format. But they are really intended as one big piece of work and I don't feel like writing a review of each separately anyway, so here goes (for the record I have read all 5, though for the first 3 books it was about 10 years ago).

In the 1990's, disgruntled TV writer George R R Martin decided to shake free of the budgetary restraints and censorship of his job and write a story so big in world and cast and ideas that it could never, ever be filmed-- and so profane and violent that it would never be shown. (He may have also been inspired by his two R R initials??)

The result is a sprawling world that, yes, is fantasy because dragons and such do exist. But don't despair if that's not your usual genre! The magic that does exist is so rare, weak, and finicky, that most characters consider it to barely exist at all. Instead, they almost exclusively interact on several layers of political intrigue and war.

There is a very large cast of characters, and particularly in the fourth and fifth books they start running into the good old second law of thermodynamics-- disorder never decreases! Martin's fiction is extremely realistic, so while the small (in comparison) cast at the beginning makes for good, tight drama, the fact that character A then meets B and C, who start to have their own chapters and meet D and E an so on, makes for a more realistic world.

'Depth' is a word that describes a lot of aspects of this series well. Of the cast, of each character's motivations (he went out of his way to take the more shallow characters from earlier books and flesh them out specifically. Very ballsy and a good move.), the geography, the religions (one of my favorite parts of the world), the mythology and history, the science (genetic biology), the minute details of cultures (food, gender roles, clothing, social rights, etc), transportation... Seemingly everything has been created and orchestrated towards what is going to be an amazing finish I'm sure. To be clear, I'm sure the ending will be great and I have some theories that I love to talk about with other series fans, but I have no idea when it will come. There were originally only going to be 5 books, now there are supposed to be 7 total. If he sticks to 7 and his current pace it will be done in about 10 years. If he adds more again, or slows down, who knows?

Very fun, rewarding to really dive into, and continually imaginative. If the last books are as good as I think they could be, this series will be a legitimate literary classic.

Plus, Tyrion is awesome in both book and TV form! (I won't include any spoilers about him)(less)

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May 11, 2012 Astrid Phoenix rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: all-kinds-of-awesome, childhood-favourites, complex-world, disturb-me-and-die, favourites, love-those-characters, really-want-to-live-in-this-world, love-the-quotes

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS. BEWARE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.*

Captivating.
Enthralling.
Frightening.
Thrilling.
MASTERPIECE.
And so on.

This series is so many things, all at once. Ultimately, it is brilliant, and if you haven't already you need to get your hands on some copies and delve right in. Right now.

Be aware... this is NOT a series for those that like the light and fluffy. There's some heavy stuff in this; sex, violence, rape, incest, murder, mystery, political intrigue. There's a bit of everything...more

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Sep 07, 2011 Coolmomsrule rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As a woman, the first several chapters of ASOFAI were very disturbing to me; the lack of a strong female character and the violence against women made me nearly put the books down.

I'm glad I didn't.

Martin invests himself in every character he writes, and it shows. The men and women in the series show strength, resourcefulness and really grow as characters, and to give up early is to miss the process of maturation the characters themselves go through, especially Danaerys. Dani begins the series a...more As a woman, the first several chapters of ASOFAI were very disturbing to me; the lack of a strong female character and the violence against women made me nearly put the books down.

I'm glad I didn't.

Martin invests himself in every character he writes, and it shows. The men and women in the series show strength, resourcefulness and really grow as characters, and to give up early is to miss the process of maturation the characters themselves go through, especially Danaerys. Dani begins the series as a young, sheltered girl, both protected and abused by her older brother in his quest to restore their family to the throne.

But Dani quickly adapts to her surroundings, and learns much from listening and respecting the different cultures. She bends without breaking, something her stubborn brother cannot find it in himself to do. It is Dani, not her brother, who is truly descended from "the blood of the dragon". She is a complex character trying to do the right thing in a world that George R. R. Martin has deliberately made the opposite of good vs evil. In that world, pragmatists and strategists live while the naive and trusting die.

And this is where I talk about that world of the series, because it is really significant to note that, while a fantasy world, it is modeled on Europe during the Wars of the Roses and the families fighting for the throne at the time. The patriarchal society, arranged marriages, plotting and treason exist because the historical background upon which the fictional work is based included all those elements and they are necessary for the factions to make sense. Yet Martin still has women play pivotal roles.

Martin delights in turning expectations upside-down. He takes typical fantasy tropes and distorts them until the reader does not know what to expect. One of the reasons I like these books so much is their unpredictability. This is also a feature that has earned Martin his sharpest criticism, however; readers find that even their favorite characters are not guaranteed success, or a life without suffering, or even life at all.

Everyone suffers in these books, and I don't see a lot of moral posturing from Martin. Perhaps his overall philosophy could be summed up in one line from the books (and the HBO series based upon them), "In the game of thrones, you win or you die."

Tyrion, one of my favorite Martin characters, is not immune to the sling and arrows of outrageous fortune Martin has thrown at his characters, but he usually lands on his feet, because, as in chess, he sees the whole board and thinks several moves ahead. He learned, very young, the most important lesson of survival: naivete and innocence lead to suffering in this harsh world. Trust no one and never let your guard down.

I highly recommend these books (and the fifth, A Dance with Dragons) to anyone who enjoys epic fantasy, with the caveat that if like happy endings you might want to steer clear--I don't know yet what the series holds, but letting yourself get emotionally invested in any of Martin's characters is a dangerous undertaking and one that should only be undertaken by those who understand how fraught with peril Martin's "fantasy" world is.
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Apr 01, 2012 Lark rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ok. Read the 4 books. Liked it less the more I read.

The only people of virtue are destroyed one after the other. Everyone else is corrupt and SO vulgar. There are about 100 too many characters and I got bored with all the minute details about each unimportant one.... When you have to have a 30 page compendium of names and allegiances at the back of the book to make sense of it all, that's just too many...

Sufficiently curious to see how it all ends, but will be checking them out at the library....more

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Aug 15, 2012 Leona Bodie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If FEAST OF THE CROWS were the first title of the Song of Ice and Fire Series, I'd never have read the quadrilogy. The previous sequels were on the edge of your seat exciting and hard to put down. FEAST OF THE CROWS is the carrion of the lot. Characters of import that you'd expect to see, such as Tyrion, Lady Catelyn, Bran and Daenerys Targaryen were MIA, replaced by long-winded, minor characters, who are long in discussion and short on action. For the first time in the series, my eyes glazed ov...more

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May 02, 2012 Marty rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dear George R.R. Martin (if that's your real name),

It is known: You are one sick, sick mofo. With "A Song of Ice and Fire," you have fleshed out and made explicit everything that was probably happening behind the scenes in "Lord of the Rings," the night being dark and full of terrors and all. The things that tweedy, Norse epic poem-lovin' J.R.R. Tolkien probably didn't even think about. The things that probably DID get written about in the early days of BBS slash fiction. Which you yourself were...more

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Jan 22, 2012 Vikki rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone of a mature reading age - blood and sex and foul language are abound in these books.

What can I say? I don't think words can describe how quickly and absolutely I fell in love with these books and the world G.R.R. Martin has created. I devoured all of the books in a short space of time, and am impatiently waiting for the 6th.

It took me a few chapters to get used to the style of writing, but the use of the omniscient narrator and the multiple point of views really sets these books above the rest, in my humble opinion. I'm not a big fantasy fan, and I'd never heard of Martin unti...more What can I say? I don't think words can describe how quickly and absolutely I fell in love with these books and the world G.R.R. Martin has created. I devoured all of the books in a short space of time, and am impatiently waiting for the 6th.

It took me a few chapters to get used to the style of writing, but the use of the omniscient narrator and the multiple point of views really sets these books above the rest, in my humble opinion. I'm not a big fantasy fan, and I'd never heard of Martin until I was introduced to both the novels and the TV series by a friend last year, so I'm no expert in this area, but even a novice fantasy-reader can appreciate the sheer depths Martin goes to in these novels. The characters, for the most part, are well-developed and I personally feel that it is easy for the reader to relate to almost all of them, in one way or another. I also love the fact that there are no clear-cut 'good' or 'bad' guys - almost everyone has both in them ((view spoiler)), and we are under no false impressions about anyone. It is also difficult to wholeheartedly pick sides.

I must add that I was shocked and disgusted when (view spoiler), despite counsel to do the opposite, but after reading on I realised just how important that was for everything else to be set in motion. This is another thing Martin does brilliantly - he may not adhere to the general "rules" of writing, but the paths he veers off down always have a purpose in the end, however far-fetched or devastating they may seem to begin with.

An interesting point to make is the shift in dynamics that happens throughout the series, for example (view spoiler), which is underlined by the way the characters' name is changed during their chapter in the later books. This also makes it even easier for the reader to connect and sympathise with the characters.

There's not enough time or space for me to say everything I would like to about these books - they are too brilliant and fantastical and epic. I know the TV series is well-loved, but, while a good portrayal of the story, the books must be read, not just to fill in gaps, but also to truly experience the world in which so many of us are now immersed in and obsessed with.

As probably picked up on by lovers of the TV show, the accents are of course British, with the Starks and other Northerners boasting Northern accents, the Braavosi sounding Spanish or similar, and so on - this is how I first imagined the characters sounding when I read the books. I had watched Season 1 first, but of course you meet new characters in the following books, and so your imagination is left to run wild. The maps (I'm pretty sure they're included in every version), especially of Westeros, strike me as very similar to the United Kingdom; Kings Landing is roughly where London is, home of course to the Royal Court; the Wall is at the top, where Scotland is (and is probably just as cold!); even the size of it is not dissimilar, along with the distance to other places, such as Braavos and Pentos (every other place mentioned reminds me somehow of Europe, its' proximity to the UK and distance between each land - not that I'm a geographer of course!). This is my own view, the way I imagine it as I'm reading, and I don't know what Martins' inspiration or intent was, but there we go.

Dark and dangerous, beautiful and bold, fantastic and.. unfinished! How Martin ever imagined he could tell this series as a trilogy, I'll never understand. Amazing.

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies; the man who never reads lives only one" - a fitting quote for these books!
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Sep 30, 2011 Ilika Ranjan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Book Review
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin:

A tremendous epic of all times in which the transformation of each character is absolutely hard hitting, real and compelling. The reader is forced to transcend to that era feeling the pain and ruthlessness of circumstances, and witnessing the hardening of personalities in the book.
Every page pushes the reader to explore what next? This very aspect is warning me to be wary of the information I render in the book review, without revealing an...more

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Sep 12, 2011 Chuck rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well, I read the first four volumes of Martin's epic in the course of a week and half.

The series is well written and the author has a clear view of the world in which his series resides. His world is fairly well thought out and I did not notice too many inconsistencies.

I would recommend this book to Sci fantasy folks who are interested in a "forever" series.

As always, however, it is the human condition to notice what bugs them rather than the many achievements of the author.

**************SPOILE...more Well, I read the first four volumes of Martin's epic in the course of a week and half.

The series is well written and the author has a clear view of the world in which his series resides. His world is fairly well thought out and I did not notice too many inconsistencies.

I would recommend this book to Sci fantasy folks who are interested in a "forever" series.

As always, however, it is the human condition to notice what bugs them rather than the many achievements of the author.

**************SPOILER ALERT**************

A few if the things that bugged me about the series.

- The 4 books reached 3500 pages and never did reach a conclusion, or even any sort of point.

- This probably wouldn't be so bad, but he killed off many of the characters the series started with and I eventually lost interest in the characters he brought in as replacements. This happens in real life as well. In the military, when there are lots of casualties, many veterans isolate themselves from the replacements as a way of shielding themselves. How much I don't care about the characters will probably be the biggest factor in whether I continue to follow this series.

- An eight year old girl and her 13 year old sister are wandering around alone, and neither has been molested, kidnapped, assaulted, enslaved, or gotten sick. Plus every adult is quite happy to listen to her. This does not sound particularly credible to me.

- It's his world, but there does not seem to be much disease in the wake of war. This is certainly not the Human historical experience on Earth. Examples include McNiells "Plagues and Peoples'; Talty's "The Illustrious Dead" about how typhus affected Napoleon's invasion of Russia; and the American experience with smallpox during the Revolutionary war.

- A small gripe. The names and naming of people and places is ethnically a mess. He uses names and words from many different linguistic origins even though the population of Westeros is supposedly fairly uniform. Tolkien did it better.
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Sep 25, 2011 J rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not a huge fantasy fan but this series has me hooked. After hearing all the accolades for the show I thought I'd check out the novels. I expected something along what I dislike about most fantasy, a kind of high serious comic book mentality with buxom barely clad ladies and muscle-rippled swordsmen, long-bearded wizards with runestones and ludicrous spells, fantastical creatures that defy a naturalistic universe, and all manner of juvenile silliness. You know, pulpy genre writing.

Instead, Ma...more

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Aug 26, 2011 Seawater rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 09, 2012 Rebecca Radnor is currently reading it · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-science-fiction-and-fantacy, best-seller

I admit it, I started watching the HBO series first, fell in love with the story and decided I had to read the books. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of time for fun reading (I teach) but I'm still trekking my way through what is proving to be a hard book to put down.

Not sure yet which I enjoy more since Peter Dinklage's interpretation of the Tyrion Lannister character is SO incredibly good (he has definitely earned all the awards he has been winning for the role) ... and then there are the im...more

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Aug 16, 2012 Patrick Prager rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-wish-i-loved

The writing, setting, and intrigue are fantastic. However, Martin methodically kills off every "good" and likable character. We're left with a work that is, at best, grey... And at worst, one full of black characters.

I have read and loved many bleak books (The Road, Black Company) but no author seems to take pleasure I killing off characters like Martin.

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Apr 20, 2012 Eileen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This series filled with interesting, spellbinding and strong characters propelled through out this book put me through a rollercoaster ride of different emotions making me cry out loud at times of unexpected invents through out this series. The wide range of characters personalities range from the coy and foolish to gutsy and powerhunger, there's a character for everyone. George R.R. Martin has a talent of making the cliffhangers float about for awhile due to the multi-character view leaving you...more

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May 26, 2011 Grace rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What can I say? I went large on a fantasy series complete with knights and dragons and some ridiculous 'olde worlde' spelling and phrases. One of the things any favourable opinion of these books has to overcome is Martin's habit of making names genre-appropriate by replacing vowels with a y (Lysa, Petyr, Myrcella etc etc). But in spite of all this, I read thousands of pages more or less back to back and got completely obsessed.

It is easy to see why this has got the HBO treatment - long enough t...more

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Aug 27, 2011 Kimberley rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So I've spent the summer reading the first 4 books of this series. The fifth book came out in July - 5 years after the 4th book. Needless to say, it may be 10+ years before we get to the completion of this series (Martin is planning 7 books).
Each chapter is narrated by a different character - not difficult to follow but it takes a while to get into it. Not great literature, it is a quasi-medival high fantasy tale of betrayal and political machinations. Some great plot twist. Some not-so-great mi...more

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Jun 23, 2011 Christine rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved these. If you like The Lord of the Rings trilogy or the Eye of the World saga, then this series is right up your alley. I particularly like the way they flip back and forth between narrators. You find yourself starting to empathize with characters who you'd least expect. Martin also has no qualms about killing off some of your favorites, which is shocking and sad because you really begin to care for certain characters. It also makes the stories more realistic in the world that he has cre...more

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Apr 13, 2013 Manuel Pirino rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure

The boxed set of the Song of Ice and Fire. These books have been an amazing journey. The plot is great, and the world of Westeros (and everything around it) compelling and easy to plunge into. I give it an overall 4 stars. The saga is great, no question about it, but Martin could have made it in fewer pages. I guess it was intentional, the world evolved with its popularity, and even more so after the HBO series. So he took pains to describe it in minute detail, to feed the need for escapism of s...more The boxed set of the Song of Ice and Fire. These books have been an amazing journey. The plot is great, and the world of Westeros (and everything around it) compelling and easy to plunge into. I give it an overall 4 stars. The saga is great, no question about it, but Martin could have made it in fewer pages. I guess it was intentional, the world evolved with its popularity, and even more so after the HBO series. So he took pains to describe it in minute detail, to feed the need for escapism of so many of us. In Dickensian style, he decides to "make 'em laugh, make 'em cry, make 'em wait!". Dickens wrote in instalments, on magazines, and his ponderous volumes were not much slimmer than Martin's, and if he did it, Martin sure as hell can do it too. A few things I did not like? Maybe the pot pourri of Eurasian cultures and settings. We have medieval Venice, with bankers and gondole. We have medieval London, with the Lancaster, ahem, Lannister. We have medieval "Persia / Arab world". We have the decadent and exotic East, where everyone dresses in robes, eats bugs and dogs, and is a merchant, an assassin and an opium smoker, etc etc....We have endless and needless descriptions of menus, and not of a single meal we are spared the description, in fine detail. Be it a banquet for a royal wedding, or a stop-over at a wayside wine sink. Every armour (and here there is a lot of D&D nerd rage) is incredibly colourful, enamelled, described to the roundels at the elbows. Every gathering features a list of banners, sigils, coats of arm. And yet, for all of these flaws (I deem them minor, but reading the 5 books back to back tends to make you notice them....) it remains a darn good fantasy saga. Memorable characters, plot twists, cliffhangers, sudden and shocking deaths of major plot drivers, humour, epic fights, but most importantly the story lets us get to know better some of the heroes and some of the villains, giving us different points of view on their actions, making it easier to relate and sympathize, to love and sometimes even to hate them. Yes, it is nerdy. Yes, it's too long and convoluted. Yes, there are tons of clichée. Yes, I CANNOT wait to read the last two volumes!!!!!(less)

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Apr 09, 2013 R.e.holt rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

The Song of Ice and Fire is a soap opera disguised as epic fantasy, and I think the main reason for this is because the story really focuses on the characters, and not on some loftier lesson. This is not Lord of the Rings. There is no ultimate bad guy, for the most part. It is rarely good v.s evil, but rather okay people v.s. slightly less-okay people. There are people who make bad decisions and good decisions for noble and evil purposes. As the reader, there are very few characters that you can...more The Song of Ice and Fire is a soap opera disguised as epic fantasy, and I think the main reason for this is because the story really focuses on the characters, and not on some loftier lesson. This is not Lord of the Rings. There is no ultimate bad guy, for the most part. It is rarely good v.s evil, but rather okay people v.s. slightly less-okay people. There are people who make bad decisions and good decisions for noble and evil purposes. As the reader, there are very few characters that you can purely hate, without having, at least a little, sympathy for their stories.
For those of you who perhaps think comparing it to a soap opera is harsh, let's look at some of the recurring events in these books: people are constantly working against each other, spreading rumors, people die, they come back to life, brothers be sleeping with their sisters, and backstabbing and betrayals abound.
That being said, they are still a pretty good read. If you like fantasy, if you secretly like soap operas, this is a marriage between the two. It would be beneficial if you also have a lot of patience. Firstly, because each of these books are approaching, or sometimes even exceeding 1,000 pages, and there are five of them, to date. The second reason is that the author appears to enjoy killing off main characters. There are a lot of main characters (seriously, I tried making a flow chart once, but ran out of paper) so calling anyone a 'main' character is a bit difficult. But there tends to be about 10 characters that have more page-time than the others, and he tends to kill them rather unexpectedly. Which can be frustrating, when you have given thousands of pages to the development of this character and then kill them off long before they could accomplish what seems to be necessary things in order for the overall plot to move forward. But, as noted earlier, not all these characters stay dead. So if you find yourself confused, hurt, and bit frustrated that a character you that seems fairly vital to the story has just been killed, there might be hope.
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Mar 14, 2013 Mike rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The most important thing to consider before starting this is that the series remains unfinished and despite what the author says, I do not hold out hope. If you start this, you will be disappointed.

Based on the first 4 books, not A Dance with Dragons, this is the best series I've read and probably will read. This story is about the characters and there are plenty to love and hate. I found I've come to like characters that I started out distrusting, and having second thoughts on characters I've...more

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Mar 07, 2013 Deepak Mehta rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. SPOILER ALERT!
(If you haven't read all the books till now, do not read the review)

There are many things about ASOIAF that make it one of the most loved, hated, awaited and admired series of all times.

1. Main characters die
First the beheading of Ned at the end of aGoT, then the absolutely disgraceful attack, and subsequent beheading, of Robb at the Red Wedding in aSoS and then finally the (percieved) death of Jon at the end of aDwD, all the characters percieved as the central ones till now are de...more SPOILER ALERT!
(If you haven't read all the books till now, do not read the review)

There are many things about ASOIAF that make it one of the most loved, hated, awaited and admired series of all times.

1. Main characters die
First the beheading of Ned at the end of aGoT, then the absolutely disgraceful attack, and subsequent beheading, of Robb at the Red Wedding in aSoS and then finally the (percieved) death of Jon at the end of aDwD, all the characters percieved as the central ones till now are dead. Except Danerys, of course. But she is not the main character in my opinion.

2. There are no main characters
Everyone thought Ned was the main character in the beginning of the series. Then people thought it was Danerys, then Jon and/or Tyrion. The greatest trick "the devil" pulled here is that there is no central character.

3. There is no absolutely good/bad person (except probably a few Starks)
Everyone is a shade of grey. Except probably for Ned/Robb/Jon. Everyone has a dark past or a dirty secret. And this is the exact manifestation of the real world. There is no absolute.

4. It always surprises you
I have spent countless nights staying awake because I could not simply put the books down. Everytime I thought, "Just this chapter and I will go to sleep", and every time the chapter ended at a point where it was impossible to not continue.

5. Keeps you wanting for more
The best part I liked about the series is the multiple viewpoints. Every PoV ends at a high and then the next chapter with the same character resurfaces after hundreds of pages, keeping you entranced and wanting for more.

6. The subtle hints and the conspiracy theories
I was mind-blown when I first learnt about the R+L=J theory, though when I read all there was probably about it, I felt foolish for not picking up on the subtle hints dropped by GRRM throughout the series. The same goes for the PwwP and the Azor Ahai Reborn theories.

For me, ASOIAF will forever remain on the top 3 series list alongside LOTR and Harry Potter.(less)

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Feb 22, 2013 W.M. Driscoll rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

George R.R. Martin's gritty fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, is set in a quasi-medieval world where magic is returning and winter is coming; breaking onto the scene with the publication of the first volume in 1996, A Game of Thrones, it has now reached its fifth installment with 2011's A Dance with Dragons. The narrative takes place on the mythical continents of Westros and Essos; told from 31 different points of view (to date), it follows the bloody machinations of four major houses: Hou...more George R.R. Martin's gritty fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, is set in a quasi-medieval world where magic is returning and winter is coming; breaking onto the scene with the publication of the first volume in 1996, A Game of Thrones, it has now reached its fifth installment with 2011's A Dance with Dragons. The narrative takes place on the mythical continents of Westros and Essos; told from 31 different points of view (to date), it follows the bloody machinations of four major houses: House Stark, House Lannister, House Baratheon and House Targaryen. In War of the Roses fashion replete with knights, lords and ladies, feasts and tourneys, using first intrigue and assassination then all out war, these vie and plot against each other to attain the ultimate prize, the Iron Throne and the rule of all Westros. Made even more popular by a recent HBO miniseries (in which Peter Dinklage stole the show from a good cast as Tyrion Lannister), there is much to like and admire here. Having read up to the fourth book, A Feast of Crows, and having found it a disappointing outlier, I will confine my thoughts to the first three volumes: A Games of Thrones, A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords, as imaginative a trilogy as a fantasy reader could wish to find or hope to enjoy. Time magazine, in its infinite literary wisdom, called Martin "the American Tolkien" which is at best gross hyperbole, at worst an insult to all other American fantasy writers as well as a disservice to the author here; for it's not in world creation and mythology that Martin's genius lies (his back-story being a shallow puddle in comparison to Tolkein's bottomless Mirrormere) but in complex characterizations and set pieces that draw the reader into what would otherwise be a generally unpleasant and amoral universe. Climaxing in the "red wedding" one of the most brilliant, stunning and narratively costly endings I've read, the first three books of the series are ingenious and engaging. Not for younger or more sensitive readers, Martin's novels are filled with gritty realism, sex, violence and general unpleasantness. Still, I would heartily recommend them not just for fantasy readers, but for all readers who wish to be masterfully transported to another time and place. (less)

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Feb 14, 2013 Jamina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

No doubt, this series has a ton of plot twists and seriously demented characters, and I mean that in a good way. The viper's nest that makes up the nobility of Westeros would give JR and the whole Ewing clan of Dallas a run for their money. I started this series after A Dance with Dragons came out so I was able to read all of it in one go. Having said that, I think now I should have spread them out a bit. While I loved all the weird, crazy, power-hungry, back-stabbing, lying, cheating crazies, I...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Andrew rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a series worthy of its hype. The world Martin creates is intricate, realistic, gritty and beautifully crafted. The character writing is some of the best I've ever read, and the characters are never static, they all evolve through the books and your feelings change towards them. They are never two dimensional either and I often found myself sympathising with characters who may have started out as nominally 'bad'. Martin uses the level of empathy he generates with the characters against yo...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Softymel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ce coffret contient les 4 premiers volumes de la série, ma critique portera donc sur l'ensemble de ces volumes.
L'histoire est très prenante, et pendant la première moitié, il m'était difficile de m'arrêter à la fin d'un chapitre. Mais plus on avance dans le récit, et plus j'ai trouvé la lecture difficile. Les personnages et les lieux se multiplie sans arrêt, ce qui rend le récit beaucoup trop lourd. Combien de fois je suis allée faire un tour sur internet pour me souvenir de tel ou tel personnag...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Faune is currently reading it · review of another edition

After enjoying the HBO show (first season) so much, my husband and I decided to read this series. It's a joint effort, so the going is slow. We're on the third book. The books are a ton of fun. I'm really enjoying the complicated story that, in some ways, reads like a history--I'm told the series was meant to be reminiscent of the war of the roses. Martin is clearly going for his seven book series mark, though, which means some of the story lines drag out unnecessarily. He also has this love of...more

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About George R.R. Martin

George R. R. Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.

Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies,...more George R. R. Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.

Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: "The Hero," sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.

In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern.

As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher.

In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.

Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.

Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...(less)

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Books by George R.R. Martin

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)

A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)

A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)

A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4)

A Dance With Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)

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“Hodor," said Hodor.” — 7 people liked it

“He who hurries through life, hurries to his grave.”
Salladhor Saan” — 2 people liked it

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