Sign in with Facebook
mark monday's Reviews > A Game of Thrones
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)
by George R.R. Martin
by George R.R. Martin
there are about a billion reviews of this one so i doubt i have anything to add. the only thing i feel truly compelled to say is TYRION THE DWARF IS AWESOME! my God, i haven't read a character who is so different and so enjoyable in years. many-layered and consistently surprising, hero & antihero, generous & spiteful in equal amounts, as capable of high-handed miscalculation as he is of clever deduction, brave & loyal & vindictive... just overall a superb creation. Tyrion, you are the tops! and now you're going to be played by the studliest dwarf actor in the business. GO, TYRION, GO!
the novel itself is fast-paced and fun, featuring lavish and completely enjoyable world-building, a narrative that is widescreen in scope but often intimate is scale, some nifty twists, and strong & vivid characterizations. this is not a novel with much idiosyncratic "style" but there is a very literary feel to it nonetheless. it is complex but straightforward, nuanced, carefully planned writing, in the classic historical-novel mode... but made grand & epic by the range of fascinating (and overlapping) multiple perspectives. the action scenes are sparse but very well-rendered; the magic is likewise rare but that rarity make each appearance even more fascinating. although it is all rather archetypal and familiar, it is still never less than pleasing.
___
when thinking on it again, a few months after first reading it, everything just seems perfectly accomplished, even meaningful. DING DING DING!! you & your sequel just won 1 more star, congratulations amazing novel!
the novel itself is fast-paced and fun, featuring lavish and completely enjoyable world-building, a narrative that is widescreen in scope but often intimate is scale, some nifty twists, and strong & vivid characterizations. this is not a novel with much idiosyncratic "style" but there is a very literary feel to it nonetheless. it is complex but straightforward, nuanced, carefully planned writing, in the classic historical-novel mode... but made grand & epic by the range of fascinating (and overlapping) multiple perspectives. the action scenes are sparse but very well-rendered; the magic is likewise rare but that rarity make each appearance even more fascinating. although it is all rather archetypal and familiar, it is still never less than pleasing.
___
when thinking on it again, a few months after first reading it, everything just seems perfectly accomplished, even meaningful. DING DING DING!! you & your sequel just won 1 more star, congratulations amazing novel!
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read A Game of Thrones.
sign in »
Comments (showing 1-45 of 45) (45 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Amanda
(new)
-
rated it 5 stars
Nov 13, 2010 03:02am
Ooh! Is this your first reading? What do you think? It was the first 'grown up' fantasy I had ever read after reading Lord of the Rings and realising there was more out there. It blew me away with its dark, unforgiving realism.
reply
|
flag
*
i almost hate to sound so excitable, but it is AWESOME! i've been taking breaks from it so that i can draw it out as long as possible, but really what i want to do is take days off of work to read it in one big sitting. right now i'm a little over halfway through.
The sequels don't really lag in quality at all, so I think you might be safe to read as fast as you wish! Old Martin is taking his sweet time, but he is in the process of publishing the final few installments in the next couple of years I believe. I wish he would hurry up so I can read them all in one go!Oh, also fyi if you didn't know...there is currently a Song of Ice and Fire series in production with HBO and Martin is very deeply involved in the development - probably why he has no time to write, damn him!
i'm excited to see it and it is the reason i finally got around to reading the novel. i am so curious about how they will be featuring the various perspectives. i know that tyrion will make out okay; i'm more concerned that arya and jon snow will be rendered adequately. i didn't know that martin was involved in the production; that gives me hope!
I love Tyrion all so much, I want to take him away from all the bad stuff and mother him to death! Easily one of the best characters in fantasy. Glad you enjoyed the novel! :)
Great book and the one that returned me to wanting to read fantasy. However, despite how great this book is, I would have recommended you not read it because George R.R. Martin is a grade-A jerk.
Amanda wrote: "The sequels don't really lag in quality at all, so I think you might be safe to read as fast as you wish! Old Martin is taking his sweet time, but he is in the process of publishing the final few ..."I think the sequels are just as good as book one. Sadly, I don't think Martin has any interest - or intent - in finishing the story, which I think sucks. I think when an author starts a series they have an obligation to fans to finish it.
He's taking his time Michael, and I'd rather he did take his time than rush things. I feel JK Rowling rushed to meet deadlines and I can say that I felt was a steep decline in quality from Order of the Phoenix onwards. I'd rather Martin wrote to the best of his abilities than to a schedule. Thats how writing should be. If he wants to continue expanding the story arc and adding more volumes to the back of the series, that is fine by me.
Michael wrote: "I think when an author starts a series they have an obligation to fans to finish it. ..."
i'm suddenly reminded of how angry you were over the non-ending of Invasion!
i'm in no rush for it to be over...it's great knowing that the sequels are also well-done. and that there's so many of them, and more to come. if the quality remains high, he can take all the time in the world.
Amanda wrote: "He's taking his time Michael, and I'd rather he did take his time than rush things. I feel JK Rowling rushed to meet deadlines and I can say that I felt was a steep decline in quality from Order o..."Amanda, I'd like to believe that and I hope you're right, but I'm not optimistic at all. It's been over five years since A Feast for Crows and back then he said something about how the book was too big and the publisher told him to split it in half so AFfC was from the PoV one one half of the characters and the following A Dance with Dragons (which was presumably have done?) was going to be from the PoV of the other characters with both books supposedly taking place at the same time. After ADwD, there's supposed to be two more books in the series so I figure if he comes out with one book ever five years (and I think that's being generous!) then the series won't be complete for at least another 10+ years. I check his website frequently and the last update on the status of the series is almost three years old. I think his interest is in making personal appearances because he does a lot of those and once he sold the story to HBO he quit thinking about being a writer.
mark wrote: "i'm suddenly reminded of how angry you were over the non-ending of Invasion! i'm in no rush for it to be over...it's great knowing that the sequels are also well-done. and that there's so many of them, and more to come. if the quality remains high, he can take all the time in the world."
Yeah, the Invasion cliffhanger! That, and the Joan of Arcadia and American Dreams cliffhangers are the reason I watch very little network TV anymore. If the networks want us to watch their show - and support their advertisers - then I think they can at least give us a self-contained story and no cliffhanger. The quality of the first three books (I didn't read the fourth because of the five-year delay and my belief he's done writing) is top-notch and I just hope we all live long enough to finish reading the series!
I was at Costco yesterday and saw they had a nice boxed set of the first four books in the series and I wanted to dump my cart and stand there and warn shoppers not to get started with that scoundrel Martin's works. We need a revolution, who's with me?!
not me! c'mon, you just got another installment this past month. only 2 more to go! i am confident he will complete this series before reaching his final destination.
Only two more books to go so that means... let me see... where's my calculator because I just ran out of fingers... OK... let's see... (carry the one)... the series should be complete sometime around the fall of 2024!In the meantime I say we revolt! Cut off his head and piss in his skull and when we get bored we hang it high as a warning to other fantasy authors who sell out their fans for some fame. C'mon, who's with me? I have sign-up sheets here along with infomational pamphlets!
oh, Michael.i agree with you Megan. and don't listen to Michael! take that image of Herve as Tyrion out of your mind and toss it away, far away!
i think Herve's greatest role was Knick Knack.
I love playing the casting game and I can't read a book without casting everyone. So while I'll still going to hold out for Herve, another option for Tyrion would have been Warwick Davis
you are terrible! how bout some gender-blind casting and cast that loveable little exorcist from Poltergeist? she could really tear it up as Tyrion.
See, I would rank Peter Dinklage as one of the best actors of his generation, period. When it comes to actors of his particular stature, there is absolutely no one who has the chops that he does. And Tyrion needs more than stunt-casting. He needs serious emotional depth.
i completely agree. one of the best actors, regardless of stature or anything else. he has that wonderful ability of being able to convey so many things, so many thoughts, in his expressions & eyes, and without even saying a word. he can do comedy & tragedy equally well. his work in Station Agent was awesome and well-recognized, but i've liked him in everything i've seen him in. he even managed to rise above the trashy material and the ludicrous character that he was saddled with in Nip/Tuck.
he's the dreamiest! i want to have a gay marriage with him. and, happily, Obama will not stand in our way.
I used to read fantasy and sci fi quite a bit until it all became to light and trivial. Some of my family members kept talking about this book and the series so I picked it up and for the first time in a long time I read a fantasy book that was layered and intelligent. I cannot wait to read the sequels and watch the series.
oh, like on a kindle? or as a free book here on Goodreads? if you mean here on Goodreads, it is not a free book - you will have to buy it. if you have an electronic copy and you are having problems with your kindle, unfortunately i can't help. maybe amazon customer service can help.
go to the book's page by clicking the book's title. under the book's summary and next to "Get a copy" there is a drop-down menu called 'online stores'. from there, i would say just choose amazon, and you will be linked over to amazon and you can choose how you want to buy it.
I'm only half way through the third book. Love Tyrion. Hope he survives! Can't wait to see what Danerys does next.... what a great story.
Yep I'm in camp Tyrion as well....he's so sarcastic and I love that sort of humour, self deprecating but poignant. He just gets better and better as the novels continue. Am also a huge Arya fan.....the name for my as yet non-existent dog (getting when I move). Well I did name my childhood cat Atticus - yep, to Kill a Mockingbird. Lx
