A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) in The Alternative Worlds

Jun 12, 2011 Brad rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, sword-and-sorcery-opera

I am finished. My real review will be coming soon (and here it is), but here's the last installment of my reading journal for those who are still interested. This star rating reflects my feelings about the last quarter of the book and may not be my final rating for the book in its entirety. Since I am writing about the book as I go, there will necessarily be spoilers, so don't continue if you want to avoid them.

My Game of Thrones Journal: volume iv

Arya -- I sure hope Syrio’s not dead yet. That ...more

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Feb 05, 2013 The Crimson Fucker rated it did not like it · review of another edition

by the power invested in me by years of fantasy reading... i shall read this piece of shit! in anger! and pain! i shall unravel mah warren to tell the world what a piece of crap this is!!!! been reading it for 2 months now! and im up to page 55! and it sucks as much as i remember! shit loads of tell dont show (x), abusing "adult" subjects like rape and sexuality to make it look "adult" (x), more outdated fantasies cliches than that dungeons and dragons movie (x), wishing i was reading some malaz ...more

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Dec 15, 2012 Steelwhisper rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, dnf

There is little I can add to this review:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

except that I gave up on this after the first couple hundred pages. Time is expensive, especially mine. Much too valuable to spend on such pretentiousness.

I was interested to see two things there:

The review which best matches my own take is by someone who like me loves Leiber and Moorcock and finds Tolkien also fairly boring. This can't be coincidence!

Like Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan books this one gets style ...more

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May 15, 2011 Brad rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, sword-and-sorcery-opera

I am closing in on the end, so here's my third installment of my reading journal. My star rating is always where I am at in the book at the time of writing. It's going to fluctuate. Since I am writing about the book as I go, there will necessarily be spoilers, so don't continue if you want to avoid them.

My Game of Thrones Journal: volume iii

Eddard-- Now that was an ass whooping! Nicely done, Jaime. Already Catelyn’s rash decision is paying dividends for her family, as is Ned’s mouth costing hi ...more

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Apr 19, 2013 Carla Patterson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-challenge, science-fiction, horror, fantasy

First disclaimer - I saw the HBO series (first three seasons) before I read the books and, if I hadn't, I never would have picked them to read. I started reading the books when the show was on hiatus. I missed the show so much that I read the books to have some of it back. That said, I started realizing early on how differently the show was treating some of the stories and characters than the books did and the books were a lot darker and more disgusting to me as a female reader, or maybe just as First disclaimer - I saw the HBO series (first three seasons) before I read the books and, if I hadn't, I never would have picked them to read. I started reading the books when the show was on hiatus. I missed the show so much that I read the books to have some of it back. That said, I started realizing early on how differently the show was treating some of the stories and characters than the books did and the books were a lot darker and more disgusting to me as a female reader, or maybe just as a human being who actually empathizes with other human beings.

Second disclaimer - I totally understand reviews by people who found the violence and misogyny over the top because they both really are. In the show, those aspects of the story represent what people are fighting against as the stories move forward. In the books, there is more of a sense of wallowing in despair and destruction, a feeling that there is no movement at all, let alone forward. I stopped reading the books when I got to the point when I couldn't take a single word more of them without slitting my wrists (metaphorically!) but, truthfully, if one has a tendency towards depression and despair, this is not the series for you.

So, I gave this book 5 stars because, when I read it, it entertained and interested me as a counterpoint to the HBO series. It filled in some aspects of people's experiences, characters, and intentions and it added detail to some of the situations. While I was reading, I was imbuing each of the characters with how they looked, moved, spoke, and behaved in the show, sometimes overriding the descriptions in the book.

I love the medium of film, I'm an artist and a musician, and I had a very rough childhood (understatement) so, for me, Game of Thrones inhabits a world I am drawn to because of its beauty and power more than its incredible violence. The artists who got together to make GOT are an eclectic and talented group of individuals (this includes everyone involved in making it what it is, not just the actors and directors, the heads of all the departments, etc.) and the series is filmed beautifully in many beautiful and/or fascinating places on earth. How could I not love it? Because of the way I grew up, stories which don't tell the truth about the horrors and challenges of being a child - especially a female child - are insipid and hard to understand for me. So, it takes a certain level of violence and misogyny to feel like a real world to me - I wish that weren't what the real world is like for so many millions of people but it is. Pretending it isn't true just feels hypocritical and vapid to me. The thing I require, though, for fiction to speak to me and keep me interested is some kind of development of individual characters and/or movement from a state of horror and despair to some form of empowerment (growing up, realizing one's own abilities, kindness from strangers, alliances built and maintained, those kinds of things) or enlightenment (not everyone survives the lives they are forced to live when they are not in a position to choose). Not everyone will see GOT the way I do but I'm thankful a lot of people love the show because it is very cathartic for me. ...more

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Mar 17, 2014 Suz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club, award-winner, kindle, re-read, epic, fantasy, because-it-s-a-movie

Once upon a time, I refused to read GoT. Then a book club chose it, and since it was slated to come out as a mini-series, I figured why the hell not. And I read it, and the sequels, and watched the show, and now I'm one of millions that are crawling through the wasteland of wait for the next book. I figured I would have myself a re-read and see how it goes.

It is as mysogynisticy, as brutal, as over the top as everything I had heard it was. It's a white man's world building, it's "mediev ...more

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Aug 08, 2011 Carolyn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own, fantasy, 2015-read

OK, all these years and I've never read this series. No problem, except now that I've seen the HBO series I'm hooked! I hope that the books are half as good, so I'm committed to at least starting the first one.
Bought the book several years ago, just started it last week, and I'm really enjoying it. So far, the series is very true to the book (p267/807).
...more

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Mar 28, 2012 Ryandake rated it liked it · review of another edition

i read all five books in two weeks, give or take. so i'm just going to post one mondo review of them at A Dance With Dragons. totally not fair, i know, but life is not always fair. ...more

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