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

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

9 likes · Like · see review

Feb 05, 2015 Figgy marked it as pending · review of another edition

Okay, I'm finally doing this.

I can tell you now, it's not going to be a quick read, because I have other books I need to read and review. But even if it's only a chapter a day, or week, it's still better than waiting until I have nothing else on my plate... Because, I realise now, that is NEVER going to happen. ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

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

2 likes · Like · see review

May 21, 2014 Perri Oldfield rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I won't write much about this novel as I think most people have either seen the series or read the books but I will say that I enjoyed it as much, if even more so, than the series. The chapters are short, each one concentrating on one of the main characters (which are deep and very much brought to life) and as each chapter ends on a cliff-hanger you cannot help but read the next until the whole book is devoured. I really enjoyed this, I am glad I saw the series first as there are just so many ch ...more

Like · see review