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

George R.R. Martin

Start date: January 1, 2016

Finish date: January 31, 2016

Discussion: Buddy Reads

Discussion leader: Tracey

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What Members Thought

Apr 10, 2012 Angela rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: five-star-reads, fantasy

I loved this book when I first read it back in the mid 90s and I still love it today. I have read it a couple of times over the years and every time it grips me, so that I don't want to put it down. From the arrival of the direwolves to the shocking ending, I was hooked. GRRM is able to juggle many different points of view and it is true there is a lot going on, but this is the whole point of world building.

I enjoy that characters we sympathise with are flawed, just like any human being and tha ...more

20 likes · Like · see review

Dec 25, 2009 Gaijinmama rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, fantasy

I went into this having seen the first two seasons of the TV show, so some of the suspense was gone.
Didn't matter a whit. I could hardly put the book down and pretty much binge-read the last 300 pages over a three-day weekend. Family? sleep? work? what's that?
Indeed, it was all I could do not to plow right into the next volume of the series, but I'm making myself take a break to process it.

The story is just plain non-stop irresistible brilliance. In more than 800 pages, not a single word is wast I went into this having seen the first two seasons of the TV show, so some of the suspense was gone.
Didn't matter a whit. I could hardly put the book down and pretty much binge-read the last 300 pages over a three-day weekend. Family? sleep? work? what's that?
Indeed, it was all I could do not to plow right into the next volume of the series, but I'm making myself take a break to process it.

The story is just plain non-stop irresistible brilliance. In more than 800 pages, not a single word is wasted. More importantly in my view, the characters are believable and complex. The bad guys have some redeeming qualities, and the good guys have some grey areas and do some unlikeable stuff. They're people, not superheroes, and that's what kept me riveted in their story.
Hands down, my favorite character is Tyrion, The Imp. I'd say he's the anti-hero of the whole darn thing. As far as I'm concerned, this is really his story. Kinda like Star Wars is really about Han Solo, not that boring Luke Skywalker, right? Tyrion isn't exactly a good guy but he is smart, shows compassion in spite of himself, generally does the right thing when it matters, and oh. my.gods. does he have a sense of humor!! Between him and Petyr Baelish( who really is a scumbag, but endearing nonetheless) I found myself giggling at all sorts of inappropriate moments.
Warning: in case you've been hiding under a rock, let's just say things get a bit violent here and there. I'm not at all squeamish, but this book contains some truly sick and twisted stuff that pushed even my limits. What makes it even more upsetting, is that it's portrayed realistically. There is no cruelty in this book that hasn't actually been done to someone at some point in history.
Same goes for the magical aspects of the story. Magic exists in this world, but it comes at a price, and people still have to deal with the consequences of their actions, or deal with the fall-out of other people's actions (Catelyn Stark, a word please!! In my office, now!!).
People survive by using their brains. And sometimes bad things happen to good people.
Maybe I'll grab the next book and dive right in, after all. ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Jan 16, 2013 Kris (My Novelesque Life) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A GAME OF THRONES
(A Song of Ice and Fire: #1)
Written by George R.R. Martin
1996; 835 Pages
Genre: fantasy

★★★★1/2

When I first read A Game of Thrones in 2012 I was a bit confused with all the names and places that it took me a bit longer to get through the book. I did enjoy the writing of Martin but also the complicated world that he has created. So when the TV series came out I watched season 1 and with faces to name I had it all clear in my head. When I started to reread the first book (so I can c ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Nov 01, 2011 Giulia rated it really liked it

I really liked this book. I saw the HBO series, and the producers of the show were very true to the book. This series is epic (hence why there are so many books) and full of rich characters you can relate to and undertstand. It's got enough fantasy in it to make it fanastic but it's not an overly dense mythos. Actually, the first book doesn't even get into the mythos too much so I'm not sure how much of it there is, but *spoilers following* considering that Dany has brought the dragons back and ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 19, 2013 Connie rated it it was amazing

I decided to read this series with a friend and she likes the fantasy genre. I am glad that I did read the first one and plan to read the rest. I was very impressed how Mr. Martin wrote a chapter about one individual and then the next chapter was about another individual. The story did seem to move chronologically and after you finished with one chapter you had to read the next so that you could get to the chapter that talked of the last person you just read about.

To me this is more like histor ...more

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Nov 14, 2012 Leigh rated it it was ok

Shelves: library-list

Finally Finished!!!! I am not a fan! This just was not for me!

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 16, 2011 Logan rated it liked it

Shelves: own-bought-ebook, fantasy, movie-tv

First impressions: I love a good prologue - it sets the stage, gets you interested, and dives right into the action. Believe me, Martin gives good prologue here. It gave me important information about the northern area of the country, was full of suspense, and made me want to learn more. What else could you ask for?

Lasting impressions: This is undoubtedly an epic story. It covers lots of characters over a long period of time in a vast world. At times this was overwhelming, particularly to someon First impressions: I love a good prologue - it sets the stage, gets you interested, and dives right into the action. Believe me, Martin gives good prologue here. It gave me important information about the northern area of the country, was full of suspense, and made me want to learn more. What else could you ask for?

Lasting impressions: This is undoubtedly an epic story. It covers lots of characters over a long period of time in a vast world. At times this was overwhelming, particularly to someone who doesn't read a lot of epic fantasy, but ultimately the story was powerful and satisfying.

Conflicting impressions: Having spent so much time lately reading first person intimate narratives, the switch to a more distant third person point of view was a big change up. I was frustrated at times by how Martin seemed to power through difficult moments and present them so matter of factly. Where was all the angst and hand wringing I love? Oh, right. Not that kind of book, so no real points off from me.

Overall impressions: I have to emphasize again that I am not normally an epic fantasy reader. That, in and of itself, is a huge reason I did not rate this book higher. It's just not my preferred genre. I love fantasy stories, I love swords and action and betrayal and lots of other fantasy elements, it's just that slogging through 850 pages is not my idea of a good time. It takes me months to get through one of Diana Gabaldon's behemoths, and I love them, but the process itself is a struggle. I have a short attention span.

That said, I struggled to get through this one. If it weren't for the HBO premiere, I don't think I would have had the motivation to finish. As much as I liked the characters and the story, it didn't quite move fast enough to keep me engaged. It took me three weeks to read the first half of the book, and the second half I simply forced myself to sit down and read in a marathon 4 hour reading session on Friday night.

Am I glad I did? Absolutely. Like I said, it's a great book. The characters were fantastic, and with the revolving POVs, you really get a chance to get to know them individually. My favorites by far were Arya, the 10 year old (I think) daughter of House Stark, and Tyrion Lannister, dwarf brother to the Queen. Arya is a tomboy who only wants to fight and be outside, though custom dictates she must learn sewing and act a lady. Tyrion is called "the Imp" by his countrymen, a nickname he despises, and because of his perceived deformity, is looked down upon by nearly everyone he encounters.

The beauty of the story is that all of the characters are deeply flawed, so as events quickly get out of their control, these flaws dictate devastating consequences. Martin is truly not afraid to show the darkest sides of people, nor is he afraid to take things from the characters we love so dearly. This book was frustrating often because I just wanted things to get better instead of get worse, and that is not usually the plan.

I highly recommend the book to fantasy fans, although most of them have probably already read it. Although it's not my particular cup of tea, I still enjoyed the story and am glad it is getting a well deserved boost in publicity thanks to the HBO series. For my thoughts on the show, read on. ...more

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Jul 10, 2011 Erin rated it really liked it

I have high expectations of this series and I hope I am not to be disapppointed. There was a ton of fascinating world building happening in this book. You could feel the heroes in the making. Can't wait to see where Martin is going with this story. I have to admit it has an epic feel about it. ...more

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Mar 15, 2011 Renee rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

Wow. Just wow. I'll admit that I was put of by the sheer size of the book to begin with, and it took me a few chapters to really get pulled it. (Yes, that was even after watching the HBO series religiously). After I did, though ... wow. I'm not going to bother writing about the book itself since I suspect that nearly everyone reading this has already read it. I'm ready to put a request in to my library for book 2! ...more

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Dec 29, 2011 Andrew rated it it was amazing

A very big read and well set up for the next book in the series, but need to take breath first! 4.5 Stars.

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Mar 13, 2013 Jordan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

http://paperbackprincess96.blogspot.c... ...more

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Jul 04, 2008 Meera rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, series

2 likes · Like

Dec 20, 2009 Delitealex rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Mar 20, 2011 Kristi added it · review of another edition

Apr 28, 2011 Yusra Asaad marked it as to-read

Jun 04, 2011 Kristi rated it it was amazing

Jul 26, 2011 Bev A rated it really liked it

Aug 18, 2011 Mariana Bezerra rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2011, favorites

Oct 26, 2011 CrazyCat (Alex) marked it as to-read

Oct 30, 2011 ~Melissa~ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-own

Nov 09, 2011 Sunny marked it as to-read

Shelves: own

Nov 21, 2011 ✿~Danielle~✿ rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, fantasy, _read2011, page800s

Mar 16, 2012 Liz (Bugetta) marked it as to-read

Shelves: fantasy

Mar 29, 2012 Violet added it · review of another edition

Oct 10, 2012 Karen marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-books, gr-group-reads, npr-top-100-scifi-and-fantasy, books-into-movies, gr-top-100-books-to-read

May 23, 2017 Ira rated it really liked it

Shelves: around-the-year-in-52-books, 2017-around-the-year-in-52-books

Jan 31, 2013 Kim DeCina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, fantasy, amazing-characters, magic, dark, characters-of-color, fantastic-worldbuilding, beautiful-language, speculative-fiction, drama

Jun 30, 2013 Anita Reads rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, read-2014

Sep 14, 2013 Dianne marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Nov 04, 2013 Dana marked it as to-read

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