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

Dec 25, 2009 Gaijinmama rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, favorites

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

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Apr 04, 2011 Justin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, fantasy, read-2011, epic, random-house

http://staffersmusings.blogspot.com/2...

In recent weeks there have been no end of blog posts about George R.R. Martin's iconic A Song of Ice and Fire (which by the way, I've called the Song of Fire and Ice in my head for the last 15 years) - none better than the brilliant duology posted by Adam over the at the Wertzone. With A Dance with Dragons due out in three weeks I knew I had to join the club and starting rereading the series. God damn I forgot how good it was.

Seriously, I forgot. Most of t http://staffersmusings.blogspot.com/2...

In recent weeks there have been no end of blog posts about George R.R. Martin's iconic A Song of Ice and Fire (which by the way, I've called the Song of Fire and Ice in my head for the last 15 years) - none better than the brilliant duology posted by Adam over the at the Wertzone. With A Dance with Dragons due out in three weeks I knew I had to join the club and starting rereading the series. God damn I forgot how good it was.

Seriously, I forgot. Most of the fantasy I read from the ages of 15-20 that I've subsequently picked up in my late 20's and now early 30's have left me disappointed. My memory of the novels have outstripped how good they aren't. The incredible work being done today by authors like Joe Abercrombie, Steven Erikson, N.K. Jemisin, and a host of others have far exceeded their predecessors (not in all cases, but still). So I picked up A Game of Thrones again with some trepidation - would it be as good as I remember? It was, and more.

Just in case anyone reading this has *not* read Game of Thrones or has not seen the HBO series, let me give a brief synopsis... yeah right. Go read it. Stop now. Go to Amazon or your local library or local bookseller and get it done. Then come back and read my ramblings. Back now? Great.

#1) Bro. There is some serious foreshadowing in this bitch. I've read a lot of epic series in my day - name it and I've probably read it. No one has more command of his world and story arc than Martin does. I have no doubt that Martin has plotted every nook and cranny of his story and his world from the moment he put pen to paper on a Game of Thrones 20 years ago.

#2) Tyrion Lannister is the most iconic character in fantasy. Gandalf? Please. Drizzt? Pfft. Pug? Elric? Belgarath? Thomas? No. No. No. Tyrion is the cats pajamas, ok? He's tortured, and callous, but also tries to do the right thing. Or does he? Is he only doing what he does to pay back his shitty father? I have no idea! That's what makes him so amazing. That and he's a killer limbo player.

#3) Is Ned an anti-villain? So we hear all kinds of talk about anti-heroes, right? A protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis. Tyrion is clearly an anti-hero, for example. An anti-villain would be someone who acts contrary to good, but does so with heroic intentions.

Sure Ned was acting with honor - Stannis is the heir - yet if he had bent either in support of Joffrey or placed himself and/or Renly on the throne he could have stabilized the realm and kept his family alive. He wouldn't do it and thus brought the evils of war to every doorstep in the realm. Yes, Ned fits all the heroic stereotypes, but he's not a hero - just as Stannis isn't a hero in the later books. Martin hammers the notion that honor and justice are not in themselves "good". And boy does he do it well.

Anyway, these are just some thoughts I had after my reread of the first book. I've already started A Clash of Kings. More thoughts in the days ahead leading up the release of A Dance with Dragons. ...more

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Apr 13, 2013 Joy H. marked it as watched-film-only

Shelves: adapted-to-film

Added 4/13/13

On 12/2/12, I posted the following at my group:
=======================================
I recently watched the 1st disc of "Game of Thrones" via Netflix.
There were too many characters for me to keep track of. In the bonus feature they tried to explain all that, but it was still confusing.

Below are some questions:
1. ---> (view spoiler)
2. ---> (view ...more

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Sep 02, 2011 Bernadette rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, fantasy-magic, fantasy-epic-fantasy-series, fantasy-high-fantasy, finish-later

Absolutely amazing and engrossing!

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Jan 08, 2010 Natalie rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

An amazing and finely crafted fantasy book. It just had too much adult material. Each chapter was titled with the name of a character and the story advanced as each character told what happened to them. The story takes place in 3-4 locations and there are almost a dozen characters. Each character is well defined and consistent. The only thing that was frustrating was it is not a quick read because there is so much going on and it was the first of a four book series (and this one was 700 pages!). ...more

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