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

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

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Jan 11, 2012 Susie rated it it was amazing

I feel that I should apologize to all of the other exciting and enticing books that I had planned on reading within the next few months as I will now be dedicating all of my spare time to George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series. The first book in the series, A Game of Thrones, thoroughly surpassed my unreasonably high expectations.

I had seen this series listed on numerous “Best of Fantasy/High Fantasy” book lists over the years. Having relegated the books to my own personal list of “Se I feel that I should apologize to all of the other exciting and enticing books that I had planned on reading within the next few months as I will now be dedicating all of my spare time to George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series. The first book in the series, A Game of Thrones, thoroughly surpassed my unreasonably high expectations.

I had seen this series listed on numerous “Best of Fantasy/High Fantasy” book lists over the years. Having relegated the books to my own personal list of “Series that I would love to start reading if I suddenly had endless amounts of free time and/or were trapped on a remote tropical island with the complete series in my possession”, I had not given much thought to actually tackling the lengthy tomes anytime soon. With the release and massive popularity of HBO’s TV series A Game of Thrones, I decided that it might be worth finding out what all the hype was about.

I was absolutely hooked by the end of the first chapter. A Game of Thrones is one of those books that is almost as much fun to review as it is to read simply because it has appeal factors for so many different audiences. First off, the characters are numerous and extremely well-developed. And by numerous, I mean like Russian author numerous. But it’s not difficult to determine which characters are the ones worth watching, and Martin is a very sympathetic author who gives the reader gentle reminders (subtly and often) as to who each person is and why they’re important. Like Ken Follet’s much heralded The Pillars of the Earth (also made into a TV series), this novel has political intrigue and machinations coming out of the woodwork. There are plenty of villains and tried-and-true heroes, but there’s also a preponderance of morally ambiguous characters that are always unpredictable, leaving the reader helpless to determine what their next move will be.

The setting for the story is highly detailed and imaginative, with lands ranging across several continents and including tribes and peoples too numerous to include in a single review. The customs, religions, languages and even food preferences are comprehensive, which makes the reader feel like they have escaped to a new world each time they open the book.

The chapters are typically short, each told by one of a different handful of narrators in turn. This literary technique makes it near impossible to feel like you’ve reached a good stopping point where you can put the book down because you’ll probably have to read another three or four chapters before you hear from the same narrator again and find out what fate had in store for them at the end of the previous chapter. This leaves the reader simply itching to pick the book up again.

I could probably write a review for A Game of Thrones that ended up being about as long as the book itself (close to 700 pages depending on which edition you receive) singing its many praises. George R. R. Martin is an exceedingly talented writer who deserves every bit of acclaim and all the glowing complements that I’m sure he has received over the years. If the rest of the series is anything as good as the first book, which I have every confidence that it will be, then I have several months of exciting reading to look forward to.
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Apr 22, 2010 Amber rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, biblio

Wow...only around 200 pages or so into this, and it's wonderful. Deep, realistic, and intensely political without being dry. I can't wait to read more, and then the rest of the series.

Ok, flash forward, completed the book (and indeed, the rest of the series) as soon as I could.

I've read a lot of fantasy. I've read fluff, and I've read dry, and I've read a modicum of smutty fanfic...but I've never read anything quite like the world that George R. R. Martin weaves around his reader.

Each chapter is ...more

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Jun 10, 2011 Susan rated it really liked it

I am obsessed with the books!

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Apr 02, 2012 Ashley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dragons, fantasy, book-to-movie, magic

I fell in love with the HBO show and a friend told me to try the books now that the new season just finished to read the books then I would understand the show better. I liked the book almost as good as the show. I understand alot more of the stories and the characters than before. My favorites are still Arya, Tryion (the Imp), and Jon. Least favorite so far: Cateyln (mom) and DEFINETLY don't like Sansa.

...more

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