From the Bookshelf of Nothing But Reading Challenges…

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

George R.R. Martin

Start date: June 9, 2011

Finish date: July 1, 2011

Discussion: Previous BOMs - Authors; A - D

Why we're reading this: Here is a link to the discussion:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5... Started as a buddy read and lat…more
[close] Here is a link to the discussion:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5... Started as a buddy read and later was voted to be part of our third series read.

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Previous BOMs - Authors; A - D

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What Members Thought

May 27, 2012 Jessica rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, fantasy, five-stars

I will tell you all the truth: I do not like fantasy. Truly. I don't know if I'm still scarred by the summer I forced my way through all of Tolkien, but I do know that the barest mention of elves or knights or fair maidens will send me scurrying away. In addition, I'm not a fan of political intrigue, nor of really long books that start really long series. So why did I try this one?

I don't like the feeling of dismissing an entire genre based on a few bad apples, so I was looking for some good fan I will tell you all the truth: I do not like fantasy. Truly. I don't know if I'm still scarred by the summer I forced my way through all of Tolkien, but I do know that the barest mention of elves or knights or fair maidens will send me scurrying away. In addition, I'm not a fan of political intrigue, nor of really long books that start really long series. So why did I try this one?

I don't like the feeling of dismissing an entire genre based on a few bad apples, so I was looking for some good fantasy. I knew about Game of Thrones from the tv show (which I haven't seen) so I clicked on the page. I read the first few reviews and noted a few others like me - not fans of fantasy - who had liked the book. I took it with me out of town and gave it a try (this may or may not have led to me reading at 3 am in a hotel bathroom so I wouldn't wake my husband... I'm not saying!)

Simply put, this is a great book. It isn't without flaws, but none of those flaws bothered me in the least while I was reading. I loved all the characters, even the ones who seemed unloveable at first(Sansa!) The female characters were well drawn - not just for a fantasy, but in general. Martin chooses to tell the story POV style, with each chapter a different character. I loved that because it allowed the characters to feel real.

The plotline is interesting - political intrigue with some light fantasy (there is magic and fantastic creatures, but they aren't the focus of the story, nor do they solve all the problems/cause all the wars.) The politics did not bore me, though I confess by the end I was forgetting who belonged to which house (there are too many names that begin with T!)

My favorite character, without a doubt, was the dwarf Tyrion. He was wonderfully grey (neither evil nor good) and his dialogue felt more real than any of the other characters (they were not bad, but occasionally trended towards the overly formal language often used in these novels.)

I'm looking forward to the next in the series - and I'm thinking of trying some other fantasy novels soon! ...more

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Aug 09, 2012 Rachel N. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

There's a lot going on in this book so it's not easy to summarize. Robert Baratheon king of the seven kingdoms travels to Winterfell and enlists Ned Stark to be hand of the king. Meanwhile the two remaining taergearyns, whose father was the former king, are teaming up with the dothrakis across the bitter sea to reclaim the throne. I enjoyed this book but it's very dense and it took a really long time to finish it. I definitely want to know what happens to the characters so I am going to continue ...more

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Aug 03, 2013 Rebekah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: rating-4, genre-fantasy, genre-adventure, genre-adult, genre-science-fiction-fantasy, genre-fantasy-epic-fantasy, series, genre-epic

Ugh!

Okay I have not watched the television show and I prefer to read the source material prior to doing so, but GoT is all anyone is talking about, so I bit the bullet and started reading this series.

This book is frustrating! If you like women and/or children, then parts of this book are going to disgust you. Seriously, almost every woman and child is tortured, killed, raped, or all of the above. The misogyny is rampant. I am praying that the television show does not legitimately show children b ...more

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Dec 19, 2013 Mirliz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, series-to-read, books-to-reread, fiction

This is a great book! Loved the story, loved the intrigues, loved the characters. The descriptions of everything - places and events - are written so that I could see it all in front of me. Writing each chapter from a different character's viewpoint is something that I both love and hate, because at the end of each chapter I really just wanted to know more about that specific character's story! Can't wait to read the rest of the series. ...more

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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.

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Mar 13, 2012 Cider Morten rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library-reads

May 06, 2012 Beverly rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Jun 28, 2012 Claire marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi-and-fantasy, fiction

Aug 28, 2012 Shanda Morency rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Oct 24, 2012 Cora rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, kindle, 1st-in-series, betrayal, epic-fantasy, animal-bonding, assassination, series, lost-in-fire

Jan 31, 2013 Kim DeCina rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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