A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) in Reading with Style

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 17, 2012 Dana Arbelaez rated it really liked it

Sooooooo intense, I was more than a little heartbroken for a lot of this book, but when it ended, I found myself looking around for the next book (which I don't have) with hope. I can see now why this series is so popular, and I plan to read the other books now, too. ...more

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Jul 06, 2010 Kat (A Journey In Reading) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-books, read-in-2014

Wow....... I have to admit that I am not the person who reads something just because "everyone else is reading it". I have only seen 2 or 3 episodes of the 1st season of the show. So, needless to say, I am behind the game.

This story has war, love, family, hatred, manipulation, cunning, plotting, heartache, dragons, knights, kings, queens lords and ladies. As you are alternating characters in each chapter, you think you have some things figured out, then by the end of the chapter, you are thrown ...more

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Aug 09, 2012 Rachel N. rated it really liked it

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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Apr 09, 2012 Julia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: series, fantasy, mythical, drama, to-review, 2012

Thoughts to come. So many feelings....

This books is a great start to the series. it sets everything up well, but like some fantasy books I have read, does not leave me turning a page and finding the end of a half complete book. I hate when cliffhangers happen AND there is no story resolution within that book. Game of Thrones delivers on this aspect.

I actually had a little video of myself with all of my **many spoilery feelings** which is as of yet unedited.

I have some issues with the character ...more

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Nov 06, 2011 Joanna rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi, audiobooks, 2012-read, rws-2012-fall

The reader for the 30+ hour audiobook did an excellent job reading for all the different characters and helping me keep them straight while listening to this book. I have found that I much prefer these sorts of battle-rich fantasy novels in audio format (see also Eragon et seq., which is way worse than this one in terms of overwritten language). Generally, I didn't find the plot of this book particularly original, but at least a few of the characters were interesting enough for me to care what h ...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Jenifer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, 2013-read

I was introduced to this series by the HBO series based on the books. I honestly never would have picked up this book if it hadn’t been for the HBO series. Fantasy is just not one of my usual genres.

I did enjoy Game of Thrones and mostly enjoyed Martin’s writing, although at times, it did seem a bit simplistic. It is hard for me to truly judge the book because it ties so closely with the t.v. series. They really did an incredible job at converting the book to screen. Maybe even too good of a job ...more

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Mar 25, 2018 Kathleen (itpdx) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I am probably not the last person to read the opening book of The Song of Ice and Fire series, but it seems like it. I also have not seen The Game of Thrones TV series. This is an exciting fantasy/adventure book with lots of characters and moving parts. The title is a good summary of the plot as we read about how characters with various designs on the throne of the Seven Kingdoms play the game or get drawn in reluctantly.
I enjoyed the read, although it takes some persistence to get into the boo ...more

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Feb 10, 2015 Erin rated it liked it

I think I see series potential, but I'm not 100% on board yet. Audiobook is well done but perhaps listening affected my "reading" experience, since there were just so many introductions and characters to keep track of. Nevertheless, will get started on the next one, see if the series picks up. ...more

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Sep 04, 2007 Deedee added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 6-star-books, challenge-2011-spring, scifi-and-fantasy-book-club, dragons, twins, epic-fantasy, favorites, nebula-award-nominee, world-fantasy-award-nominee, sf-npr-top-100

re-read
Even better the second time around!
Re: goodreads policy, I've left the rating blank. I would have given it 5 stars, like I did the other edition of this book that I read. ...more

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