A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) in The Sword and Laser

Apr 19, 2011 Silvana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fyeahfantasy, dark-matter, series-i-follow, a-song-of-ice-and-fire

Second re-read (finished on July 8th, 2017)
Well, it has been three years apparently since I visited this book. The local fanclub decided to discuss it today and so I thought it was a good time to reread with the illustrated edition (which I reviewed separately).

A Song of Ice and Fire is super layered, expansive, and complicated. There are still discussions after discussions in the fandom about theories (both crackpot and legits), character studies, plots, scenarios, worldbuilding, and so on. I e Second re-read (finished on July 8th, 2017)
Well, it has been three years apparently since I visited this book. The local fanclub decided to discuss it today and so I thought it was a good time to reread with the illustrated edition (which I reviewed separately).

A Song of Ice and Fire is super layered, expansive, and complicated. There are still discussions after discussions in the fandom about theories (both crackpot and legits), character studies, plots, scenarios, worldbuilding, and so on. I even followed and supported at least four podcasts about ASOIAF (and twice co-hosted one of them, which was pretty scary). There is ALWAYS something to discuss. That is why I am not surprised that after three times rereading, I still found lots of interesting details that are relevant to the later progress of the story. Our today's discussion about 'What Ifs' was super fun. Next: A Clash of Kings (third? fourth?) re-read and discussion.

First re-read (finished on September 27th, 2014)
Seven hells, this is truly a splendid read. Glad to reread it, found so many hidden (unhidden) gems. A master storyteller, George is. Three years ago, I spent one day to finish the book. Now I spent more than a month. I think it's better to absorb chapter by chapter and accompanied by several (re)read guides. I recommend Stephen Attewell's Race for the Iron Throne for serious, in depth discussion and some earlier episodes from A Podcast of Ice and Fire for fun.

Original review (May 22, 2011):
Since I started watching the series in HBO (now it's already at its 7th episode) I knew for sure I'd read the books. Been so long since my last time reading epic fantasy and this one feels damn good. I swore the book had glue on it and I just couldn't let it go until I finished reading it in one day :D

The characters are unbelievably magnificent and unforgettable. Some were just the ones you love to hate and hate to love. They - the heros, the villains, the antiheros, etc - all had grit, no doubt on that. I have to admit that Martin threw lots of characters to memorize along with the noble houses and stuff, but I read it with delight haha. The conversations were very quotable including some very witty/cheeky remarks.

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I love the intrigues surrounding the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms even more than the action parts. This series do not need elves and dwarves and magic to make it exciting. Not gonna bother to tell a synopsis here (that's what wikis are for), but allow me to say that the stories are simple but engaging. Or maybe because I love reading about politics? It's indeed about the ways to obtain power and maintain it while undermining your opponents. "When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die." :D ...more

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Mar 18, 2015 Silvana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fyeahfantasy, mine-mine-mine, dick-lit, dead-trees, my-public-library, a-song-of-ice-and-fire

Setelah The Hobbit, ini buku yang aku punya dalam dua edisi, dalam bahasa Inggris dan Indonesia. Terjemahan jaminan mutu deh (walau ada beberapa typo yang lagi diperbaiki untuk cetakan selanjutnya). Apalagi ikut didukung sama komunitas pembacanya juga hehe. Semoga laris manis jadi buku-buku selanjutnya juga bisa diterjemahkan buat pembaca Indonesia :)

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Jul 08, 2017 Silvana rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mine-mine-mine, fyeahfantasy, dead-trees, dick-lit, collectibles-edition, illustrated-editions, reading-with-friends, a-song-of-ice-and-fire

This review is ONLY FOR THE ILLUSTRATIONS in the last year's Illustrated Edition marking the 20th anniversary of A Game of Thrones, and not the novel itself, like are you kidding me, this is the best fantasy series of all time!

Okay. Got a little carried away there.

This new edition has a total of seventy-three black and white interior illustrations, plus eight full-color plates. Some of the artwork is pulled from a variety of sources such as the A Song of Ice & Fire calendars, The World of Ice an ...more

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