A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) in Pick-a-Shelf

Apr 09, 2021 Jamie rated it liked it

I really enjoyed this book. The story was interesting and kept me reading. However I must say that George RR Martin's descriptions can get a bit wordy. Similar to Tolkien, he's a world builder, which isn't a writing style that is for everyone. If you're looking for a quick, page turning read, this is not your book. But if you're looking for a sweeping, epic fantasy story, I recommend a Game of Thrones. Fans of the television series will also note how closely the first season of the show follows ...more

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Aug 04, 2017 Susan (susayq ~) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1st-in-series, ebooks, fantasy, 2017books, audiobook

I'm a little late to jump on the GoT bandwagon. We just started watching the series this summer, and you know me, I HAVE to read the book if there is a book to go with it. Normally I like to read before watching, but I'll admit I am glad I did it the other way this time as there are SO MANY characters. Having a face to put with it helped in keeping them straight.

I loved getting the pov of all the various characters. Reading it, you get more insight than just watching. I'll be reading the whole ...more

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May 16, 2014 Megan rated it it was ok

Shelves: to-continue-later, nbrc-uncover-it

I haven't finished this, not sure if I will. The story is very monotonous and a bit boring. There are so many characters that got very confusing who was who. I didn't like the dirty talking and things like that. ...more

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Mar 05, 2014 Ana rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: español, sagas, autor-nuevo, george-r-r-martin

Empecé este libro con mucha ilusión. Todo el mundo hablaba de él, decía maravillas del autor etc. Ese mismo "rumor" me llegó con Crepúsculo (una porquería) y los juegos del hambre ( que no están mal), así que decidí leer JDT para ver si era cierto que eran tan buenos, veremos.
El principio está bien. Te atrapa, no quieres soltar el libro. Sin embargo es una ilusión que te dura sólo unos cuantos capítulos. Se empieza a poner aburrido, tedioso, execivamente descriptivo y cuando empiezan los moment ...more

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Jun 24, 2023 Nat rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, epic-fantasy

I have to preface this by saying that epic fantasy is not my preferred genre, and I put off reading this book for that reason. Now that I've finished it, I can say that my experience was exactly what I'd expected it to be - I didn't particularly like it and I have no intention of reading subsequent ones, but I can see why people do love these books and there are aspects that I was impressed by.

The worldbuilding is easily the strongest aspect. All the different histories and the different famili I have to preface this by saying that epic fantasy is not my preferred genre, and I put off reading this book for that reason. Now that I've finished it, I can say that my experience was exactly what I'd expected it to be - I didn't particularly like it and I have no intention of reading subsequent ones, but I can see why people do love these books and there are aspects that I was impressed by.

The worldbuilding is easily the strongest aspect. All the different histories and the different families and complex political background and different cultures we see here feel very alive and realistic. My biggest qualm with the world is that for fantasy, there's so little magic! Actually for most of the book, it feels more like alternate history fiction for some alt version of medieval Europe.

The characters are alright. There are tons upon tons of them, but mostly the length of the book lets you get away with this kind of thing. I do feel like most of them are not that complex at this point in the novel. They feel a bit like archetypes, and we don't get to spend that much time with any of them. Martin also seems to have no concept of the normal stages of childhood development; if any character is younger than 18 you have to add at least 3 or 4 years to their canon age for it to make any sense. Robb leads an army at 14; Rickon speaks in full adult sentences despite being 3.

And then there's the "grimdark" aspect. I appreciate that GoT basically launched grimdark fantasy into the mainstream, that part is pretty impressive. Mostly I don't mind this in a novel and utilized well I think it can be a good thing. But ultimately for me 1) I don't want to read a book that so obviously uses rape as a plot device, a "shock factor" element that only ever happens to women and 2) frankly it's just depressing. Now that I've finished the book, I read through the wiki pages for some of the characters because I wanted to know what happens, but I have no desire to read through it. It sounds like more depressing and stressful plotlines in store where bad stuff happens kinda for no reason, and that's just not my preference in a book.

I get it and I get the hype, and for what it's going for I do think the book is impressively good. It's just not for me. ...more

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