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

Nov 11, 2009 Jayme(theghostreader) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 5-star-books

I have read the reviews for this book. For the most part it has received good reviews. There are a few who have given it one or two stars and I am really wondering why. I have read books 1-3 and in the middle of the 4th. The biggest complaint seems to be that the book is too long and some people can't get past page 100. I don't think those people are giving it a chance. I will say the book does start off kinda slow. Stick it out, it is worth reading. This series has a different set up than a tra ...more

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Mar 17, 2012 [ JT ] rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: book-inventory, fantasy, 2011

This is the first 5-star book I've read in a while now. I pretty much tore through it and truly enjoyed the experience.

I don't really feel like I have a lot to say about it though. I think I'm just getting sick of writing "reviews". Here are some bullet point spoilers so I can help remember what I thought was interesting about the book.

(view spoiler) This is the first 5-star book I've read in a while now. I pretty much tore through it and truly enjoyed the experience.

I don't really feel like I have a lot to say about it though. I think I'm just getting sick of writing "reviews". Here are some bullet point spoilers so I can help remember what I thought was interesting about the book.

(view spoiler)[
• I'm disappointed that Ned was killed. I actually liked his character quite a bit and I was hoping I'd see more of him.
• The direwolves are AWESOME. I keep hoping Arya will find her Nymeria again...
• Jon Snow is great, and I'm looking forward to him in future books. His conflict over his vows to the Night's Watch and his family was rather touching.
• Benjen Stark-- he seemed like he would be SUCH A COOL CHARACTER! I really and truly hope they find him in the next book. He was one of the few characters we met that I wanted to know more about, but never got the chance.
• I really hope Arya gets to become part of the Night's Watch, seeing as how Yoren thinks she's a boy. THAT would be cool and very Tamara Pierce-esque. Arya is great and probably my second favorite of the Stark kids (John Snow being #1).
• Hoping for the introduction of some adult points of view in the next book-- this one was pretty young-kid heavy.
• Near the end of the book, where the Greatjon (another character I hope we see more of) declares he will follow only Robb as the King in the North-- that brief scene, only a few sentences, brought tears to my eyes. Loved it.
• Lord Renly was kind of a cool character too-- I'm not quite sure what to think of him at the end of the book though. He's gone and declared himself the king, and has already had lords swearing to him. Joffrey of course is an abysmal failure, but it seems like things with Renly could go quite poorly. And we still don't know what Lord Stannis is up to.
• Daenerys was a character I wasn't sure I would like very much. I ended up liking how her story ended-- though the dragons hatching was not much of a surprise. Way too much foreshadowing with that.
• These Others from north of the wall will be interesting. This novel focused so much on the court intrigue (the "Game of Thrones" of course), but it DOES seem as if the real story exists over that wall. I think Jon Snow is going to lead us through that part of the story and I'm really looking forward to it.
(hide spoiler)]

All in all, a great read. I'm a bit disappointed that I've started them though, since my usual modus operandi is NOT to begin reading a series until it is completed. That way I can savor the whole thing in one "bite", as it were. I'm not entirely convinced that Mr. GRRM is going to actually FINISH this series-- time is catching up with him.

Actually, one last point I wanted to mention-- I found this book very easy to read. Not that the writing is "simple" per se, just that the way it is presented is very easy to digest, even in long reading sessions. I never felt bogged down. ...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Kammie rated it it was amazing

“A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.”- C’mon, how can any reader not love a quote like that?

I’ll start with a couple disclaimers:

1) I’ll admit to being one of those people who did not read the book until I got sucked into the tv show. (It was actually my husband who wanted to watch the show, while I was fairly certain I wouldn’t like it since I don’t care for the fantasy genre. Flash forward to the present, where I have a slight obsession with GOT.) Ha “A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.”- C’mon, how can any reader not love a quote like that?

I’ll start with a couple disclaimers:

1) I’ll admit to being one of those people who did not read the book until I got sucked into the tv show. (It was actually my husband who wanted to watch the show, while I was fairly certain I wouldn’t like it since I don’t care for the fantasy genre. Flash forward to the present, where I have a slight obsession with GOT.) Having seen all three seasons of the show, I already knew the major plots in the story. It’s a little hard to rate a book based on this. I still thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, but there’s not a whole lot of suspense when you know most of the storyline ahead of time. I imagine I’ll have the same issue with the second book and 2/3 of the third book. However, I suppose it’s telling that I’m really excited to finally get to the new material the show hasn’t reached yet, and I’m sure I’ll pick up the pace quite a bit then.

2) I was hesitant to start this because I do not enjoy fantasy novels. Fortunately for me, A Game of Thrones seems far more like historical fiction, complete with political intrigue. Sure, there are some supernatural elements. (Not a spoiler. I’m sure anyone who has read anything about GOT knows this.) However, the people and their history seem to be the largest component here.

Like I said, it’s hard to decide what to rate this. Based on creativity, it probably sits near five stars. Martin not only creates an entire world, but he creates the history of that world. The detail involved is fairly amazing. I remember reading some review or article that claimed that Martin not only wanted the reader to keep track of a hundred characters, but you were also supposed to know all about characters that weren’t even alive during the story. How Martin keeps all these characters and their connections straight in his mind, I’ll never know. In the appendix of my copy of the book, Martin lists the entire Targaryen dynasty, tracing back through approximately 17 rulers. Is something like that really necessary to the story? Possibly not. Is it awesome? Definitely.

I may be giving the book credit for the amount and variety of nerdiness it has produced. Because Martin has created an entire other world, there’s no limit to the subject matter that can be dissected, debated, and discussed. For example, Slate has a series of articles called the Economics of Ice & Fire, discussing such topics as the Lannisters’ subprime lending and the connection between weather and economic equality.

I started out giving this 4 stars, mostly because I enjoyed it even though some of the excitement was missing after I’d watched the show. I’m realizing now that that is not the book’s fault. The more I think about it as I write this review, the more I want to bump it up to 5 stars.

Bottom line: Martin is a fantastic storyteller who can weave an extremely entertaining tale.
...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Susan rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, fantasy

I'm not a great fan of long sagas, whether in imagined worlds or in our own. But so many people have recommended this that I thought I had to give it a try, and I'm glad I did. I wish it could've been shorter, but its length is what gave the author the chance to incorporate so many fascinating characters. I can't even begin to choose a favorite: Jon, Arya, Tyrion, Dany, ... they're all so complex,

The book jumps along in short sections, each headed by the name of the character we're watching for ...more

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Aug 28, 2013 Noor ul rated it it was amazing

guilty pleasure

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Nov 21, 2009 Rebekah rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy-scifi, 2014

Well it only took me 3 months but I finally made it through this book. Overall it's a solid read that there are too many characters and too many storylines. Plus a lot of crappy stuff happened to characters that I realy liked. And some crappy stuff happened to characters that I hated which was great. At this point I'm not sure if I'll continue with the series , I suspect that if I do more of the characters I come to care about will die on me and I just don't think That I want to see that. ...more

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