From the Bookshelf of The Perks Of Being A Book Addict…

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

George R.R. Martin

Start date: July 3, 2013

Finish date: July 31, 2013

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What Members Thought

Apr 03, 2015 Trisha rated it liked it · review of another edition

"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground."

I'd started this one a year ago, almost to the month, and stopped after being half way done. It's a daunting book, with a cast of characters that is massive and intertwined. I found that it's a book I need to devour quickly, in just a few sittings, getting through as many pages uninterrupted as possible. Because to put it down is to start losing all the connections and intricacies of the relationships, the sly wor ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Jan 01, 2014 Renuka rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, adventure, romance, action, magic, adult, e-book, cliff-hangers, diff-pov, reviewed

Seven Hells. Why was I late to this party?! WHAT WAS I THINKING. Wait, stop. Let me try to keep this coherent.

-I began reading this book a couple years ago. I read a couple pages and then stopped. Why? Because I was dumb.

-Then I actually started reading this book over the summer. I painstakingly read the first half, but then I got distracted and stopped reading. Why? Because I was really dumb.

-Finally, I picked it up again, starting rereading and catching up on the plot and I EXPLODED IN FLAME Seven Hells. Why was I late to this party?! WHAT WAS I THINKING. Wait, stop. Let me try to keep this coherent.

-I began reading this book a couple years ago. I read a couple pages and then stopped. Why? Because I was dumb.

-Then I actually started reading this book over the summer. I painstakingly read the first half, but then I got distracted and stopped reading. Why? Because I was really dumb.

-Finally, I picked it up again, starting rereading and catching up on the plot and I EXPLODED IN FLAMES AS THIS BOOK ACTUALLY PICKED ME UP, SHOOK ME TO PIECES AND FED ME TO DRAGONS.

It was insane. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess the main problem with this book was that I just needed to get into the mindset. It was so very large that I hesitated, and that hesitation ruined me. DO NOT HESITATE. Just fly into the book and believe. It is fantasy that is so EPIC that I am using capitals.

The characters, the connections, the plot lines, the setting, the fantasy, the magic, the sheer volume of WOW. You just need to start the book, pay attention, and hope you don't wind up missing too many favorite characters. 'Cause they die. And they do bad things. These characters are twisted and honorable. Young and old. Powerful and subservient. They range from kings to whores. There is no good and bad; just lots of variety. And you care about so many. So many suck you in and refuse to let go. So many. *cries*

The plot. This plot is an ancient beast just waiting to unfurl. It shines and creaks and hides things until they burst into full view. It's long and intertwined with past, present and future. It is constantly morphing and varying as characters change and fall, as clans go to war, and as new magic awakens. It's sheer insanity. No wonder it takes Georgie here years to write the books. But still. I can sense the fear he might die before finishing his complex masterpiece of a story. It is a horrifying prospect.

Gods. Again, it took me a while to fully understand what was happening here. Despite many attempts, I think just couldn't fall into the book unless I was ready. But once I was, I think I fell deep down into a black hole I have no way of pulling myself out of. I suggest you promptly read this book and do the same.

I am ready to play the Game of Thrones. Are you?
...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Michael rated it really liked it

Shelves: this-years-books

First and foremost it not original, it follows a bleak version of fantasy that been around for a very long time." A war of the Roses" where magic at this point in the book magic may, or may not be nothing more then stories.
Now that does not mean I did not enjoy. I did enjoy and will recommend it to people who have only watched the show.
I like the world that Mr Martin, has written and the charterers that he has set up for a long story. And I am not about to stop reading till the end. Sometime it ...more

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Apr 07, 2013 FlowerFairy rated it it was amazing

Audiobook. Revisiting old friends.

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Jan 12, 2016 Sheila rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Gruesome, sure, but soooo good!

1 like · Like · see review

May 12, 2013 Jenifer Jacobs rated it really liked it

Just downloaded almost 34 hours of listening time...

Ok - beautifully written and a very good storyteller (and narrator!!). Really 4.5 stars, but simply too much gory violence for me to give it 5 (although maybe that was all true to the "story", but it really detracted from my enjoyment level). ...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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