August 2025 First in a Series BOTM - A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

[Jamie]

Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. To the south, the king’s powers are failing—his most trusted adviser dead under mysterious circumstances and his enemies emerging from the shadows of the throne. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the frozen land they were born to. Now Lord Eddard Stark is reluctantly summoned to serve as the king’s new Hand, an appointment that threatens to sunder not only his family but the kingdom itself.

Sweeping from a harsh land of cold to a summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, A Game of Thrones tells a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; a child is lost in the twilight between life and death; and a determined woman undertakes a treacherous journey to protect all she holds dear. Amid plots and counter-plots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, allies and enemies, the fate of the Starks hangs perilously in the balance, as each side endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

**This BOTM thread will be open until September 5th @ Midnight (in your time zone)**

[Grace]

JAMIE! This finally made it to BOTM

[Shannon The Co-Captain]

6% I actually started this on 7/31 and I’ve only made it this far. I’m afraid it may take me all month to read 😂 I’m listening and I think 1.5 speed is about the fastest I’m going to be able to listen to this guy.

[Jamie]

I'm so excited to read this one!!! I plan on listening and reading at the same time if I can. Hoping to start this one this week.

[Shannon The Co-Captain]

Jamie wrote: "I'm so excited to read this one!!! I plan on listening and reading at the same time if I can. Hoping to start this one this week."

Yeah, I'm going to get the book from the library so I can follow along as well. I borrowed it from Libby but it doesn't allow for me to read it on my Kindle and if I pull the audio up then I can't read the ebook version. I've watched the show but it's been years but I can say I remember (view spoiler)[some of the key points from the show are in the book as well. I think it's in the later seasons where the plot detours from the books from what I've heard from people. (hide spoiler)]

I'm at 26% (view spoiler)[One big difference is the children are a lot younger in the book than the show. Arya is only 9 and Sensa is 11. Jon Snow is very young as well. I think he's like maybe 14 and Bran is just 7. I just know they aren't teens and young adults like they are in the show. Joffrey is supposed to be good looking in the book and I can't help but see the kid who played him in the show. It's hard not to compare. I had forgotten a lot of what happened on the show but I'm remembering as I read. I honestly only like Arya and Daenerys so far and we haven't seen a lot of Daenerys. And Bran too. lol (hide spoiler)]

[Jamie]

I just started watching the show. I didn't want to watch until I read the books, but my husband complained and said I would ruin the show for him because I would probably complain about things being different, LOL (I did this with Outlander). I'm only through the first 6 episodes of season 1, I think.

But now that this one finally won BOTM, I'm excited to get into this series. The show has been crazy and I have so many theories lol

[Shannon The Co-Captain]

I did this with my husband and True Blood (The Sookie books) I hadn't read Outlander yet when I watched that with my husband but I only watched the first season. I fell in love with it and decided to wait on the watching it until I read the books. I honestly do this with every movie/show so he's used to it but he did quit watching the Will Trent with me because of it. They changed everything but the names. Don't get me started. lol True Blood had a big departure from the books but in some ways HBO made some things better. The books were more quirky while the show was darker. I liked some of the changes but I was always comparing them and driving my husband crazy. The struggle is real for the husbands of readers..

[Jamie]

Chapters 1-11 => (view spoiler)[ Ok, I HATE Catelyn!!! Like I loathe her right now. She is awful to Jon Snow. I don't care if he is a bastard or not, no mother should ever treat a child that way.

I also have a theory on him. I think that he's actually Ned's sister's baby with the King, and Ned is protecting his identity for some reason. Which would explain why he looks like Ned. I was brainstorming these ideas while watching the show with my hubby. I'm only 5 episodes in, I think of the first season, but there's something about this whole storyline that I feel like there will be a twist.

I don't like Catelyn in the show and that's just as true in the books.

(hide spoiler)]

[Jamie]

Chapters 12-22 => (view spoiler)[There isn't really much happening right now. I hate that Ned killed Lady. I get why he had to, but I just don't get why he would not stand his ground and convince the King to back off. Ugh...the Queen can not die soon enough...(I'm not sure if she does, but I hope so cause she is evil) (hide spoiler)]

[Jamie]

Chapters 23-33 => (view spoiler)[I'm glad that Robert acknowledged that he knew that Joffrey was lying about what happened and he was sorry about the wolf. I'm still mad about that, lol (hide spoiler)]

[Jamie]

Ok, I'm taking a break today from this lol.

[Priscilla]

The TV show worked as Cliff Notes for my reading the series.

[Shannon The Co-Captain]

I’m only up to chapter 29 and I’ve been reading/listening since July31 😂 I’m on the app so I can’t see your spoilers but I will check them out tomorrow. I’m going to have to kick it in gear though because the book is due back in 4 days.

[Jamie]

Chapters 34-44 => (view spoiler)[I still really don't like Cat. Like at all. I'm also not a fan of Sansa. I realize she's a kid, but damn, she's a whiny kid.

I also really hope there is more with Daenerys coming up. We haven't had many chapters with her and I find her storyline a tad bit more interesting than all the other ones.

I'm also positive now that Jon Snow is Lyanna's son based on this sentence in Chapter 35. Ned is saying this..."He thought of the promises he'd made Lyanna as she lay dying, and the price he'd paid to keep them."

This is something I'm so curious by. I also want someone to scream it in Cat's face because she was/is a bitch towards him. (hide spoiler)]

[Jamie]

I have about 8 hours left on the audio. I'm at 57%. I'm not sure if I'll just go ahead and finish it out tomorrow or if I'll split it between a couple of days.

[Jamie]

Chapters 45-55 => (view spoiler)[ I literally gasped when it says that Sansa told the Queen about her dad's plans. God that girl is not smart. All because she wants to marry the whiny Joffrey lol. This is why children shouldn't be in charge of anything. Ugh...

Ned's going to die because of this, isn't he?!?!?!? (hide spoiler)]

[Jamie]

Chapters 56-end => (view spoiler)[ I knew Ned was going to die!!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭 God and to think that Sansa had a hand in this by running her mouth to the Queen. Wonder how she "loves" good ole' Joffrey now! I'm mean, but I'm glad she got slapped several times because damn, she deserves that after what she did.

I also know she's a child, so I shouldn't be as harsh against her, but damn...

I'm really curious what is going to go on with Dany's storyline. I think I'm more interested in that one.

Well, I also want to see where things go with Jon Snow. I want all the good things for him!!!! (hide spoiler)]

[Shannon The Co-Captain]

I’m at 54% : End of chapter 40 (view spoiler)[ It’s starting to pick up a little bit for me. I still don’t really like many of the characters. I guess I like Tyrion. He was my favorite in the show. Danerys is definitely more likable in the book. I wish we were getting more from Drogo. I cannot stand her brother. He’s the worst so far. (hide spoiler)]

[Shannon The Co-Captain]

End of chapter 47 (view spoiler)[ “He is no dragon. Fire cannot kill a dragon.” Best line! Man, he had it coming. (hide spoiler)]

[Jamie]

I was so happy!!! (view spoiler)[He was so annoying!! (hide spoiler)]

[Shannon The Co-Captain]

Jamie wrote: "Chapters 1-11 => ..."

Amen to everything you said. (view spoiler)[I had Jon Snow picked or the King's bastard who works for the ironsmith picked to end up on the throne. Jon was my favorite character in the show. He's not as dynamic in the book. He's still favorable. (hide spoiler)]

[Shannon The Co-Captain]

Jamie wrote: "Chapters 12-22 => [spoilers removed]"

I hate the Lannisters. In the show and the book. (view spoiler)[ Tyrion is more likable in the show. Even he's not very likable in the book so far. (hide spoiler)]

[Shannon The Co-Captain]

Jamie wrote: "Chapters 23-33 => [spoilers removed]"

Same! lol (view spoiler)[ My daughter and I are just alike when it comes to animals in any story, movie, book... but what happened to the dog? lol (hide spoiler)]

[Shannon The Co-Captain]

Jamie wrote: "Chapters 34-44 => ..."

I did not notice that. (view spoiler)[ That's the best theory I've heard about him. I just found out recently the books series is still incomplete. People have been waiting like 12-14 years on the final book. I wonder if he'll end it different than the show. (hide spoiler)]

[Shannon The Co-Captain]

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to read your comments. I'm usually on my phone in the evenings when I'm doing my reading and I can't see the spoiler tags. Any, I'm at 61% and I paused it to start another book than was going to be due soon. I just cannot get into this... I struggled with the show too. I have to like characters to really invest in a story. This just doesn't have those characters. lol

[Jamie]

I completely get it. I struggled in the last portion. There was a lot of fighting. Even my husband asked me why, because I didn't mind it in Outlander. I said, the difference is I liked 95% of the characters in Outlander. I despise 95% of them in this series lol.

I'm going to try giving the second book a shot, but I'm going into it knowing I may DNF it. But I'm hoping that maybe (view spoiler)[because Ned is gone that something with the storyline will pick up somewhere. Although, I'm still really confused as to what the hell happened with Dany and Drago. Did blood magic kill her baby? (hide spoiler)]

I may just have to watch the show and be good with not reading the books. And you are right, it's not finished. There are still two books left for him to publish and I'm not sure if that will happen cause I'm pretty sure this author is in his mid 70's at this point.

[Shannon The Co-Captain]

The show is ok. This series is no Outlander for sure. It’s written by a man and it’s kind of obvious 😂 Is it too much to ask to get 10 pages of romance out of the 800+?

[Shannon The Co-Captain]

I’m still listening to this. I’ve made it to 85%. I will come back and look at your comments when I’m done…in a year from now. 😂 I actually will have it done by Wednesday because I’m using it for Turf Wars this week. Otherwise I would kick that can down the road!

[Jamie]

HAHA!! This is a great one for Turf Wars. This is my first time playing that one!

[Shannon The Co-Captain]

Well, you’re better off with shorter books as long as it has an 8 or 9 in the page count. This one has an 8….its just at the front. It’s by far the longest book I’ve read for Turf Wars ever. I even thought about marking this one DNF but I was determined not to let it beat me! 😂😂😂