A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1) | George R.R. Martin

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1) | George R.R. Martin | Absolutely among the best I've read. Edgy stage-setting adventure creates an intriguingly cruel world

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A Game of Thrones ...

	A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1) George R.R. Martin Spectra, 2002 - 704 pages average customer review:based on 1510 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Here is the first volume in George R. R. Martin?s magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords. As a whole, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, bringing together the best the genre has to offer. Magic, mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure fill these pages and transport us to a world unlike any we have ever experienced. Already hailed as a classic, George R. R. Martin?s stunning series is destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction.

A Game of Thrones

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 and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom?s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is 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; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

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A great start to a great series

I give this book five stars!

I read this novel a few years ago and just finished the second book, a Clash of Kings recently. It took me a while to finish A Clash of Kings, compared to A Game of Thrones. I found this book to be original and I took to it very easily. When I started the second book, it started off harder to read as compared to A Game of Thrones, but I am glad I went on and finsihed A Clash of Kings, it was worth the time and effort.

I find myself supporting the Stark House in the series. At the end of A Game of Thrones I found myself liking and feeling sorry for Arya, so that helped me read through A Clash of Kings because I wanted to see what would be come of her. While doing that, I found myself liking Bran and Jon Snow. So now I just started reading A Storm of Swords, to find out what happens to these characters.

Tyrion is also another character I like in the series, he stands out from the Lannister clan and I think that is one of the reasons I like him.

I recommend this book, Martin is really developing quite a story and I can not wait til I read the last chapter of the last book. The books can be hard to follow, due to the POV way he writes, because there really is no connecting of events so see how things are progressing. So I read Wiki articles and that helps unite everything. That also has helped me get through the series, thus far.

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Absolutely among the best I've read. Edgy stage-setting adventure creates an intriguingly cruel world

This book was recommended by a friend. I have since recommended it (and the series) to anyone with a bend for fantasy, fiction, political scheming, and/or adventure. Buy it, read it, then spread it. You will not be disappointed...unless of course adult themes and content offend you.

Best Adult Fantasy I've Read

Not much to say that hasn't already been said, particularly by the post below me.

This is NOT the same cliche-fantasy that plagues much of the genre. Martin does a very convincing job of making you hate a character for one book, and actually sort of emphasizing with them in the next.

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Geopolitics is muddled

I thought I'd criticize the story from a couple of unique angles.

The characters of the story are fantastic. But the geography less so. The fantasy world seams put together in an awfully convenient way. The Vale, ruled by Catelyn's sister, just happens to be to the east of the inn where Catelyn captures Tyrion, giving her an escape route to avoid pursuers who think she is going north. Convenient geography plays a part in the next book as well. When I read LotR or the Silmarillion I get the impression I am reading about a place that has been imagined in full detail, but the characters are a bit two dimensional.
Another fault is that the geopolitics doesn't quite add up. Catelyn's capture of Tyrion precipitates a war. But it doesn't make sense to me that Tywin Lannister would be willing to do that because House Lannister is not strong enough to win against the close knit alliance of House Baratheon, House Stark, and House Tully. In fact, a mere alliance of House Stark and Tully fight him to a stalemate, much to his surprise. It is only the passing of Robert Baratheon and the power struggles that ensue that gives Tywin a fighting chance. I see no indication that Tywin knew Robert's passing was imminent, but I could be missing something in that regard. And even given Robert's death, Robert's favored but youngest brother Renly was betrothed to Margery Tyrell, and House Tyrell is even stronger than House Lannister. Renly is a pretentious fop and in the next book accomplishes absolutely nothing with a gigantic army, but it still seams like an awfully big gamble for Tywin to take. Over the course of the next two books the fact that Tywin has to make an alliance with House Tyrell (after Renly's untimely demise) is House Lannister's undoing.

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Excellent Story...however, read the rest with this in mind

Read the 5 star reviews for what makes this a good book, as I agree with them.

However.......

#1 - It's much too long, the last three or four chapters are the best in the book, the first 5 are fantastic as well. But the filler in the middle was like the first 15 minutes of a bad movie when you are saying to yourself "if the plot doesnt show itself in the next 5 minutes I'm not watching the rest". BUT, plow through it, skimm some if you wish (especially the "SANSA" chapters) and you will be rewarded! The feeling that I was left with was there was no overarching main plot line, and there isnt, there are three.

#2 - Way to much forced stupidity, the author wants us to beleive that all good people are 90% stupid and slow and only 10% witty and smart. It's forced it seems, and it's insulting to me as a reader. Thats why it only got 3 stars instead of 4.5!

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