5.

0 out of 5 starsWell plotted and paced; excellent, fresh fantasy taleByMISTER

SJEMon May 9, 2001Format: Mass Market Paperback|Verified PurchaseFirst off, I'm a
heavy duty fan of GRRM. I've read over a 100 different fantasy authors in my time
(started at 12; I'm now 32). Took about 5 years off from the genre b/c I felt it
was all getting too formulaic and cliched. So, when I came back to fantasy at the
end of 1999, I read the usual: Goodkind, Jordan, etc. and then someone told me
about GRRM and man, that was the kicker! Here are the reasons to choose GRRM.
I've also listed the reasons not to choose him to make it fair b/c I know their
are certain personalities who won't like this series: WHY TO READ GRRM (1) YOU
ARE TIRED OF FORMULAIC FANTASY: good lad beats the dark lord against impossible
odds; boy is the epitome of good; he and all his friends never die even though
they go through great dangers . . . the good and noble king; the beautiful
princess who falls in love with the commoner boy even though their stations are
drastically different . . . you get the idea. After reading this over and over,
it gets old. (2) YOU ARE TIRED OF ALL THE HEROES STAYING ALIVE EVEN THOUGH THEY
ARE UNDER CONSTANT DANGER: this gets even worse where the author kills a main hero
off but that person comes back later in the story. Or, a hero does die but magic
brings him back. This sometimes carries to minor characters where even they may
not die, but most fantasy authors like to kill them off to show that some risked
the adventure and perished. (3) YOU ARE A MEDIEVAL HISTORY BUFF: this story was
influenced by the WARS OF THE ROSES and THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR. (4) YOU LOVE
SERIOUS INTRIGUE WITHOUT STUPID OPPONENTS: lots of layering; lots of intrigue;
lots of clever players in the game of thrones. Unlike other fantasy novels, one
side, usually the villain, is stupid or not too bright. (5) YOU ARE INTERESTED IN
BIASED OPINIONS AND DIFFERENT TRUTHS: GRRM has set this up where each chapter has
the title of one character and the whole chapter is through their viewpoint.
Interesting tidbit is that you get their perception of events or truths. But, if
you pay attention, someone else will mention a different angle of truth in the
story that we rarely see in other novels. Lastly and most importantly, GRRM
doesn't try to tell us which person is right in their perception. He purposelly
leaves it vague so that we are kept guessing. (6) LEGENDS: some of the most
interesting characters are those who are long gone or dead. We never get the
entire story but only bits and pieces; something that other fantasy authors could
learn from to heighten suspense. Additionally, b/c the points of views are not
congruent, we sometimes get different opinions. (7) WORDPLAY: if you're big on
metaphors and description, GRRM is your guy. Almost flawless flow. (8) LOTS OF
CONFLICT: all types, too; not just fighting but between characters through threats
and intrigue. (9) MULTILAYERED PLOTTING; SUB PLOTS GALORE: each character has
their own separate storyline; especially as the story continues and everyone gets
scattered. This is one of the reasons why each novel is between 700-900 pages.
(10) SUPERLATIVE VARIED CHARACTERS: not the typical archetypes that we are used to
in most fantasy; some are gritty; few are totally evil or good; GRRM does a great
job of changing our opinions of characters as the series progress. This is
especially true of Jaime in book three. (11) REALISTIC MEDIEVAL DIALOGUE: not to
the point that we can't understand it but well done. (12) HEAPS OF SYMOBLISM AND
PROPHECY: if you're big on that. (13) EXCELLENT MYSTERIES: very hard to figure
out the culprits; GRRM must have read a lot of mystery novels. (14) RICHLY
TEXTURED FEMALE CHARACTERS: best male author on female characters I have read;
realistic on how women think, too. (15) LOW MAGIC WORLD: magic is low key; not
over the top so heroes can't get out of jams with it. REASON TO NOT READ GRRM
(1) YOU LIKE YOUR MAIN CHARACTERS: GRRM does a good job of creating more likeable
characters after a few die. But, if that isn't your style, you shouldn't be
reading it. He kills off several, not just one, so be warned. (2) DO NOT CARE FOR
GRITTY GRAY CHARACTERS: if you like more white and gray characters, this may
unsettle you. I suggest Feist or Goodkind or Dragonlance if you want a more
straight forward story with strong archetypes. (3) MULTIPLE POINTS OF VIEWS TURN
YOU OFF: if you prefer that the POVS only go to a few characters, this might be
confusing for you. (4) SWEARING, SEX: there's a lot of it in this book just as
there is in real life. (5) YOU DEMAND CLOSURE AT THE END OF EVERY BOOK: this
isn't the case for all stories in the series. Some are still going on; some have
been resolved; others have been created and are moving on. (6) IF YOU WANT A
TARGET OR SOMEONE TO BLAME: this can be done to some extent but not as much. This
is b/c he doesn't try to make anyone necessarily good or evil. (7) ARCHETYPES:
some readers like archetypal characters because it's comfortable; we like the good
young hero (sort of like Pug in Feist's THE RIFTWAR SAGA); it's familiar and we
sometimes like to pretend we're this upcoming, great hero. You wont' get much of
this in GRRM with the exception of one or two characters. (8) LENGTH: you don't
want to get into a long fantasy epic series. In that case, look for shorters works
as this is biiig. (9) PATRIARCHY: men are most of the main characters with lots of
power (one female exception). ....295295 comments| 5,355 people found
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right now. Please try again later.2.0 out of 5 starsKindle editing - AARRRGGGHHHH!
Bytriquestralon April 13, 2011Format: Kindle Edition|Verified PurchaseNB: THIS
REVIEW REFERS TO THE KINDLE EDITION ALONE! This is a great book, and I've eaten up
the series and have been on tenterhooks for George RR to get his finger out and
publish A Dance with Dragons for YEARS now. (And the tv series!! Be still my
beating heart!!!) But I have to comment on the extremely bad editing of the Kindle
edition of A Game of Thrones. It is sloppy and unprofessional. When I first got
my kindle, I never experienced this, but now it seems like every book gets worse
and worse. I thought Sacajawea was bad, but A Game of Thrones starts out with poor
editing and gets progressively more appalling as you get further into the book.
People who only read the kindle edition will think that Princess Elia comes from
Dome, since that is how it is (almost) consistently spelled throughout the book.
(It's Dorne). But on the other hand, the `tom cat' is a `torn cat'- go figure.
Little things like that at first, but now, in the last third of the book, the
mistakes are coming on nearly every page. Random parentheses, inappropriately
capitalized words, italics that make no sense, sentences that end abruptly - that
kind of thing. It would be irritating, but something I would just accept in a free
edition of a book (maybe). But for a Kindle book that costs more than the
paperback, I expect more. I also own a hard copy of this book, and none of these
typos are in that edition. I'm not sure how the Kindle editions are made, but I
expect the same kind of professional editing that you get in print books. You
don't get that here, disappointingly.192192 comments| 3,345 people found
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right now. Please try again later.4.0
out of 5 starsExceeded my wildest expectations...and I expect a *lot*.ByJacob G
Corbinon May 25, 2001Format: Mass Market PaperbackI see where a reviewer below
faulted A GAME OF THRONES for being so chock-full of "tragedy, bloodshed, cruelty,
death, rape, incest, drunkeness, murder, (and) infanticide."Heh. Where I come
from, that's a five-star recommendation.Glibness aside, the person has a point. A
GAME OF THRONES is indeed a graphic, viciously unsentimental novel. It features
all the offenses listed above and more besides. It revels in them.Can't you people
see? That's the *point.*The writers of heroic fantasy like to write about huge and
epic struggles between capital-letter Good and Evil. Yet over and over again they
demonstrate only the most puerile understanding of what good and evil actually are.
In their blinkered, constrained little worlds, "evil" consists of sitting in a dank
tower all day sending orcs or demons or what-have-you after the Crampon of Justice
or some similarly-named hogwash artifact. Not even the darkest of their generic
Dark Lords would be caught boffing his own sister or murdering a child (much less
get away with it), and in that fundamentally nonsensical bit of characterization
lies the crux of their problem: by sticking horns and a lightning staff onto a one-
dimensional pulp villain and calling it Ultimate Evil, they cheapen and debase
*real* good and evil.I'm sure most of these writers realize this perfectly well;
the problem is that they're writing to one of the most idiotically attenuated
audiences on the face of the planet, people who really want to read the same book
over and over ad infinitum with just enough variation from the template to create
the illusion of difference. It's a sad state of affairs when we consider that
fantasy, which should rightly be the domain of myth, wonder, and what Warren Ellis
calls "mad, beautiful ideas," is the second most rigidly unimaginative genre out
there (right behind romance, with whom it shares more than a few readers and
tropes).The "Song of Ice and Fire" series is a show-stopping six volume call to
arms against this nonsense. Readers who come to the novels expecting another
eminently predictable generic quest might be lulled to quiescence in the first few
innocuous chapters, but will awake - sooner or later - to the unsettling
realization that they're playing George R.R. Martin's game now. In A GAME OF
THRONES, he systematically slaughters every sacred cow of "heroic fantasy" and, in
so doing, injects a vigor and a zest for life and the written word into the genre
that hasn't been seen since the beautiful insanity of Tolkien. Heroes die and
villains turn out to be not so bad after all. Magic appears only very rarely,
making it infinitely more interesting. The plot steadfastly refuses to go where
you'd expect. And lest you purists think that Martin holds fantasy in contempt,
consider this: unlike practically every other fantasy writer out there, he's gone
to the trouble of writing this novel as if it were the most serious literature: his
characters and their motivations are fully fleshed out (Eddard Stark and Tyrion
Lannister are especially well-done), his prose is exciting and full of witty and
lovely turns of phrase, and his themes are complex and multilayered. In other
words, he's actually assumed that his readership is *intelligent.*After reading
this and China Meiville's PERDIDO STREET STATION, I have renewed hope for the
future of fantasy. Works like these deserve to be read, reread, and passed to
friends; they yank the genre - and its readers - out of bed and lead it blinking
and cursing into the light of genuine literary merit.2323 comments| 886
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right now. Please try again later.5.0 out of 5 starsPossibly the best of Fantasy in
the last 20 yearsByA. Ryanon August 25, 2003Format: Mass Market Paperback|Verified
PurchaseI spent quite a while staring at the blank screen in front of me to come up
with a fitting description of A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin. Should I
compare it to the classic Lord of the Rings for its impressively epic scope? Would
it be best to focus on the honest, often painful humanity of the many characters -
so rare in a fantasy novel - that personalizes each point of view? Perhaps I could
impress other customers here with the sheer brilliance of a plot that weaves so
many seemingly disparate stories together to form a believable alternate universe
in which not only politics, intrigue, war, adventure and romance can coexist
plausibly, but magic as well. How could I do such a work justice?I might as well
get this part out of the way first. Obligatory Synopsis: in a fantasy continent
that bears a familiarity to Middle Ages England, Winter is coming. Winter in this
world means a sort of mini ice age that will last for seven years before receding.
In the always-frosty Northern area, the races of nonhuman beings are gathering to
advance with the snows; there are hints that there is an ancient, evil power behind
their forces. At the same time in the South, political infighting for the Throne
has begun. Overseas, the daughter of the dispossessed former King is maneuvering
forces of her own for a bid for the throne. All this is told through the various
stories of both "good guys" and not-so-good guys.For starters, AGOT can't be
accurately compared to any other book or series in the Fantasy genre (not without
insulting it). The nearest thing of its type is the laborious Wheel of Time series
by Jordan - see what I mean? And yet this first in the Song of Ice and Fire series
is fathoms above that aimless, droning style. Martin has perfected what Jordan had
arguably introduced; the multiple characters' points of view telling the vast saga
on an intimate, up-close scale. Never did I feel that I was being strung along,
but rather lead by increments toward an incredible revelation somewhere up ahead.
Martin builds the suspense masterfully in each book.But by far the most striking
thing about the Song of Ice and Fire is the "rules" that the author breaks. Martin
is not afraid to tell the tale from the point of view of some very unlikable, even
immoral characters. He is bold about revealing facts from a character's past that
challenge one's impressions and assumptions about their ethics. He does not lay
all his cards on the table up front, but rather unexpectedly reveals details that
later change the whole picture and twist the plot admirably. And his most unusual
move: this author even allows "favorites" to die occasionally (no names here...)!
These risks pay off well to serve the story as a whole, bring a sense of true
humanity to the people of this world and drive the reader on to the next series
installment.It's just too bad that I can't magically transplant my sense of
admiration for AGOT onto this page. Hopefully, you are intrigued enough to give it
a try; it would be a shame to miss what IMHO could be the best series of the
decade.-Andrea, aka Merribelle1111 comments| 742 people found this
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right now. Please try again later.4.0 out of 5 starsA Brutal ReadByJ. Manningon
February 6, 2001Format: Mass Market PaperbackYou have about 500 other reviews to
choose from so I'll try to keep this practical and useful. If you're the sort who
reads "fantasy" novels to escape from the troubles of your everyday life, run
screaming from this book. There is no heroic quest here, and little or no magic.
Instead
we're given a land that would comfortably fit in next to our own world's medieval
history, centered around the schemings of royal families and populated by
characters who on average are capable of cruelties that would only be attempted by
a great villain in any other fantasy novel.And yet it's the people who make this
book such a compelling read. This is an intensely character-driven novel right
down to its very structure, which is broken into chapters dedicated to 8 different
characters, each a flawed protagonist in his/her own way. The book itself weighs
in at over 800 pages, and very little of that is spent on battles or scenery, or
even a resolution to the plot. Instead it's densely packed with the thoughts,
feelings, schemes, and observations of the characters, and you're unlikely to avoid
getting very emotionally entangled to at least one of them. The combination of
this with the brutal setting makes you genuinely cheer whenever a sympathetic
character finally accomplishes something positive, or groan with dread when another
character makes a tragic mistake. And you might be shocked at how willingly you
would murder a character with your bare hands if only you could leap into the
pages. I think it's this sort of emotional response that has so many readers
proclaiming this series a great work of fiction.A few potential negatives: The book
itself has no resolution, it's an installment in a huge epic that will require a
big appetite to finish. Also, there's an unusual level of sexual content, and
almost none of it is what you'd call romantic. I'm not squeamish, but I found it
very oppressive at times. This is, perhaps realistically, a very unkind world
towards women. Finally, most of the main characters are disconcertingly young,
ranging from 7 to 15 years old. I think the idea is for them to age into their
primes over the course of the series (if they live), but given the overall tone of
the book the innocence and brutality can clash uncomfortably.Overall, definitely
read it if you prefer gritty realism and have an appetite for large scale
storytelling. Avoid it if you're sentimental or have enough grim reality in your
life already. This book is not for everyone.33 comments| 146 people
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right now. Please try again later.5.0 out of 5 starsKindle editions: get Voyager,
avoid Bantam!ByTiagoon October 2, 2011Format: Kindle Edition|Verified PurchaseI
won't comment about the story of this great, gripping, 5-star book: I just want to
clarify one thing about the Kindle editions (there are two), since there are many
reviewers recommending to avoid "the Kindle Edition" altogether. I bought both of
them, and what I have to say is that the kindle edition you should avoid is
Bantam's [..], which is shamefully riddled with typos (some of them: "Dome",
"torncat", "s word", "sept on", "arid" instead of "Dorne", "tomcat", "sword",
"septon" and "and"). The Voyager edition, though, is much, much better (not only
with none or few typos, but also with a table of contents and more maps).66
comments| 59 people found this helpful. Was this review
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a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.3.0 out of 5 starsA
worthy, if convoluted read!BySR9on November 28, 2004Format: Mass Market
PaperbackThis first book in a series of fantasy novels along this storyline was a
worthy read. It is difficult for me to effectively convey what I actively liked
about the book without pointing out where I thought it could be vastly improved.
The strengths of this book are in its very compelling, epic-style story, with
believable characters who possess human levels of trial and error wisdom.Here's my
beef: These are great characters. Why in the world does this author throw forty of
them at the reader at once? I know, I know... he has two other books to help flesh
out the ones who aren't killed by the end of the first book. This author can't be
accused of not having main characters... he does, about seven or eight of them, and
I liked his style of giving us a look into them all. My issue was with the
continual need for the author to throw in a couple dozen more, all at once, and
expect the reader to suddenly understand what the impact of their vague existence
is, when they do something plot-connected later on.If you're an ADD-style reader
like me, you won't even remember who's who a few chapters later, when the son of
the cousin of the deposed king's vassal's daughter says fatal words that effect
main characters he's never interacted with. Sound confusing? It certainly can be.
It's grueling to sit through histories of fringe characters that we're supposed to
be concerned about, but that are easily confused with their relatives, or other
fringe characters of a similar name. Some of these characters have nicknames,
too... and the author changes which name he's using for the same person in mid-
paragraph! Arrrgh!So, this book was an enjoyable 'skimaround'. I read deeply about
the characters that were important and interesting, and skipped over the long
details about the political scenes between people who made no real difference. At
the end of the book, which was obviously set up to get you running off for the
next, I was happy to have read the stories of five or six characters, but also not
really sure I was looking forward to having to wade through the same confusion to
follow those characters into the next couple of books.Good stories, neat
perspectives, and an author who isn't afraid to have his characters live, die, and
be very human. I liked it! Did it live up to the hype people passed on about it?
Not completely... but again, this is from someone with a short attention span. I
would certainly recommend it to any fantasy reader, but unless they are the patient
type, I would recommend it as a borrowed or library checked-out book, to give it a
first taste.On a side note: This book can be rather raw in places, which is
certainly in perspective and story appropriate, but some of the language and adult
themes make this tale a more mature one.1010 comments| 156 people found
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right now. Please try again later.4.0 out of 5 starsHard to start, harder to put
down...ByWilliam E. Clark Jr.on September 11, 2006Format: Mass Market PaperbackTwo
friends urged me to read this book and I will admit that I had a very hard time
getting started; the first hundred pages were grueling. But, I attribute that to
a shift in writing style; the style is far removed from what I am used to. That
said, the style places the reader with an individual character for an entire
chapter. The reader is aware of the thoughts and feelings of the character but,
frequently, the time and place is slightly different from chapter to chapter. Time
moves with no notation to the reader other than, maybe, remembrances of the
character that they are with.Once the characters were formed and I had a grasp of
the world, of which detail as with the characters unfolds as the reader gets deeper
and deeper in to the book, I found that I couldn't put the book down.I borrowed the
first book from a friend and now I own A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords and
eagerly await A Feast for Crows.This series is not the high fantasy that I expected
it to be. There is no clear quest outlined from the beginning, no Ring to be
returned no damsel to save, no particular antagonist, no particular protagonist.
Rather, it is a complex web of intrigue, good intentions gone bad, naivete',
ambition and pure determination. All well done and deliciously woven into a series
that will have you rooting for, sometimes, the bad guy who later turns out to be a
good guy and sometimes the good guy who later turns out to be a bad guy.Enjoy!
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a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.5.0 out of 5 starsOne
of the bestByDONOVAN HURTERon December 13, 1999Format: Mass Market PaperbackLooking
for that elusive book that grabs you from start to finish only to leave you begging
for more? Are you tired of the same old fantasy cliches such as elves, dwarves, and
evil wizards? A Game of Thrones is the kind of rich literature that any fan of
character driven fiction should read. Martin's writing is very tight, fluid, and
has a smart, professional quality. The setting sets itself apart from other
fantasy settings by being quite realistic when compared to other fantasy novels.
The world is populated by humans. There are no elves or orcs roaming the
wilderness. There are no would-be adventurers slaying fanciful beasts for glory
and treasure. Instead you have what reads like earth medieval history. You have
Kingdoms, and Lordships; cutthroats and brigands. Characters that you love to hate
and characters that you'd love to meet. Plots, intrigue, deception, and betrayal
that all combine to create one of the most compelling novels I have ever read. Do
yourself a favor and pick this book up. It will most likely jump-start your love
of books. Enjoy.11 comment| 69 people found this helpful.
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a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.3.0 out of 5
starsGreat Read that Leaves You Feeling IckyByErinon September 26, 2007Format: Mass
Market Paperback|Verified PurchaseI feel dishonest only giving this book 3 Stars
because the truth is I could not put it down and there is no doubt in my mind that
I will end up reading this entire series. I enjoyed the complexity of the plots,
the character development, the multiple perspectives, the detailed worlds, the
unconventional blur between good/evil and the unpredictable plot twists. There is
much in this book to enjoy and praise.That said I only gave this book 3 stars
because it left me feeling, well, kind of disturbed. Multiple times, during the
course of reading this book, I told whoever was around that I felt like I was being
emotionally abused by the author. I usually like disturbing/dark stories but
something about this one troubled me. For starters the sex and sexual violence in
this book was a bit much for me. Almost all the sex scenes are about a thirteen
year old child. The sexual acts that happen to Dany in this novel constitute at
least a dozen felonies in any civilized society. Not only could I not discern a
reason the author had to make Dany SO young (especially if he wanted her character
to be highly sexualized) but the aspects of sex he chose to discribe and the manner
in which he discribed them were random, weird and came across as nothing more than
a perverted indulgence. I would read something and simultaneously roll my eyes
while feeling an icky shudder up and down my spine. I have no problems with sex in
books I read, but the manner in which the sex scenes were written in this book are
not reflective of real life and left me feeling grossed out. They felt exploitive I
guess because they were so gratutious and strange.Also, as a women, the constant
rape and violence towards women was hard to read. I realize rape and misogyny are
part of the world, particularly in times of war, but the amount and detail was hard
to stomach. While the male characters (good and bad) generally die or get injured
bravely in battle the women must be systemically humiliated before dying
unceremoniously. Not only is raping them bad enough, they must be gang raped. And
just in case gang rape wasn't degrading enough they have to be gang raped from
behind. This combined with the constant womanizing of the main characters, the
constant put downs related to the worth of women relative to men and after a while
it makes you start to wonder; has Martin created a world filled with systemic
female degradation because he is laying the foundation for an ultimate commentary
on oppression, violence and human dignity? Or has he created a world filled with
female degradation because that is what he likes writing about? I have 6 more books
to read before I can answer that question but I have a suspicion it is the latter
which is where the icky feeling I have towards this book comes from. Hopefully, it
turns out I am wrong.Even though this book left a bad taste in my mouth in some
respects, I will continue to read the series because it is wildly entertaining.
I've already started the second book.1616 comments| 138 people found this
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5.0 out of 5 starsWell plotted and paced; excellent, fresh fantasy taleByMISTER
SJEMon May 9, 2001Format: Mass Market Paperback|Verified PurchaseFirst off, I'm a
heavy duty fan of GRRM. I've read over a 100 different fantasy authors in my time
(started at 12; I'm now 32). Took about 5 years off from the genre b/c I felt it
was all getting too formulaic and cliched. So, when I came back to fantasy at the
end of 1999, I read the usual: Goodkind, Jordan, etc. and then someone told me
about GRRM and man, that was the kicker! Here are the reasons to choose GRRM.
I've also listed the reasons not to choose him to make it fair b/c I know their
are certain personalities who won't like this series: WHY TO READ GRRM (1) YOU
ARE TIRED OF FORMULAIC FANTASY: good lad beats the dark lord against impossible
odds; boy is the epitome of good; he and all his friends never die even though
they go through great dangers . . . the good and noble king; the beautiful
princess who falls in love with the commoner boy even though their stations are
drastically different . . . you get the idea. After reading this over and over,
it gets old. (2) YOU ARE TIRED OF ALL THE HEROES STAYING ALIVE EVEN THOUGH THEY
ARE UNDER CONSTANT DANGER: this gets even worse where the author kills a main hero
off but that person comes back later in the story. Or, a hero does die but magic
brings him back. This sometimes carries to minor characters where even they may
not die, but most fantasy authors like to kill them off to show that some risked
the adventure and perished. (3) YOU ARE A MEDIEVAL HISTORY BUFF: this story was
influenced by the WARS OF THE ROSES and THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR. (4) YOU LOVE
SERIOUS INTRIGUE WITHOUT STUPID OPPONENTS: lots of layering; lots of intrigue;
lots of clever players in the game of thrones. Unlike other fantasy novels, one
side, usually the villain, is stupid or not too bright. (5) YOU ARE INTERESTED IN
BIASED OPINIONS AND DIFFERENT TRUTHS: GRRM has set this up where each chapter has
the title of one character and the whole chapter is through their viewpoint.
Interesting tidbit is that you get their perception of events or truths. But, if
you pay attention, someone else will mention a different angle of truth in the
story that we rarely see in other novels. Lastly and most importantly, GRRM
doesn't try to tell us which person is right in their perception. He purposelly
leaves it vague so that we are kept guessing. (6) LEGENDS: some of the most
interesting characters are those who are long gone or dead. We never get the
entire story but only bits and pieces; something that other fantasy authors could
learn from to heighten suspense. Additionally, b/c the points of views are not
congruent, we sometimes get different opinions. (7) WORDPLAY: if you're big on
metaphors and description, GRRM is your guy. Almost flawless flow. (8) LOTS OF
CONFLICT: all types, too; not just fighting but between characters through threats
and intrigue. (9) MULTILAYERED PLOTTING; SUB PLOTS GALORE: each character has
their own separate storyline; especially as the story continues and everyone gets
scattered. This is one of the reasons why each novel is between 700-900 pages.
(10) SUPERLATIVE VARIED CHARACTERS: not the typical archetypes that we are used to
in most fantasy; some are gritty; few are totally evil or good; GRRM does a great
job of changing our opinions of characters as the series progress. This is
especially true of Jaime in book three. (11) REALISTIC MEDIEVAL DIALOGUE: not to
the point that we can't understand it but well done. (12) HEAPS OF SYMOBLISM AND
PROPHECY: if you're big on that. (13) EXCELLENT MYSTERIES: very hard to figure
out the culprits; GRRM must have read a lot of mystery novels. (14) RICHLY
TEXTURED FEMALE CHARACTERS: best male author on female characters I have read;
realistic on how women think, too. (15) LOW MAGIC WORLD: magic is low key; not
over the top so heroes can't get out of jams with it. REASON TO NOT READ GRRM
(1) YOU LIKE YOUR MAIN CHARACTERS: GRRM does a good job of creating more likeable
characters after a few die. But, if that isn't your style, you shouldn't be
reading it. He kills off several, not just one, so be warned. (2) DO NOT CARE FOR
GRITTY GRAY CHARACTERS: if you like more white and gray characters, this may
unsettle you. I suggest Feist or Goodkind or Dragonlance if you want a more
straight forward story with strong archetypes. (3) MULTIPLE POINTS OF VIEWS TURN
YOU OFF: if you prefer that the POVS only go to a few characters, this might be
confusing for you. (4) SWEARING, SEX: there's a lot of it in this book just as
there is in real life. (5) YOU DEMAND CLOSURE AT THE END OF EVERY BOOK: this
isn't the case for all stories in the series. Some are still going on; some have
been resolved; others have been created and are moving on. (6) IF YOU WANT A
TARGET OR SOMEONE TO BLAME: this can be done to some extent but not as much. This
is b/c he doesn't try to make anyone necessarily good or evil. (7) ARCHETYPES:
some readers like archetypal characters because it's comfortable; we like the good
young hero (sort of like Pug in Feist's THE RIFTWAR SAGA); it's familiar and we
sometimes like to pretend we're this upcoming, great hero. You wont' get much of
this in GRRM with the exception of one or two characters. (8) LENGTH: you don't
want to get into a long fantasy epic series. In that case, look for shorters works
as this is biiig. (9) PATRIARCHY: men are most of the main characters with lots of
power (one female exception). ....295295 comments| 5,355 people found
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right now. Please try again later.2.0 out of 5 starsKindle editing - AARRRGGGHHHH!
Bytriquestralon April 13, 2011Format: Kindle Edition|Verified PurchaseNB: THIS
REVIEW REFERS TO THE KINDLE EDITION ALONE! This is a great book, and I've eaten up
the series and have been on tenterhooks for George RR to get his finger out and
publish A Dance with Dragons for YEARS now. (And the tv series!! Be still my
beating heart!!!) But I have to comment on the extremely bad editing of the Kindle
edition of A Game of Thrones. It is sloppy and unprofessional. When I first got
my kindle, I never experienced this, but now it seems like every book gets worse
and worse. I thought Sacajawea was bad, but A Game of Thrones starts out with poor
editing and gets progressively more appalling as you get further into the book.
People who only read the kindle edition will think that Princess Elia comes from
Dome, since that is how it is (almost) consistently spelled throughout the book.
(It's Dorne). But on the other hand, the `tom cat' is a `torn cat'- go figure.
Little things like that at first, but now, in the last third of the book, the
mistakes are coming on nearly every page. Random parentheses, inappropriately
capitalized words, italics that make no sense, sentences that end abruptly - that
kind of thing. It would be irritating, but something I would just accept in a free
edition of a book (maybe). But for a Kindle book that costs more than the
paperback, I expect more. I also own a hard copy of this book, and none of these
typos are in that edition. I'm not sure how the Kindle editions are made, but I
expect the same kind of professional editing that you get in print books. You
don't get that here, disappointingly.192192 comments| 3,345 people found
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right now. Please try again later.4.0
out of 5 starsExceeded my wildest expectations...and I expect a *lot*.ByJacob G
Corbinon May 25, 2001Format: Mass Market PaperbackI see where a reviewer below
faulted A GAME OF THRONES for being so chock-full of "tragedy, bloodshed, cruelty,
death, rape, incest, drunkeness, murder, (and) infanticide."Heh. Where I come
from, that's a five-star recommendation.Glibness aside, the person has a point. A
GAME OF THRONES is indeed a graphic, viciously unsentimental novel. It features
all the offenses listed above and more besides. It revels in them.Can't you people
see? That's the *point.*The writers of heroic fantasy like to write about huge and
epic struggles between capital-letter Good and Evil. Yet over and over again they
demonstrate only the most puerile understanding of what good and evil actually are.
In their blinkered, constrained little worlds, "evil" consists of sitting in a dank
tower all day sending orcs or demons or what-have-you after the Crampon of Justice
or some similarly-named hogwash artifact. Not even the darkest of their generic
Dark Lords would be caught boffing his own sister or murdering a child (much less
get away with it), and in that fundamentally nonsensical bit of characterization
lies the crux of their problem: by sticking horns and a lightning staff onto a one-
dimensional pulp villain and calling it Ultimate Evil, they cheapen and debase
*real* good and evil.I'm sure most of these writers realize this perfectly well;
the problem is that they're writing to one of the most idiotically attenuated
audiences on the face of the planet, people who really want to read the same book
over and over ad infinitum with just enough variation from the template to create
the illusion of difference. It's a sad state of affairs when we consider that
fantasy, which should rightly be the domain of myth, wonder, and what Warren Ellis
calls "mad, beautiful ideas," is the second most rigidly unimaginative genre out
there (right behind romance, with whom it shares more than a few readers and
tropes).The "Song of Ice and Fire" series is a show-stopping six volume call to
arms against this nonsense. Readers who come to the novels expecting another
eminently predictable generic quest might be lulled to quiescence in the first few
innocuous chapters, but will awake - sooner or later - to the unsettling
realization that they're playing George R.R. Martin's game now. In A GAME OF
THRONES, he systematically slaughters every sacred cow of "heroic fantasy" and, in
so doing, injects a vigor and a zest for life and the written word into the genre
that hasn't been seen since the beautiful insanity of Tolkien. Heroes die and
villains turn out to be not so bad after all. Magic appears only very rarely,
making it infinitely more interesting. The plot steadfastly refuses to go where
you'd expect. And lest you purists think that Martin holds fantasy in contempt,
consider this: unlike practically every other fantasy writer out there, he's gone
to the trouble of writing this novel as if it were the most serious literature: his
characters and their motivations are fully fleshed out (Eddard Stark and Tyrion
Lannister are especially well-done), his prose is exciting and full of witty and
lovely turns of phrase, and his themes are complex and multilayered. In other
words, he's actually assumed that his readership is *intelligent.*After reading
this and China Meiville's PERDIDO STREET STATION, I have renewed hope for the
future of fantasy. Works like these deserve to be read, reread, and passed to
friends; they yank the genre - and its readers - out of bed and lead it blinking
and cursing into the light of genuine literary merit.2323 comments| 886
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right now. Please try again later.5.0 out of 5 starsPossibly the best of Fantasy in
the last 20 yearsByA. Ryanon August 25, 2003Format: Mass Market Paperback|Verified
PurchaseI spent quite a while staring at the blank screen in front of me to come up
with a fitting description of A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin. Should I
compare it to the classic Lord of the Rings for its impressively epic scope? Would
it be best to focus on the honest, often painful humanity of the many characters -
so rare in a fantasy novel - that personalizes each point of view? Perhaps I could
impress other customers here with the sheer brilliance of a plot that weaves so
many seemingly disparate stories together to form a believable alternate universe
in which not only politics, intrigue, war, adventure and romance can coexist
plausibly, but magic as well. How could I do such a work justice?I might as well
get this part out of the way first. Obligatory Synopsis: in a fantasy continent
that bears a familiarity to Middle Ages England, Winter is coming. Winter in this
world means a sort of mini ice age that will last for seven years before receding.
In the always-frosty Northern area, the races of nonhuman beings are gathering to
advance with the snows; there are hints that there is an ancient, evil power behind
their forces. At the same time in the South, political infighting for the Throne
has begun. Overseas, the daughter of the dispossessed former King is maneuvering
forces of her own for a bid for the throne. All this is told through the various
stories of both "good guys" and not-so-good guys.For starters, AGOT can't be
accurately compared to any other book or series in the Fantasy genre (not without
insulting it). The nearest thing of its type is the laborious Wheel of Time series
by Jordan - see what I mean? And yet this first in the Song of Ice and Fire series
is fathoms above that aimless, droning style. Martin has perfected what Jordan had
arguably introduced; the multiple characters' points of view telling the vast saga
on an intimate, up-close scale. Never did I feel that I was being strung along,
but rather lead by increments toward an incredible revelation somewhere up ahead.
Martin builds the suspense masterfully in each book.But by far the most striking
thing about the Song of Ice and Fire is the "rules" that the author breaks. Martin
is not afraid to tell the tale from the point of view of some very unlikable, even
immoral characters. He is bold about revealing facts from a character's past that
challenge one's impressions and assumptions about their ethics. He does not lay
all his cards on the table up front, but rather unexpectedly reveals details that
later change the whole picture and twist the plot admirably. And his most unusual
move: this author even allows "favorites" to die occasionally (no names here...)!
These risks pay off well to serve the story as a whole, bring a sense of true
humanity to the people of this world and drive the reader on to the next series
installment.It's just too bad that I can't magically transplant my sense of
admiration for AGOT onto this page. Hopefully, you are intrigued enough to give it
a try; it would be a shame to miss what IMHO could be the best series of the
decade.-Andrea, aka Merribelle1111 comments| 742 people found this
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right now. Please try again later.4.0 out of 5 starsA Brutal ReadByJ. Manningon
February 6, 2001Format: Mass Market PaperbackYou have about 500 other reviews to
choose from so I'll try to keep this practical and useful. If you're the sort who
reads "fantasy" novels to escape from the troubles of your everyday life, run
screaming from this book. There is no heroic quest here, and little or no magic.
Instead
we're given a land that would comfortably fit in next to our own world's medieval
history, centered around the schemings of royal families and populated by
characters who on average are capable of cruelties that would only be attempted by
a great villain in any other fantasy novel.And yet it's the people who make this
book such a compelling read. This is an intensely character-driven novel right
down to its very structure, which is broken into chapters dedicated to 8 different
characters, each a flawed protagonist in his/her own way. The book itself weighs
in at over 800 pages, and very little of that is spent on battles or scenery, or
even a resolution to the plot. Instead it's densely packed with the thoughts,
feelings, schemes, and observations of the characters, and you're unlikely to avoid
getting very emotionally entangled to at least one of them. The combination of
this with the brutal setting makes you genuinely cheer whenever a sympathetic
character finally accomplishes something positive, or groan with dread when another
character makes a tragic mistake. And you might be shocked at how willingly you
would murder a character with your bare hands if only you could leap into the
pages. I think it's this sort of emotional response that has so many readers
proclaiming this series a great work of fiction.A few potential negatives: The book
itself has no resolution, it's an installment in a huge epic that will require a
big appetite to finish. Also, there's an unusual level of sexual content, and
almost none of it is what you'd call romantic. I'm not squeamish, but I found it
very oppressive at times. This is, perhaps realistically, a very unkind world
towards women. Finally, most of the main characters are disconcertingly young,
ranging from 7 to 15 years old. I think the idea is for them to age into their
primes over the course of the series (if they live), but given the overall tone of
the book the innocence and brutality can clash uncomfortably.Overall, definitely
read it if you prefer gritty realism and have an appetite for large scale
storytelling. Avoid it if you're sentimental or have enough grim reality in your
life already. This book is not for everyone.33 comments| 146 people
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right now. Please try again later.5.0 out of 5 starsKindle editions: get Voyager,
avoid Bantam!ByTiagoon October 2, 2011Format: Kindle Edition|Verified PurchaseI
won't comment about the story of this great, gripping, 5-star book: I just want to
clarify one thing about the Kindle editions (there are two), since there are many
reviewers recommending to avoid "the Kindle Edition" altogether. I bought both of
them, and what I have to say is that the kindle edition you should avoid is
Bantam's [..], which is shamefully riddled with typos (some of them: "Dome",
"torncat", "s word", "sept on", "arid" instead of "Dorne", "tomcat", "sword",
"septon" and "and"). The Voyager edition, though, is much, much better (not only
with none or few typos, but also with a table of contents and more maps).66
comments| 59 people found this helpful. Was this review
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a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.3.0 out of 5 starsA
worthy, if convoluted read!BySR9on November 28, 2004Format: Mass Market
PaperbackThis first book in a series of fantasy novels along this storyline was a
worthy read. It is difficult for me to effectively convey what I actively liked
about the book without pointing out where I thought it could be vastly improved.
The strengths of this book are in its very compelling, epic-style story, with
believable characters who possess human levels of trial and error wisdom.Here's my
beef: These are great characters. Why in the world does this author throw forty of
them at the reader at once? I know, I know... he has two other books to help flesh
out the ones who aren't killed by the end of the first book. This author can't be
accused of not having main characters... he does, about seven or eight of them, and
I liked his style of giving us a look into them all. My issue was with the
continual need for the author to throw in a couple dozen more, all at once, and
expect the reader to suddenly understand what the impact of their vague existence
is, when they do something plot-connected later on.If you're an ADD-style reader
like me, you won't even remember who's who a few chapters later, when the son of
the cousin of the deposed king's vassal's daughter says fatal words that effect
main characters he's never interacted with. Sound confusing? It certainly can be.
It's grueling to sit through histories of fringe characters that we're supposed to
be concerned about, but that are easily confused with their relatives, or other
fringe characters of a similar name. Some of these characters have nicknames,
too... and the author changes which name he's using for the same person in mid-
paragraph! Arrrgh!So, this book was an enjoyable 'skimaround'. I read deeply about
the characters that were important and interesting, and skipped over the long
details about the political scenes between people who made no real difference. At
the end of the book, which was obviously set up to get you running off for the
next, I was happy to have read the stories of five or six characters, but also not
really sure I was looking forward to having to wade through the same confusion to
follow those characters into the next couple of books.Good stories, neat
perspectives, and an author who isn't afraid to have his characters live, die, and
be very human. I liked it! Did it live up to the hype people passed on about it?
Not completely... but again, this is from someone with a short attention span. I
would certainly recommend it to any fantasy reader, but unless they are the patient
type, I would recommend it as a borrowed or library checked-out book, to give it a
first taste.On a side note: This book can be rather raw in places, which is
certainly in perspective and story appropriate, but some of the language and adult
themes make this tale a more mature one.1010 comments| 156 people found
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right now. Please try again later.4.0 out of 5 starsHard to start, harder to put
down...ByWilliam E. Clark Jr.on September 11, 2006Format: Mass Market PaperbackTwo
friends urged me to read this book and I will admit that I had a very hard time
getting started; the first hundred pages were grueling. But, I attribute that to
a shift in writing style; the style is far removed from what I am used to. That
said, the style places the reader with an individual character for an entire
chapter. The reader is aware of the thoughts and feelings of the character but,
frequently, the time and place is slightly different from chapter to chapter. Time
moves with no notation to the reader other than, maybe, remembrances of the
character that they are with.Once the characters were formed and I had a grasp of
the world, of which detail as with the characters unfolds as the reader gets deeper
and deeper in to the book, I found that I couldn't put the book down.I borrowed the
first book from a friend and now I own A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords and
eagerly await A Feast for Crows.This series is not the high fantasy that I expected
it to be. There is no clear quest outlined from the beginning, no Ring to be
returned no damsel to save, no particular antagonist, no particular protagonist.
Rather, it is a complex web of intrigue, good intentions gone bad, naivete',
ambition and pure determination. All well done and deliciously woven into a series
that will have you rooting for, sometimes, the bad guy who later turns out to be a
good guy and sometimes the good guy who later turns out to be a bad guy.Enjoy!
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a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.5.0 out of 5 starsOne
of the bestByDONOVAN HURTERon December 13, 1999Format: Mass Market PaperbackLooking
for that elusive book that grabs you from start to finish only to leave you begging
for more? Are you tired of the same old fantasy cliches such as elves, dwarves, and
evil wizards? A Game of Thrones is the kind of rich literature that any fan of
character driven fiction should read. Martin's writing is very tight, fluid, and
has a smart, professional quality. The setting sets itself apart from other
fantasy settings by being quite realistic when compared to other fantasy novels.
The world is populated by humans. There are no elves or orcs roaming the
wilderness. There are no would-be adventurers slaying fanciful beasts for glory
and treasure. Instead you have what reads like earth medieval history. You have
Kingdoms, and Lordships; cutthroats and brigands. Characters that you love to hate
and characters that you'd love to meet. Plots, intrigue, deception, and betrayal
that all combine to create one of the most compelling novels I have ever read. Do
yourself a favor and pick this book up. It will most likely jump-start your love
of books. Enjoy.11 comment| 69 people found this helpful.
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starsGreat Read that Leaves You Feeling IckyByErinon September 26, 2007Format: Mass
Market Paperback|Verified PurchaseI feel dishonest only giving this book 3 Stars
because the truth is I could not put it down and there is no doubt in my mind that
I will end up reading this entire series. I enjoyed the complexity of the plots,
the character development, the multiple perspectives, the detailed worlds, the
unconventional blur between good/evil and the unpredictable plot twists. There is
much in this book to enjoy and praise.That said I only gave this book 3 stars
because it left me feeling, well, kind of disturbed. Multiple times, during the
course of reading this book, I told whoever was around that I felt like I was being
emotionally abused by the author. I usually like disturbing/dark stories but
something about this one troubled me. For starters the sex and sexual violence in
this book was a bit much for me. Almost all the sex scenes are about a thirteen
year old child. The sexual acts that happen to Dany in this novel constitute at
least a dozen felonies in any civilized society. Not only could I not discern a
reason the author had to make Dany SO young (especially if he wanted her character
to be highly sexualized) but the aspects of sex he chose to discribe and the manner
in which he discribed them were random, weird and came across as nothing more than
a perverted indulgence. I would read something and simultaneously roll my eyes
while feeling an icky shudder up and down my spine. I have no problems with sex in
books I read, but the manner in which the sex scenes were written in this book are
not reflective of real life and left me feeling grossed out. They felt exploitive I
guess because they were so gratutious and strange.Also, as a women, the constant
rape and violence towards women was hard to read. I realize rape and misogyny are
part of the world, particularly in times of war, but the amount and detail was hard
to stomach. While the male characters (good and bad) generally die or get injured
bravely in battle the women must be systemically humiliated before dying
unceremoniously. Not only is raping them bad enough, they must be gang raped. And
just in case gang rape wasn't degrading enough they have to be gang raped from
behind. This combined with the constant womanizing of the main characters, the
constant put downs related to the worth of women relative to men and after a while
it makes you start to wonder; has Martin created a world filled with systemic
female degradation because he is laying the foundation for an ultimate commentary
on oppression, violence and human dignity? Or has he created a world filled with
female degradation because that is what he likes writing about? I have 6 more books
to read before I can answer that question but I have a suspicion it is the latter
which is where the icky feeling I have towards this book comes from. Hopefully, it
turns out I am wrong.Even though this book left a bad taste in my mouth in some
respects, I will continue to read the series because it is wildly entertaining.
I've already started the second book.1616 comments| 138 people found this
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5.0 out of 5 starsWell plotted and paced; excellent, fresh fantasy taleByMISTER
SJEMon May 9, 2001Format: Mass Market Paperback|Verified PurchaseFirst off, I'm a
heavy duty fan of GRRM. I've read over a 100 different fantasy authors in my time
(started at 12; I'm now 32). Took about 5 years off from the genre b/c I felt it
was all getting too formulaic and cliched. So, when I came back to fantasy at the
end of 1999, I read the usual: Goodkind, Jordan, etc. and then someone told me
about GRRM and man, that was the kicker! Here are the reasons to choose GRRM.
I've also listed the reasons not to choose him to make it fair b/c I know their
are certain personalities who won't like this series: WHY TO READ GRRM (1) YOU
ARE TIRED OF FORMULAIC FANTASY: good lad beats the dark lord against impossible
odds; boy is the epitome of good; he and all his friends never die even though
they go through great dangers . . . the good and noble king; the beautiful
princess who falls in love with the commoner boy even though their stations are
drastically different . . . you get the idea. After reading this over and over,
it gets old. (2) YOU ARE TIRED OF ALL THE HEROES STAYING ALIVE EVEN THOUGH THEY
ARE UNDER CONSTANT DANGER: this gets even worse where the author kills a main hero
off but that person comes back later in the story. Or, a hero does die but magic
brings him back. This sometimes carries to minor characters where even they may
not die, but most fantasy authors like to kill them off to show that some risked
the adventure and perished. (3) YOU ARE A MEDIEVAL HISTORY BUFF: this story was
influenced by the WARS OF THE ROSES and THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR. (4) YOU LOVE
SERIOUS INTRIGUE WITHOUT STUPID OPPONENTS: lots of layering; lots of intrigue;
lots of clever players in the game of thrones. Unlike other fantasy novels, one
side, usually the villain, is stupid or not too bright. (5) YOU ARE INTERESTED IN
BIASED OPINIONS AND DIFFERENT TRUTHS: GRRM has set this up where each chapter has
the title of one character and the whole chapter is through their viewpoint.
Interesting tidbit is that you get their perception of events or truths. But, if
you pay attention, someone else will mention a different angle of truth in the
story that we rarely see in other novels. Lastly and most importantly, GRRM
doesn't try to tell us which person is right in their perception. He purposelly
leaves it vague so that we are kept guessing. (6) LEGENDS: some of the most
interesting characters are those who are long gone or dead. We never get the
entire story but only bits and pieces; something that other fantasy authors could
learn from to heighten suspense. Additionally, b/c the points of views are not
congruent, we sometimes get different opinions. (7) WORDPLAY: if you're big on
metaphors and description, GRRM is your guy. Almost flawless flow. (8) LOTS OF
CONFLICT: all types, too; not just fighting but between characters through threats
and intrigue. (9) MULTILAYERED PLOTTING; SUB PLOTS GALORE: each character has
their own separate storyline; especially as the story continues and everyone gets
scattered. This is one of the reasons why each novel is between 700-900 pages.
(10) SUPERLATIVE VARIED CHARACTERS: not the typical archetypes that we are used to
in most fantasy; some are gritty; few are totally evil or good; GRRM does a great
job of changing our opinions of characters as the series progress. This is
especially true of Jaime in book three. (11) REALISTIC MEDIEVAL DIALOGUE: not to
the point that we can't understand it but well done. (12) HEAPS OF SYMOBLISM AND
PROPHECY: if you're big on that. (13) EXCELLENT MYSTERIES: very hard to figure
out the culprits; GRRM must have read a lot of mystery novels. (14) RICHLY
TEXTURED FEMALE CHARACTERS: best male author on female characters I have read;
realistic on how women think, too. (15) LOW MAGIC WORLD: magic is low key; not
over the top so heroes can't get out of jams with it. REASON TO NOT READ GRRM
(1) YOU LIKE YOUR MAIN CHARACTERS: GRRM does a good job of creating more likeable
characters after a few die. But, if that isn't your style, you shouldn't be
reading it. He kills off several, not just one, so be warned. (2) DO NOT CARE FOR
GRITTY GRAY CHARACTERS: if you like more white and gray characters, this may
unsettle you. I suggest Feist or Goodkind or Dragonlance if you want a more
straight forward story with strong archetypes. (3) MULTIPLE POINTS OF VIEWS TURN
YOU OFF: if you prefer that the POVS only go to a few characters, this might be
confusing for you. (4) SWEARING, SEX: there's a lot of it in this book just as
there is in real life. (5) YOU DEMAND CLOSURE AT THE END OF EVERY BOOK: this
isn't the case for all stories in the series. Some are still going on; some have
been resolved; others have been created and are moving on. (6) IF YOU WANT A
TARGET OR SOMEONE TO BLAME: this can be done to some extent but not as much. This
is b/c he doesn't try to make anyone necessarily good or evil. (7) ARCHETYPES:
some readers like archetypal characters because it's comfortable; we like the good
young hero (sort of like Pug in Feist's THE RIFTWAR SAGA); it's familiar and we
sometimes like to pretend we're this upcoming, great hero. You wont' get much of
this in GRRM with the exception of one or two characters. (8) LENGTH: you don't
want to get into a long fantasy epic series. In that case, look for shorters works
as this is biiig. (9) PATRIARCHY: men are most of the main characters with lots of
power (one female exception). ....295295 comments| 5,355 people found
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right now. Please try again later.2.0 out of 5 starsKindle editing - AARRRGGGHHHH!
Bytriquestralon April 13, 2011Format: Kindle Edition|Verified PurchaseNB: THIS
REVIEW REFERS TO THE KINDLE EDITION ALONE! This is a great book, and I've eaten up
the series and have been on tenterhooks for George RR to get his finger out and
publish A Dance with Dragons for YEARS now. (And the tv series!! Be still my
beating heart!!!) But I have to comment on the extremely bad editing of the Kindle
edition of A Game of Thrones. It is sloppy and unprofessional. When I first got
my kindle, I never experienced this, but now it seems like every book gets worse
and worse. I thought Sacajawea was bad, but A Game of Thrones starts out with poor
editing and gets progressively more appalling as you get further into the book.
People who only read the kindle edition will think that Princess Elia comes from
Dome, since that is how it is (almost) consistently spelled throughout the book.
(It's Dorne). But on the other hand, the `tom cat' is a `torn cat'- go figure.
Little things like that at first, but now, in the last third of the book, the
mistakes are coming on nearly every page. Random parentheses, inappropriately
capitalized words, italics that make no sense, sentences that end abruptly - that
kind of thing. It would be irritating, but something I would just accept in a free
edition of a book (maybe). But for a Kindle book that costs more than the
paperback, I expect more. I also own a hard copy of this book, and none of these
typos are in that edition. I'm not sure how the Kindle editions are made, but I
expect the same kind of professional editing that you get in print books. You
don't get that here, disappointingly.192192 comments| 3,345 people found
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right now. Please try again later.4.0
out of 5 starsExceeded my wildest expectations...and I expect a *lot*.ByJacob G
Corbinon May 25, 2001Format: Mass Market PaperbackI see where a reviewer below
faulted A GAME OF THRONES for being so chock-full of "tragedy, bloodshed, cruelty,
death, rape, incest, drunkeness, murder, (and) infanticide."Heh. Where I come
from, that's a five-star recommendation.Glibness aside, the person has a point. A
GAME OF THRONES is indeed a graphic, viciously unsentimental novel. It features
all the offenses listed above and more besides. It revels in them.Can't you people
see? That's the *point.*The writers of heroic fantasy like to write about huge and
epic struggles between capital-letter Good and Evil. Yet over and over again they
demonstrate only the most puerile understanding of what good and evil actually are.
In their blinkered, constrained little worlds, "evil" consists of sitting in a dank
tower all day sending orcs or demons or what-have-you after the Crampon of Justice
or some similarly-named hogwash artifact. Not even the darkest of their generic
Dark Lords would be caught boffing his own sister or murdering a child (much less
get away with it), and in that fundamentally nonsensical bit of characterization
lies the crux of their problem: by sticking horns and a lightning staff onto a one-
dimensional pulp villain and calling it Ultimate Evil, they cheapen and debase
*real* good and evil.I'm sure most of these writers realize this perfectly well;
the problem is that they're writing to one of the most idiotically attenuated
audiences on the face of the planet, people who really want to read the same book
over and over ad infinitum with just enough variation from the template to create
the illusion of difference. It's a sad state of affairs when we consider that
fantasy, which should rightly be the domain of myth, wonder, and what Warren Ellis
calls "mad, beautiful ideas," is the second most rigidly unimaginative genre out
there (right behind romance, with whom it shares more than a few readers and
tropes).The "Song of Ice and Fire" series is a show-stopping six volume call to
arms against this nonsense. Readers who come to the novels expecting another
eminently predictable generic quest might be lulled to quiescence in the first few
innocuous chapters, but will awake - sooner or later - to the unsettling
realization that they're playing George R.R. Martin's game now. In A GAME OF
THRONES, he systematically slaughters every sacred cow of "heroic fantasy" and, in
so doing, injects a vigor and a zest for life and the written word into the genre
that hasn't been seen since the beautiful insanity of Tolkien. Heroes die and
villains turn out to be not so bad after all. Magic appears only very rarely,
making it infinitely more interesting. The plot steadfastly refuses to go where
you'd expect. And lest you purists think that Martin holds fantasy in contempt,
consider this: unlike practically every other fantasy writer out there, he's gone
to the trouble of writing this novel as if it were the most serious literature: his
characters and their motivations are fully fleshed out (Eddard Stark and Tyrion
Lannister are especially well-done), his prose is exciting and full of witty and
lovely turns of phrase, and his themes are complex and multilayered. In other
words, he's actually assumed that his readership is *intelligent.*After reading
this and China Meiville's PERDIDO STREET STATION, I have renewed hope for the
future of fantasy. Works like these deserve to be read, reread, and passed to
friends; they yank the genre - and its readers - out of bed and lead it blinking
and cursing into the light of genuine literary merit.2323 comments| 886
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right now. Please try again later.5.0 out of 5 starsPossibly the best of Fantasy in
the last 20 yearsByA. Ryanon August 25, 2003Format: Mass Market Paperback|Verified
PurchaseI spent quite a while staring at the blank screen in front of me to come up
with a fitting description of A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin. Should I
compare it to the classic Lord of the Rings for its impressively epic scope? Would
it be best to focus on the honest, often painful humanity of the many characters -
so rare in a fantasy novel - that personalizes each point of view? Perhaps I could
impress other customers here with the sheer brilliance of a plot that weaves so
many seemingly disparate stories together to form a believable alternate universe
in which not only politics, intrigue, war, adventure and romance can coexist
plausibly, but magic as well. How could I do such a work justice?I might as well
get this part out of the way first. Obligatory Synopsis: in a fantasy continent
that bears a familiarity to Middle Ages England, Winter is coming. Winter in this
world means a sort of mini ice age that will last for seven years before receding.
In the always-frosty Northern area, the races of nonhuman beings are gathering to
advance with the snows; there are hints that there is an ancient, evil power behind
their forces. At the same time in the South, political infighting for the Throne
has begun. Overseas, the daughter of the dispossessed former King is maneuvering
forces of her own for a bid for the throne. All this is told through the various
stories of both "good guys" and not-so-good guys.For starters, AGOT can't be
accurately compared to any other book or series in the Fantasy genre (not without
insulting it). The nearest thing of its type is the laborious Wheel of Time series
by Jordan - see what I mean? And yet this first in the Song of Ice and Fire series
is fathoms above that aimless, droning style. Martin has perfected what Jordan had
arguably introduced; the multiple characters' points of view telling the vast saga
on an intimate, up-close scale. Never did I feel that I was being strung along,
but rather lead by increments toward an incredible revelation somewhere up ahead.
Martin builds the suspense masterfully in each book.But by far the most striking
thing about the Song of Ice and Fire is the "rules" that the author breaks. Martin
is not afraid to tell the tale from the point of view of some very unlikable, even
immoral characters. He is bold about revealing facts from a character's past that
challenge one's impressions and assumptions about their ethics. He does not lay
all his cards on the table up front, but rather unexpectedly reveals details that
later change the whole picture and twist the plot admirably. And his most unusual
move: this author even allows "favorites" to die occasionally (no names here...)!
These risks pay off well to serve the story as a whole, bring a sense of true
humanity to the people of this world and drive the reader on to the next series
installment.It's just too bad that I can't magically transplant my sense of
admiration for AGOT onto this page. Hopefully, you are intrigued enough to give it
a try; it would be a shame to miss what IMHO could be the best series of the
decade.-Andrea, aka Merribelle1111 comments| 742 people found this
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right now. Please try again later.4.0 out of 5 starsA Brutal ReadByJ. Manningon
February 6, 2001Format: Mass Market PaperbackYou have about 500 other reviews to
choose from so I'll try to keep this practical and useful. If you're the sort who
reads "fantasy" novels to escape from the troubles of your everyday life, run
screaming from this book. There is no heroic quest here, and little or no magic.
Instead
we're given a land that would comfortably fit in next to our own world's medieval
history, centered around the schemings of royal families and populated by
characters who on average are capable of cruelties that would only be attempted by
a great villain in any other fantasy novel.And yet it's the people who make this
book such a compelling read. This is an intensely character-driven novel right
down to its very structure, which is broken into chapters dedicated to 8 different
characters, each a flawed protagonist in his/her own way. The book itself weighs
in at over 800 pages, and very little of that is spent on battles or scenery, or
even a resolution to the plot. Instead it's densely packed with the thoughts,
feelings, schemes, and observations of the characters, and you're unlikely to avoid
getting very emotionally entangled to at least one of them. The combination of
this with the brutal setting makes you genuinely cheer whenever a sympathetic
character finally accomplishes something positive, or groan with dread when another
character makes a tragic mistake. And you might be shocked at how willingly you
would murder a character with your bare hands if only you could leap into the
pages. I think it's this sort of emotional response that has so many readers
proclaiming this series a great work of fiction.A few potential negatives: The book
itself has no resolution, it's an installment in a huge epic that will require a
big appetite to finish. Also, there's an unusual level of sexual content, and
almost none of it is what you'd call romantic. I'm not squeamish, but I found it
very oppressive at times. This is, perhaps realistically, a very unkind world
towards women. Finally, most of the main characters are disconcertingly young,
ranging from 7 to 15 years old. I think the idea is for them to age into their
primes over the course of the series (if they live), but given the overall tone of
the book the innocence and brutality can clash uncomfortably.Overall, definitely
read it if you prefer gritty realism and have an appetite for large scale
storytelling. Avoid it if you're sentimental or have enough grim reality in your
life already. This book is not for everyone.33 comments| 146 people
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right now. Please try again later.5.0 out of 5 starsKindle editions: get Voyager,
avoid Bantam!ByTiagoon October 2, 2011Format: Kindle Edition|Verified PurchaseI
won't comment about the story of this great, gripping, 5-star book: I just want to
clarify one thing about the Kindle editions (there are two), since there are many
reviewers recommending to avoid "the Kindle Edition" altogether. I bought both of
them, and what I have to say is that the kindle edition you should avoid is
Bantam's [..], which is shamefully riddled with typos (some of them: "Dome",
"torncat", "s word", "sept on", "arid" instead of "Dorne", "tomcat", "sword",
"septon" and "and"). The Voyager edition, though, is much, much better (not only
with none or few typos, but also with a table of contents and more maps).66
comments| 59 people found this helpful. Was this review
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a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.3.0 out of 5 starsA
worthy, if convoluted read!BySR9on November 28, 2004Format: Mass Market
PaperbackThis first book in a series of fantasy novels along this storyline was a
worthy read. It is difficult for me to effectively convey what I actively liked
about the book without pointing out where I thought it could be vastly improved.
The strengths of this book are in its very compelling, epic-style story, with
believable characters who possess human levels of trial and error wisdom.Here's my
beef: These are great characters. Why in the world does this author throw forty of
them at the reader at once? I know, I know... he has two other books to help flesh
out the ones who aren't killed by the end of the first book. This author can't be
accused of not having main characters... he does, about seven or eight of them, and
I liked his style of giving us a look into them all. My issue was with the
continual need for the author to throw in a couple dozen more, all at once, and
expect the reader to suddenly understand what the impact of their vague existence
is, when they do something plot-connected later on.If you're an ADD-style reader
like me, you won't even remember who's who a few chapters later, when the son of
the cousin of the deposed king's vassal's daughter says fatal words that effect
main characters he's never interacted with. Sound confusing? It certainly can be.
It's grueling to sit through histories of fringe characters that we're supposed to
be concerned about, but that are easily confused with their relatives, or other
fringe characters of a similar name. Some of these characters have nicknames,
too... and the author changes which name he's using for the same person in mid-
paragraph! Arrrgh!So, this book was an enjoyable 'skimaround'. I read deeply about
the characters that were important and interesting, and skipped over the long
details about the political scenes between people who made no real difference. At
the end of the book, which was obviously set up to get you running off for the
next, I was happy to have read the stories of five or six characters, but also not
really sure I was looking forward to having to wade through the same confusion to
follow those characters into the next couple of books.Good stories, neat
perspectives, and an author who isn't afraid to have his characters live, die, and
be very human. I liked it! Did it live up to the hype people passed on about it?
Not completely... but again, this is from someone with a short attention span. I
would certainly recommend it to any fantasy reader, but unless they are the patient
type, I would recommend it as a borrowed or library checked-out book, to give it a
first taste.On a side note: This book can be rather raw in places, which is
certainly in perspective and story appropriate, but some of the language and adult
themes make this tale a more mature one.1010 comments| 156 people found
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right now. Please try again later.4.0 out of 5 starsHard to start, harder to put
down...ByWilliam E. Clark Jr.on September 11, 2006Format: Mass Market PaperbackTwo
friends urged me to read this book and I will admit that I had a very hard time
getting started; the first hundred pages were grueling. But, I attribute that to
a shift in writing style; the style is far removed from what I am used to. That
said, the style places the reader with an individual character for an entire
chapter. The reader is aware of the thoughts and feelings of the character but,
frequently, the time and place is slightly different from chapter to chapter. Time
moves with no notation to the reader other than, maybe, remembrances of the
character that they are with.Once the characters were formed and I had a grasp of
the world, of which detail as with the characters unfolds as the reader gets deeper
and deeper in to the book, I found that I couldn't put the book down.I borrowed the
first book from a friend and now I own A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords and
eagerly await A Feast for Crows.This series is not the high fantasy that I expected
it to be. There is no clear quest outlined from the beginning, no Ring to be
returned no damsel to save, no particular antagonist, no particular protagonist.
Rather, it is a complex web of intrigue, good intentions gone bad, naivete',
ambition and pure determination. All well done and deliciously woven into a series
that will have you rooting for, sometimes, the bad guy who later turns out to be a
good guy and sometimes the good guy who later turns out to be a bad guy.Enjoy!
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a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.5.0 out of 5 starsOne
of the bestByDONOVAN HURTERon December 13, 1999Format: Mass Market PaperbackLooking
for that elusive book that grabs you from start to finish only to leave you begging
for more? Are you tired of the same old fantasy cliches such as elves, dwarves, and
evil wizards? A Game of Thrones is the kind of rich literature that any fan of
character driven fiction should read. Martin's writing is very tight, fluid, and
has a smart, professional quality. The setting sets itself apart from other
fantasy settings by being quite realistic when compared to other fantasy novels.
The world is populated by humans. There are no elves or orcs roaming the
wilderness. There are no would-be adventurers slaying fanciful beasts for glory
and treasure. Instead you have what reads like earth medieval history. You have
Kingdoms, and Lordships; cutthroats and brigands. Characters that you love to hate
and characters that you'd love to meet. Plots, intrigue, deception, and betrayal
that all combine to create one of the most compelling novels I have ever read. Do
yourself a favor and pick this book up. It will most likely jump-start your love
of books. Enjoy.11 comment| 69 people found this helpful.
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a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.3.0 out of 5
starsGreat Read that Leaves You Feeling IckyByErinon September 26, 2007Format: Mass
Market Paperback|Verified PurchaseI feel dishonest only giving this book 3 Stars
because the truth is I could not put it down and there is no doubt in my mind that
I will end up reading this entire series. I enjoyed the complexity of the plots,
the character development, the multiple perspectives, the detailed worlds, the
unconventional blur between good/evil and the unpredictable plot twists. There is
much in this book to enjoy and praise.That said I only gave this book 3 stars
because it left me feeling, well, kind of disturbed. Multiple times, during the
course of reading this book, I told whoever was around that I felt like I was being
emotionally abused by the author. I usually like disturbing/dark stories but
something about this one troubled me. For starters the sex and sexual violence in
this book was a bit much for me. Almost all the sex scenes are about a thirteen
year old child. The sexual acts that happen to Dany in this novel constitute at
least a dozen felonies in any civilized society. Not only could I not discern a
reason the author had to make Dany SO young (especially if he wanted her character
to be highly sexualized) but the aspects of sex he chose to discribe and the manner
in which he discribed them were random, weird and came across as nothing more than
a perverted indulgence. I would read something and simultaneously roll my eyes
while feeling an icky shudder up and down my spine. I have no problems with sex in
books I read, but the manner in which the sex scenes were written in this book are
not reflective of real life and left me feeling grossed out. They felt exploitive I
guess because they were so gratutious and strange.Also, as a women, the constant
rape and violence towards women was hard to read. I realize rape and misogyny are
part of the world, particularly in times of war, but the amount and detail was hard
to stomach. While the male characters (good and bad) generally die or get injured
bravely in battle the women must be systemically humiliated before dying
unceremoniously. Not only is raping them bad enough, they must be gang raped. And
just in case gang rape wasn't degrading enough they have to be gang raped from
behind. This combined with the constant womanizing of the main characters, the
constant put downs related to the worth of women relative to men and after a while
it makes you start to wonder; has Martin created a world filled with systemic
female degradation because he is laying the foundation for an ultimate commentary
on oppression, violence and human dignity? Or has he created a world filled with
female degradation because that is what he likes writing about? I have 6 more books
to read before I can answer that question but I have a suspicion it is the latter
which is where the icky feeling I have towards this book comes from. Hopefully, it
turns out I am wrong.Even though this book left a bad taste in my mouth in some
respects, I will continue to read the series because it is wildly entertaining.
I've already started the second book.1616 comments| 138 people found this
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5.0 out of 5 starsWell plotted and paced; excellent, fresh fantasy taleByMISTER
SJEMon May 9, 2001Format: Mass Market Paperback|Verified PurchaseFirst off, I'm a
heavy duty fan of GRRM. I've read over a 100 different fantasy authors in my time
(started at 12; I'm now 32). Took about 5 years off from the genre b/c I felt it
was all getting too formulaic and cliched. So, when I came back to fantasy at the
end of 1999, I read the usual: Goodkind, Jordan, etc. and then someone told me
about GRRM and man, that was the kicker! Here are the reasons to choose GRRM.
I've also listed the reasons not to choose him to make it fair b/c I know their
are certain personalities who won't like this series: WHY TO READ GRRM (1) YOU
ARE TIRED OF FORMULAIC FANTASY: good lad beats the dark lord against impossible
odds; boy is the epitome of good; he and all his friends never die even though
they go through great dangers . . . the good and noble king; the beautiful
princess who falls in love with the commoner boy even though their stations are
drastically different . . . you get the idea. After reading this over and over,
it gets old. (2) YOU ARE TIRED OF ALL THE HEROES STAYING ALIVE EVEN THOUGH THEY
ARE UNDER CONSTANT DANGER: this gets even worse where the author kills a main hero
off but that person comes back later in the story. Or, a hero does die but magic
brings him back. This sometimes carries to minor characters where even they may
not die, but most fantasy authors like to kill them off to show that some risked
the adventure and perished. (3) YOU ARE A MEDIEVAL HISTORY BUFF: this story was
influenced by the WARS OF THE ROSES and THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR. (4) YOU LOVE
SERIOUS INTRIGUE WITHOUT STUPID OPPONENTS: lots of layering; lots of intrigue;
lots of clever players in the game of thrones. Unlike other fantasy novels, one
side, usually the villain, is stupid or not too bright. (5) YOU ARE INTERESTED IN
BIASED OPINIONS AND DIFFERENT TRUTHS: GRRM has set this up where each chapter has
the title of one character and the whole chapter is through their viewpoint.
Interesting tidbit is that you get their perception of events or truths. But, if
you pay attention, someone else will mention a different angle of truth in the
story that we rarely see in other novels. Lastly and most importantly, GRRM
doesn't try to tell us which person is right in their perception. He purposelly
leaves it vague so that we are kept guessing. (6) LEGENDS: some of the most
interesting characters are those who are long gone or dead. We never get the
entire story but only bits and pieces; something that other fantasy authors could
learn from to heighten suspense. Additionally, b/c the points of views are not
congruent, we sometimes get different opinions. (7) WORDPLAY: if you're big on
metaphors and description, GRRM is your guy. Almost flawless flow. (8) LOTS OF
CONFLICT: all types, too; not just fighting but between characters through threats
and intrigue. (9) MULTILAYERED PLOTTING; SUB PLOTS GALORE: each character has
their own separate storyline; especially as the story continues and everyone gets
scattered. This is one of the reasons why each novel is between 700-900 pages.
(10) SUPERLATIVE VARIED CHARACTERS: not the typical archetypes that we are used to
in most fantasy; some are gritty; few are totally evil or good; GRRM does a great
job of changing our opinions of characters as the series progress. This is
especially true of Jaime in book three. (11) REALISTIC MEDIEVAL DIALOGUE: not to
the point that we can't understand it but well done. (12) HEAPS OF SYMOBLISM AND
PROPHECY: if you're big on that. (13) EXCELLENT MYSTERIES: very hard to figure
out the culprits; GRRM must have read a lot of mystery novels. (14) RICHLY
TEXTURED FEMALE CHARACTERS: best male author on female characters I have read;
realistic on how women think, too. (15) LOW MAGIC WORLD: magic is low key; not
over the top so heroes can't get out of jams with it. REASON TO NOT READ GRRM
(1) YOU LIKE YOUR MAIN CHARACTERS: GRRM does a good job of creating more likeable
characters after a few die. But, if that isn't your style, you shouldn't be
reading it. He kills off several, not just one, so be warned. (2) DO NOT CARE FOR
GRITTY GRAY CHARACTERS: if you like more white and gray characters, this may
unsettle you. I suggest Feist or Goodkind or Dragonlance if you want a more
straight forward story with strong archetypes. (3) MULTIPLE POINTS OF VIEWS TURN
YOU OFF: if you prefer that the POVS only go to a few characters, this might be
confusing for you. (4) SWEARING, SEX: there's a lot of it in this book just as
there is in real life. (5) YOU DEMAND CLOSURE AT THE END OF EVERY BOOK: this
isn't the case for all stories in the series. Some are still going on; some have
been resolved; others have been created and are moving on. (6) IF YOU WANT A
TARGET OR SOMEONE TO BLAME: this can be done to some extent but not as much. This
is b/c he doesn't try to make anyone necessarily good or evil. (7) ARCHETYPES:
some readers like archetypal characters because it's comfortable; we like the good
young hero (sort of like Pug in Feist's THE RIFTWAR SAGA); it's familiar and we
sometimes like to pretend we're this upcoming, great hero. You wont' get much of
this in GRRM with the exception of one or two characters. (8) LENGTH: you don't
want to get into a long fantasy epic series. In that case, look for shorters works
as this is biiig. (9) PATRIARCHY: men are most of the main characters with lots of
power (one female exception). ....295295 comments| 5,355 people found
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right now. Please try again later.2.0 out of 5 starsKindle editing - AARRRGGGHHHH!
Bytriquestralon April 13, 2011Format: Kindle Edition|Verified PurchaseNB: THIS
REVIEW REFERS TO THE KINDLE EDITION ALONE! This is a great book, and I've eaten up
the series and have been on tenterhooks for George RR to get his finger out and
publish A Dance with Dragons for YEARS now. (And the tv series!! Be still my
beating heart!!!) But I have to comment on the extremely bad editing of the Kindle
edition of A Game of Thrones. It is sloppy and unprofessional. When I first got
my kindle, I never experienced this, but now it seems like every book gets worse
and worse. I thought Sacajawea was bad, but A Game of Thrones starts out with poor
editing and gets progressively more appalling as you get further into the book.
People who only read the kindle edition will think that Princess Elia comes from
Dome, since that is how it is (almost) consistently spelled throughout the book.
(It's Dorne). But on the other hand, the `tom cat' is a `torn cat'- go figure.
Little things like that at first, but now, in the last third of the book, the
mistakes are coming on nearly every page. Random parentheses, inappropriately
capitalized words, italics that make no sense, sentences that end abruptly - that
kind of thing. It would be irritating, but something I would just accept in a free
edition of a book (maybe). But for a Kindle book that costs more than the
paperback, I expect more. I also own a hard copy of this book, and none of these
typos are in that edition. I'm not sure how the Kindle editions are made, but I
expect the same kind of professional editing that you get in print books. You
don't get that here, disappointingly.192192 comments| 3,345 people found
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right now. Please try again later.4.0
out of 5 starsExceeded my wildest expectations...and I expect a *lot*.ByJacob G
Corbinon May 25, 2001Format: Mass Market PaperbackI see where a reviewer below
faulted A GAME OF THRONES for being so chock-full of "tragedy, bloodshed, cruelty,
death, rape, incest, drunkeness, murder, (and) infanticide."Heh. Where I come
from, that's a five-star recommendation.Glibness aside, the person has a point. A
GAME OF THRONES is indeed a graphic, viciously unsentimental novel. It features
all the offenses listed above and more besides. It revels in them.Can't you people
see? That's the *point.*The writers of heroic fantasy like to write about huge and
epic struggles between capital-letter Good and Evil. Yet over and over again they
demonstrate only the most puerile understanding of what good and evil actually are.
In their blinkered, constrained little worlds, "evil" consists of sitting in a dank
tower all day sending orcs or demons or what-have-you after the Crampon of Justice
or some similarly-named hogwash artifact. Not even the darkest of their generic
Dark Lords would be caught boffing his own sister or murdering a child (much less
get away with it), and in that fundamentally nonsensical bit of characterization
lies the crux of their problem: by sticking horns and a lightning staff onto a one-
dimensional pulp villain and calling it Ultimate Evil, they cheapen and debase
*real* good and evil.I'm sure most of these writers realize this perfectly well;
the problem is that they're writing to one of the most idiotically attenuated
audiences on the face of the planet, people who really want to read the same book
over and over ad infinitum with just enough variation from the template to create
the illusion of difference. It's a sad state of affairs when we consider that
fantasy, which should rightly be the domain of myth, wonder, and what Warren Ellis
calls "mad, beautiful ideas," is the second most rigidly unimaginative genre out
there (right behind romance, with whom it shares more than a few readers and
tropes).The "Song of Ice and Fire" series is a show-stopping six volume call to
arms against this nonsense. Readers who come to the novels expecting another
eminently predictable generic quest might be lulled to quiescence in the first few
innocuous chapters, but will awake - sooner or later - to the unsettling
realization that they're playing George R.R. Martin's game now. In A GAME OF
THRONES, he systematically slaughters every sacred cow of "heroic fantasy" and, in
so doing, injects a vigor and a zest for life and the written word into the genre
that hasn't been seen since the beautiful insanity of Tolkien. Heroes die and
villains turn out to be not so bad after all. Magic appears only very rarely,
making it infinitely more interesting. The plot steadfastly refuses to go where
you'd expect. And lest you purists think that Martin holds fantasy in contempt,
consider this: unlike practically every other fantasy writer out there, he's gone
to the trouble of writing this novel as if it were the most serious literature: his
characters and their motivations are fully fleshed out (Eddard Stark and Tyrion
Lannister are especially well-done), his prose is exciting and full of witty and
lovely turns of phrase, and his themes are complex and multilayered. In other
words, he's actually assumed that his readership is *intelligent.*After reading
this and China Meiville's PERDIDO STREET STATION, I have renewed hope for the
future of fantasy. Works like these deserve to be read, reread, and passed to
friends; they yank the genre - and its readers - out of bed and lead it blinking
and cursing into the light of genuine literary merit.2323 comments| 886
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right now. Please try again later.5.0 out of 5 starsPossibly the best of Fantasy in
the last 20 yearsByA. Ryanon August 25, 2003Format: Mass Market Paperback|Verified
PurchaseI spent quite a while staring at the blank screen in front of me to come up
with a fitting description of A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin. Should I
compare it to the classic Lord of the Rings for its impressively epic scope? Would
it be best to focus on the honest, often painful humanity of the many characters -
so rare in a fantasy novel - that personalizes each point of view? Perhaps I could
impress other customers here with the sheer brilliance of a plot that weaves so
many seemingly disparate stories together to form a believable alternate universe
in which not only politics, intrigue, war, adventure and romance can coexist
plausibly, but magic as well. How could I do such a work justice?I might as well
get this part out of the way first. Obligatory Synopsis: in a fantasy continent
that bears a familiarity to Middle Ages England, Winter is coming. Winter in this
world means a sort of mini ice age that will last for seven years before receding.
In the always-frosty Northern area, the races of nonhuman beings are gathering to
advance with the snows; there are hints that there is an ancient, evil power behind
their forces. At the same time in the South, political infighting for the Throne
has begun. Overseas, the daughter of the dispossessed former King is maneuvering
forces of her own for a bid for the throne. All this is told through the various
stories of both "good guys" and not-so-good guys.For starters, AGOT can't be
accurately compared to any other book or series in the Fantasy genre (not without
insulting it). The nearest thing of its type is the laborious Wheel of Time series
by Jordan - see what I mean? And yet this first in the Song of Ice and Fire series
is fathoms above that aimless, droning style. Martin has perfected what Jordan had
arguably introduced; the multiple characters' points of view telling the vast saga
on an intimate, up-close scale. Never did I feel that I was being strung along,
but rather lead by increments toward an incredible revelation somewhere up ahead.
Martin builds the suspense masterfully in each book.But by far the most striking
thing about the Song of Ice and Fire is the "rules" that the author breaks. Martin
is not afraid to tell the tale from the point of view of some very unlikable, even
immoral characters. He is bold about revealing facts from a character's past that
challenge one's impressions and assumptions about their ethics. He does not lay
all his cards on the table up front, but rather unexpectedly reveals details that
later change the whole picture and twist the plot admirably. And his most unusual
move: this author even allows "favorites" to die occasionally (no names here...)!
These risks pay off well to serve the story as a whole, bring a sense of true
humanity to the people of this world and drive the reader on to the next series
installment.It's just too bad that I can't magically transplant my sense of
admiration for AGOT onto this page. Hopefully, you are intrigued enough to give it
a try; it would be a shame to miss what IMHO could be the best series of the
decade.-Andrea, aka Merribelle1111 comments| 742 people found this
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right now. Please try again later.4.0 out of 5 starsA Brutal ReadByJ. Manningon
February 6, 2001Format: Mass Market PaperbackYou have about 500 other reviews to
choose from so I'll try to keep this practical and useful. If you're the sort who
reads "fantasy" novels to escape from the troubles of your everyday life, run
screaming from this book. There is no heroic quest here, and little or no magic.
Instead
we're given a land that would comfortably fit in next to our own world's medieval
history, centered around the schemings of royal families and populated by
characters who on average are capable of cruelties that would only be attempted by
a great villain in any other fantasy novel.And yet it's the people who make this
book such a compelling read. This is an intensely character-driven novel right
down to its very structure, which is broken into chapters dedicated to 8 different
characters, each a flawed protagonist in his/her own way. The book itself weighs
in at over 800 pages, and very little of that is spent on battles or scenery, or
even a resolution to the plot. Instead it's densely packed with the thoughts,
feelings, schemes, and observations of the characters, and you're unlikely to avoid
getting very emotionally entangled to at least one of them. The combination of
this with the brutal setting makes you genuinely cheer whenever a sympathetic
character finally accomplishes something positive, or groan with dread when another
character makes a tragic mistake. And you might be shocked at how willingly you
would murder a character with your bare hands if only you could leap into the
pages. I think it's this sort of emotional response that has so many readers
proclaiming this series a great work of fiction.A few potential negatives: The book
itself has no resolution, it's an installment in a huge epic that will require a
big appetite to finish. Also, there's an unusual level of sexual content, and
almost none of it is what you'd call romantic. I'm not squeamish, but I found it
very oppressive at times. This is, perhaps realistically, a very unkind world
towards women. Finally, most of the main characters are disconcertingly young,
ranging from 7 to 15 years old. I think the idea is for them to age into their
primes over the course of the series (if they live), but given the overall tone of
the book the innocence and brutality can clash uncomfortably.Overall, definitely
read it if you prefer gritty realism and have an appetite for large scale
storytelling. Avoid it if you're sentimental or have enough grim reality in your
life already. This book is not for everyone.33 comments| 146 people
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right now. Please try again later.5.0 out of 5 starsKindle editions: get Voyager,
avoid Bantam!ByTiagoon October 2, 2011Format: Kindle Edition|Verified PurchaseI
won't comment about the story of this great, gripping, 5-star book: I just want to
clarify one thing about the Kindle editions (there are two), since there are many
reviewers recommending to avoid "the Kindle Edition" altogether. I bought both of
them, and what I have to say is that the kindle edition you should avoid is
Bantam's [..], which is shamefully riddled with typos (some of them: "Dome",
"torncat", "s word", "sept on", "arid" instead of "Dorne", "tomcat", "sword",
"septon" and "and"). The Voyager edition, though, is much, much better (not only
with none or few typos, but also with a table of contents and more maps).66
comments| 59 people found this helpful. Was this review
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a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.3.0 out of 5 starsA
worthy, if convoluted read!BySR9on November 28, 2004Format: Mass Market
PaperbackThis first book in a series of fantasy novels along this storyline was a
worthy read. It is difficult for me to effectively convey what I actively liked
about the book without pointing out where I thought it could be vastly improved.
The strengths of this book are in its very compelling, epic-style story, with
believable characters who possess human levels of trial and error wisdom.Here's my
beef: These are great characters. Why in the world does this author throw forty of
them at the reader at once? I know, I know... he has two other books to help flesh
out the ones who aren't killed by the end of the first book. This author can't be
accused of not having main characters... he does, about seven or eight of them, and
I liked his style of giving us a look into them all. My issue was with the
continual need for the author to throw in a couple dozen more, all at once, and
expect the reader to suddenly understand what the impact of their vague existence
is, when they do something plot-connected later on.If you're an ADD-style reader
like me, you won't even remember who's who a few chapters later, when the son of
the cousin of the deposed king's vassal's daughter says fatal words that effect
main characters he's never interacted with. Sound confusing? It certainly can be.
It's grueling to sit through histories of fringe characters that we're supposed to
be concerned about, but that are easily confused with their relatives, or other
fringe characters of a similar name. Some of these characters have nicknames,
too... and the author changes which name he's using for the same person in mid-
paragraph! Arrrgh!So, this book was an enjoyable 'skimaround'. I read deeply about
the characters that were important and interesting, and skipped over the long
details about the political scenes between people who made no real difference. At
the end of the book, which was obviously set up to get you running off for the
next, I was happy to have read the stories of five or six characters, but also not
really sure I was looking forward to having to wade through the same confusion to
follow those characters into the next couple of books.Good stories, neat
perspectives, and an author who isn't afraid to have his characters live, die, and
be very human. I liked it! Did it live up to the hype people passed on about it?
Not completely... but again, this is from someone with a short attention span. I
would certainly recommend it to any fantasy reader, but unless they are the patient
type, I would recommend it as a borrowed or library checked-out book, to give it a
first taste.On a side note: This book can be rather raw in places, which is
certainly in perspective and story appropriate, but some of the language and adult
themes make this tale a more mature one.1010 comments| 156 people found
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right now. Please try again later.4.0 out of 5 starsHard to start, harder to put
down...ByWilliam E. Clark Jr.on September 11, 2006Format: Mass Market PaperbackTwo
friends urged me to read this book and I will admit that I had a very hard time
getting started; the first hundred pages were grueling. But, I attribute that to
a shift in writing style; the style is far removed from what I am used to. That
said, the style places the reader with an individual character for an entire
chapter. The reader is aware of the thoughts and feelings of the character but,
frequently, the time and place is slightly different from chapter to chapter. Time
moves with no notation to the reader other than, maybe, remembrances of the
character that they are with.Once the characters were formed and I had a grasp of
the world, of which detail as with the characters unfolds as the reader gets deeper
and deeper in to the book, I found that I couldn't put the book down.I borrowed the
first book from a friend and now I own A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords and
eagerly await A Feast for Crows.This series is not the high fantasy that I expected
it to be. There is no clear quest outlined from the beginning, no Ring to be
returned no damsel to save, no particular antagonist, no particular protagonist.
Rather, it is a complex web of intrigue, good intentions gone bad, naivete',
ambition and pure determination. All well done and deliciously woven into a series
that will have you rooting for, sometimes, the bad guy who later turns out to be a
good guy and sometimes the good guy who later turns out to be a bad guy.Enjoy!
0Comment| 23 people found this helpful. Was this review
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a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.5.0 out of 5 starsOne
of the bestByDONOVAN HURTERon December 13, 1999Format: Mass Market PaperbackLooking
for that elusive book that grabs you from start to finish only to leave you begging
for more? Are you tired of the same old fantasy cliches such as elves, dwarves, and
evil wizards? A Game of Thrones is the kind of rich literature that any fan of
character driven fiction should read. Martin's writing is very tight, fluid, and
has a smart, professional quality. The setting sets itself apart from other
fantasy settings by being quite realistic when compared to other fantasy novels.
The world is populated by humans. There are no elves or orcs roaming the
wilderness. There are no would-be adventurers slaying fanciful beasts for glory
and treasure. Instead you have what reads like earth medieval history. You have
Kingdoms, and Lordships; cutthroats and brigands. Characters that you love to hate
and characters that you'd love to meet. Plots, intrigue, deception, and betrayal
that all combine to create one of the most compelling novels I have ever read. Do
yourself a favor and pick this book up. It will most likely jump-start your love
of books. Enjoy.11 comment| 69 people found this helpful.
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a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.3.0 out of 5
starsGreat Read that Leaves You Feeling IckyByErinon September 26, 2007Format: Mass
Market Paperback|Verified PurchaseI feel dishonest only giving this book 3 Stars
because the truth is I could not put it down and there is no doubt in my mind that
I will end up reading this entire series. I enjoyed the complexity of the plots,
the character development, the multiple perspectives, the detailed worlds, the
unconventional blur between good/evil and the unpredictable plot twists. There is
much in this book to enjoy and praise.That said I only gave this book 3 stars
because it left me feeling, well, kind of disturbed. Multiple times, during the
course of reading this book, I told whoever was around that I felt like I was being
emotionally abused by the author. I usually like disturbing/dark stories but
something about this one troubled me. For starters the sex and sexual violence in
this book was a bit much for me. Almost all the sex scenes are about a thirteen
year old child. The sexual acts that happen to Dany in this novel constitute at
least a dozen felonies in any civilized society. Not only could I not discern a
reason the author had to make Dany SO young (especially if he wanted her character
to be highly sexualized) but the aspects of sex he chose to discribe and the manner
in which he discribed them were random, weird and came across as nothing more than
a perverted indulgence. I would read something and simultaneously roll my eyes
while feeling an icky shudder up and down my spine. I have no problems with sex in
books I read, but the manner in which the sex scenes were written in this book are
not reflective of real life and left me feeling grossed out. They felt exploitive I
guess because they were so gratutious and strange.Also, as a women, the constant
rape and violence towards women was hard to read. I realize rape and misogyny are
part of the world, particularly in times of war, but the amount and detail was hard
to stomach. While the male characters (good and bad) generally die or get injured
bravely in battle the women must be systemically humiliated before dying
unceremoniously. Not only is raping them bad enough, they must be gang raped. And
just in case gang rape wasn't degrading enough they have to be gang raped from
behind. This combined with the constant womanizing of the main characters, the
constant put downs related to the worth of women relative to men and after a while
it makes you start to wonder; has Martin created a world filled with systemic
female degradation because he is laying the foundation for an ultimate commentary
on oppression, violence and human dignity? Or has he created a world filled with
female degradation because that is what he likes writing about? I have 6 more books
to read before I can answer that question but I have a suspicion it is the latter
which is where the icky feeling I have towards this book comes from. Hopefully, it
turns out I am wrong.Even though this book left a bad taste in my mouth in some
respects, I will continue to read the series because it is wildly entertaining.
I've already started the second book.1616 comments| 138 people found this
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5.0 out of 5 starsWell plotted and paced; excellent, fresh fantasy taleByMISTER
SJEMon May 9, 2001Format: Mass Market Paperback|Verified PurchaseFirst off, I'm a
heavy duty fan of GRRM. I've read over a 100 different fantasy authors in my time
(started at 12; I'm now 32). Took about 5 years off from the genre b/c I felt it
was all getting too formulaic and cliched. So, when I came back to fantasy at the
end of 1999, I read the usual: Goodkind, Jordan, etc. and then someone told me
about GRRM and man, that was the kicker! Here are the reasons to choose GRRM.
I've also listed the reasons not to choose him to make it fair b/c I know their
are certain personalities who won't like this series: WHY TO READ GRRM (1) YOU
ARE TIRED OF FORMULAIC FANTASY: good lad beats the dark lord against impossible
odds; boy is the epitome of good; he and all his friends never die even though
they go through great dangers . . . the good and noble king; the beautiful
princess who falls in love with the commoner boy even though their stations are
drastically different . . . you get the idea. After reading this over and over,
it gets old. (2) YOU ARE TIRED OF ALL THE HEROES STAYING ALIVE EVEN THOUGH THEY
ARE UNDER CONSTANT DANGER: this gets even worse where the author kills a main hero
off but that person comes back later in the story. Or, a hero does die but magic
brings him back. This sometimes carries to minor characters where even they may
not die, but most fantasy authors like to kill them off to show that some risked
the adventure and perished. (3) YOU ARE A MEDIEVAL HISTORY BUFF: this story was
influenced by the WARS OF THE ROSES and THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR. (4) YOU LOVE
SERIOUS INTRIGUE WITHOUT STUPID OPPONENTS: lots of layering; lots of intrigue;
lots of clever players in the game of thrones. Unlike other fantasy novels, one
side, usually the villain, is stupid or not too bright. (5) YOU ARE INTERESTED IN
BIASED OPINIONS AND DIFFERENT TRUTHS: GRRM has set this up where each chapter has
the title of one character and the whole chapter is through their viewpoint.
Interesting tidbit is that you get their perception of events or truths. But, if
you pay attention, someone else will mention a different angle of truth in the
story that we rarely see in other novels. Lastly and most importantly, GRRM
doesn't try to tell us which person is right in their perception. He purposelly
leaves it vague so that we are kept guessing. (6) LEGENDS: some of the most
interesting characters are those who are long gone or dead. We never get the
entire story but only bits and pieces; something that other fantasy authors could
learn from to heighten suspense. Additionally, b/c the points of views are not
congruent, we sometimes get different opinions. (7) WORDPLAY: if you're big on
metaphors and description, GRRM is your guy. Almost flawless flow. (8) LOTS OF
CONFLICT: all types, too; not just fighting but between characters through threats
and intrigue. (9) MULTILAYERED PLOTTING; SUB PLOTS GALORE: each character has
their own separate storyline; especially as the story continues and everyone gets
scattered. This is one of the reasons why each novel is between 700-900 pages.
(10) SUPERLATIVE VARIED CHARACTERS: not the typical archetypes that we are used to
in most fantasy; some are gritty; few are totally evil or good; GRRM does a great
job of changing our opinions of characters as the series progress. This is
especially true of Jaime in book three. (11) REALISTIC MEDIEVAL DIALOGUE: not to
the point that we can't understand it but well done. (12) HEAPS OF SYMOBLISM AND
PROPHECY: if you're big on that. (13) EXCELLENT MYSTERIES: very hard to figure
out the culprits; GRRM must have read a lot of mystery novels. (14) RICHLY
TEXTURED FEMALE CHARACTERS: best male author on female characters I have read;
realistic on how women think, too. (15) LOW MAGIC WORLD: magic is low key; not
over the top so heroes can't get out of jams with it. REASON TO NOT READ GRRM
(1) YOU LIKE YOUR MAIN CHARACTERS: GRRM does a good job of creating more likeable
characters after a few die. But, if that isn't your style, you shouldn't be
reading it. He kills off several, not just one, so be warned. (2) DO NOT CARE FOR
GRITTY GRAY CHARACTERS: if you like more white and gray characters, this may
unsettle you. I suggest Feist or Goodkind or Dragonlance if you want a more
straight forward story with strong archetypes. (3) MULTIPLE POINTS OF VIEWS TURN
YOU OFF: if you prefer that the POVS only go to a few characters, this might be
confusing for you. (4) SWEARING, SEX: there's a lot of it in this book just as
there is in real life. (5) YOU DEMAND CLOSURE AT THE END OF EVERY BOOK: this
isn't the case for all stories in the series. Some are still going on; some have
been resolved; others have been created and are moving on. (6) IF YOU WANT A
TARGET OR SOMEONE TO BLAME: this can be done to some extent but not as much. This
is b/c he doesn't try to make anyone necessarily good or evil. (7) ARCHETYPES:
some readers like archetypal characters because it's comfortable; we like the good
young hero (sort of like Pug in Feist's THE RIFTWAR SAGA); it's familiar and we
sometimes like to pretend we're this upcoming, great hero. You wont' get much of
this in GRRM with the exception of one or two characters. (8) LENGTH: you don't
want to get into a long fantasy epic series. In that case, look for shorters works
as this is biiig. (9) PATRIARCHY: men are most of the main characters with lots of
power (one female exception). ....295295 comments| 5,355 people found
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right now. Please try again later.2.0 out of 5 starsKindle editing - AARRRGGGHHHH!
Bytriquestralon April 13, 2011Format: Kindle Edition|Verified PurchaseNB: THIS
REVIEW REFERS TO THE KINDLE EDITION ALONE! This is a great book, and I've eaten up
the series and have been on tenterhooks for George RR to get his finger out and
publish A Dance with Dragons for YEARS now. (And the tv series!! Be still my
beating heart!!!) But I have to comment on the extremely bad editing of the Kindle
edition of A Game of Thrones. It is sloppy and unprofessional. When I first got
my kindle, I never experienced this, but now it seems like every book gets worse
and worse. I thought Sacajawea was bad, but A Game of Thrones starts out with poor
editing and gets progressively more appalling as you get further into the book.
People who only read the kindle edition will think that Princess Elia comes from
Dome, since that is how it is (almost) consistently spelled throughout the book.
(It's Dorne). But on the other hand, the `tom cat' is a `torn cat'- go figure.
Little things like that at first, but now, in the last third of the book, the
mistakes are coming on nearly every page. Random parentheses, inappropriately
capitalized words, italics that make no sense, sentences that end abruptly - that
kind of thing. It would be irritating, but something I would just accept in a free
edition of a book (maybe). But for a Kindle book that costs more than the
paperback, I expect more. I also own a hard copy of this book, and none of these
typos are in that edition. I'm not sure how the Kindle editions are made, but I
expect the same kind of professional editing that you get in print books. You
don't get that here, disappointingly.192192 comments| 3,345 people found
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out of 5 starsExceeded my wildest expectations...and I expect a *lot*.ByJacob G
Corbinon May 25, 2001Format: Mass Market PaperbackI see where a reviewer below
faulted A GAME OF THRONES for being so chock-full of "tragedy, bloodshed, cruelty,
death, rape, incest, drunkeness, murder, (and) infanticide."Heh. Where I come
from, that's a five-star recommendation.Glibness aside, the person has a point. A
GAME OF THRONES is indeed a graphic, viciously unsentimental novel. It features
all the offenses listed above and more besides. It revels in them.Can't you people
see? That's the *point.*The writers of heroic fantasy like to write about huge and
epic struggles between capital-letter Good and Evil. Yet over and over again they
demonstrate only the most puerile understanding of what good and evil actually are.
In their blinkered, constrained little worlds, "evil" consists of sitting in a dank
tower all day sending orcs or demons or what-have-you after the Crampon of Justice
or some similarly-named hogwash artifact. Not even the darkest of their generic
Dark Lords would be caught boffing his own sister or murdering a child (much less
get away with it), and in that fundamentally nonsensical bit of characterization
lies the crux of their problem: by sticking horns and a lightning staff onto a one-
dimensional pulp villain and calling it Ultimate Evil, they cheapen and debase
*real* good and evil.I'm sure most of these writers realize this perfectly well;
the problem is that they're writing to one of the most idiotically attenuated
audiences on the face of the planet, people who really want to read the same book
over and over ad infinitum with just enough variation from the template to create
the illusion of difference. It's a sad state of affairs when we consider that
fantasy, which should rightly be the domain of myth, wonder, and what Warren Ellis
calls "mad, beautiful ideas," is the second most rigidly unimaginative genre out
there (right behind romance, with whom it shares more than a few readers and
tropes).The "Song of Ice and Fire" series is a show-stopping six volume call to
arms against this nonsense. Readers who come to the novels expecting another
eminently predictable generic quest might be lulled to quiescence in the first few
innocuous chapters, but will awake - sooner or later - to the unsettling
realization that they're playing George R.R. Martin's game now. In A GAME OF
THRONES, he systematically slaughters every sacred cow of "heroic fantasy" and, in
so doing, injects a vigor and a zest for life and the written word into the genre
that hasn't been seen since the beautiful insanity of Tolkien. Heroes die and
villains turn out to be not so bad after all. Magic appears only very rarely,
making it infinitely more interesting. The plot steadfastly refuses to go where
you'd expect. And lest you purists think that Martin holds fantasy in contempt,
consider this: unlike practically every other fantasy writer out there, he's gone
to the trouble of writing this novel as if it were the most serious literature: his
characters and their motivations are fully fleshed out (Eddard Stark and Tyrion
Lannister are especially well-done), his prose is exciting and full of witty and
lovely turns of phrase, and his themes are complex and multilayered. In other
words, he's actually assumed that his readership is *intelligent.*After reading
this and China Meiville's PERDIDO STREET STATION, I have renewed hope for the
future of fantasy. Works like these deserve to be read, reread, and passed to
friends; they yank the genre - and its readers - out of bed and lead it blinking
and cursing into the light of genuine literary merit.2323 comments| 886
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right now. Please try again later.5.0 out of 5 starsPossibly the best of Fantasy in
the last 20 yearsByA. Ryanon August 25, 2003Format: Mass Market Paperback|Verified
PurchaseI spent quite a while staring at the blank screen in front of me to come up
with a fitting description of A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin. Should I
compare it to the classic Lord of the Rings for its impressively epic scope? Would
it be best to focus on the honest, often painful humanity of the many characters -
so rare in a fantasy novel - that personalizes each point of view? Perhaps I could
impress other customers here with the sheer brilliance of a plot that weaves so
many seemingly disparate stories together to form a believable alternate universe
in which not only politics, intrigue, war, adventure and romance can coexist
plausibly, but magic as well. How could I do such a work justice?I might as well
get this part out of the way first. Obligatory Synopsis: in a fantasy continent
that bears a familiarity to Middle Ages England, Winter is coming. Winter in this
world means a sort of mini ice age that will last for seven years before receding.
In the always-frosty Northern area, the races of nonhuman beings are gathering to
advance with the snows; there are hints that there is an ancient, evil power behind
their forces. At the same time in the South, political infighting for the Throne
has begun. Overseas, the daughter of the dispossessed former King is maneuvering
forces of her own for a bid for the throne. All this is told through the various
stories of both "good guys" and not-so-good guys.For starters, AGOT can't be
accurately compared to any other book or series in the Fantasy genre (not without
insulting it). The nearest thing of its type is the laborious Wheel of Time series
by Jordan - see what I mean? And yet this first in the Song of Ice and Fire series
is fathoms above that aimless, droning style. Martin has perfected what Jordan had
arguably introduced; the multiple characters' points of view telling the vast saga
on an intimate, up-close scale. Never did I feel that I was being strung along,
but rather lead by increments toward an incredible revelation somewhere up ahead.
Martin builds the suspense masterfully in each book.But by far the most striking
thing about the Song of Ice and Fire is the "rules" that the author breaks. Martin
is not afraid to tell the tale from the point of view of some very unlikable, even
immoral characters. He is bold about revealing facts from a character's past that
challenge one's impressions and assumptions about their ethics. He does not lay
all his cards on the table up front, but rather unexpectedly reveals details that
later change the whole picture and twist the plot admirably. And his most unusual
move: this author even allows "favorites" to die occasionally (no names here...)!
These risks pay off well to serve the story as a whole, bring a sense of true
humanity to the people of this world and drive the reader on to the next series
installment.It's just too bad that I can't magically transplant my sense of
admiration for AGOT onto this page. Hopefully, you are intrigued enough to give it
a try; it would be a shame to miss what IMHO could be the best series of the
decade.-Andrea, aka Merribelle1111 comments| 742 people found this
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right now. Please try again later.4.0 out of 5 starsA Brutal ReadByJ. Manningon
February 6, 2001Format: Mass Market PaperbackYou have about 500 other reviews to
choose from so I'll try to keep this practical and useful. If you're the sort who
reads "fantasy" novels to escape from the troubles of your everyday life, run
screaming from this book. There is no heroic quest here, and little or no magic.
Instead
we're given a land that would comfortably fit in next to our own world's medieval
history, centered around the schemings of royal families and populated by
characters who on average are capable of cruelties that would only be attempted by
a great villain in any other fantasy novel.And yet it's the people who make this
book such a compelling read. This is an intensely character-driven novel right
down to its very structure, which is broken into chapters dedicated to 8 different
characters, each a flawed protagonist in his/her own way. The book itself weighs
in at over 800 pages, and very little of that is spent on battles or scenery, or
even a resolution to the plot. Instead it's densely packed with the thoughts,
feelings, schemes, and observations of the characters, and you're unlikely to avoid
getting very emotionally entangled to at least one of them. The combination of
this with the brutal setting makes you genuinely cheer whenever a sympathetic
character finally accomplishes something positive, or groan with dread when another
character makes a tragic mistake. And you might be shocked at how willingly you
would murder a character with your bare hands if only you could leap into the
pages. I think it's this sort of emotional response that has so many readers
proclaiming this series a great work of fiction.A few potential negatives: The book
itself has no resolution, it's an installment in a huge epic that will require a
big appetite to finish. Also, there's an unusual level of sexual content, and
almost none of it is what you'd call romantic. I'm not squeamish, but I found it
very oppressive at times. This is, perhaps realistically, a very unkind world
towards women. Finally, most of the main characters are disconcertingly young,
ranging from 7 to 15 years old. I think the idea is for them to age into their
primes over the course of the series (if they live), but given the overall tone of
the book the innocence and brutality can clash uncomfortably.Overall, definitely
read it if you prefer gritty realism and have an appetite for large scale
storytelling. Avoid it if you're sentimental or have enough grim reality in your
life already. This book is not for everyone.33 comments| 146 people
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right now. Please try again later.5.0 out of 5 starsKindle editions: get Voyager,
avoid Bantam!ByTiagoon October 2, 2011Format: Kindle Edition|Verified PurchaseI
won't comment about the story of this great, gripping, 5-star book: I just want to
clarify one thing about the Kindle editions (there are two), since there are many
reviewers recommending to avoid "the Kindle Edition" altogether. I bought both of
them, and what I have to say is that the kindle edition you should avoid is
Bantam's [..], which is shamefully riddled with typos (some of them: "Dome",
"torncat", "s word", "sept on", "arid" instead of "Dorne", "tomcat", "sword",
"septon" and "and"). The Voyager edition, though, is much, much better (not only
with none or few typos, but also with a table of contents and more maps).66
comments| 59 people found this helpful. Was this review
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a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.3.0 out of 5 starsA
worthy, if convoluted read!BySR9on November 28, 2004Format: Mass Market
PaperbackThis first book in a series of fantasy novels along this storyline was a
worthy read. It is difficult for me to effectively convey what I actively liked
about the book without pointing out where I thought it could be vastly improved.
The strengths of this book are in its very compelling, epic-style story, with
believable characters who possess human levels of trial and error wisdom.Here's my
beef: These are great characters. Why in the world does this author throw forty of
them at the reader at once? I know, I know... he has two other books to help flesh
out the ones who aren't killed by the end of the first book. This author can't be
accused of not having main characters... he does, about seven or eight of them, and
I liked his style of giving us a look into them all. My issue was with the
continual need for the author to throw in a couple dozen more, all at once, and
expect the reader to suddenly understand what the impact of their vague existence
is, when they do something plot-connected later on.If you're an ADD-style reader
like me, you won't even remember who's who a few chapters later, when the son of
the cousin of the deposed king's vassal's daughter says fatal words that effect
main characters he's never interacted with. Sound confusing? It certainly can be.
It's grueling to sit through histories of fringe characters that we're supposed to
be concerned about, but that are easily confused with their relatives, or other
fringe characters of a similar name. Some of these characters have nicknames,
too... and the author changes which name he's using for the same person in mid-
paragraph! Arrrgh!So, this book was an enjoyable 'skimaround'. I read deeply about
the characters that were important and interesting, and skipped over the long
details about the political scenes between people who made no real difference. At
the end of the book, which was obviously set up to get you running off for the
next, I was happy to have read the stories of five or six characters, but also not
really sure I was looking forward to having to wade through the same confusion to
follow those characters into the next couple of books.Good stories, neat
perspectives, and an author who isn't afraid to have his characters live, die, and
be very human. I liked it! Did it live up to the hype people passed on about it?
Not completely... but again, this is from someone with a short attention span. I
would certainly recommend it to any fantasy reader, but unless they are the patient
type, I would recommend it as a borrowed or library checked-out book, to give it a
first taste.On a side note: This book can be rather raw in places, which is
certainly in perspective and story appropriate, but some of the language and adult
themes make this tale a more mature one.1010 comments| 156 people found
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right now. Please try again later.4.0 out of 5 starsHard to start, harder to put
down...ByWilliam E. Clark Jr.on September 11, 2006Format: Mass Market PaperbackTwo
friends urged me to read this book and I will admit that I had a very hard time
getting started; the first hundred pages were grueling. But, I attribute that to
a shift in writing style; the style is far removed from what I am used to. That
said, the style places the reader with an individual character for an entire
chapter. The reader is aware of the thoughts and feelings of the character but,
frequently, the time and place is slightly different from chapter to chapter. Time
moves with no notation to the reader other than, maybe, remembrances of the
character that they are with.Once the characters were formed and I had a grasp of
the world, of which detail as with the characters unfolds as the reader gets deeper
and deeper in to the book, I found that I couldn't put the book down.I borrowed the
first book from a friend and now I own A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords and
eagerly await A Feast for Crows.This series is not the high fantasy that I expected
it to be. There is no clear quest outlined from the beginning, no Ring to be
returned no damsel to save, no particular antagonist, no particular protagonist.
Rather, it is a complex web of intrigue, good intentions gone bad, naivete',
ambition and pure determination. All well done and deliciously woven into a series
that will have you rooting for, sometimes, the bad guy who later turns out to be a
good guy and sometimes the good guy who later turns out to be a bad guy.Enjoy!
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a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.5.0 out of 5 starsOne
of the bestByDONOVAN HURTERon December 13, 1999Format: Mass Market PaperbackLooking
for that elusive book that grabs you from start to finish only to leave you begging
for more? Are you tired of the same old fantasy cliches such as elves, dwarves, and
evil wizards? A Game of Thrones is the kind of rich literature that any fan of
character driven fiction should read. Martin's writing is very tight, fluid, and
has a smart, professional quality. The setting sets itself apart from other
fantasy settings by being quite realistic when compared to other fantasy novels.
The world is populated by humans. There are no elves or orcs roaming the
wilderness. There are no would-be adventurers slaying fanciful beasts for glory
and treasure. Instead you have what reads like earth medieval history. You have
Kingdoms, and Lordships; cutthroats and brigands. Characters that you love to hate
and characters that you'd love to meet. Plots, intrigue, deception, and betrayal
that all combine to create one of the most compelling novels I have ever read. Do
yourself a favor and pick this book up. It will most likely jump-start your love
of books. Enjoy.11 comment| 69 people found this helpful.
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a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.3.0 out of 5
starsGreat Read that Leaves You Feeling IckyByErinon September 26, 2007Format: Mass
Market Paperback|Verified PurchaseI feel dishonest only giving this book 3 Stars
because the truth is I could not put it down and there is no doubt in my mind that
I will end up reading this entire series. I enjoyed the complexity of the plots,
the character development, the multiple perspectives, the detailed worlds, the
unconventional blur between good/evil and the unpredictable plot twists. There is
much in this book to enjoy and praise.That said I only gave this book 3 stars
because it left me feeling, well, kind of disturbed. Multiple times, during the
course of reading this book, I told whoever was around that I felt like I was being
emotionally abused by the author. I usually like disturbing/dark stories but
something about this one troubled me. For starters the sex and sexual violence in
this book was a bit much for me. Almost all the sex scenes are about a thirteen
year old child. The sexual acts that happen to Dany in this novel constitute at
least a dozen felonies in any civilized society. Not only could I not discern a
reason the author had to make Dany SO young (especially if he wanted her character
to be highly sexualized) but the aspects of sex he chose to discribe and the manner
in which he discribed them were random, weird and came across as nothing more than
a perverted indulgence. I would read something and simultaneously roll my eyes
while feeling an icky shudder up and down my spine. I have no problems with sex in
books I read, but the manner in which the sex scenes were written in this book are
not reflective of real life and left me feeling grossed out. They felt exploitive I
guess because they were so gratutious and strange.Also, as a women, the constant
rape and violence towards women was hard to read. I realize rape and misogyny are
part of the world, particularly in times of war, but the amount and detail was hard
to stomach. While the male characters (good and bad) generally die or get injured
bravely in battle the women must be systemically humiliated before dying
unceremoniously. Not only is raping them bad enough, they must be gang raped. And
just in case gang rape wasn't degrading enough they have to be gang raped from
behind. This combined with the constant womanizing of the main characters, the
constant put downs related to the worth of women relative to men and after a while
it makes you start to wonder; has Martin created a world filled with systemic
female degradation because he is laying the foundation for an ultimate commentary
on oppression, violence and human dignity? Or has he created a world filled with
female degradation because that is what he likes writing about? I have 6 more books
to read before I can answer that question but I have a suspicion it is the latter
which is where the icky feeling I have towards this book comes from. Hopefully, it
turns out I am wrong.Even though this book left a bad taste in my mouth in some
respects, I will continue to read the series because it is wildly entertaining.
I've already started the second book.1616 comments| 138 people found this
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5.0 out of 5 starsWell plotted and paced; excellent, fresh fantasy taleByMISTER
SJEMon May 9, 2001Format: Mass Market Paperback|Verified PurchaseFirst off, I'm a
heavy duty fan of GRRM. I've read over a 100 different fantasy authors in my time
(started at 12; I'm now 32). Took about 5 years off from the genre b/c I felt it
was all getting too formulaic and cliched. So, when I came back to fantasy at the
end of 1999, I read the usual: Goodkind, Jordan, etc. and then someone told me
about GRRM and man, that was the kicker! Here are the reasons to choose GRRM.
I've also listed the reasons not to choose him to make it fair b/c I know their
are certain personalities who won't like this series: WHY TO READ GRRM (1) YOU
ARE TIRED OF FORMULAIC FANTASY: good lad beats the dark lord against impossible
odds; boy is the epitome of good; he and all his friends never die even though
they go through great dangers . . . the good and noble king; the beautiful
princess who falls in love with the commoner boy even though their stations are
drastically different . . . you get the idea. After reading this over and over,
it gets old. (2) YOU ARE TIRED OF ALL THE HEROES STAYING ALIVE EVEN THOUGH THEY
ARE UNDER CONSTANT DANGER: this gets even worse where the author kills a main hero
off but that person comes back later in the story. Or, a hero does die but magic
brings him back. This sometimes carries to minor characters where even they may
not die, but most fantasy authors like to kill them off to show that some risked
the adventure and perished. (3) YOU ARE A MEDIEVAL HISTORY BUFF: this story was
influenced by the WARS OF THE ROSES and THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR. (4) YOU LOVE
SERIOUS INTRIGUE WITHOUT STUPID OPPONENTS: lots of layering; lots of intrigue;
lots of clever players in the game of thrones. Unlike other fantasy novels, one
side, usually the villain, is stupid or not too bright. (5) YOU ARE INTERESTED IN
BIASED OPINIONS AND DIFFERENT TRUTHS: GRRM has set this up where each chapter has
the title of one character and the whole chapter is through their viewpoint.
Interesting tidbit is that you get their perception of events or truths. But, if
you pay attention, someone else will mention a different angle of truth in the
story that we rarely see in other novels. Lastly and most importantly, GRRM
doesn't try to tell us which person is right in their perception. He purposelly
leaves it vague so that we are kept guessing. (6) LEGENDS: some of the most
interesting characters are those who are long gone or dead. We never get the
entire story but only bits and pieces; something that other fantasy authors could
learn from to heighten suspense. Additionally, b/c the points of views are not
congruent, we sometimes get different opinions. (7) WORDPLAY: if you're big on
metaphors and description, GRRM is your guy. Almost flawless flow. (8) LOTS OF
CONFLICT: all types, too; not just fighting but between characters through threats
and intrigue. (9) MULTILAYERED PLOTTING; SUB PLOTS GALORE: each character has
their own separate storyline; especially as the story continues and everyone gets
scattered. This is one of the reasons why each novel is between 700-900 pages.
(10) SUPERLATIVE VARIED CHARACTERS: not the typical archetypes that we are used to
in most fantasy; some are gritty; few are totally evil or good; GRRM does a great
job of changing our opinions of characters as the series progress. This is
especially true of Jaime in book three. (11) REALISTIC MEDIEVAL DIALOGUE: not to
the point that we can't understand it but well done. (12) HEAPS OF SYMOBLISM AND
PROPHECY: if you're big on that. (13) EXCELLENT MYSTERIES: very hard to figure
out the culprits; GRRM must have read a lot of mystery novels. (14) RICHLY
TEXTURED FEMALE CHARACTERS: best male author on female characters I have read;
realistic on how women think, too. (15) LOW MAGIC WORLD: magic is low key; not
over the top so heroes can't get out of jams with it. REASON TO NOT READ GRRM
(1) YOU LIKE YOUR MAIN CHARACTERS: GRRM does a good job of creating more likeable
characters after a few die. But, if that isn't your style, you shouldn't be
reading it. He kills off several, not just one, so be warned. (2) DO NOT CARE FOR
GRITTY GRAY CHARACTERS: if you like more white and gray characters, this may
unsettle you. I suggest Feist or Goodkind or Dragonlance if you want a more
straight forward story with strong archetypes. (3) MULTIPLE POINTS OF VIEWS TURN
YOU OFF: if you prefer that the POVS only go to a few characters, this might be
confusing for you. (4) SWEARING, SEX: there's a lot of it in this book just as
there is in real life. (5) YOU DEMAND CLOSURE AT THE END OF EVERY BOOK: this
isn't the case for all stories in the series. Some are still going on; some have
been resolved; others have been created and are moving on. (6) IF YOU WANT A
TARGET OR SOMEONE TO BLAME: this can be done to some extent but not as much. This
is b/c he doesn't try to make anyone necessarily good or evil. (7) ARCHETYPES:
some readers like archetypal characters because it's comfortable; we like the good
young hero (sort of like Pug in Feist's THE RIFTWAR SAGA); it's familiar and we
sometimes like to pretend we're this upcoming, great hero. You wont' get much of
this in GRRM with the exception of one or two characters. (8) LENGTH: you don't
want to get into a long fantasy epic series. In that case, look for shorters works
as this is biiig. (9) PATRIARCHY: men are most of the main characters with lots of
power (one female exception). ....295295 comments| 5,355 people found
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right now. Please try again later.2.0 out of 5 starsKindle editing - AARRRGGGHHHH!
Bytriquestralon April 13, 2011Format: Kindle Edition|Verified PurchaseNB: THIS
REVIEW REFERS TO THE KINDLE EDITION ALONE! This is a great book, and I've eaten up
the series and have been on tenterhooks for George RR to get his finger out and
publish A Dance with Dragons for YEARS now. (And the tv series!! Be still my
beating heart!!!) But I have to comment on the extremely bad editing of the Kindle
edition of A Game of Thrones. It is sloppy and unprofessional. When I first got
my kindle, I never experienced this, but now it seems like every book gets worse
and worse. I thought Sacajawea was bad, but A Game of Thrones starts out with poor
editing and gets progressively more appalling as you get further into the book.
People who only read the kindle edition will think that Princess Elia comes from
Dome, since that is how it is (almost) consistently spelled throughout the book.
(It's Dorne). But on the other hand, the `tom cat' is a `torn cat'- go figure.
Little things like that at first, but now, in the last third of the book, the
mistakes are coming on nearly every page. Random parentheses, inappropriately
capitalized words, italics that make no sense, sentences that end abruptly - that
kind of thing. It would be irritating, but something I would just accept in a free
edition of a book (maybe). But for a Kindle book that costs more than the
paperback, I expect more. I also own a hard copy of this book, and none of these
typos are in that edition. I'm not sure how the Kindle editions are made, but I
expect the same kind of professional editing that you get in print books. You
don't get that here, disappointingly.192192 comments| 3,345 people found
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right now. Please try again later.4.0
out of 5 starsExceeded my wildest expectations...and I expect a *lot*.ByJacob G
Corbinon May 25, 2001Format: Mass Market PaperbackI see where a reviewer below
faulted A GAME OF THRONES for being so chock-full of "tragedy, bloodshed, cruelty,
death, rape, incest, drunkeness, murder, (and) infanticide."Heh. Where I come
from, that's a five-star recommendation.Glibness aside, the person has a point. A
GAME OF THRONES is indeed a graphic, viciously unsentimental novel. It features
all the offenses listed above and more besides. It revels in them.Can't you people
see? That's the *point.*The writers of heroic fantasy like to write about huge and
epic struggles between capital-letter Good and Evil. Yet over and over again they
demonstrate only the most puerile understanding of what good and evil actually are.
In their blinkered, constrained little worlds, "evil" consists of sitting in a dank
tower all day sending orcs or demons or what-have-you after the Crampon of Justice
or some similarly-named hogwash artifact. Not even the darkest of their generic
Dark Lords would be caught boffing his own sister or murdering a child (much less
get away with it), and in that fundamentally nonsensical bit of characterization
lies the crux of their problem: by sticking horns and a lightning staff onto a one-
dimensional pulp villain and calling it Ultimate Evil, they cheapen and debase
*real* good and evil.I'm sure most of these writers realize this perfectly well;
the problem is that they're writing to one of the most idiotically attenuated
audiences on the face of the planet, people who really want to read the same book
over and over ad infinitum with just enough variation from the template to create
the illusion of difference. It's a sad state of affairs when we consider that
fantasy, which should rightly be the domain of myth, wonder, and what Warren Ellis
calls "mad, beautiful ideas," is the second most rigidly unimaginative genre out
there (right behind romance, with whom it shares more than a few readers and
tropes).The "Song of Ice and Fire" series is a show-stopping six volume call to
arms against this nonsense. Readers who come to the novels expecting another
eminently predictable generic quest might be lulled to quiescence in the first few
innocuous chapters, but will awake - sooner or later - to the unsettling
realization that they're playing George R.R. Martin's game now. In A GAME OF
THRONES, he systematically slaughters every sacred cow of "heroic fantasy" and, in
so doing, injects a vigor and a zest for life and the written word into the genre
that hasn't been seen since the beautiful insanity of Tolkien. Heroes die and
villains turn out to be not so bad after all. Magic appears only very rarely,
making it infinitely more interesting. The plot steadfastly refuses to go where
you'd expect. And lest you purists think that Martin holds fantasy in contempt,
consider this: unlike practically every other fantasy writer out there, he's gone
to the trouble of writing this novel as if it were the most serious literature: his
characters and their motivations are fully fleshed out (Eddard Stark and Tyrion
Lannister are especially well-done), his prose is exciting and full of witty and
lovely turns of phrase, and his themes are complex and multilayered. In other
words, he's actually assumed that his readership is *intelligent.*After reading
this and China Meiville's PERDIDO STREET STATION, I have renewed hope for the
future of fantasy. Works like these deserve to be read, reread, and passed to
friends; they yank the genre - and its readers - out of bed and lead it blinking
and cursing into the light of genuine literary merit.2323 comments| 886
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right now. Please try again later.5.0 out of 5 starsPossibly the best of Fantasy in
the last 20 yearsByA. Ryanon August 25, 2003Format: Mass Market Paperback|Verified
PurchaseI spent quite a while staring at the blank screen in front of me to come up
with a fitting description of A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin. Should I
compare it to the classic Lord of the Rings for its impressively epic scope? Would
it be best to focus on the honest, often painful humanity of the many characters -
so rare in a fantasy novel - that personalizes each point of view? Perhaps I could
impress other customers here with the sheer brilliance of a plot that weaves so
many seemingly disparate stories together to form a believable alternate universe
in which not only politics, intrigue, war, adventure and romance can coexist
plausibly, but magic as well. How could I do such a work justice?I might as well
get this part out of the way first. Obligatory Synopsis: in a fantasy continent
that bears a familiarity to Middle Ages England, Winter is coming. Winter in this
world means a sort of mini ice age that will last for seven years before receding.
In the always-frosty Northern area, the races of nonhuman beings are gathering to
advance with the snows; there are hints that there is an ancient, evil power behind
their forces. At the same time in the South, political infighting for the Throne
has begun. Overseas, the daughter of the dispossessed former King is maneuvering
forces of her own for a bid for the throne. All this is told through the various
stories of both "good guys" and not-so-good guys.For starters, AGOT can't be
accurately compared to any other book or series in the Fantasy genre (not without
insulting it). The nearest thing of its type is the laborious Wheel of Time series
by Jordan - see what I mean? And yet this first in the Song of Ice and Fire series
is fathoms above that aimless, droning style. Martin has perfected what Jordan had
arguably introduced; the multiple characters' points of view telling the vast saga
on an intimate, up-close scale. Never did I feel that I was being strung along,
but rather lead by increments toward an incredible revelation somewhere up ahead.
Martin builds the suspense masterfully in each book.But by far the most striking
thing about the Song of Ice and Fire is the "rules" that the author breaks. Martin
is not afraid to tell the tale from the point of view of some very unlikable, even
immoral characters. He is bold about revealing facts from a character's past that
challenge one's impressions and assumptions about their ethics. He does not lay
all his cards on the table up front, but rather unexpectedly reveals details that
later change the whole picture and twist the plot admirably. And his most unusual
move: this author even allows "favorites" to die occasionally (no names here...)!
These risks pay off well to serve the story as a whole, bring a sense of true
humanity to the people of this world and drive the reader on to the next series
installment.It's just too bad that I can't magically transplant my sense of
admiration for AGOT onto this page. Hopefully, you are intrigued enough to give it
a try; it would be a shame to miss what IMHO could be the best series of the
decade.-Andrea, aka Merribelle1111 comments| 742 people found this
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right now. Please try again later.4.0 out of 5 starsA Brutal ReadByJ. Manningon
February 6, 2001Format: Mass Market PaperbackYou have about 500 other reviews to
choose from so I'll try to keep this practical and useful. If you're the sort who
reads "fantasy" novels to escape from the troubles of your everyday life, run
screaming from this book. There is no heroic quest here, and little or no magic.
Instead
we're given a land that would comfortably fit in next to our own world's medieval
history, centered around the schemings of royal families and populated by
characters who on average are capable of cruelties that would only be attempted by
a great villain in any other fantasy novel.And yet it's the people who make this
book such a compelling read. This is an intensely character-driven novel right
down to its very structure, which is broken into chapters dedicated to 8 different
characters, each a flawed protagonist in his/her own way. The book itself weighs
in at over 800 pages, and very little of that is spent on battles or scenery, or
even a resolution to the plot. Instead it's densely packed with the thoughts,
feelings, schemes, and observations of the characters, and you're unlikely to avoid
getting very emotionally entangled to at least one of them. The combination of
this with the brutal setting makes you genuinely cheer whenever a sympathetic
character finally accomplishes something positive, or groan with dread when another
character makes a tragic mistake. And you might be shocked at how willingly you
would murder a character with your bare hands if only you could leap into the
pages. I think it's this sort of emotional response that has so many readers
proclaiming this series a great work of fiction.A few potential negatives: The book
itself has no resolution, it's an installment in a huge epic that will require a
big appetite to finish. Also, there's an unusual level of sexual content, and
almost none of it is what you'd call romantic. I'm not squeamish, but I found it
very oppressive at times. This is, perhaps realistically, a very unkind world
towards women. Finally, most of the main characters are disconcertingly young,
ranging from 7 to 15 years old. I think the idea is for them to age into their
primes over the course of the series (if they live), but given the overall tone of
the book the innocence and brutality can clash uncomfortably.Overall, definitely
read it if you prefer gritty realism and have an appetite for large scale
storytelling. Avoid it if you're sentimental or have enough grim reality in your
life already. This book is not for everyone.33 comments| 146 people
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right now. Please try again later.5.0 out of 5 starsKindle editions: get Voyager,
avoid Bantam!ByTiagoon October 2, 2011Format: Kindle Edition|Verified PurchaseI
won't comment about the story of this great, gripping, 5-star book: I just want to
clarify one thing about the Kindle editions (there are two), since there are many
reviewers recommending to avoid "the Kindle Edition" altogether. I bought both of
them, and what I have to say is that the kindle edition you should avoid is
Bantam's [..], which is shamefully riddled with typos (some of them: "Dome",
"torncat", "s word", "sept on", "arid" instead of "Dorne", "tomcat", "sword",
"septon" and "and"). The Voyager edition, though, is much, much better (not only
with none or few typos, but also with a table of contents and more maps).66
comments| 59 people found this helpful. Was this review
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a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.3.0 out of 5 starsA
worthy, if convoluted read!BySR9on November 28, 2004Format: Mass Market
PaperbackThis first book in a series of fantasy novels along this storyline was a
worthy read. It is difficult for me to effectively convey what I actively liked
about the book without pointing out where I thought it could be vastly improved.
The strengths of this book are in its very compelling, epic-style story, with
believable characters who possess human levels of trial and error wisdom.Here's my
beef: These are great characters. Why in the world does this author throw forty of
them at the reader at once? I know, I know... he has two other books to help flesh
out the ones who aren't killed by the end of the first book. This author can't be
accused of not having main characters... he does, about seven or eight of them, and
I liked his style of giving us a look into them all. My issue was with the
continual need for the author to throw in a couple dozen more, all at once, and
expect the reader to suddenly understand what the impact of their vague existence
is, when they do something plot-connected later on.If you're an ADD-style reader
like me, you won't even remember who's who a few chapters later, when the son of
the cousin of the deposed king's vassal's daughter says fatal words that effect
main characters he's never interacted with. Sound confusing? It certainly can be.
It's grueling to sit through histories of fringe characters that we're supposed to
be concerned about, but that are easily confused with their relatives, or other
fringe characters of a similar name. Some of these characters have nicknames,
too... and the author changes which name he's using for the same person in mid-
paragraph! Arrrgh!So, this book was an enjoyable 'skimaround'. I read deeply about
the characters that were important and interesting, and skipped over the long
details about the political scenes between people who made no real difference. At
the end of the book, which was obviously set up to get you running off for the
next, I was happy to have read the stories of five or six characters, but also not
really sure I was looking forward to having to wade through the same confusion to
follow those characters into the next couple of books.Good stories, neat
perspectives, and an author who isn't afraid to have his characters live, die, and
be very human. I liked it! Did it live up to the hype people passed on about it?
Not completely... but again, this is from someone with a short attention span. I
would certainly recommend it to any fantasy reader, but unless they are the patient
type, I would recommend it as a borrowed or library checked-out book, to give it a
first taste.On a side note: This book can be rather raw in places, which is
certainly in perspective and story appropriate, but some of the language and adult
themes make this tale a more mature one.1010 comments| 156 people found
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right now. Please try again later.4.0 out of 5 starsHard to start, harder to put
down...ByWilliam E. Clark Jr.on September 11, 2006Format: Mass Market PaperbackTwo
friends urged me to read this book and I will admit that I had a very hard time
getting started; the first hundred pages were grueling. But, I attribute that to
a shift in writing style; the style is far removed from what I am used to. That
said, the style places the reader with an individual character for an entire
chapter. The reader is aware of the thoughts and feelings of the character but,
frequently, the time and place is slightly different from chapter to chapter. Time
moves with no notation to the reader other than, maybe, remembrances of the
character that they are with.Once the characters were formed and I had a grasp of
the world, of which detail as with the characters unfolds as the reader gets deeper
and deeper in to the book, I found that I couldn't put the book down.I borrowed the
first book from a friend and now I own A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords and
eagerly await A Feast for Crows.This series is not the high fantasy that I expected
it to be. There is no clear quest outlined from the beginning, no Ring to be
returned no damsel to save, no particular antagonist, no particular protagonist.
Rather, it is a complex web of intrigue, good intentions gone bad, naivete',
ambition and pure determination. All well done and deliciously woven into a series
that will have you rooting for, sometimes, the bad guy who later turns out to be a
good guy and sometimes the good guy who later turns out to be a bad guy.Enjoy!
0Comment| 23 people found this helpful. Was this review
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a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.5.0 out of 5 starsOne
of the bestByDONOVAN HURTERon December 13, 1999Format: Mass Market PaperbackLooking
for that elusive book that grabs you from start to finish only to leave you begging
for more? Are you tired of the same old fantasy cliches such as elves, dwarves, and
evil wizards? A Game of Thrones is the kind of rich literature that any fan of
character driven fiction should read. Martin's writing is very tight, fluid, and
has a smart, professional quality. The setting sets itself apart from other
fantasy settings by being quite realistic when compared to other fantasy novels.
The world is populated by humans. There are no elves or orcs roaming the
wilderness. There are no would-be adventurers slaying fanciful beasts for glory
and treasure. Instead you have what reads like earth medieval history. You have
Kingdoms, and Lordships; cutthroats and brigands. Characters that you love to hate
and characters that you'd love to meet. Plots, intrigue, deception, and betrayal
that all combine to create one of the most compelling novels I have ever read. Do
yourself a favor and pick this book up. It will most likely jump-start your love
of books. Enjoy.11 comment| 69 people found this helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?YesNoReport abuseCommentInsert product linkPaste the
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a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.3.0 out of 5
starsGreat Read that Leaves You Feeling IckyByErinon September 26, 2007Format: Mass
Market Paperback|Verified PurchaseI feel dishonest only giving this book 3 Stars
because the truth is I could not put it down and there is no doubt in my mind that
I will end up reading this entire series. I enjoyed the complexity of the plots,
the character development, the multiple perspectives, the detailed worlds, the
unconventional blur between good/evil and the unpredictable plot twists. There is
much in this book to enjoy and praise.That said I only gave this book 3 stars
because it left me feeling, well, kind of disturbed. Multiple times, during the
course of reading this book, I told whoever was around that I felt like I was being
emotionally abused by the author. I usually like disturbing/dark stories but
something about this one troubled me. For starters the sex and sexual violence in
this book was a bit much for me. Almost all the sex scenes are about a thirteen
year old child. The sexual acts that happen to Dany in this novel constitute at
least a dozen felonies in any civilized society. Not only could I not discern a
reason the author had to make Dany SO young (especially if he wanted her character
to be highly sexualized) but the aspects of sex he chose to discribe and the manner
in which he discribed them were random, weird and came across as nothing more than
a perverted indulgence. I would read something and simultaneously roll my eyes
while feeling an icky shudder up and down my spine. I have no problems with sex in
books I read, but the manner in which the sex scenes were written in this book are
not reflective of real life and left me feeling grossed out. They felt exploitive I
guess because they were so gratutious and strange.Also, as a women, the constant
rape and violence towards women was hard to read. I realize rape and misogyny are
part of the world, particularly in times of war, but the amount and detail was hard
to stomach. While the male characters (good and bad) generally die or get injured
bravely in battle the women must be systemically humiliated before dying
unceremoniously. Not only is raping them bad enough, they must be gang raped. And
just in case gang rape wasn't degrading enough they have to be gang raped from
behind. This combined with the constant womanizing of the main characters, the
constant put downs related to the worth of women relative to men and after a while
it makes you start to wonder; has Martin created a world filled with systemic
female degradation because he is laying the foundation for an ultimate commentary
on oppression, violence and human dignity? Or has he created a world filled with
female degradation because that is what he likes writing about? I have 6 more books
to read before I can answer that question but I have a suspicion it is the latter
which is where the icky feeling I have towards this book comes from. Hopefully, it
turns out I am wrong.Even though this book left a bad taste in my mouth in some
respects, I will continue to read the series because it is wildly entertaining.
I've already started the second book.1616 comments| 138 people found this
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