Rating: 
Summary: A bit more magic and it would be perfect!
Review: At last a good book! I was looking for a new great series after Jordan's Wheel of time and now I've found it. I tried Goodkind but wasn't satisfied with it. Now Martin's series is really enjoyable, though I don't put it at the same level as Jordan's.All the postive things you can read in the other reviews are true, but I like too much magic, and this book lacks of it.
In truth, when you get used to the (almost total) absence of magic, you really appreciate tha characters (great), the plot(wonderful), the world (the idea of the Wall and the year-lasting seasons are marvelous and splendidly developed), but just a bit more magic would make it PERFECT. The continuos shift of point of views during the narration is one of the most powerful peculiarities of the book, but it can also become a disadvantage, because the story is too much fragmented. You get involved in one character's adventures and in a few page you have to abandon it for another and another... Anyway, I suggest you to read it, it's worthwhile! I didn't list all the qualities of the book only because all the other reviewers did it in my place!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing, engrossing
Review: This series is dark, beautiful, tragic, and thrilling. It is the best fantasy series I've read since Lord of the Rings. I literally couldn't put it down and now that I've finished "A Sword of Storms" I'm having withdrawal pains. I hope Mr. Martin can finish the next installment ASAP! I want it now! Be warned though, this series is not about happy-endings and justice done; the characters and plots are brutally realistic and often a character you've come to love meets a tragic end or loses a limb or is utterly disgraced. It's also not about flashy magic and stereotypical fantasy schtick. It's a realistic medieval world with a hint of magic and an amazingly rich backstory. A must read.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Anticipated
Review: It seems every new fantasy epic is heralded as the next Tolkein. I have always hated that reference because I find Tolken, although quite good, to be a bit comic bookish. You will get none of that in the Game of Thrones. This book has a more broad appeal than any fantasy novel I have read since Zelazney's Amber Chronicles. The reason is simple. It is not your typical mages in robes, knights battling dragons, and elves, dwarves and goblins series. The book takes a more realistic look at the souls of men, and it isn't always a good view. Good guys don't wear white robes. Every character is rich and complex. Some you hate to love and some you love to hate. I must admit the book had auspicious beginnings. Five family members find five wolf pups in a forest and adopt them. At the time I was thinking, "Great, I am reading Lord of the Flies all over." Boy was I wrong. The story is rich and detailed, but not as confusing as Jordan's "Wheel of Time." (I find it hard to remember who is who after the long layoffs). The plot line is ever changing and you find yourself rooting for your favorite characters (who sometimes may just die on you). All in all, I would say if you are going to invest your time in a fantasy epic, this is definitely one to sink your teeth into. Even those with only a cursory interest in fantasy will enhoy this novel. However, if you are a sword and sorcery only fan, this may not be the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: As Great as Robert Jordan!
Review: I never thought I'd find an author that I liked as well as Robert Jordan, I was wrong. George R R Martin has created some characters to rival Rand, Mat & Perrin. Martin has also taken court intrigue, back-stabbing and plotting to new levels, so don't get too attached to any one character. And to top it all off he's added dragons and the undead! Could it get any better then that? I think not!
Rating:
Summary: Finally, a fantasy series that seems to be going somewhere..
Review: I've read what Jordan has so far put out in the Wheel of Time Series, Goodkind's series, and several others. But this is the first series that seems like it might get to an end. This book is WONDERFUL. After readin thelast 4 Joradn books I was hoping for something todemand my attention as the first 4 or 5 Joradan books did. I wanted to stay up until 3 in the morning just to see what would happen next. After checking out the top 100 sci-fi books listthat is available online, I figured I should check this out.
Turns out, The Song of Ice and Fire series is well worth it. Even your favorite characters could face debilitating injuries or even death. This environment leads to a constant sense of tension. What will happen next? This takes on a whole new meaning when you are used to fantasies where all major characters will always succeed in the end. Another wonderful thing about this series is that you start to wonder who you are really rooting for. You find characters to love on all sides of the conflict for whatever reason. Yes, the story starts with the Stark family, yet Martin helps you understand the motives of the Stark's enemies and as the series progresses you begin to wonder just where your allegiances lie. As the perspectives change between characters, you begin to want almost everyone to succeed.
This will be a fantasy mainstay for years and years. The strength of the story-telling and the perfect amount of subpolts will make this a fantasy classic. Read it, and you will fast become a lover of Martin's world. In the end, this is one of the only series I have read (other than the Lord of the Rings and I am sill debating other series) that actually improves with each book. It's the stuff of fantasy.
Rating: 
Summary: Lavish world, complex characters...too bad it's boring
Review: I love epic fantasy. After reading the intro chapter online, i was all excited about finding a new author. Martin's writing skills looked promising: the slaughter of the night watch by those weird undead things was very evocative, chilling. not many writers can bring you 'into the moment' like that.
Where did that skill go? I have not been 'in the moment' since that intro. After diligently pushing through the first half of 'Game of Thrones,' I'm giving up. I have tried very hard to like this book, but despite the richness of the world he has created, i just can't seem to care about the characters or what they are doing. I don't think any of them are three-dimensional at all. you could sum each one up with a single phrase. In short, they are entirely predictable.
Some of the reviewers have given Martin 'kudos' for creating characters that are more 'real' than your usual all-powerful hero, struggling with his prophecied destiny. OK, maybe he deserves credit for trying to make them more realistic, but he has not made them 'real.' They don't get under my skin at all. I can't imagine crying for the tradgedies they experience; I'm just not convinced.
I kept thinking the story would get interesting, that the characters would grow, but from the reviews for the next book, looks like it's just 'same stuff, later on.'
Rating:
Summary: Loved every page!
Review: First, I'll say that I don't usually read door-stopper series, simply because I can't find the time, and because I figure that most stories should be told in 1000 pages or less. That said, I took GoT on a cruise last week on the recommendation of a friend, knowing that I'd have lots of time to read. I was not disappointed. There are several things about the book that made it so great (for me). First, the book is dark (or maybe grim is a better word). The story's setting is a place where human life is cheap, and respect is gained from fear. The author doesn't pull punches when describing such terrifying events as executions, murders or rapes. I guess maybe it helped me hate the bad guys all the more having knowledge of the level of evil they were capable of. Second, I've not read any other book with political intrique that's been nearly as engrossing as this book. All the way through the book I found myself wondering who I should trust, and when the protagonist finds himself caught in a royal game of kings that he had almost no chance of winning (as the queen said, "In the game of thrones, you either win or you die".) Third, the book never lost pace. I've read epic stories before that were simply small stories with lots of extra bits wrapped around it. GoT told a story on every page, and surprised me in every chapter. I'll need to take another cruise soon so that I can read the next book in the series!
Rating:
Summary: WOW!.. Words just aren't enough....
Review: I cannot say enough great things about A Game of Thrones. I was mesmerized and intrigued from the very beginning. The chapters bounce back and forth between the main characters, constantly leaving you in suspense, never giving you a dull moment. This novel is much more realistic that most fantasy novels, where even the good guys get killed, and I found myself alternating in between laughter and tears throughout the entire story. That is how I like my books - so real that I feel like I am there. This book gave me all that and more. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful beginning
Review: One wag reviewer points out that reading Martin is
not a good idea of you like your main characters to
live through the novel. While things aren't quite that
drastic, this is certainly a work that throws as many
monkeywrenches into the works as possible. And the
scariest part is that this is book one (of six-- and
the two that have come out since are both more than
three hundred pages longer than this one. This is all
setup, folks). Many compare this to Tolkein in its scope and subject
matter. I think it's a lot closer to what Elizabeth
Moon did in her The Deed of Paksenarrion series--
Martin shies away, for the most part, from the magical
aspect of fantasy and concentrates more on medieval
political intrigue and warmaking. Not to say this
isn't a fantasy novel, but it should certainly appeal
to readers of political-intrigue books (I've compared
it more than one to Jeffrey Archer's Kane and Abel and
The Prodigal Daughter) and historical nonfiction.
Perhaps Martin will achieve the popularity and status
that Moon so richly deserved and never got. The plot of A Game of Thrones focuses mostly on two
families, the Starks and the Lannisters (erm, York?
Lancaster?). The present King of the realm of Westron,
Robert Baratheon (wed to a Lannister), gets the two
families back at each other's throats when he asks the
head of House Stark, Ned, to be his right-hand man.
Robert and a few other well-meaning folk attempt to
bring peace between the two houses, but it wouldn't be
a six-book series if they succeeded, right? Murphy's
Law operates in spades here. Add in the beginnings of
another storyline about the last vestiges of the
bloodline of the Targaryens, who were forced out of
the country when one of the Lannisters killed King
Aemon, and you've got the makings for six thousand
pages of medieval intrigue that are sure to grab hold
and not let go. Which might not be the best thing in
the world to do if you have impatient readers, as
Martin is releasing books in the series at a rate of
approximately one every two years. My advice: read
slowly. You've got a while before the next book in the
series comes out. 4 1/2 stars
Rating:
Summary: Great if you like long thoughtful stories
Review: I really like this book. The story is very involved (that is good) and well thought out. The multitude of characters have great interaction. I usually do not buy any book of less than 700 pages and with at least 2 sequels. I have not been disappointed with this book. I am currently reading the sequel.
| 
