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

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Summary: No one plays the game of thrones better than Martin
Review: A fantasy historical on the verge of perfection. Guy Gavriel Kay has done Italy, Spain, and France; now George RR Martin does England. A Game of Thrones starts out fast and never lets go of you, like one of the direwolf pups the young sons of Eddard Stark are permitted to keep. You'll gasp aloud as Martin takes you down corridors you didn't expect to enter. The characters are real, the fantasy is subtle, and the game of thrones rules lives. Including yours

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Summary: Fantasy for the non-fantasy reader
Review: My husband, an avid fantasy reader, has tried for years to get me interested in the genre. One evening when I was desperate for something to read, he handed me this book and begged me to give it a chance. I was hooked from page one! The writing is exceptional, and the characters--especially the women--are well developed. What strikes me most about Martin's work is that it is brutally honest and the characters act and think like real people...they don't seem at all like the stereotypical "heroes" I've encountered in other books. One word of caution to those who don't read a lot of fantasy, be sure to give yourself a few chapters to get into this book. Until I figured out how this world worked I found myself confused a lot, and I kept having to ask my husband to clarify certain points. Once I "got it" though, I had no trouble reading. This book (and entire series) is so amazing it transcends genre and can appeal to any reader.

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Summary: Wasn't a fantasy fan...before this series
Review: This book came to me recommended by a friend. Not being a fantasy fanatic, I hesitated when I read the first 20 or so pages and wasn't sure I was ready to plunge into an 800+ page book of magical characters.

Thanks to Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, I now count myself among millions of fantasy fiction fans. A Game of Thrones weaves a subtle plot with characters that the reader gets to know intimately (and are worth knowing). The characters live and breathe -- are real people. This book was good enough to entice me to read his whole series. And that says a lot considering that I had never read a book over 500 pages before this series.

Martin's books are lengthy, but not moreso than needed. Even if you're not a fantasy fan, even if a 1,000 page book scared you off in the past, you might want to give this one a try. Quite worth the investment. The pages pass quickly as you sit back and take in Martin's carefully crafted world.

Martin broadened my horizon's to include fantasy fiction thanks to his terrific writing!

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Summary: The best fantasy book ever written
Review: I read this book nearly nine years ago and I still marvel over this excellent tale. I've recently picked it up again when I recommended the book to a friend. The writting is timeless and the story out of this world. Buy this series...you won't be sorry.

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Summary: New, refreshing and highly innovative, but still...
Review: Before you read this review, a warning. I've read all the published books from the Song of Ice and Fire series in short spans of time, so the review might not refer strictly to the first book, although I'll try to keep it there.

First of all, this is not classic fantasy. This is not heroic fantasy at all, this is not dark fantasy, altough that term comes closer. Actually, a good question would be whether it is fantasy at all. I'd say Martin makes a pretty instrumental use of the fantasy genre - he's not telling a fantasy tale, he's using fantasy to tell a tale. What kind of tale, you might ask?

Well, that's where the problem comes in. Instead of telling one single tale, Martin uses a trick used sometimes in the movie industry and shows us pieces of the bigger cake from multiple characters' perspective. This form of narration causes the plot to become less important, with the perceptions on the world becoming the more important part of the book.

That's where the key strength of this book (and of the series) lies within - Martin's ability to capture various mechanisms of politics and intrigue viewed by different people, with different amounts of life experience (Martin often uses children's views to better show the unraveling of the intricate machinations of politics and court life), different moralities (many characters in the book whose points of view we're given cannot be actually described as being "good" in the usual sense of the word) and different goals (the world is shown both from the perspective of high-ranked lords as well as their subjects). He does a really impressive job with it, managing to achieve a great degree of reality, which, taking into account the diversity I just mentioned, is indeed a wondrous task. His characters look very lifelike, not the cardboard fantasy heroes of traditional heroic fantasy, but people like the ones we meet in our everyday life, just thrown into the fantasy mix.

The layers of intrigue and the plot complication would make Robert Jordan envious. It is quite an intellectual challenge to follow all the twists and turns of the plot and capture the connection between some apparently unconnected places and events. However, this is also the reason I give the book 4 stars instead of 5. Regardless of how much I appreciate Martin's literate talents, I really like to feel that the action is leading me somewhere. I sometimes don't feel that way when reading A Game of Thrones. The reference to Robert Jordan is not without reason. I am really afraid that Martin will become so entangled in the intricacies of the plot he won't be able to untangle it properly. It takes an even increasing amount of skill to handle this much parallel plotlines properly, and an author's abilities go only so far, as Robert Jordan's readers have probably started to find out.

Well, that's it for an evaluation of Martin's style. What about the book content itself? An important note - Martin's writing is what I'd consider "adult fantasy". Sex and violence is omnipresent and sometimes intertwined, so this is certainly no book for a reader less than 16 or even 18 years old. It was a very enjoyable read for me, but if you expect fast "RPG style" character progression, a favorite character to easily identify yourself with and a smooth read with no intellectual involvement, then this book is probably not meant for you. On the other hand, if you like fantasy but you've gotten bored of cliched, "hero kills the dragon and rescues the maiden" stories, this one is certainly a must-read. The choice is yours.

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Summary: Dark, Riveting, R-rated Fantasy: Absolutely Brilliant
Review: I was almost in tears after being so cruelly betrayed by the rapid degradation of Wheel of Time, but then I was saved by this insanely ingenius masterpiece. But I must say, if you are not into blood, graphic violence, sex, incest, etc., then this book might be a bit over the top for you, but otherwise it is fabulous.

The story rotates around the viewpoints of several main characters, leeting you get into their heads and really seeing them develop. It is hard to describe exactly what the book is about because it is so beautifully twisted and unpredictitable. The characters are not the typical fantasy sterotypes but real people that you will love and love to hate. What makes this book so appealing is the fact that that the characters are for the most part gray, some lighter and some darker, and are driven by their own motives, not for the sake of good and evil. Game of Thrones puts all other fantasy to shame and kicks the ass of Wheel of Time. Hard.

Author George RR Martin has revived the genre of fantasy and created vastly higher standards for future releases. He writes boldly without convention hovering over him. His style and story is fearless and dark, raw and riveting, so wickedly intriguing. I have seen nothing like it before. An instant classic.

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Summary: Epic Kick-Off to Titanic Fanta-Historical Series!
Review: Ye gods.

That's just about all one can say upon completion of "A Game of Thrones," the first book in George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. Amazed, aghast, and astounded, I am bereft, wondrously spent.

Where to begin? "A Game of Thrones" may be read as a fantastic parallel to the historical English civil war between the Houses of York and Lancaster, but the novel truly stands on its own.

Martin plops the reader down into a world recovering from a titanic civil war. Robert the Usurper is now King Robert, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms that comprise a land that bears a strong resemblance of England. But this is a land of warlords, where knights wear fantastic, regal armor and clash at the drop of a hat. The land itself is martial, what with geographic names such as "the Trident," "the Bite," and "the Bloody Gate." And Robert is ill-suited to govern his unruly warlords (after all, these are the men who fought a civil war -- a strong hand is needed to keep these guys in line), and is more suited to the hunt than the throne.

The Starks and the Lannisters are two of the leading noble families in the realm, and like the two bullies on the block, sooner or later they are going to have to fight. The Starks, who rule the Northlands, epitomize all the traits of nobility and loyalty (including, to their sorrow, a bit of naivete), while the Lannisters bring a realpolitik ruthlessness to their worldview.

Simultaneously, the "dragonspawn" heirs of the recently toppled king have fled across the sea to the land of the Dothraki, where the brother hopes to raise an army by wedding his sister to a Ghengis Khan clone. While occupying far fewer pages in this massive novel than the Stark-Lannister intrigues, this subplot is no less riveting.

And perhaps most ominously of all, "winter is coming." In the Seven Kingdoms, summers and winters can last for years, and a long winter is on the horizon. And along with this winter are harbingers of the Others, who are fearsome undead creatures who live in the northern wastelands beyond the Wall -- sort of the Great Wall of England, made almost entirely out of ice.

The great fantasy series plop the reader down into a fully realized world with its own history and mythology. George R.R. Martin has created the most vividly realized alternate world since Tolkien created Middle Earth, and his novel soars because of it.

You'll find it all here. Romance, warfare, humor, grief, intrigue, deceit, murder, salvation, love, and betrayal . . . all set between the book-ends of an ominous prologue and a wondrous final chapter that will have you eagerly diving into Book 2, "A Clash of Kings."

As a character in the tale says, "in the game of thrones, you win or you die." Martin has indeed created a world and characters worth fighting and dying for. This is one hell of a read!

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Summary: The best fantasy book I've read!
Review: Wow! My husband recommended this book and he said it was amazing, so of course, I figured he was exaggerating. As it turns out, he was right! The character development goes above and beyond. I actually found myself feeling real emotions for each of the characters. I love the way Martin focuses on one character per chapter, allowing you to really get to know the person and feel connected. I also think its great that he isn't afraid to present this story as reality, and to make the actions seem realistic (in other words, the good guy doesn't always win, though you root for him!). Overall, an awesome reading experience that I would strongly recommend.

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Summary: The novel that ruined fantasy for me
Review: I consider myself a fantasy fan. I like fantasy. So I picked up this book and read it. Since then my life has never been the same. How can I read the average slop that is fantasy when I have now tasted what true brilliance is? How can I suffer through anymore "wizard and young person who is more than he/she seems" when I have experienced a plot that defies description? Reading fantasy novels, which was once my passion, has now just become what I do in between the release dates of the Fire and Ice series. If you are happy with the standard twenty volume series, then stay away. Ignorance is bliss. This novel truly redefines the entire genre in a way NO writer has.

First, as I stated before, each character is well defined. Even the ones you think are not, will be later. Second, the plot is BRILLIANT. It is literally impossible to say what this book is about because it is about so many things. However, despite its complexitey, it really is very accessible. Within two chapters you are hooked. Third, the writing is superb. There is nothing about this book that is negative.

The only caveat I would have is that with an opening this good, things cannot possible get better. Luckily, I have read the next two volumes, and let me say, things can get better.

If you have not read this book, then please do so right now. The accolades are deserved. The love is earned. This is a bestseller that should be because it is writing at its best.

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Summary: Fantasy literature evolves....
Review: Honestly, I think I've identified those readers that may not like this series. If you're exclusively into adventure fantasy or those stories where heavy emphasis is set on the bad guy getting his while the good guy prevails, then you might not like A Song of Ice and Fire. If you're a fantasy action buff, and must read about characters getting their asses handed to them or killed in virtually every chapter, then this series might not be for you.

There's fighting in these books. There's conflict and war. But all of it is precipitated by clever, underhanded, and somewhat complicated family and courtroom politics. In a Song of Ice and Fire - and unlike some other fantasy novels - war isn't provoked by a mad man's irrational desire for global conquest and potential heroes aren't molded as a result of this.

There are no great, flashy heroes or fantastic villains. What you have are gray pieces set on one big game board; pieces that move in subtle fashion according to the whims of their masters and conspirators. These moves are planned surreptitiously, leaving the reader wondering what will happen next. That's one of the reasons why some people may find the books to be boring --- because the schemes orchestrated by the characters in the book intentionally leave their reader's, as well as the other characters in the story, in the dark until it's almost too late. If you want to read a book where you know everything that's going to happen next, where you can pat yourself on the back for being able to understand/realize examples of cunning that any 12-year-old can decipher beforehand, then skip this series.

If you want to appreciate true levels of canniness, subtlety, and wit that would make any drow of Menzoberranzan blush, then pick these books up.