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

Rating:
Summary: Not the same old Fantasy Story
Review: If you are worn out with the typical fantasy story, but find yourself going back to the genre because you like the whole good vs evil thing, this book will be a pleasant suprise for you!. If however you are easily offended, some of the laguage and sexual content may put you off. Let me reiterate, this is not a book for your kids. This is a book that keeps you guessing, people die, good guys, bad guys and pets. This is just the begginning of a very long and uncompleted story, but a very rewarding read.If you want something different,that still has swords, horses, politics, love, hate and hope, try this one on for size!

Rating:
Summary: For Mature Audiences
Review: The "Fire and Ice" books by George R. R. Martin are written from an adult's perspective; if this were a movie, I would give it an R rating for sex and violence.

The plotting is cleverly done and involving. The geography and societal divisions are fictional, and yet are grounded in similar geographical locations and historical forms of Britain, Europe, and Asia. More importantly, the characters are finely crafted, well-rounded, and complete -- no two-dimensional, black and white definitions here.

While despising the evil actions taken, the character definition allows you to understand motivations and to some extent identify with even the worst individuals. At the same time, even the heroes have flaws, flaws which are intrinsic to the high standards they try to follow.

There are no "Disney deaths" in this series. Also, there is no guarantee that good or admirable characters will win; they are in real danger, from real evil, and it becomes apparent that there is some bad in even the best of us.