Rating: 
Summary: A great book, but there are some things you should know.
Review: Each chapter of this book alternates the point of view it is told in from a group of about seven characters. At the begining of it all the characters but one are in the same location and the plot is developed and the characters are introduced in that way. The first two hundred pages are slow and boring and this book dosn't speed up much until the end. It also feels a bit disjointed.I know I have made this book sound bad, but it is really just the begining to an awsome bunch of plots and character. And I haven't talked about the things that I liked about this book. Many of the people are heart warming. And they have difficult relationships with one another. They show what it is like in real life for people trying to work out their problems. The stories in this book are good also, but I can't think of how to describe them so I won't. There are two really important things in this book that I didn't like. The first is that the religions in this book have strong spiritual forces in them that in the books that follow you will become very intimate with. I found that the spitual forces were freakish and evil. The second thing I found extreamly oppjectionable is the sex in this book. It is very visual and grotesk. In the first few chapters you will think I am wrong but it increases substancially after awhile.
Rating:
Summary: This is how it's supposed to be
Review: I almost don't want to admit to myself how darn good this book was. So many times an epic fantasy comes down the pipeline and the first book drops heavily into your lap, laden with promise and you devour it and move eagerly to the next book . . . and the writer can't sustain it. I don't want that to happen here. Martin's book is the best thing to hit epic fantasy since that little guy tried to ditch that ring someone gave him. Martin strips away all the things that have bloated the fantasy genre over the years, useless window dressing races, simplistic good vs evil conflicts blown up to ridiculous proportions, and even (yes!) magic and brings it back to the two most important elements: epic and characters. Martin's land is more akin to a medieval society and is as complex as anything we've got on this here planet, even if there are only humans on it. But what humans. The cast of characters is sprawling, not unlike such books as War and Peace, and Martin makes every single one an actual three dimensional person, kings and commoners, men and women, children and elderly, all complete with shades of good and bad. Nobody is utterly flawed but neither are they pure and good. In fact they're just like real people, and their words and actions resonate. Martin keeps the complicated plot moving by dividing the book into relatively short chapters, all from the POV of a different character. Not only does the jumping back and forth create a sort of suspense, but it gives the reader a variety of views on the same event sometimes, lending the book an extra layer of complexity. Without giving too much away the plot involves basically everyone trying to kill everyone else without making it look like they're trying to kill everyone. But this intrigue is enormously exciting and Martin keeps the twists coming nonstop. He's not afraid to mess with any of these characters and he does. This isn't a book for the faint of hard, events start out bad and go steadily downhill from there. Every good turn is balanced but an equally bad turn and by the end the score doesn't seem so balanced anymore. Characters you think will last to the end of the series are killed, brutally and with the sort of finality that you know he's not playing games. You get the sense that nobody is safe and that's a good thing. It's a gritty world, where all actions have consequences, and while it's not all darkness and gloom (there's a lot of black humor but a lot of honestly funny stuff too) there aren't many chapters where people are picking flowers either. The best praise I can give is that Martin's world feels real, with its own dense history sprinkled throughout, and this weight gives the book its main strength. I may not want to live here, but I sure as heck can accept its existence. I don't want to say that this book is flawless, but it just about is, every risk works, every twist makes sense, Martin's lean yet muscular prose, unexpectedly leaping into pure poetry at some moments, is the perfect drive for this constantly moving story. It's hard to make people believe that a gigantic tale built around manipulations could be a page turner but it is, most definitely. After suffering through so many longwinded pretenders, finally a book that feels like epic fantasy, the way it's supposed to be. It shouldn't be this good. Except it is. It can't stay this good. I have a feeling it will. On to the next book!
Rating:
Summary: An instant classic
Review: The series has got to be one of the best ever. Beware, it's not for the faint of heart since some parts can be very gruesome. But don't let a little blood discourage you from reading this fine work. The only negative about the series is that you have to wait so long between books.
Rating:
Summary: A must read!
Review: I won't wax on and on about what a great read this and how well Martin writes. Others have done so far more eloquently than I ever could. I will say this is a definite must read for anyone who loves a well developed plot with realistic characters. When I finished it, I had to go out and buy the next book that day. What a pleasure to read. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Finally some realism! 5 stars!
Review: If you want to read a book that gets you dangerously close to what it was really like in those days then this is it. If you are squemish and want to read a Bible story then you should stay away from this book. It's FANTASTIC. Robert Jordan wishes he could write this good. He probably has a lot of sleepless nights knowing that the true king of the genre has not completely taken his overly long lived stay on the throne. If you like Robert Jordan then you will LOVE R.R. Martin. He is the dominant writer of the genre and will likely be so for many years to come. You have to give him credit for writing from the gut and telling us the story that needs to be told and not the story every politically correct nay sayer wants to be told. You don't have to like Martin's work, but you do have to love it!
Rating:
Summary: A fantasy lover's fantasy novel!
Review: This book is incredible, it will sink it's teeth into you and won't let go. The characters are so well written and memorable that despite the HUGE number of characters large and small you will remember each and every one like an old friend. Martin also includes a in depth appendix in case you forget. =) I read fantasy for the character interactions and politics, my husband reads fantasy for the action and adventure. This is one novel we could both agree was EXCELLENT! Highly recommended to all adult fantasy fans.
Rating:
Summary: Setting The High Standard
Review: A Game Of Thrones is a masterpiece. Martin weaves politics, intrigue, betrayal, legend, magic and mysticism in the most adult fantasy of the numerous "doorstoppers" that have been written in the last decade (Wheel of Time, Sword of Truth, Shannara legacy, The Pearl). Martin's techniques and themes stand out. Most notable is the shifting perspectives -- each chapter is told through the view of one main viewpoint character and shows how he or she perceives the events s/he is involved in; and Martin uses interesting viewpoint characters including children and anti-heroes. Also notable is that this is a more realistic -- A Game of Thrones (and this is more true for its sequels) can be decidedly raw in descriptions of intimate situations, coarse in its language, and bloody in its battle scenes, and all of it is gripping drama. Martin also is realistic in how he treats his characters, their motivations, their emotions (especially their petty jealousies) and their rationales. Martin is unflinchingly unsentimental, so getting attached to too many characters is ill-advised. Moreover, the settings, social interactions, and the different societies are all rendered with tremendous detail. The rewards in this series are numerous -- intricate plotting, exquisite narration, realistic characters, and descriptions that make his world palpable. The main drawback is time: Martin writes relatively slowly and a two-year wait between volumes is now routine (volume 3 was released in the UK in September 2000 and in the US in November 2000; volume 4 will be released in April 2003), therefore the series will not be finished until at least 2007 if the 6-book framework remains in place (originally he wanted this to be a trilogy). Therefore, know what you're getting into and know that once you dive in, you'll enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: A great start but curious how it will end
Review: A friend recommended this book to me when I bemoaned the shortage of good fantasy books. Outside of TLOTR, the first few Jordan books and Tad William's trilogy, there aren't that many fantasy novels for adults out there. This book hit the spot. GoF hooked me right at the start and I read it religiously until I finished. The characters were original and had depth and there is a large cast in a fairly original world. Although there are hints of magic, ie dark mysterious forces brewing, there is very little of it in this first book. The story is largely about everyday human principles and behaviors and the struggle for power in a medieval society. The story line has a lot of depth and was quite engrossing and believable. The only criticism I have takes place late in the book. The author presents a character, Tyrion, as a very likeable fellow who is somehow different (and hence likeable) from those around him. However at one point, Tyrion leads men into battle to kill the "heroes" in the book. I found his actions hard to sympathize with and they seemed to conflict with his character development up to that point. But this is a small quibble with a fine novel. All in all this book was a fantastic start but when I found out the story is not a trilogy, I finished it with some trepidations. This novel is not as tight as Tad Williams' trilogy and with 2 or 3 books as yet unwritten, I greatly fear that George Martin will follow in Robert Jordan's footsteps and ruin a good thing by turning it into a never-ending cash-cow, I mean, story. The ending is just as important as the beginning for all good stories. Time will tell how this one turns out....
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed!
Review: There are several reasons I read fantasy books, including the general leaning toward light that most exhibit, and therefore the fostering of insights they provide. Another is because there seems to have been an unwritten rule among all of the fantasy writers I have read to date, that no graphic sex, vulgar words, or "super" graphic violence will be used in their story telling. I had not read any of Mr. Martin's books, but bought the entire trilogy with these assumptions in mind. But now we apparently have "mature," "adult" fantasy! Within the first 60 pages of "A Game of Thrones," there is, among other things, the use of the "F" word several times, a graphic description of a decapitation with a 7 year old boy being brought to the event (he is later shoved out the window of an upper story castle room to become horribly crippled because he witnessed a graphically described incestual encounter between two adults), constant talk of whores and infidelity, graphic descriptions of several incestual relationships, and the graphic description of the "wedding" night of a man and his 13 year old bride! I went no further. This experience has not only caused me to write George Martin off my list of authors to read, but has stopped my romp through fantasy books in general. I am very disappointed!
Rating: 
Summary: I could barely finish it without falling asleep
Review: Why only two stars? While the characterizations are good, there are too many sub-plots and too many characters. Some of the plots and characters are interesting, but not enough time is spent on them to make the reader care. The story skips from one to another and often leaves you wondering. There is so very little action, I was often tempted to skip ahead to see if anything more exciting was going to happen or if I should just give up. I can't even fathom why anyone would compare this work to Tolkein. It has none of the interesting world development, none of the excitement, and very few characters that the reader can actually like. While the writing can be quite good at times, it tends to get bogged down by insignificant details (probably why the book is so unnecessarily long...). I mean, does it really have any impact on the story to describe every single Lord in the land and what their house sigil looks like? Many of the characters are cliched and unimportant, as well. How many time can you read about the spoiled rotten Prince, or the Lord who values honor more than anything? These characters are DULL!!! Sorry to all of you that gave it five stars! I have no idea what you saw in this book....
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