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Summary: IF YOU LIKE ROBERT JORDAN, READ THIS
Review: GEORGE R R MARTIN IS THE BEST FANTASY AUTHOR IN PRINT SINCE ROBERT JORDAN HIT THE SCENE, AND IN MY OPINION BETTER. THE DEPTH OF THE CHARACTERS HE HAS CREATED IS AMAZING. THERE IS CONSTANTLY ACTION, OR SUSPENCE LEADING UP TO. IF YOU THINK THESE BOOKS ARE GETTING SLOW... BE CAREFUL . SOMETHING BIG IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN.
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Summary: TV vs wrighting
Review: Disapointed again.I am not a great fan of the fantasy genre but I very much enjoyed reading Tolkien,LeGuin & c.s.lewis.Obviously this Author is being paid by the word & has spent too much time writing fo TV; the characters are as flat as a sceen & the plot could use a commercial every !0 pages or so.A pity the basic ideas did not occur to a more creative writer.
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Summary: Real, Vivid, Human
Review: This was my first George R R Martin book and I was seriously impressed. I think what really grabbed me about this book, and this series, is how more mature it is than the rest of the fantasy books I've read in my 15 years of experience. Most fantasies seem geared toward the 15 to 25 audience. Not that the younger readers will not enjoy Martin, but I think this book will appeal more to the older fantasy readers. Ever finish a book and feel dissatisfied because everything worked out just perfectly in the end? Not here. Martin has given us a fantasy novel where magic is rare, things don't always work out perfectly, and heroes are refreshingly human. You may think that not having a hero who has some supernatural abilities would be boring, but instead it gives you people with whom you can identify and accenuates the heroic action even more. Don't get me wrong, there is magic and monsters, but not to an overbearing degree. Instead the problems are human, as are the solutions. Martin's characters are superbly developed and he expertly shifts point of view between them. Some people have disapproved of Martin's use of graphic and crude language as well as his addition of sexual situations, but I found it only gave detail and credibility to the humanity of his characters. Uncomfortable sexual situations may not belong in books with your archtypical goldenboys, but not many of those exist in this book. The story is solid and tighly wrapped and Martin is an awesome writer. If you feel like you are outgrowing the fantasy genre, then this is a must read.
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Summary: A book to pass on to your friends
Review: This book was passed on to me, and I have passed it on to 4 other people when I had finished it. This is the best fantasy novel I have read in a very long time. The reason it is so good is the vividness of the characters. It is a little slow to develop for the first one or two chapters, but then it sucks you in like a whirlwind, wrings the deepest emotional responses from you and leaves you craving more...remind you of the Lord of the Rings. In this respect, it is very much like LOTR, although the story line and the landscape are completely different. The book my sister gave me is just about done, it has been read so many times by so many people. That is why I'm buying another one; so it can be passed to even more fantasy fans. Read it! You'll be glad you did. Well done George R.R. Martin! Please keep the books coming, but don't grind them out because your fans are so anxious for more. They need to be just as good as the first three.
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Summary: About time I stumbled across a decent new fantasy series...
Review: I was beginning to think that I'd read everything good out there, but a friend recommended this series and I'm glad I heeded his advice. Every few years I start feeling this way, and without fail a series comes along which restores my faith in fantasy novels, so that I can spend the next few years wearing that faith back down with horrific ...A number of people have made comparisons to Tolkien in reviews. Although I like both authors very much, I have to say that there is little in common between their writing. Tolkien wrote epic fantasy, while this book is more like a fictional history set in a fictional world. Magic is very rare and barely plays a role in the book (though it does appear in a few critical instances). Rather than following the paths of a small group of characters, this is a book of politics, with many players, many factions, many locations, and many, many motivations for the many characters. With little modification, 90% of the material could be dropped straight into medeival and renaissance history books and fit right in (some might say it was taken from there in the first place, given the notable similarities to the Wars of the Roses. The other difference, while I do not mean to overstate it, is the Martin is a significantly less skillful writer than Tolkien when it comes to crafting sentences and paragraphs. He mostly makes up for this by writing a complex yet understandable plot which is largely well-developed and well-paced. And some senses this may well make him BETTER than Tolkien, whose writing was rarely as accessible to the average reader and while set in an astoundingly complex and rich world, has trouble at times with pacing and with a number of relatively flat characters. If I had a gripe about this book it would be that too little is resolved and too little is revealed by the end of it, leaving one with a feeling that perhaps a little too much time was spent accomplishing too little plot-wise. But I enjoyed reading it that whole time, so it's hard to complain too much.
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Summary: Fire....
Review: This book was a page turner. But it wasn't until the very last chapter that I fell hard in love with it. Then...my God...oh, my God...
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Summary: One of the best ever!
Review: I've read a few reviews comparing this series to Jordan, Goodkind and Brooks. To be quite honest, there really is no comparison. I've read and enjoyed books from all these authors, but quite frankly GRR Martin is in a class of his own. Martin has really raised the bar as to what an epic fantasy series should be.
One point, don't let the size of the books lead you into believing that this is just another doorstopper series. As you come to the end of one of these books you'll be wishing it was longer! Really!
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Summary: It's a must read!
Review: George LL Martin sees the story through a variety of characters without duplicating the same events. I was extremely impressed with this novel and also book 2 of the series, Clash of Kings. I found myself unable to put the book down because of the suspense brought to the book by the use of the different characters. It's a must read.
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Summary: Richly detailed story -- the next Lord of the Rings
Review: I picked this book up without any knowledge of George R. R. Martin or this series whatsoever. The Lord of the Rings movie got me re-interested in reading fantasy books and I read the LOTR trilogy and The Silmarillion and anything else Tolkien-related I could find. After re-reading the LOTR for the second time in 3 months, I realized I needed to find something else to read. I picked this book up in a bookstore on the recommendation of the clerk there "if you like LOTR, you'll like this." I picked it up a month ago and Clash of Kings and Storm of Swords were out as well, but I figured I'd pick up the first volume just to see how I liked the series. I've since read ALL THREE books and am waiting with anticipation for "A Feast For Crows" Anyway, there's a number of great reviews here. Basically, this is a must-read for any fantasy fan. It's gritty reality is what really makes it unique (this book is not for the squeamish -- it's the "Braveheart" or "Saving Private Ryan" of fantasy series).
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Summary: A Fantastic Read - Great characters, plot and pace
Review: I hadn't ever read a fantasy novel prior to 'A Game of Thrones', and nothing in the fantasy genre I've read since has topped it. It truly is the best novel of its kind, epic in scope and grandeur. It tells the story of the Stark family, your typical 'Hail Britannia' unit, and the strife that ensues after King Robert Baratheon asks the Stark patriarch, Eddard, to serve as the 'King's Hand'. The novel is told in third person omniscient from the perspective of many characters, including Catelyn (Eddard's wife), and his children Brandon, Arya and Sansa. Other characters include the delightfully malicious, yet strangely human Tyrion Lannister; Eddard Stark's ... Jon Snow; and the exiled princess Daenerys Targaryen. The characters are precisely the reason why the Song of Ice and Fire series is so brilliant - they are drawn in precise detail, yet you never know exactly what they're going to do. George R. R. Martin delights in building up our sympathies for certain characters and then smashing them with one foul swoop. As a result, the characters, like the plot, are totally unpredictable. There are moments in this novel that, like great movies, can only be truly enjoyed upon first viewing. So, for all those who haven't read this book, savour it. When you come to those scenes which take you completely by surprise, stop, and remind yourself that moments like those in literature don't come around very often. A Game of Thrones is an amazing read that flies along at a fast pace, but be warned - no other fantasy novel (I think) has ever come close to being so good.
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