Rating: 
Summary: Clear your calendar.
Review: NEVER has a book grabbed me the way this book and its sequels did. Other reviews have complained that Martin kills off major characters; well, that's true. But what that means is (listen carefully): In these books, you truly do not know what is going to happen!!! You have no clue! That is one of the things that makes them so compelling. Martin is not bound by the usual rules. He is perfectly capable of investing chapter after chapter in developing an intriguing and sympathetic character and then consigning them to death or other unpredictable fate. These books contain adult themes, require concentration to keep track of characters and events, and will leave you incredibly frusrated at the end of the last one you read. You'll wait for the next one and pray that Martin doesn't get hit by a truck or something before he finishes all six planned novels. One last word: The second book is even better than the first and the third is better than the second!
Rating:
Summary: Haunting and special and brilliant and...
Review: Contains scenes that have left me at times breathless, with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face, and at times "scourged" (to use one of the author's favorite verbs). I find myself rereading passages and pages in amazement. Gritty, shocking and wonderful! The best I've read in a long, long time. Thank you Mr. Martin!
Rating:
Summary: Simply the Best Fantasy Epic in Years
Review: After reading the reviews, I picked up a copy of this book and began to read. Four days later and many sleepless nights I have finished and stand in awe of the author. Most epic fantasy series (for example Jordan) are so repetitive that while the story is interesting it takes forever to get to the point. Not so with Martin. From the very beginning you are in the action and the pacing is superb. The writing is also exceptional for the fantasy genre. It was a pleasure to read the descriptions of the places and people. The characters are multi-dimensional and a fully realized "otherworld" is superbly created and populated.I highly recommend this book to readers of the fantasy genre...Mr. Martin has taken this genre to new heights and readers will not be disappointed. I can't wait to start the next book and only hope that the fourth book is soon published.
Rating:
Summary: The Winter is Coming
Review: This was a hell of a book. I've been a fantasy fan for about 26 years and I have a new favorite. What more can I say the best. If you haven't read it well, get off the net and buy it now!
Rating: 
Summary: Martin for Jordan fans
Review: George R.R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" is similar to Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" only in the number of characters, depth of back-story, and shear bulk. With regard to plot and narrative, they take a totally different tack. Jordan pulls in hundreds of deliberately classical elements, and applies his own distinctive twists and turns, but the result still fits solidly within the expected behavior of standard fantasy. Rand is the protagonist-hero, the Dark One is the archetypical evil presence, and the obvious outcome is that the boy gets the girl(s) and finally defeats the minions of evil in a final climactic battle. That's not really the way SoIaF is working out. Where Jordan takes standard elements and then customizes them somewhat, Martin sets up all of the standard characters, roles, and props, and then he kills them. Gruesomely. This leaves the author with a nicely blank canvas on which to develop his own, utterly unpredictable plotlines, and leaves the reader in a state of numbed shock such that any preconceptions and expectations are forcibly suspended. What Martin then chose to populate his tabula rasa would make a Nazi stormtrooper squirm. Rape, incest, fratricide, pedophilia, rape, infanticide, cannibalism, vivisection, and more rape are bandied about in SoIaF like "channel" and "ta'veren" are in WOT. In other words, it's a rare chapter that does NOT contain some combination of these and other colorful activities. Had Martin written the Wheel of Time, by the third book, most of the Emond Fielders would be dead, Egwene would be married to Couladin, and the reader would be surprised to find himself in the uncomfortable position of rooting for Eliada in the fight against Shai'tan. I guess I'm suggesting that it's not really a children's fantasy. Structurally, it made me think of Raymond Feist's extended Riftwar series with a strong "R" rating. With regard to overall tone, it left a bitter aftertaste reminiscent of Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (which was a great and powerful series, mind you). About halfway through the second book, I decided that if something cheerful didn't happen soon, I was just going to quit reading. Well, a few interesting things did happen, and I suppose I shall pre-order each new volume as well, just to find out where the heck Martin is going with this plot. But I'm not sure I'll like the answer.
Rating:
Summary: Stop whining about the sex and violence!
Review: I have very little to say about this series as a whole that has not already been detailed by one of the hundreds of previous reviewers to visit this site. I will add, though, that all three books thus far are simply incredible. My main reason for writing this is to dispute the many criticisms posted here (this is to both the people that liked as well as to the people that disliked Mr. Martin's overall work, but to ALL those that complained about the graphic sex and violence). All I can say is grow up. I will agree that these books are definitely not for everybody and that you have every right to shudder at the nature of his admittedly racy descriptions. However, please stop writing such petty and worthless reviews that presume to tell us as well as Mr. Martin what would have made HIS books better. Your opinion is your own and you have every entitlement to it, but stating that ANY part of this great work is unnecessary, banal, perverted, pornographic, or otherwise degrading to the overall quality of the series is incredibly arrogant, beyond any of you, and frankly it makes me sick. Half of you are completely ignorant of how to even spell a word or piece together a sentence let alone write a book, so please spare us the pointless babble on what truly comprises admirable literature. If you can't stomach the reality of what life was like during medieval times (and make no mistake, Mr. Martin paints an exceptionally accurate portrait of that reality) or if you'd just rather not hear the more grim and intimate details of a time far more brutal than most of us can imagine, however realistic those details may prove to be, then DON'T READ THE BOOK. It's not a novel idea people. Simply don't crack open the front cover and you'll have no problem protecting your delicate, childlike sensibilities. Don't ask for a censored version, don't complain that the blatant gratuity is unnecessary, and don't tell Mr. Martin that his books would be better without it. Just don't say anything at all and you'll spare the rest of us from realizing just how many pansies there really are in this country. And if you feel the need to express yourself, then please state upfront that you prefer the vague, watered-down, politically correct version of events and the rest of us can simply ignore the whining and sniveling drivel that's almost certain to follow. I am not a child and I do not yet have children of my own so my opinion may be somewhat biased, but I AM tired of having to suffer through entertainment media in this country (whether it be books, movies, or video games) that is toned-down, shortened, censored, or otherwise edited in a way that its creator did not originally intend for an American audience that has everything presented to it as if it were a society of children in need of sheltering from the very real truths that exist in the world today and in its history past. Thankfully, Mr. Martin has finally written a fantasy series that does not attempt to cater to all the age groups between two and eighty-two. This is fantasy, yes, but adult literature all the same, and as such, any fan of fantasy that can swallow a world rife with the imperfections of human nature in all of its gruesome detail will likely devour this series. There is little anyone should say to the author, Mr. Martin, except well done.
Rating:
Summary: A fantasy series worth reading.
Review: After giving up on the so-called masterpiece series "Wheel of Time", I searched for a different series. This one was getting alot of praise from various places, so I bought the first book. You know a series is good when you rush out to buy the second book before you even finish the first. That happened with "A Song of Fire and Ice", a real pleasure to read. Every chapter moves the plot forward, so you are not wasting time reading anything in this book. And very rarely is the plot predictable; it is believable and compelling. Even chapters that I felt would be a waste of time to read (I grew suspicious every time a chapter on Daenerys came up), actually turn out to be very entertaining and well-written. All the characters are well developed, but my favorite character is Arya. :) I highly recommend this book, don't hesitate to read it. Drop that boring, derivative Jordan book right now and buy "A Game of Thrones".
Rating:
Summary: A Brutal Read
Review: You have about 500 other reviews to choose from so I'll try to keep this practical and useful. If you're the sort who reads "fantasy" novels to escape from the troubles of your everyday life, run screaming from this book. There is no heroic quest here, and little or no magic. Instead we're given a land that would comfortably fit in next to our own world's medieval history, centered around the schemings of royal families and populated by characters who on average are capable of cruelties that would only be attempted by a great villain in any other fantasy novel. And yet it's the people who make this book such a compelling read. This is an intensely character-driven novel right down to its very structure, which is broken into chapters dedicated to 8 different characters, each a flawed protagonist in his/her own way. The book itself weighs in at over 800 pages, and very little of that is spent on battles or scenery, or even a resolution to the plot. Instead it's densely packed with the thoughts, feelings, schemes, and observations of the characters, and you're unlikely to avoid getting very emotionally entangled to at least one of them. The combination of this with the brutal setting makes you genuinely cheer whenever a sympathetic character finally accomplishes something positive, or groan with dread when another character makes a tragic mistake. And you might be shocked at how willingly you would murder a character with your bare hands if only you could leap into the pages. I think it's this sort of emotional response that has so many readers proclaiming this series a great work of fiction. A few potential negatives: The book itself has no resolution, it's an installment in a huge epic that will require a big appetite to finish. Also, there's an unusual level of sexual content, and almost none of it is what you'd call romantic. I'm not squeamish, but I found it very oppressive at times. This is, perhaps realistically, a very unkind world towards women. Finally, most of the main characters are disconcertingly young, ranging from 7 to 15 years old. I think the idea is for them to age into their primes over the course of the series (if they live), but given the overall tone of the book the innocence and brutality can clash uncomfortably. Overall, definitely read it if you prefer gritty realism and have an appetite for large scale storytelling. Avoid it if you're sentimental or have enough grim reality in your life already. This book is not for everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good plotting and world building, ok characters.
Review: The story is well written, and well told. The world is large, complex, and carefully thought out. The logic is very good. And I still have a complaint or two. Curse me for the pig that I am. My complaints? My rants? My ceaseless whinings? Ok, if you MUST know. Some characters develop nicely and show good depth throughout the novel, but too many are nothing but role players. They have but one face, one manner of being, one mode of thinking and behaving. What am I talking about? Characters like Ned Stark, who's single dimension is that he takes honor and honesty to the extremes of stupidity. Then there is Sansa Stark, who has nothing to her but selfishness and naivete. On the other side of the novel is Jaime Lannister and his sister, Cersei. The two of them are made exclusively of self-serving deceitfulness, brutality, and their incestuous passion. If any of those four characters were any thinner they wouldn't even be good for blowing your nose into. The remaining characters were largely pressed from similar molds. There are a few characters with some meat. Jon Snow, Arya Stark, Daenerys Targaryen, and Tyrion Lannister are all good enough that you'll find yourself reading on just to get back to them. While I'm whining let me toss this in. Things go unfailingly against the "good guys" for nine tenths of the novel. While this goes exactly with modern conventions it gets old in a novel of this size, making things far too predictable. What fun to read about X if you know what side of the coin will show after every flip, and you know in advance that you won't like seeing it? When things do turn around it's done believably, so don't think I mean that Martin's credibility is lacking. But this aspect of the story wore on me, stealing some of reading's pleasure. As is a growing trend (Lucas/Claremont, Holly Lisle, Kate Elliott, Sean Russell and S.L. Viehl have all done it recently), there isn't a real ending. Several of the plot lines do wind up with a sort of stopgap resolution, and the reader is given a measure of satisfaction in the ways that certain of them conclude, but the story's main thrust is left completely open. I suspect that it will remain so until the series' final book.
Rating:
Summary: Yet another person hooked...
Review: I picked up A Game of Thrones after I saw a post on the internet, made by a fellow fan of Terry Goodkind, that described how that reader thought Martin's work was more brutal than Goodkind's. So I figured I had to see that to believe it. And what began as a quest for violent fantasy turned into a discovery of a fantastic series. By the time I was halfway through A Game of Thrones I already knew that I would want to read every volume in the series and went out and purchased the next two. I finished the first volume last night and went right into the second. It is definitely a gripping saga. I've been recommending the series to my friends and a few of them are still acting skeptical but I think they are just afraid to admit that I was right. Heh. The deceptions and the conspiracies within the flowing plotline keep the readers locked in for long, page-turning nights. It eventually got to the point for me that I HAD to know the outcome of the situations that arose. I wanted to see some of the more sinister characters get what they truly deserved. I am a huge fan of Frank Herbert's Dune and the complex worlds and houses within, the Duniverse as some fans refer to it. So the political intrigue in Martin's novels was an aspect that caught my attention right off. As a personal preference of mine, the more characters there are, the better. So if you enjoy "mature fantasy" and a complex plotline that encompasses a large number of characters, then I highly recommend George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" saga.
| 
