Rating: 
Summary: Phenomenal!
Review: A superb third book in his Series. Kept me up all night and then some. I anxiously await his fourth "A Dance with Dragons". I just wish it were out already!
Rating:
Summary: more realistic than others
Review: Unlike other books of its genre, this one trys to portray a world without embellishment. There is no pure evil and there is no definite good. Everything is in between and does things for according reasons. An example is if a king is murdered it is not because the murderer serves some dark god or evil overlord it is because he or his boss stands to profit from the death.A lot of little things like that are what makes this a great book. Also the lack of obvious magic thus far is a great draw. A book like this doesn't really need magic of that sort. The other thing that this book lacks to my relief is archetypes that show up in every single fantasy book. There are a few characters that are close to fitting the mold but far less than would be expected. This book in a way is all about politics but not the kind that we are used to seeing on the glass screen. Politics that are as deadly as any war are what this book contains yet is not what one would think by reading the above sentence. Yet despite or because of the differences between this and other books it remains a read that is pleasurable and will pass the time away.
Rating:
Summary: An incredible read
Review: I purchased this book on Thursday, December 21st. I finished it on the 27th. It has been YEARS since I have read a book that held my interest like this one did. This was unlike any other fantasy book that I've read in many ways. I found that the character development was exceptional, you really feel as though you know these people and understand why they do the things that they do. Also, not all the characters are strong people, some you just want to slap and scream "Get Over It" which made it seem more realistic, if it's possible to be realistic in a fantasy novel. Another thing I enjoyed was the lack of fantasy. Sure, you have dragons and direwolves but on the other hand you don't have people running around casting spells every two seconds and then disappearing into the stratosphere. All in all, I can't recommend this book highly enough. I'm already 300 pages into "A Clash of Kings" and I've got "A Storm Of Swords" waiting in the wings.
Rating:
Summary: Superb!
Review: If the next two books are anything close to this one I seriously believe this is one series no fantasy fan should miss. The characters are so complex and live-like you just can't stop falling in love with them. The story is so well developed and so interesting you just have to stay awake to read just a few more pages (usually until four or five in the morning). It's thrilling, well paced, intoxicating. One of the very best books I've reading this last couple of years and I've readen a lot. Highly recomended for mature readers. Like every work of art it has its drawbacks 'cause nothing can be perfect, but for me the only problem of the book is that Martin never stays with the same character for more than 10 pages. He switches characters just when you are starting to warm up to them. But, oh well, we'll have to live with that.
Rating: 
Summary: What fantasy should be.
Review: Although I am unfamiliar with other fantasy works by Martin, I found this one exceptionally interesting and well written. Swords and sorcery aside, this book is filled with political intrigue, betrayal and backstabbing, as well as a double handfull of well-drawn characters that straddle the line between good and bad. Anyone interested in dense and intricate character driven political fantasy will enjoy this book. Book #2 in the series is even better.
Rating:
Summary: Flawless epic fantasy
Review: Let me start by saying that I am NOT a Robert Jordan fan. In my opinion, the characters are flat, it takes him four or five entire volumes to do a decent amount of character development, and the story never seems to go anywhere. That being said, A Song Of Ice And Fire (the title for this epic) blows The Wheel Of Time completely out of the water. You can almost imagine Jordan bowing down at Martin's feet to pay him homage...the setting is incredibly well-developed and fleshed out, every single character is unique and thought out, the story is well-paced, and it never seems to slow down. I can also happily report, being about halfway through A Storm Of Swords (the third book in the series) that it keeps getting better! Martin manages to shock his audience by never stooping in the quality of his work...the story continues to move along at a nice pace, and I just haven't been able to put these books down. One thing I should say however, particularly for the benefit of parents...in an effort to make the world of A Song Of Ice And Fire more realistic (an effort at which Martin succeeds on an unprecedented scale), the writer has included a significant amount of graphic, adult content...including incest, strong sexual themes, and violence often described in gory detail. This is not a complaint; I really thought that these themes only helped add to the story's effect (hey, war ain't pretty, folks), but I always think it's good that parents receive a 'heads-up' if they are thinking of buying this book for their children. All in all, an amazing piece of work, and a breath of fresh air for the fantasy genre. I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: An Ambitious Beginning
Review: Martin has given us an ambitious novel with the first book of the Song of Fire and Ice series. The plot is engaging, most of his characters are well developed, and the pacing of the novel is exquisite. Readers of other epic fantasy series will be pleasantly surprised to find that Martin diverts from the typical "farmer boy becomes hero" fantasy epic. His story is smart, funny, and simply unlike the majority of fantasy on the market. Readers who are looking for a sword and sorcery epic will be sorely disappointed; the novel is primarily concerend with the politics of Martin's fictional kingdom--magic takes a back seat to the intrigues of the court. Though I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, my recommendation is not without some reservations. While Martin has proved himself an able author, his writing still exhibits many of the qualities that plague authors of lesser talent. He tends to over explain details rather than letting the readers imagination take flight and fill in the blanks. A more talented and mature author would be able to direct the reader without unnecessarily explaining the leaps in logic or filling in between the lines.
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST IN YEARS!!
Review: I discovered "A Game of Thrones" while prowling Amazon.com's fantasy section for my next read, and the reviews were spectacular. It was not long before I had purchased it and was giving it a go. From the very first page I was in a trance, and by the end of the Prologue alone I was hopelessly hooked. George R. R. Martin has an undeniable talent with words, and he has all the goods to put this talent to use with an original and compelling plotline. It's a crime how well the man can write (he should be forced to take the Black). You add believable, admirable, and oft times despicable characters and a living, breathing, highly fascinating world, and you have all the makings of a classic. And this, my friends, is a classic. The genre has not seen its like in years. Martin's innovations are evident even in the structure of the novel's chapters. Each is named after the respective character it follows, and when the chapter ends as many as a hundred pages could go by before you read about that character again, leaving you in a state of anticipation and suspense. Fortunately, all of these characters are interesting and their stories varied. The only downside I found was in the case of Jon Snow (my personal favorite); each time a chapter entitled "Jon" comes to an end, I find myself groaning in agony and impatient for the next. But there is naught to fear, for almost every chapter in between is sure to be compelling as well. "A Game of Thrones" is rich with a sense of foreboding and dread, and Martin has a way of making mundane things seem eerie, even ominous. In this way it is somewhat reminiscent of Robert Jordan's "Eye of the World," yet vastly superior. No character is safe; not even the one you love most. Death in the Seven Kingdoms is a permanent thing (at least south of the Wall), and it visits frequently. "The gods are cruel..." Of all the books I have read in recent times, I recommend none more highly than "A Game of Thrones." It is a shot in the arm for the fantasy genre. It is by no means a light-hearted tale, but has the bittersweet flavor of dark fantasy in a setting that is remarkably "gloom and doom." It is graphic at times, even a little disconcerting, but that's all in the brilliant design, and none of it seems out of place in the setting of the Seven Kingdoms. It is an emotional journey for the characters as well as the reader, and I long for the next installations.
Rating: 
Summary: Realistic. Historical. Fine, but where's the story?
Review: Mr. Martin has written a gripping, realistic account of a low-magic fantasy world where numerous powers vie for the throne. As any of the shrieking 5-star reviews will tell you, Martin's book examines events from a number of different viewpoints, with no true heroes or villians, and many shades of grey. I was thrilled with the book and burned through its 700+ pages in the space of a few days. Then I finished the book and realized that what I'd read wasn't a story, but instead an extremely detailed timeline of events. This character does one thing, that character does another thing, someone else fights, yet another person betrays. Which is fine if it serves the story, but there is no story. Mr. Martin doesn't have any point he's trying to make. There are no ideas he wants to get across, no philosophical axes he wants to grind. There's no moral or message to his book -- no point whatsoever. Much like the history of our own world (which this book is based on), events simply happen because they happen, not because the author has a story to tell. I burned through Mr. Martin's book because I thought all these different events and characters were leading up to something. They weren't. I tried the next book, but it was more of the same. Now maybe Mr. Martin has a story to tell using the whole six-book series, but at 800 pages a pop, it's not worth my time.
Rating:
Summary: Simply the best fantasy since Tolkien
Review: If you enjoy Fantasy and Sci-Fi, you need to read this. As others reviews have pointed out this tale is not about fire and brimstone - it's about rea people. Well, they could be real people. Unlike Jordan, Goodkind, etc. there is so much reality in this story you really get involved. It's gritty, dirty, emotional, brutal ... just what you know the medieval times truly were like. Magic is used sparingly and realistically. The other major difference with most other Fantasy authors is that the saga gets better with later books! Without a doubt this is going to be a classic.
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