Rating: 
Summary: It's a different story than it seems at the beginning...
Review: I like most epic fantasy, but a few things about this book really turned me off. Basically, the way the book begins lead me to expect one kind of story, but the story that the book tells is not the one that I was led to expect.At the beginning of the book, you are introduced to John Snow, who is the illegitmate some of a powerful nobleman who is currently serving in the army at a remote outpost, beyond which is a land of monsters and danger. Needless to say, the evil forces are returning and the kingdom is in no way prepared for the attack that is about to happen. It would appear that the stage is set for an action-packed epic full of all the good stuff in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series. The only problem is that by the time the book ends, the invasion that I was waiting for throughout the whole book just didn't happen. Instead, the author focuses on the intrigues surrounding the death of the king and his successor's coronation, with continual hints of the disaster that is about to happen. Meanwhile, I was waiting and waiting for the "sub-plots" to fall into the background in the face of the invasion and the coming of the years-long Winter, but they don't. What I felt to be sub-plots were actually the main focus of the novel, and there's barely any more written about John Snow. Of course, his outpost is overrun by monsters and he barely survives, but the monsters never interfere with anything else in the book. The book reads as though three completely separate stories were combined into one novel by simply using cut and paste and masking this by ending chapters wherever the focus shifts. I absolutely hated this book, but for some strange reason, I couldn't put it down. If I hadn't been fooled into expecting a different story than I actually found, I probably would have enjoyed it, but I really didn't like this book.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best books ever of any genre
Review: This book has been recommended to me so many times, but I have held off because the series is not over. I have finally relented and read it and I am so glad I did. This is truly not just one of the best Fantasy novels I've ever read, it is one of the best of all genres. I have never raged or cheered so much at a book before. Never has an author inspired such hate in me towards a character in a book, while inspiring joy and even pride in other characters. The plot twists and turns like a roller coaster but believe me, Martin straps you in tight, and he never loses you. Almost everyone reviewing this book has given it 5 stars. The few that have given it less have been for the same reasons. Yes, this book is dark, people die, people get betrayed. Guess what? That is what happens in real life. If you like fantasy because you like to read of elves dancing in sun dappled glades while unicorns frolic with fairies, then you will not like this. If you like the standard fare of stable-boy is told by old man of his true past and the dark one who must be stopped and goes on a quest for a sword and none of the good guys die, again you will not like this. However, if you like a plot that will leave you with no more fingernails, characters that will make you weep and rage and laugh and smile, and just plain great storytelling, this is definitely for you.
Rating:
Summary: Purchase now
Review: this is an excellent book, I suggest that you pick up a copy of this book immediately. It is definetely one of the best books I have ever read. I can't wait for the rest of the books in the series to be released.
Rating:
Summary: An absolute classic of fantasy literature.
Review: Having gotten started reading fantasy with Tolkien nearly 25 years ago, I thought I had just gotten too old to continue in the genre. The plotlines in other fantasy works seem to follow a predictable pattern, and the ability to create characters with real depth completely absent. Then I came across A Game of Thrones. Stunning. Marvelously intricate plotting, superb characterization, and a great vision. Like Tolkien, Martin uses magic sparingly, making it all the more mysterious when it is used, and letting his characters rather than magical gimmicks carry the story. Contrary to some, I do not see Martin's world as "gray" in the least. There surely are characters of great honor and goodness -- Lord Eddard Stark, father, husband, and Lord of the wintry North, is one of the most admirable characters in fantasy literature, and his family is the focus of the story. And there are scheming characters far more repellent whose worst qualities seem to give them a decidely unfair advantage in the power politics of Westeros. But Martin is setting up a morality play - cruelty, disloyalty, and ruthlessness seem to be the easy path to success, as the characters with the greatest virtue seem to suffer the most for it. Yet over all, it is apparent that self-serving, power-hungry, amoral nobles are sowing the seeds of destruction for Westeros. The dread Long Winter approaches, and the vicious infighting weakens the Kingdom at the time it needs to be at its strongest. It will be the virtuous qualities of the few truly noble, and those who are slowly discovering their potential for nobility, that are the only hope for Westeros. And that's what makes this story so intriguing. Few characters are wholly good or wholly evil, and all seem to develop and grow as the story progresses. Grab this book, cherish it, and pass the word. George Martin has created a genuine classic.
Rating:
Summary: The feel bad, die painfully ever after fantasy...
Review: If you read this series, try not to get too attached to any particular character; you never know when Martin might kill him/her off. In fact, bet on it. Martin himself had said, perhaps jokingly, that everybody will be dead by book 5 and book 6 will be all about snow blowing over graves. The latter is laughable but the former is all too possible. Even though all is gloom and doom for everyone of the characters, the reader's sense for hope is sharpened and any little victory or lucky break shall be savored so much more. And Martin provides enough of these to pull you through the engrossing narrative, all the while the big picture always looks grimmer than before. Martin is no Pulitzer winner, and his writing skill is on the level with that of a good historian. Nevertheless, he succeeds at creating a believable setting. He never lets the scenery or the sorcery interfere with this primarily character driven fantasy. The characters are the main draw in this story. My favorite is Dany, but maybe that's just because I am a rather hormonal teenager? His world is good but still bland given the size of the two volumes I've read. A Storm of Swords just came out in England so I haven't read it yet. The magical aspects were as ethereal in the first book as they are here on Earth, but they have come into play in the second book. I have not been overly impressed with them, but then, neither am I annoyed with them as I am with some overbearing magic systems in other fantasy series. It would not be a crime to label A Song of Ice and Fire as a medieval soap opera, albeit more explicit and violent, after reading the first two books. However, The general direction Martin is taking is towards slow development of the fantasy aspects. There are bigger and better things on the horizon. To wrap it up, I must say that Martin's frank style attracts me. That is how I like it. He is objective and does not try to interfere with his characters and their realities.
Rating:
Summary: The entire book is incredible!
Review: I have to say I haven't been this enthralled by a novel since Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" volume 1. I was searching in the family library for something to sate my mind when my sister suggested this book, which she had purchased on a whim one day. She told me it was very good but I had no idea until I started reading... It is all at once surreal, realistic, cynical, dark, painful and a joy to read. While it usually takes me days or even weeks to read a novel this long due to my busy schedule, I found myself reading late into the night, during breakfast and while in the bathroom! My favourite character by far was Eddard Stark, who I saw as one of those men whose character far exceeds that of any man in existence today... something we women are constantly looking for! The darkness of the book disturbed me to the point of tears in some parts - when Bran was thrown from the turret and when Ned was beheaded. I have not been so moved by a novel in YEARS! George Martin makes you feel every little nuance of the character's pain, frustration, guilt, shame, happiness and honour. One can even say that the book was depressing, but however much I was disturbed, I was equally if not even more captivated by the storyline, the honesty and the reality of the book. It is a page turner however used that term may be. Definitely a MUST read! Now, onto Volume 2: A Clash of Kings!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, but not for everyone
Review: Having just finished reading AGoT, I can honestly state that I have very rarely read a fantasy as imaginative and daring as this one. I have read lots of fantasy (Tolkien, Williams, Donaldson, Feist, Weis & Hickman, Goodkind, Jordan, Eddings, ad nauseum.), and this stands out from the crowd. The storyline is incredible and always keeps you guessing. Martin will do whatever it takes to further the story in a realistic way. As so many reviewers have stated in the past, there is a moral greyness surrounding the characters that adds interest to the story. You may have noticed that in the title, I stated that this book was not for everyone, and indeed, it is not. If violence and/or sexual situations make you uncomfortable, then you may find this book unsettling. The violence and sex are not gratuitous; instead, they help show you the realities of the world as it was. I have no problem with this, but I have seen several reviewers who are looking for an escape to a happy fairy-land fantasy, which this most definitely is not. Also, if you enjoy having every character in a novel capable of levelling a city with a thought or tossing fireballs about like confetti (i.e., The Wheel of Time and Sword of Truth books, among others), then you will be disappointed; the magic in this book is subtle and mysterious, to both the characters and the reader. I have read only three other works of Fantasy that are on par with Martin's work, and they are Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn Trilogy, Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, and of course, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Of all of these, Martin's works remind me most of Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, which he claims was part of his inspiration for writing in this genre. Martin's prose is extremely well written, with the descriptions bringing things to life in your mind. The dialogue is also brisk and clever. The story is told from multiple points of view, which adds suspense and flavor to the story, as well as allowing the author to bring each character to life, making us love them sometimes and hate them at other times. If you are sick of bloated and repetitious fantasy where everyone is omnipotent and characters are static and boring, pick of A Game of Thrones and its sequel, A Clash of Kings - I promise that you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Well-crafted, and completely depressing
Review: I cannot contest the power and strength of the writing in "A Game of Thrones". Had the book been less well-written it would never have provoked the depth of dislike I feel for it. However, far from being swept into the story, I found myself continually putting it down or skipping pages. The problem for me lies in the wealth of unlikeable characers. I quite honestly couldn't find a single character I wanted to know more about. I started each chapter, grateful that I was going to read about someone different, hopefully somebody I would care about. Unfortunately I never did end up caring. It was not the moral "greyness" of the characters which bothered me; many of my favourite fictional creations have both good and evil in their makeup. It was more that I could find no reason to like the characters nor any way to identify with them, and as a result found myself alternately bored and depressed as I read. The world Martin creates, however expertly, is a dark, gritty and cynical place. Hope, innocence, kindness, and even sorrow do not survive in it. And that, for me, removes the very qualities that make a fantasy novel a joy to read and set it apart from other kinds of fictions.
Rating: 
Summary: Looking for Post-Jordan entertainment?
Review: Having read the last published Jordan book in his "Wheel of Time" series, I was out looking for something as inticing and mysterious untill the next book comes out. I have come to the judgement that this is the best thing out there. Although there is rare mention of any metaphysical energies, the political double backs and triple crosses will more than make up for it. The author does a very good job of making that(political unrest, intrigue and games) aspect of the story line interesting, I usually find politics bland, but with the characters, who are rounded and believeable, the political intrigue filters smoothly between scenes of merciless masacres and righteous battles.
Rating:
Summary: Epic...better be as there are five more coming <g>
Review: This is a stellar start to the series by the author. The story unfolds with each chapter varying perspective between the various characters (and it takes some getting used to), but you cannot put it down. The emphasis here is on the intrigue, and not magic(though later books promise gradually more of the latter). Obviously heavily drawn from incidents in our own world's middle-ages, the death of a debauched king turns a unified kingdom into a collection of petty states and civil war. By the end of the first book, one wonders how it will be possible to pull all of the various states together into a single empire again. Character development is first rate, and the plot line(s) are well thought out. There are at least five major plot lines running simultaneously just in Book 1, and Martin does a stellar job at keeping you not only interested in each, but of making sure you dont forget the action in a particular plot line thus far, despite several intervening chapters.
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