Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic!!!!
Review: Although I am not particularly interested in fantasy, A Game of Thrones held me totally captive until the last word. I believe I have read criticism of the mind-boggling cast of characters and point of view shifts. I, for one, enjoyed the focus on particular characters--Catelyn, Sansa, Tyrion, Jon, etc., and through primary characters, that supporting cast of thousands. Martin helped me immensely by adding a few descriptive words when mentioning supporting characters i.e. lavendar-scented Varys. I immediately recalled who he was if I had forgotten him. I believe anyone who has read Game knows precisely what I speak of. I also must say this technique used by Martin could've become extremely tiresome, but didn't because of the riveting plotline. If you haven't read this novel and call yourself a fantasy fan, for shame. Pick up a copy and do so!!! I can't wait for the sequel!!
Rating: 
Summary: A poor venue for a superb prose style
Review: Though I appear to be in a distinct minority in my dis-satisfaction with this work, I found this book to be in the end grossly unsatisfying. My displeasure was masked by Mr. Martins superb prose style- he is a wordsmith of breathtaking skill with a true gift for discriptive narative. However, his scope of vision is too broad for the detail of his work. This is a very complicated universe Mr. Martin has created- enthralling, superbly onceived, but exhaustive in scope, a therefore poorly fitted to his writing style. It is like trying to have a grand master painter do an episode of the Simpsons- the detail of the prose, complexity of the plot, the constant shifting of narative focus, has left us with a novel of almost 700 pages with no resolution (or even clarification) of any plot points. The prologue starts with doings north of the wall, and we're foreshadowed throughout the book that this is where the real action is, but by the end of the book they haven't even investigated it. The tomboy daughter hunted in the capital is a great story, but we get only about 10 pages about her because there is too much else going on. I'm sure that Mr. Martin has some idea of how to work the long dead king's daughter back into the game, but with so many plot points, Dany is only a distractionb that ended up going nowhere. To see how this is done right, look to Robert Jordan- he started with a single primary focus with all the mai characters in that focus and kept them together until we knew them, adding new characters into the mix after we had aobsorbed those already introduced. My final problem with this novel is one I share with Robert Jordan's wheel of time, and iot is this: The story is too complicated to remember- if and when I pick up the sequel in April 1999 I will be confused about who all these people are and why we care about them unless I reread the first book. Of course this is a big problem with Robert Jordan too, but I digress...
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful start to a new series
Review: George R.R. Martin knows how to write fantasy. I am reading this book for the second time this year and hoping that the sequel is coming soon. If you are looking for a new epic sci-fi series on par with Dune, then pick up a copy of this book. Martin weaves an intricate story of power and political plots. The different locales described in the book are equally fascinating. The narration switches between various characters, a device that is intriguing, but at times frustrating. My favorite character is Tyrion Lannister, the most well thought-out of the book. Some of the characters are a little flat, but I'm hoping that as the series progresses, more character development will occur. Martin's plot twists and turns and keeps you on the edge of your seat. And, if you can't stand cliffhanger endings, then wait until the sequel comes out to start the series.
Rating: 
Summary: A Game of Thrones is carelessly violent and somewhat shallow
Review: When I first started this novel, I was impressed with the grandeur and twisting plotline. But as I got further into the book I began to see the flatness of the characture development, and the callous uses of violence. The story itself is slow and predictable and the charactures shallow. I realize that to sustain a story through the viewpoints of many different people is difficult, and while I admire the auther for trying a challanging form of narration, I think that it hurts the development of both the charactures and the complexity of the story. My comments about the violence does not only refer to this particuler book. Fantasy in genaral, except for a few authers, seems to put grotesque violence where it is not needed to make a point. If the auther wantes a character to be villified then incorporate other ways to show it. A Game of Thrones was no exseption.Needless to say I did not finish the book.
Rating:
Summary: Breath-taking, a page-turner, nothing less than brilliant
Review: George Martin's "A GAME OF THRONES" is a real sparkler in what I have found to be (as of late) a relatively stagnant fantasy market. He combines the elements of characterization and political intrigue with the classical fantasy elements of adventure and magic to weave an intricately detailed story that is a mandatory read for any fantasy fan and a superb representation of the fantasy novel even a skeptic of the genre would enjoy. All in all, the best fantasy novel I have read in a good many years, and certainly the most rich and complex in terms of plot and story. I can't wait for the sequel.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT; JORDAN COULD USE SOME TIPS FROM THIS
Review: I read this book half a year ago and at that time was also reading the WHEEL OF TIME. I was in the second book, THE GREAT HUNT, and thought that that had to be the best book I had ever read. AGOT was great too, but it was only one book, while Jordan had seven books. Now... well now I am forced to change my mind and place A Song of Ice and Fire as being the Fantsy series with the greatest potential to topple Tolkein (It will never happen, of course, since being one of the first has its advantages, one being that you *seem* original and so gather a large group of fanatics). Martin developes his story quickly and on many fronts, although leaving a huge gap at the end to be filled by the following sequels. Jordan on the other hand has written seven books and seems to be no closer to the Great War of the Shadow. Seven Books. To me it seems as though the series is less than half way finished, at the rate it's going, and that it will be finished by book 15. More likely will be our death from old age! Martin developed his story and made it realistic. Women in those times were not like what Jordan describes them as. Women almost never reached high levels of power unless it was through someone else, ala Cersai. They worked through them, and more often than not, they had to use their womanly wiles. They most certainly did not bite your head off at a few chance comments. The men in the stories are also more realistic. No girly sops who whine about not being able to harm a woman, and duty being all. Except for Ned, the characters are all ruthless and the good guys are at times indistiguishable fromt the bad guys. Ned, was the only decent guy, and we all no what happened to him when he tried to fulfil his duty. Real Characters, then, and a well structured stotyline. Everything that Jordan is lacking at the moment. Both series hang on the next book. Both seem to be heading for a prolonged war. It's just that I can see Martin completing his was in the next book, in preparation for the Others, while with Jordan, I keep seeing endless dialogues and sniffs and snorts and other eclectic remarks and gestures that are just excrement. Martin needs only sustain(only!), while Jordan has to get some focus and drive. It all hangs in the balance of who can claim the second place of my all-time best Fantasy Series.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Breathtaking!
Review: This is the best fantasy book I have read in a long time. It is an edge of your seat thrill ride. I got so wrapped up in the characters, I was still thinking of them every time I reluctantly put the book down. Fabulous!
Rating:
Summary: This book is about certain powers battling for a throne.
Review: This book is an incredible piece of work. It has many schemes and counter schemes within the battle, (only some of it was on the battle field), and a great plot. It was the same type of book and The Hobbit, The Lord of The Rings trilogy, and Dune. I recomend it for anyone who liked any of these books or the medival style books.
Rating:
Summary: a fantasy book for non-fantasy readers
Review: I cannot recommend this book highly enough! It is a densely woven tapestry of loyalties and treacheries, of a richly coloured history. It strongly reminds me of Sharon Kay Penman's books on the British monarchy, i.e. Richard II and such, but more complicated and colourful. I LOVE this book. It retains a distinctly authentic and historical feel for those of us who prefer to steer clear of the "Elven quest" sort of narrative. Martin manages to keep MANY storylines going at once, bringing more characters to the forefront, rather than slowly relegating them to the background as the tale weaves on. Each character grows more, rather than less, distinct--and I was hard-pressed to isolate a clear "main" character in this deeply detailed account of so many threads of the realm. Absolutely GRIPPING, and I urge you to read this, even readers that are unfamiliar or unfond of fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: Breath-taking-one-of-the-best-books-I-ever-read
Review: After reading Robert Jordan's Wheels of Time I found it hard to concentrate on another book. Well, that changed when I saw George Martin's A Game of Thrones in the bookstore. At first it was Jordan's comment on the book that lured me into reading it. But then it got to me, it shook me out of this I-am-still-to-deep-into-the-WoT-feeling. What a grant story! It picked me up and swept me through it, leaving me wanting to go further reading about the characters I came to love and hate. The waiting is almost done.
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