A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) in Pick-a-Shelf

Dec 05, 2011 Lynai rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own-a-copy

I bought a copy of this book as a Christmas gift for myself last year, but its size intimidated me so much that it was only in March this year that I finally faced my fears and started reading it. It took me over a month to finally finish this humungous book, the last chapters of which I deliberately lost hours of sleep because I can鈥檛 not just put it down unfinished. Yes, despite its daunting thickness and the number of characters and places I have to remember, A Game of Thrones is one powerful ...more

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Jul 14, 2011 Lanica rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, series-continuing, fantasy, favorites, read-in-2011, audiobooks

I just finished reading this book and I have to say, "Wow!" This may be my favorite book of all time. No, really. It's amazingly complex, has an exquisite setting, wonderfully developed characters and I am completely engrossed. I have to know what happens next, but I don't have the second book yet. I think I'll stop writing this review so that I can get in my car and go buy the next book in the series...

TWO WEEKS LATER: Okay, that review was more of a cheer than a review. Now that some time has I just finished reading this book and I have to say, "Wow!" This may be my favorite book of all time. No, really. It's amazingly complex, has an exquisite setting, wonderfully developed characters and I am completely engrossed. I have to know what happens next, but I don't have the second book yet. I think I'll stop writing this review so that I can get in my car and go buy the next book in the series...

TWO WEEKS LATER: Okay, that review was more of a cheer than a review. Now that some time has passed I'll try again. I'm sticking to this being one of the best books I've read, but now I think I have a few ideas about what makes it so.

First, authors today (read: publishers) are afraid of anything too complex. Readers want to feel superior to the characters, they want to feel that they know more, see more and understand everything. Most books published today pander to the masses. I am constantly disappointed by books that lead me through a story and end exactly as I expected them to. Sometimes it's the fact that there *is* a twist at the end that is the disappointment. I find myself thinking, "Why couldn't the story just flow to a close...why did that weirdness at the end have to be there?"

This book is a study in realistic characters. Not in the sense that you would find them walking down your street, but in the idea that they are each so well envisioned that their actions seem completely natural to that specific character. I felt as though each chapter, each event had to have happened the way it did because that's exactly how the character would have acted. Not that the character acted in a certain way to make the story move forward. This novel defines for me the character-driven-plot.

Second, this novel does not dumb itself down so that we're sure not to miss anything. I'm sure there are 'rules' out there for how many characters are allowed in a 'best-seller' so that the audience can keep track. Martin throws that out the window and creates a cast of characters so complex and interwoven that readers are likely to forget who is who and have to look at a family tree or other character lists. Great! I, for one, am a reader whose brain is not going to explode if I hear more than three character names in a chapter. I love that this novel is written towards the thinking brain rather than the lowest common denominator.

Third, Martin throws out the convention that says fantasy is light reading. He has an epic here, but it's not bound by three books Beginning, Middle, End. He has a story to tell and he is not limited to three books. I don't like that I can't read the series as a whole, as I usually do; however, I understand that he has created something that is not a simple undertaking. I just hope he is able to complete it in his lifetime. :) Also, a lot of writing in this genre holds back when it comes to sex...I'm not sure why sex is taboo but violence isn't...but a lot of fantasy is all about the swordplay and little about rest of the characters lives. This book is equal measures of many aspects of each characters lives.

So, I love this book...and I hope to love the series. I've finished book two and am waiting for the library copy of three and four. More reviews will come. ...more

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Apr 03, 2012 Tara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2012-book-list

I was a bit weary about reading this book as I had watched the tv show first and thought that the book wouldn't be as good but boy was I wrong the book could only add elements that was not seen in the show and it is a must and should be put on everyone's to read list. Once I started read a game of thrones I couldn't stop all I did was eat, read and sleep and when I was doing something else I could only count the seconds til I could start reading. George R.R. Martin you now have me hooked on fant ...more

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Aug 02, 2013 Marlawanda Briley rated it it was amazing

Started by watching the tv show on HBO. Then when this third season ended, I couldn't stand it and decided to pick up the book. I LOVE IT. However, I almost feel the tv show is an improvement on the books. ...more

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Apr 27, 2013 Lindsay rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2013, fantasy, kindle

I started reading this after watching half of the first series of the television show, and I felt that the series was very true to the book. I ended up devouring the book in just over a day and then buying the next one in the series.

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Feb 09, 2011 Becky rated it liked it

Shelves: royal-court-intrigue, fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, epics, made-me-cry

For what it is, this book reads fairly easily. However, it can be hard for me to keep my attention on all the political plays, because it's just not my favorite sub-genre. I liked it enough to keep reading the series, though. ...more

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