A Song of Ice and Fire (1) - A Game of Thrones
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Review
‘After five volumes Martin is, if anything, a better writer than when he started. If you're watching A Game of Thrones on HBO, you're foregoing the great pleasure of Martin's deft prose…’
Time Magazine
'A Game of Thrones has captured the imaginations of millions for the same reason the archetypal dramas of Homer, Sophocles or Shakespeare have lasted for millennia. They show us the conflict between self-sacrifice and self-interest, between the human spirit and the human ego, between good and evil. And when we look up from the page we recognise those same conflicts in the world around us and in ourselves'
The Guardian
‘It is hard to accept that something that enormous and that popular is as good as people tell you it is’
Independent
‘A Game of Thrones grabs hold and won’t let go. It’s brilliant.’
Robert Jordan
‘Colossal, staggering… Martin captures all the intoxicating complexity of the Wars of the Roses or Imperial Rome in his imaginary world… one of the greats of fantasy literature.’
SFX
‘Fantasy literature has never shied away from grandeur, but the sheer-mind-boggling scope of this epic has sent other fantasy writers away shaking their heads… Its ambition: to construct the Twelve Caesars of fantasy fiction, with characters so venomous they could eat the Borgias.’
Guardian
‘Such a splendid tale. I couldn’t stop till I’d finished and it was dawn.’
Anne McCaffrey
Product Description
The first volume in the greatest epic work of the modern age. Released for the first time since 1996, at the request of fans, in brand-new series style hardback.
Kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars, lords and honest men. All will play the Game of Thrones.
Now a major Sky Atlantic TV series from HBO, featuring a stellar cast.
Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun. It will stretch from the south, where heat breeds plot, lust and intrigues; to the vast frozen north, where a 700-foot wall of ice protects the kingdom from the dark forces that lie beyond.
As Warden of the North, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must…and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.
The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, a vengeance-mad boy has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities beyond the sea. Heir of the mad Dragon King deposed by Robert, he claims the Iron Throne.
In the game of thrones, you win or you die.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
429 of 438 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
On my latest foray to buy some new fantasy, the till assistant suggested that I might like to try George R. R. Martin. I had seen his books before, but had never committed to reading them, but on this recommendation, I picked this book up for my summer holiday. Over 800 pages and less than 5 days later it was finished.
Although somewhat slow in starting, the storylines soon become engaging and you really do want to find out what happens next. The book also contains a large number of surprises and means that you're never really certain where each story will lead.
For me, the biggest surprise was in the unusual structure. As has been mentioned, each chapter is named after the character whose view it is written from. This is not something I have encountered before, but I enjoyed the format. It gave a nice insight into characters from all "sides" and allowed a good deal of depth to be included for them.
The book as a whole is almost three independent stories. Firstly, the "Game of Thrones" is the nickname of the power struggle between high-born families to influence or take the throne. As usual, we have the good (Starks, Tullys), the bad (Lannisters) and the undecided (Baratheon). This covers the majority of the book and has only an initial interaction to one of the other storylines,
The second storyline has minimal interaction with the first and follows a sworn brotherhood that forego all previous ties and become a new "family". They are sworn to defend the kingdom and man the vast wall that separates it from the wilds to the North.
The final storyline does not interact with the others and is only hinted at by the telling of rumours in the kingdom. It charts the progress of the barbarian race of the Dothraki and their uneasy alliance with the last of the Targaryens, the family that were all but destroyed in a battle with the current head of the kingdom.
As in most fantasy, there are apparent good and evil sides, but most of the characters have a certain ambiguity which results in them doing something that you would not normally expect. This ambiguity is a neat way to make you connect with characters from both sides in a way that you wouldn't usually do and although it may be a little uncomfortable, it also provides a better immersion for the reader.
Another surprise is that magic is scarcely involved. It is only hinted at in the first two storylines and is only fully in evidence at the end of the third; I suspect that this will become more prominent in the following books.
Non-human creatures are also in short supply, but again, I believe that they will play a larger part as the series progresses.
To close, I would like to mention that there are a couple of plot twists that left me open-mouthed, a fact that I found most satisfying (after I'd recovered:-). Also, there are a couple of particularly grisly deaths and this combined with some of the more mature language and themes, indicate that this has been targeted at an adult audience.
I have tried to avoid any plot details since the impact of the book comes from not knowing what is going to happen next. it has introduced all the storylines and got them to a point where they are all about to explode into action. If you fancy something a little more complex and with a definite adult bias, this could very well be the book for you.
Although somewhat slow in starting, the storylines soon become engaging and you really do want to find out what happens next. The book also contains a large number of surprises and means that you're never really certain where each story will lead.
For me, the biggest surprise was in the unusual structure. As has been mentioned, each chapter is named after the character whose view it is written from. This is not something I have encountered before, but I enjoyed the format. It gave a nice insight into characters from all "sides" and allowed a good deal of depth to be included for them.
The book as a whole is almost three independent stories. Firstly, the "Game of Thrones" is the nickname of the power struggle between high-born families to influence or take the throne. As usual, we have the good (Starks, Tullys), the bad (Lannisters) and the undecided (Baratheon). This covers the majority of the book and has only an initial interaction to one of the other storylines,
The second storyline has minimal interaction with the first and follows a sworn brotherhood that forego all previous ties and become a new "family". They are sworn to defend the kingdom and man the vast wall that separates it from the wilds to the North.
The final storyline does not interact with the others and is only hinted at by the telling of rumours in the kingdom. It charts the progress of the barbarian race of the Dothraki and their uneasy alliance with the last of the Targaryens, the family that were all but destroyed in a battle with the current head of the kingdom.
As in most fantasy, there are apparent good and evil sides, but most of the characters have a certain ambiguity which results in them doing something that you would not normally expect. This ambiguity is a neat way to make you connect with characters from both sides in a way that you wouldn't usually do and although it may be a little uncomfortable, it also provides a better immersion for the reader.
Another surprise is that magic is scarcely involved. It is only hinted at in the first two storylines and is only fully in evidence at the end of the third; I suspect that this will become more prominent in the following books.
Non-human creatures are also in short supply, but again, I believe that they will play a larger part as the series progresses.
To close, I would like to mention that there are a couple of plot twists that left me open-mouthed, a fact that I found most satisfying (after I'd recovered:-). Also, there are a couple of particularly grisly deaths and this combined with some of the more mature language and themes, indicate that this has been targeted at an adult audience.
I have tried to avoid any plot details since the impact of the book comes from not knowing what is going to happen next. it has introduced all the storylines and got them to a point where they are all about to explode into action. If you fancy something a little more complex and with a definite adult bias, this could very well be the book for you.
283 of 291 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this book on the strength of previous reviews and am pleased to say I was not disappointed. As has been stated, GRRM's style is one of multiple viewpoints (initially confusing although by the middle of the book you know who's who, and in which 'house' they belong), within a continuous time thread. The writing is dark, gritty, and melancholic.
This isn't a 'quest' book; more of a history. And a realistic one at that. Although there is a complete lack of elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins etc, this book should be classed as high fantasy. Dragons, monsters, and magic exist in this world but they are relegated to the background. Nine tenths of this book deals in the down to earth machinations of the various courts. Heroes and villains do not exist. Everyone is painted in shades of grey. (Some greyer than others).
In the last 20 years there have been two books that completely blew me away. The first was Magician by Raymond E Feist, the second was Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb. A Game of Thrones is the third. If you enjoyed either of the first two you will surely enjoy this.
Having read the rest of the books in the Song of Fire and Ice sequence, I can reassure you the standards set by A Game of Thrones are maintained.
This isn't a 'quest' book; more of a history. And a realistic one at that. Although there is a complete lack of elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins etc, this book should be classed as high fantasy. Dragons, monsters, and magic exist in this world but they are relegated to the background. Nine tenths of this book deals in the down to earth machinations of the various courts. Heroes and villains do not exist. Everyone is painted in shades of grey. (Some greyer than others).
In the last 20 years there have been two books that completely blew me away. The first was Magician by Raymond E Feist, the second was Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb. A Game of Thrones is the third. If you enjoyed either of the first two you will surely enjoy this.
Having read the rest of the books in the Song of Fire and Ice sequence, I can reassure you the standards set by A Game of Thrones are maintained.
164 of 170 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Suffice to say, from the top marks I'm awarding this book (and the whole series thus far) I found it to be an excellent read. No, that's insufficient, this is not only the best written Fantasy series (by far surpassing Tolkien in my opinion) I've read, it's almost certainly the most enjoyable book of ANY kind.
The writing style is intelligent and treats the reader accordingly, which is a refreshing change in the Fantasy genre, and the sheer bloody-mindedness of the plot subverts every preconception the reader may have while maintaining the traditional escapist elements familiar from 'lesser' works. The world of Fire and Ice is so fully realised it's hard to keep track of the history and vast array of characters but Martin guides you through it effortlessly and seems to have known from the first line exactly what is going to happen in every subsequent paragraph. His attention to detail is almost scary. The series also (incredibly) manages to improve with subsequent readings as the reader gets to grips with the innumerable plot developments and realises that the most unexpected of events was probably sign-posted ten chapters back.
One note of caution to perspective buyers however is that despite it's Fantasy trappings this is NOT a series suitable for children. Mr Martin does not shy away from explicit descriptions of horrific violence and sex and the language is frequently of the four-letter variety. Equally disturbing is the brilliant realisation of the multitude of characters in these books where the 'Heroes' prove capable of horrendous atrocities and the 'Villains' sometimes act with compassion and honour. And these characters can DIE; If a situation looks likely to be fatal, chances are it will be, which is almost unique in an on-going series and means every violent encounter is almost excrutiatingly tense.
So, not for the faint-hearted but certainly a series that sets entirely new standards for fiction, Fantasy or otherwise.
Brilliant.
The writing style is intelligent and treats the reader accordingly, which is a refreshing change in the Fantasy genre, and the sheer bloody-mindedness of the plot subverts every preconception the reader may have while maintaining the traditional escapist elements familiar from 'lesser' works. The world of Fire and Ice is so fully realised it's hard to keep track of the history and vast array of characters but Martin guides you through it effortlessly and seems to have known from the first line exactly what is going to happen in every subsequent paragraph. His attention to detail is almost scary. The series also (incredibly) manages to improve with subsequent readings as the reader gets to grips with the innumerable plot developments and realises that the most unexpected of events was probably sign-posted ten chapters back.
One note of caution to perspective buyers however is that despite it's Fantasy trappings this is NOT a series suitable for children. Mr Martin does not shy away from explicit descriptions of horrific violence and sex and the language is frequently of the four-letter variety. Equally disturbing is the brilliant realisation of the multitude of characters in these books where the 'Heroes' prove capable of horrendous atrocities and the 'Villains' sometimes act with compassion and honour. And these characters can DIE; If a situation looks likely to be fatal, chances are it will be, which is almost unique in an on-going series and means every violent encounter is almost excrutiatingly tense.
So, not for the faint-hearted but certainly a series that sets entirely new standards for fiction, Fantasy or otherwise.
Brilliant.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great book - many typos
This is a great book and I've just bought the rest of the series for my Kindle. The story has a good pace and the level of detail is very satisfying if you're a fantasy fan like... Read more
Published 49 minutes ago by lexusperplexus
Slow start but the perseverance paid off
Admittedly, when I read the first chapter I wasn't particularly impressed or drawn in. I've been pretty much overwhelmed by people telling me how great the books and TV series are... Read more
Published 58 minutes ago by EpicDom
Waste of time
Total waste of time. Clice after cliche, after namedropping, after stupid joke. Flat boring story, annoying child characters, even more annoying city council characters. Read more
Published 13 hours ago by xmentex
:)
Started reading this. It is amazing. Although it is a huge book it is very easy to read. It follows closely to the program and I can't wait to finish it, as it explains everything... Read more
Published 17 hours ago by l_brown1102
You need to get to know the characters
I bought this book because it was on offer from Amazon for £1.99. Good move by Amazon as I have now bought the following three books for around £22! Read more
Published 22 hours ago by Bluenote
Not a quick read - but looking forward to reading the next...
This is not a quick read by far, nor did it grab me from the start, but once I had got my head around all the characters, and started to understand how they all tie in together I... Read more
Published 3 days ago by Gyles
Awesome and compulsive
Started reading this series after watching the tv version and was really surprised by how little the tv programme does it justice. This book (and the series) is fantastic. Read more
Published 3 days ago by jnr1103
Better than harry potter
I started watching the tv adaptation of the books, thought it was good so bought the book. At amazon prices it was hardly a risk. THE BOOK IS AMAZING! Read more
Published 3 days ago by SLS
Brilliant!
Hard to describe. "I Claudius" meets "Lord of the Rings"?.. The characters are fullblooded believable people who you find yourself caring for (or hating) very quickly. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Patrick H.
Character driven fantasy at its finest
What can I possibly say about A Game of Thrones that hasn't already been said?
This is my first re-read of it since watching the HBO series, and it was even more... Read more
This is my first re-read of it since watching the HBO series, and it was even more... Read more
Published 5 days ago by FantasyBytes
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