A Game of Thrones

The men in this book are savages. Women are treated equal to animals. It is very sexist, and sadist in a way. People were tortured in ways I never thought I could think about, so much injustice, desperation, pain and incest. Oh, it was an awful experience.

But yet, there was something different in this book. No, it did not hook me up like it should have. but the story was perfect. Martin built an excellent plot. Everything fits in together. The characters. The vocab. It was as if I was living through everything, and that is why I gave it 4 stars. I could visualize everything. of course, there were a lot of boring parts, but I think they were necessary to perfect everything. I doubted more than one time that one human being was able to come up with this masterpiece. It was real, but in a made up land.

Taken from the acknowledgement: The devil is in the details, they say. A book this size has a lot of devils, any one of which will bite you if you don't watch out. Fortunately, I know a lot of angels.
This book was a long tiring journey. I don't regret reading, but I am not looking forward to book two either. I really have conflicting emotions about this book. But it deserves the 4 stars. Martin did an amazing job. The writing style. The scenes. The imagination. Amazing. This story could not have been written better (maybe it would have with a bit less sexism but I am trying - very hard - to be flexible... okay, I can't be flexible about these subjects... but i think I can bend [ and I say this through gritted teeth ] my rules to fit this book )

Really good read, but damn it is tough to get through it as a casual reader of a chapter or two per night.

4.5 or 5 stars? I haven't really decided yet.

Finally done, and oh boy what an ending...

Oh man, this took forever and a day but it was worth it. I am going to continue with the series, however, I'm taking a break from it before I start A Clash of Kings.

Quick pro and con: Loved the camaraderie in the different groups of men, from Lord Eddard's men to Khal Drogo's to Jon's. Hated the cruelties of war in the Seven Kingdoms and of the khalasars, and obviously the way the women were treated. Though there's no love lost for me towards Lady Catelyn and Cersei; despised for different reasons but despised all the same.

I especially had major problem's with a certain main character's death because it was just stupidly executed but that's my biggest complaint towards the book and does not detract from its merits.

Loved it, hard to read sometimes for an intermediate English-speaker.

Long ago, a friend told me I should read these books, but alas they are so dang loooooong I kept putting it off. And I'm not a huge fan of knights and kings and queens and the happenings at court so there was a little less appeal for me as well. Then the show was announced and I thought, well shoot I'd better read those books before I watch the show. Now I think they're on season 2 and I finally picked up the book for fear that some rabid fan of the show spoil something in the books for me.

I glanced at a few reviews that urged me to bear through the beginning as it is long winded and boring. There's a lot of scene to set and many characters to familiarize yourself with.

But the book had me with “The wildlings are dead.”

So mysterious and ominous. Who, or what are these wildlings? And how did they die? Who killed them? And in that prologue we are teased with something unreal. Something not right. Something other. And then nothing. We jump right into the worst of treason, betrayal, honor, murder, passion and vengeance. So many plots. So many....

The Starks are my favorite. How can they not be? They are brave and full of honor. Ned, while smart and full of love for his King, depends too much on the word of those around him, trusting that they want what is just and right. Catelyn is fierce and the perfect matriarch for the family. My only beef with her is her treatment of Jon Snow, but I can see her side as well. The only Stark I care not for is Sansa. Useless with a head full of air.

Despite what I fear may be coming I find myself silently rooting for Tyrion Lannister and maybe less silently for Daenerys. When she finally stood up to her bizarre and misguided brother I wanted to stand up and cheer.

Throughout the book here and there were whisperings of the supernatural, but we only get to see them a couple of times. And even then I would stop to re-read those parts to make sure I read that right. But I expect the supernatural will take center stage in the next installment.

Epic, it is. Good, it is. Long, it is. At 800+ pages it's not something you can get through quickly. Yet, it's near impossible to put down. I started it Saturday night and got just shy of halfway done and then it got some reading in yesterday before bed and then today while Olivia napped. I could finish out the series by the end of the week, but I want to sit on it for a bit. Do some ‘light' reading before delving back into the Winter.

It was a good story though I felt as though it started off to slow. For a book that's over 700 pages, having a third of the book as introductory is killer. Picked up by the end of it, but mad at the ending...

I gave up on it. I really wanted to like this but it just didn't pull me in. Felt like a medieval soap opera. I got maybe halfway? through.

A complex start to a complex fantasy setting! Quite good! Maybe continuing with the series.

I found this a bit boring at first. It took a while to get into because of the overload in detail, but once you get past that it's really easy to get into.

Superbly written and well paced, George Martin is obviously a huge talent and I look forward to his next venture as this one was not really my kind of book. Frankly this is a Fantasy soap opera and I never really found it exciting. Also, too many character POV's made it a bit hard to follow. But each POV by itself was very tight and the lines well written. The sense of doom through out the book makes it stand out from most I have read. All in all, I can understand why this has been such a success and I recommend it wholeheartedly to people who enjoy large scale multi character plots full of intrigue. But definitely not for the faint hearted.

Really enjoyed this book. A huge intricate story with a lot of different complex characters. Excellent book though it can at times be difficult to follow the story especially if the book is left alone for a couple of weeks.

I... don't... know? I wanted to read this even though I don't general like huge high fantasy novels, but it's such a cultural zeitgeist and I maybe want to watch the show but I can't be snobby about it if I don't read the book first, duh.

So, like I said, high fantasy is not my thing and I got frustrated by how many characters there are. I also hate fictional books that come with fictional maps and fictional family trees. I much prefer books that hone in deep on a few characters and how fucked up they are. This has just, so many. I generally liked the characters? Except the ones I wasn't supposed to like, boohiss. I was pretty surprised by all the messed up sex stuff?? I mean, Daenerys, what even?! Yipes.

Also the ending was very unsatisfying. IDK. Ultimately I guess I didn't really think I would like this book, but I liked it more than I thought it would, but I still didn't like it very much.

I really wish I'd read this before watching the HBO series. It was an enjoyable book, but I think the sheer amount of spoilers I had going into it hurt my connection with characters that I knew weren't going to make it. That said, I still love the story. Well-rounded characters, beautiful descriptions, and not half as awkward as I expected it to be. Martin likes killing beloved people more than Joss Whedon does, though.

Absolutely amazing.

First read: March-May 2012
Second read: April-May 2014
Third read: April 2016

Definitely enjoyed it more the second time, though it's still overly long... Having seen the show definitely helped keep track of who's who.

Even better the third.

This book was an epic journey that took me 3 months to conquer, but what a ride! This novel was filled with so many twists and turns. I think it rivals Lord of the Rings just because of the attention to detail that went into this world he created! I am so happy I took the time to read this.

This hooked me right from the prologue! (I usually hate them!) Game of thrones has all of my favorite things: great characters, mystery, fantasy, old politics, history, and good and evil aren't black and white. Now I'm working my way through the series!

this was quite different to the tv series. looking forward to reading the next won where I have no idea what is going to happen though.

I've been a fan of George R.R. Martin since his days of writing TV screenplays for The Twilight Zone and Beauty and the Beast. But I held off starting the Game of Thrones books because I wanted to wait until he had finished the series so that I could read them through without interruption.

HBO scrapped that plan last year by airing the first book as a season-long series. Or rather, I scrapped that plan when I could not resist watching.

I just finished this first book in the series and it was as satisfying and enjoyable as I had expected it to be. Martin is a master of characterization, plot and description. Truly the ‘Tolkein' of our time. He has woven elements of action, intrigue, emotion and fantasy into a tale that grabs hold of the reader and will not loose its grasp. Which is why I am eagerly anticipating acquiring the second novel in the series and continuing his epic journey.

Did I enjoy the book? I can't honestly say; I found it worrisome, more than anything else. I worried about the characters (others might complain about Eddard Stark, but I love a good, honorable man), I worried about the misogyny (which others have written about more eloquently in their reviews than I am able, at this time, but apparently you can't have a “Game of Thrones” review without mentioning the misogyny- and the sex; don't forget the sex), but I mostly worried about how in the world Martin was going to wrap it all up into one cohesive story, in a stand-alone book.

That was my main problem. I feel like every book in every series should stand on its own; this one did not. Rather than reading it like the epic fantasy/courtly intrigue novel it is, I always felt like it was a mystery: one where the audience can see most of the twists literally HUNDREDS of pages before the characters, but a mystery nonetheless. As such, it feels unresolved. I'm a little bitter about the thousands more pages I'm going to have to read, in order to find a resolution, when the first book offers very few satisfying moments of its own.

I read this after watching the first season of the HBO adaptation. It's very well written and is a must read for those that enjoyed the show, as it provides a lot of interesting background and internal monologue that fleshes out the story.

1st book read on my new sony prs-t1 ereader!! (yea i wanted a kobo so bad but santa had other plans... sony never could build an interface to save their lives, a matte frame would have been nice too... I digress. At least it reads well.)
Love this book!! Was on the edge of my seat the whole time! Well crafted plot, love the story being told through the interconnected eyes of only a few strong characters. Beautiful twists and turns, some predictable and some not, enough to keep you pleasantly (sometimes unpleasantly) satisfied and surprised. Must now watch hbo series and hope they dont ruin it for me, I have much faith in them. Can't wait to see if my future theories are correct!! On to the next!

Take a look at the cover on this book before you decide to invest seven hours of your life in this book. Unlike many book covers, this one is a pretty good representation of the story. Yes, there is a big, brawny man on this cover, but, no, he is not passionately yet gently kissing anyone here. This big, brawny man is sitting on a throne and the throne is not a golden throne embedded with diamonds and other jewels. This throne is made of hundreds of well-worn swords that have been welded together.

Are you getting the idea yet? Do you have a glimmer of what this story is about?

The man is staring at the floor, and he is not smiling. The big, brawny man is angry and bitter, and he is scheming, he is planning, he is plotting.

A black crow sits beside the man on the throne. He is not smiling either.

Before you shudder and throw the book back into the display at WalMart that advertises both the book and the HBO original series made from the book, let me share one more thing with you: Though it would be difficult for me to imagine a book that would lie farther from my Reading Comfort Zone, I must also tell you that I was surprised, no, shocked to discover that I loved this book. I hated most of the characters, but they seemed oddly, startlingly realistic. The plot involves lots of battle scenes and brutality and cruelty and treachery, all of which I usually loathe, but which, here, felt deeply compelling.

I therefore find myself in the peculiar situation of recommending highly a book which should have, and did in fact, repel me. Odd.

Touted as the “American Tolkien” George Martin's epic tale begins well enough, with ominous portents that “Winter is coming”. A rich world with a deep history is created with care. Families, feuds, and intrigue abound. But, it just ends up being too much. The book begins to crumble under the weight of the complexity. There just end up being too many people, with too many betrayals, and, for me at least, too many bad things that happen. At the end of the first book I felt fairly hopeless that anything good was going to happen to any of the characters I cared for. By the end, I was ready to be done, and had no desire to read the rest of the series as published to this point. Perhaps I will revisit it some day, but I may have to forget the slightly bitter aftertaste this epic volume left behind.