A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)

by George R.R. Martin

The first volume in the hugely popular, violent and action-packed epic fantasy.

The first volume of George R R Martin’s glorious high fantasy tells the tragic story of treachery, greed and war that threatens the unity of the Seven Kingdoms south of the Wall. Martin unfolds with astonishing skill a tale of truly epic dimensions, thronged with memorable characters, a story of treachery and ambition, love and magic. Set in a fabulous world scarred by battle and catastrophe over 8000 years of recorded history, it tells of the deeds of men and women locked in the deadliest of conflicts and the terrible legacy they will leave their children. In the game of thrones, you win or you die.

And in the bitter-cold, unliving lands beyond the Wall, a terrible winter gathers and the others — the undead, the neverborn, wildlings to whom the threat of the sword is nothing — make ready to descend on the realms of men.

• ISBN13: 9780002245845
• Publish Date: 5 August 1996 (first published 1 August 1996)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 15 January 1998
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: HarperVoyager
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 672
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

[clementine]

It feels like such a chore to try to write something about this book, because I feel like I have nothing constructive or intelligent to say. Needless to say, I loved it. My biggest criticism is that it takes awhile to get truly interesting, but I suppose that's normal for such a detailed world. The characters are so exquisitely detailed and layered, the word is very rich and believable, and the plot is exciting once it does pick up. I'm really excited to read the other books, although I'm afraid of getting attached to anybody because I know nobody is safe.

[celinenyx]

The Song of Ice and Fire series has been around for over a decade, yet somehow it exploded in popularity a few years back. It now has a TV show, and it has gained so many fans that I won't be surprised if we soon can buy the house flags or miniature figures to play war with.

There are tons of raving reviews for A Game of Thrones, so when my boyfriend gifted me the book I decided to give it a try.

To be very honest, I don't get what all the fuss is about. It's just a standard fantasy book. I have read dozens of books that are like this. It's a decent book, it has some good world-building and a nice history and it must have taken Martin months to just figure out all those characters. But let's be honest, as a casual reader you don't care for 80% of the characters he created. You care for the cast of main characters.

Especially in the beginning of the book I was disappointed with how not-so-greatly written A Game of Thrones was. The children speak like fifty-year-olds and the dialogue is bland. I was expecting exceptional language and beautiful description, but I was sorely disappointed on that point.

People that say they are gripped from the first page are liars. How can the first chapters NOT be confusing? There are masses of names that you have to take track of, and confusing me is not the way to grip me. It took me half a year to get through the first half of the book. The build up is sooooooo slooooooooooowwwwwwwwwww. I really feel like adding a lot more o's and w's to that one, but I'll keep those to myself.

Once the book finally gets started, it really is entertaining. There finally is some war and courtly intrigue and people die and overall the plot starts moving. Sadly, the book doesn't get started until four hundred pages in. That's the length of an entire book, people.

If it wasn't for the TV series, I never would have tried to finish the book. It's a good book, but not any different from so many other fantasy books I have read. Now I have invested so much time in the characters I will continue the series, but if you're daunted by the length of the books, don't start. Just watch the TV series and read a slightly less wordy fantasy book.

Also, did any of you people notice that the entire first book could be condensed to a 100-page prologue to the series?

[Amber]

I did it! I forking finished it! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

Can't wait to read the next one because DRAGONS.

[boghunden]

Det var anden gang, jeg satte mig ned med bogen. Første gang var det som dansk ebog. Jeg nåede ca. 220 sider ind, så lagde jeg den fra mig. Denne gang var det med en fysisk engelsk udgave af bogen og jeg ved nu, hvor stor en forskel sproget kan gøre. At sige jeg var fanget fra side et, er nok lige at overdrive, men det var tæt ved. Sproget er i en klasse for sig. Magisk og fortryllende. Jeg kan ikke rigtig beskrive det anderledes. Naturbeskrivelserne var virkelig tro og det var lige før, man kunne høre det, når der blev trådt på en kvist eller lignende.
Persongalleriet er ligeledes fantastisk. Farverigt, stort og troværdigt. Og bedst som man tror, man kender en person og har fået en holdning til vedkommende, så ændres den fluks. Uden at afsløre noget kan jeg da fortælle, at jeg aldrig rigtig var fan af Daenerys. Faktisk syntes jeg hendes kapitler var lidt kedelige og langtrukne. Det holdt så ved til omkring side 600. Da begyndte jeg at holde af hende og så efterhånden frem til hendes kapitler. En ulempe ved det store persongalleri er så, at der er virkelig mange personer at holde styr på og i starten skulle man også lige koncentrere sig ekstra, når (næsten) alle karaktererne har et navn, men kaldes noget andet. Det tog lidt tilvænning. Jeg var også glad for, der var et appendix bagerst i min bog, så jeg kunne holde styr på, hvor hvem kom fra. Uden det, havde jeg muligvis givet op endnu engang. Men jeg bed tænderne sammen og blev ved og det har jeg ikke fortrudt.
Selve handlingen ved jeg ikke, hvordan jeg kan beskrive. Der var så mange sideløbende handlingsforløb, det kræver virkelig sin forfatter, at kunne holde styr på dem allesammen, men det lykkedes for Martin. Generelt har jeg fået stor, stor respekt for George R. R. Martins evner som forfatter. Han har skrevet en bog, der har noget nær det hele.

[clq]

Many people have heard about Game of Thrones by now. Most of them, myself included, probably wouldn't have unless HBO had made A Song of Ice and Fire into a tv-series. As everyone said the tv-series was great I gave it a try, but after a few episodes I didn't like it as much as everyone said I should. Then I was told that I would certainly like the books. I did. At least I've loved the first one.

Mr. Martin has really created a huge, rather complex, and truly impressive world in which the story takes place. Though, the most impressive thing is not the world itself, but how effortlessly and naturally I became immersed in it. I'm not quite sure how or when it happened, but after 150 pages I was engaged in the book, and couldn't wait to find out what happened next. And that's another thing which sets this book apart, there really isn't a way of knowing what happens next. It doesn't take long to realise that most of the regular tropes are thrown to the wind by this book, and once you acknowledge that anything could happen, it makes it all the more exciting to see which one of those anythings actually does happen.
Over almost a thousand pages I was never bored of this book. Even after hours of reading, I never didn't feel like reading the next chapter right away. Despite many sub-plots being dealt with at the same time, they never became hard to follow. I really enjoyed this book, and I would hereby like to berate all of my friends who've read it, and who haven't recommended it to me until now.

[layawaydragon]

I loved this book so much. I was worried that I would get lost among all the characters and history. However, with a couple handy maps it wasn't an issue. There were honestly only a few times I needed to stop and look something up. It is still hard for me to keep tract of all the family lines and ties. That's been my weak point and why I hate historical fiction about royal families.

I know a lot of people have issues with this book for sexualization of children and being upset there is so much sex involved. I don't think there's a lot or too much sex in it. It's not described in detail or like a bodice ripper. It's quite plain and realistic, sex is sex. It's a mundane and common thing in life. I don't understand the issue people have with it in this book. I can speculate that they don't like it since sex is indeed normal and common, not some fairy tale magical transcendence so many books lie about. Or perhaps it makes them uncomfortable since sex is most often used to titillate and the scenes involving young brides weird the readers out when they try to put themselves in the scene. I definitely disagree with the people who claim the author wrote in so much sex like a horny 12 year old boy with no knowledge of sex. Sex is sex, stop trying to make it lofty and idealistic.

I do feel the need to add a TRIGGER warning. Rape is talked about a bit here and there in the book. The most describing was the girl being raped upon the fresh corpses of her village people. It wasn't described in detail or relished at all. The fact that it was described so bluntly and plainly made it all the more horrify to me since indeed in this world rape is the reality for those whose homes get raided.
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( This is not to say rape isn't common place or the reality for far too many people in our world as well. I'm a survivor myself, which is why I feel the need to put the trigger warning for this book.)
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I was drawn into this book completely. I love and loathe these characters and can't wait to see how things work out. I love lengthy, complete fantasy series, no dead or loose ends here! It's funny there are things in this book that seem minor but I loved finding out. Like who's owned the black cat and why it went feral in the castle. Oh, indeed, how I love the little things. It makes this universe so complete

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

Without watching the HBO series first, I doubt I would have picked this book up off the shelf. Thanks to HBO, I found it much easier to follow the sprawling cast of characters.

[laughingrachel]

I devoured this book in less than two days. To me, a book that is hard to put down is always a good book. I am impressed with the excellent world building that has been done with this series and I feel really invested in the characters - which isn't really a smart thing to be. This book is a little more harsh and depressing than the fantasy books I usually read, but I know that it's much more realistic of a realm in upheaval over succession. Bad things will happen to good people and nothing will be done about it.

[Ashley]

I wanted to love this book so much, and I thought I would. It actually took me two attempts to read it.

First, I tried it before the TV show came out. It bored me to tears and I quit halfway through. Then, when the TV show came out, I really ended up liking it so I tried the book again. I did manage to get through it, but for the most part, it was a really painful experience.

There were so many chapters where I felt like NOTHING HAPPENED. And there were so many characters who I just didn't give a shit about whatsoever, but I had to read their dreadfully long chapters. And then I would finally get to the chapter of a character I loved, I'd get all excited, and then his/her story would not progress AT ALL.

I do like the overall story of this series, but the books themselves are way too drawn out and have so many unnecessary characters, chapters, and information. I imagine the first three books (I can't comment on the rest since I haven't read past book 3) could have been pushed into one 500-page book that actually might have been interesting.

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

I had a difficult time starting this book. I read the first ten pages probably a gazillion times, on different eReaders. Once I got through the first chapter, I was hooked. This is exactly the kind of book I enjoy reading.

Martin takes the reader through a variety of different characters, each with their own subplots, each indispensable to the over arching plot of the book, and the overarching plot of the series. Each character speaks with his or her own voice, and has his or her own motivations. With as many characters as there is, one would think it difficult to keep track of all the different details, but Martin's writing was so smooth, I found it easy to follow everything - and difficult to put the book down!

His writing style was reminiscent of Tamora Pierce's, and his crafting of characters and scenery felt even Tolkien-esque. I found myself completely emerged in the threat of winter, even though where I live, it is unmistakably summer! I cannot praise him enough.

One thing Martin does dare - and I found it successful though others have not - is write a fantasy novel without traces of common fantastical elements - all these things are lost. There is no more magic, and dragons have not been seen in a millennium. Yet in the typical medieval setting, Martin maintains the feel of fantasy without these elements, and that is no small feat. Martin also shows enough of a battle to allow the reader to experience it, but without becoming monotonous.

I have read reviews that criticize Martin's use of sexual imagery, and the abuse of one character in particular. I acknowledge these remarks, but I do not find them to be enough to be a turn-off from the book. Any mention of a sexual encounter is brief and tasteful (unlike too many other fantasy books I have read) and it is relevant to the plot. Actually, I found it a bit refreshing to not be plunged into unnecessary erotica in the middle of a fantastic plotline! But that is my opinion, and I do not wish to belittle other people who were offended by it - their opinions are equally valid.

This is no book for children, and teens and young adult who are not advanced readers or bear a special love for works such as Tolkien will find the book tedious, I believe. For those of us with a love for fantasy and expert writing, A Game of Thrones is an absolute treat.

((Cross-posted on my blog: The Literary Phoenix))