Series: A Song Of Ice And Fire, Book One
Publisher: HarperVoyager
Format: Paperback
Published: 1st January 1996
Number of Pages: 8o6
Book: Bought
Genre: Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Action-Adventure, Thriller Suspense, Mythical, Adult Fiction, YA-Adult Crossover
Recommended
Age: 15+
Contains: Violence, Death, Swearing, Blood, Gore, Sexual and Alcohol
References
No Drug References
Author's
Site: George R. R. Martin
Kings and queens, knights and renegades,
liars, lords and honest men.
All will play the Game of Throne.
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, lusts and intrigues’ to the vast frozen
north, where a 700-foot wall of ice protects the kingdom from the dark forces
that lie beyond.
The Game of Throne.
You
win, or you die.
Book One of A Song of Ice and Fire begins the greatest fantasy epic of the
modern age.
Review:
"When
you play the game of thrones, you win or you die..."
In a land that is dangerous and
unpredictable, the Iron Throne is coveted by all.
In a land where no one can be trusted and
allegiances change in a heartbeat, to play the Game of Thrones could mean
death.
But none of them have a choice: the game
has already begun and each already have their part to play....
Ok, so since I mostly review YA and children’s
books on this site, I'll -needlessly, I'm sure - point out that A Song Of Ice And Fire is NOT a children’s
series. Hell, at times, I wondered if I was old enough to read it! But yeah. Just thought I'd
state that for any of my younger readers...
Moving on... I've been meaning to
read and then watch the Game of Thrones
series for ages. Finally, after my exams, I thought: What the hell?
So I picked up my - very substantial - copy. It took me a few
chapters to really get into the book - and about three times that long to get
all the family names straight in my head! But pretty damn soon, I was
completely hooked. I don't really know what it is about this book, but it
is freaking additive.
However, I don't know if my heart was made
for books like this. I have a habit of getting attached to characters: a
habit I'm sure will kill me if I continue it with the Song Of Ice And Fire
series. I just couldn't help it: I could feel myself getting attached to these characters and I just knew I'd most likely be crushed
sooner or layer - probably sooner, given Martin's notorious reputation of
character-killing... And so I was crushed. Just as I'd start to
really love a character, bam!
Bye bye. Dead. Gone. But I didn't learn - I don't think
I'll ever learn!
And so, because I'm a glutton to
punishment, I did have
favourites. Arya was obviously one of them: that kid is badass. I loved Eddard: he was the
most noble person in the whole damn book. Jon, his illegitimate son, was brilliant
too - as was his middle son, Bran, who was so brave. I really liked Dany
as well: she was a sweet girl with a git of a brother. Tyrion may have
been my favourite: that guy is awesome and so snarky! I don't care for
Lannisters, but I'll make an exception for Tyrion! However, I have this
dreadful, ominous, and most likely totally correct given the events of this first book, feeling that all
the characters I love will die, and all the ones I hate will live... Le sigh... And I also fear for my favourite
shippings: the two I loved quickly perished. Sigh. Not looking good
for my heart, is it...?
Now, I've heard some badish things about
Martin's writing: that's it's mediocre. I actually rather liked it.
Sure, it wasn't the most lyrical I've come across but it fit in perfectly
with this world and these people. Plus, I'm all for any epic fantasy that
doesn't read like J.R.R. Tolkien's dry and long books. I mean, all the gore and fighting and world
building... it was phenomenal. Seriously. And so much easier and more
fun to read than the likes of Lord Of The
Rings.
The plot... I was a little confused for a
while. In fact, about half way in I wondered where this plot was going.
I mean, sure, fights for the throne and all that, but... Let's just
say, s*#t got real pretty soon. And people died. Like a lot. The slogan for Game Of Thrones should be: “No one was safe. No life was certain.”
So yes, the plot was wonderfully
complex yet also totally intriguing. I
really enjoyed it.
Oh, I've got to mention the world, because
I adored it! The history was so rich and vivid it’s untrue. The extent of the story that Martin has
created is incredible! I mean, I thought
the epic fantasies I’d read were amazing, but A Song of Ice And Fire
However, I wasn't so keen about the incest,
sexism and misogynist views that were so present throughout the whole
book. Saying this, though, given the
kind of alternate-world time period the series is set in, I guess it was to be
expected. I mean, look at all the stuff that went on during the War of
the Roses: illegitimate kids, kings having orgies, people marrying their first
cousins, etc. etc... I'm sure you get my drift. What I'm trying to
say is that you can be
annoyed about an aspect of the time period without it clouding your enjoyment
of the book. And trust me when I say that it really didn't – ok, I may
have rolled my eyes a little about how many times the word 'whore' was used
throughout the story, but other than that, no real complaints. I mean,
there were some kickass women in this book and they pretty much made up for it.
So now we reach the end of my review. My feels for this book are so very hard to
put into words. I really, really enjoyed A Game Of Thrones. It was… phenomenal. Totally just…
I really don’t have the words! It
was an amazing book and I can see why everyone is so obsessed. I’m totally
obsessed now, too! I needed the next
book the very moment I put A Game Of
Thrones down! It is… epic. I have no better words than truly and utterly
epic.
So I’ll leave you all on that epic note and
go and read A Clash Of Kings…
Star Rating:
5 Out of 5
5 Out of 5
Read this
book if you liked:
Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Cousins Series by Philippa
Gregory
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
Study Series by Maria V. Snyder
The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
Happy Reading
Megan
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