Book review-Game of Thrones

When I was younger I read a lot of Science Fiction and Fantasy, but I've been a bit out of the loop lately, so with all the hoopla about  George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, I thought it high time to catch up on that series, at least.  I also was looking for a downloadable audio book and The Game of Thrones was available.  Perfect. Listening to an epic story can be a bit challenging because you don't see the names printed out so you can get characters mixed up if the names are similar.  Luckily, the narrator used different voices for different characters, so that helped a bit. The story is told through the experiences of a number of different characters:  Ned Stark, his wife Catelyn, his daughter Aria, his son Bran, his illegitimate son John Snow,  Tyrion Lannister, and Daenerys Targaryen.  Ned's friend Robert has recently wrested the throne from the Targaryens, who had been in power for centuries.  Tyrion's sister Circe is married to Robert.  Oh, and summer can last for decades.  But, winter is coming (and it can last for years as well).  The Starks are from the north and generally avoid the capital city, but Robert suspects treason and wants Ned to be his "hand".  Ned and Catelyn are suspicious of this, but see no way for Ned to refuse.  Ned and his daughters travel to the capital so the girls can experience court life, while Cat and the boys stay at their ancestral home of Winterfell. I mostly enjoyed the book.  Some of the descriptions of battles didn't interest me much, but if someone likes that sort of thing, I'm sure the descriptions would be fine.  I enjoyed the scope of the book and learning about the plot through the eyes of the different characters.  I also enjoyed the alternate world part of the story, a world where seasons last for years and dragons roam.  I wasn't sure I'd read the next book until the end.  Wow.  Martin sure wrote a cliff hanger!

A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book One By Martin, George R. R. 1996-08 - Bantam 9780553103540 Check Our Catalog The first novel in a brand-new epic fantasy trilogy by the author of Fevre Dream and The Armageddon Rag. Long ago, a mysterious event threw the seasons out of balance. The golden summers go on for years, only to be followed by cruel winters that can last a generation. As the kingdom of the north is assailed by rival houses from the south, a greater danger threatens--the un-earthly demons of legend--the Neverborn--rise up to wreak havoc. …More

Other books by the same author.

A Clash of Kings By Martin, George R. R. 2000-09 - Spectra Books 9780553579901 Check Our Catalog In this eagerly awaited sequel to A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin has created a work of unsurpassed vision, power, and imagination. A Clash of Kings transports us to a world of revelry and revenge, wizardry and warfare unlike any you have ever experienced. A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. And from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles. …More

A Storm of Swords By Martin, George R. R. 2000-10 - Bantam Books 9780553106633 Check Our Catalog Rarely has there been a tale as gripping, or one as likely to seize the minds and hearts of a generation, as George R. R. Martin's epic high fantasy series. In A Game of Thrones, an ancient kingdom was torn by the ambitions of ruthless men and women; in A Clash of Kings, war, sorcery, and madness swept over the kingdom like a voracious beast of prey. Now, as the brutal struggle for power nears its tumultuous climax, the battered and divided kingdom faces its most terrifying invasion--one that is being spearheaded from beyond the grave.... A Storm Of Swords Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey, of House Lannister, sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the land of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, the victim of the jealous sorceress who holds him in her evil thrall. But young Robb, of House Stark, still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Robb plots against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister hostage at King's Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world. Filled with the stench of death and decay from the destructive dynastic war, Daenerys is gathering allies and strength for an assault on King's Landing, hoping to win back the crown she believes is rightfully hers. But as opposing forces maneuver for the final titanic showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings bent on overwhelming the Seven Kingdoms arrives from the outermost lineof civilization. In their vanguard is a horde of mythical Others--a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. And as the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest in the quest for victory until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords....Brilliantly conceived and grand in scope, A Storm of Swords is the incredible tale of a world of harsh beauty and powerful magic, torn by treachery, ravaged by brutality, and consumed by greed and ambition. It portrays a war-torn landscape in which nobles and commoners, heroes and villains, the freeborn and the enslaved, all struggle to survive and to find their destinies...along with the dazzling bounty and wondrous enchantment that was once their birthright in the Seven Kingdoms. …More

A Feast for Crows By Martin, George R. R. 2005-11 - Spectra Books 9780553801507 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title The fourth book in "New York Times" bestselling author Martin's landmark series finally arrives to the delight of fans the world over. This is historical fiction that never was, filled with gritty characters, realistic conflicts, heroism, barbarism, defeats and triumphs. …More

A Dance with Dragons By Martin, George R. R. 2011-07 - Bantam Books 9780553801477 Check Our Catalog Dubbed "the American Tolkien" by "TIME" magazine, Martin has earned international acclaim for his monumental cycle of epic fantasy. Now the #1 "New York Times"-bestselling author delivers the fifth book in his landmark series--as both familiar faces and surprising new forces vie for a foothold in a fragmented empire. …More

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